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History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c64: Chapter XLIV

History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c64

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English

Contents

Chapter XLIV

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REIGN OF SHAMBHUJI, 1680-1684.

§ 1. Rajaram crowned as Shivaji's successor.

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The death of Shivaji left the newly created Maratha kingdom utterly divided and distracted. Not only was the strong hand that had so long held the State together suddenly withdrawn, but the future also looked very uncertain. Shivaji had not named his successor before his death; nor was the question easy to decide. True, his eldest son Shambhuji had come of age and gained experience in the conduct of campaigns and the civil administration in his father's lifetime. But his licentious character promised an unhappy reign to his subjects, while his recent desertion to the mortal enemy of his faith and fatherland discredited him in the eyes of all right-thinking men. Indeed, his wise father, in his last days, after vainly trying to reform Shambhuji, had been constrained to keep him under surveillance in the fort of Panhala. Though the prince was not confined in prison, his freedom of movement was restricted and his actions strictly watched. The governor of the fort, Vittal Trimbak Mahadkar, was to be the prince's keeper and to take his orders from Shivaji.

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And yet the alternative to Shambhuji as king was his brother Rajaram, a boy of ten, whose succession meant a long regency. A regency can succeed only under an able and energetic queen-mother like Tara Bai or a united and patriotic council of ministers like the one led a century later by Nana Fadnis. But Rajaram's mother Soyra Bai lacked the capacity and spirit of her future daughter-in-law, and there was mortal jealousy between Shivaji's two highest ministers, Moro Trimbak Pinglé (the Peshwa) and Annaji Datto (the Shurnis), and also between the Brahman ministers as a class and the Maratha generals. Singleness of policy and concerted action were impossible among Rajaram's partisans; while the fact of Shambhuji being his own master and knowing his mind gave to all his measures unity of command and promptness of execution. This factor decided the contest for the throne between the two brothers.

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Meantime, at the Maratha capital as soon as Shivaji's funeral was over, the question of filling the vacant throne called for immediate decision. Soyra Bai convinced most of the ministers and generals present there that the accession of Shambhuji would mean disaster to the State and their own loss and humiliation, while her son's character promised better times for his subjects. They agreed, and Rajaram was proclaimed as king by the ministers present in Raigarh, on the lead of Annaji Datto.

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This change in the natural order of succession was effected by a party only at the capital. The people in general and the troops outside had not been consulted, and they naturally murmured. The selfish love of personal gain and the consequent mutual jealousy among the ministers and army chiefs was the solvent of the Maratha monarchy. They had no public spirit, and neither Shivaji’s towering personality nor Ramdas’s spiritual teaching had schooled them to subordinate self-interest to the general good. The disruptive force may be kept in check for a time by a hero as king,—a Shivaji or Baji Rao I; it is sure to break out again on his death.

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The crowning of Rajaram gave the signal for a division among the Marathas. A faction for Shambhuji was soon formed, not because they felt themselves morally bound to guard the just rights of the eldest born, nor that they feared any harm to the nation from Rajaram’s coming to power, but solely because they had gained little from the new king and hoped to gain much more by going over to his rival and earning his favour by their timely help. The army, gorged with plunder in Shivaji’s time, seems to have received no bounty at this change of masters and was eager to transfer its venal sword to Shambhuji, whose helpless condition made him reckless in his promises for gaining adherents. There was, also, greater hope of plunder and distinction under a general like Shambhuji who had led expeditions in the late reign than under a boy like Rajaram whose future military capacity was unknown. The council of regency as constituted at Raigarh meant Brahman rule, and the commander-in-chief (a Maratha by caste) was not prepared to take his orders from a priestly Mayor of the Palace, any more than another Senapati of the Maratha realm, Khande Rao Dhabaré, was fifty years later.

§ 2. Shambhuji gains the throne.

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The result was that within a week of Shivaji's death, parties of soldiers began to flock daily to Shambhuji at Panhala, and he openly assumed royal powers, ignoring the Government at Raigarh.

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Shambhuji's first measures displayed a degree of sagacity and timely energy which was quite unexpected from a man of his character. He first made himself master of Panhala and then consolidated his possession of the South Maratha country and South Konkan before venturing on a contest with the forces of his rival at the capital.

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While his enemies at Raigarh were planning to imprison him, he guessed out the fact of Shivaji's death from the long cessation of news about him after the first reports of his illness; he then very promptly anticipated his enemies by taking possession of the fort of Panhala and confining its former governor. The letters he sent out to all the important personages and officers, appealing to them to support his rights as the eldest born, had effect. Every day large parties of soldiers proceeded to Panhala to join him. He next took charge of the Government of the neighbouring district through his own men. He ordered all the corn in Karwar city to be seized (about 15th April) and sent to Panhala, intending to make himself secure there. A week later, he sent down Ravji Pandit to summon all the governors of the Kanara coast to Panhala for delivering their accounts and cash balances to him. The same thing was done in South Konkan; as the Rajapur factors wrote on 27th April: "Shambhuji has taken upon him to govern and title of king. He has sent for all persons that were in command as subahdars, havladars etc. Some he imprisoned, and some he discharged of their employs."*

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Janardan N. Hanumanté, who held the Kolhapur district under Shivaji, and Hiraji Farzand, who had run away to Chiplun with Government treasure on hearing of that king's death, were arrested by Shambhuji's men. [Chitnis, ii. 3-4.]

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∗ Karwar to Surat, 19 and 26 April, 1680 in F.R. Surat 108; Rajapur to Bombay, 27 Apr. in O.M. 116.

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In the meantime, Annaji Datto had placed Rajaram on the throne at Raigarh, on 21st April, and shortly afterwards started for Panhala with the Peshwa, ostensibly for the purpose of recovering that fort and imprisoning Shambhuji.* But the news of the successful coups of Shambhuji disheartened them and they hesitated to attack him. [Soon, the hands of the selfish double-dealing ministers were forced by the army.] At the end of May the commander-in-chief, Hambir Rao Mohité, arrested Annaji and Moro Pant and took them as captives to Shambhuji at Panhala. There all the army chiefs assembled and recognized Shambhuji as their king.

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[Annaji was cast into prison, loaded with chains, and the rumour at first spread that he had been beheaded.] The Peshwa made a timely recantation and thus gained Shambhuji's favour mingled with distrust. The new king felt that his position was now absolutely secure and he could deliver the decisive attack upon his rival. He had already collected a force of 5,000 men and won their devotion by advancing them two months' pay. Then, after posting his own subahdars and other officers at different places, he set out for Raigarh, his army swelling to 20,000 men during the march.

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∗ Jedhe S But a Bombay letter to Surat 3 May, says, "Shambhu is proclaimed and put in his father's place Moro Pandit and Annaji Pandit etc are gone to Panhala to receive his order" (Not likely) Jedhe S is my authority for the conduct of the army

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The capital opened its gates to him (18th June.) Rajaram made no opposition, because he was incapable of making any. (A Government may possess all the resources of the State, but if it has a woman or child at its head, with division of command and jealousy among its agents, it can make no stand against a strong man of action with decision of character and concentration of authority in one hand, however small his original force may be.)

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For the first few days Shambhuji seems to have acted with combined vigour and thoughtfulness. On 12th July the Bombay factors write, "Shambhuji is publicly declared Rajah, the country begins to be well settled. Report speaks of him as very diligent and careful." Rajaram, though deposed, was treated "with all kindness," because he had been a mere tool in the hands of more designing men. But Annaji Datto, as the head of Soyra Bai's party, was "loaded with chains and put to great trouble."*

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∗ *Jedhe S; Bombay to Surat 30 June and 12 July in O. M. 116. Chitnis's story that Shambhuji put Soyra Bai to death and persecuted the ministers in Raigarh immediately after his accession is

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Shambhuji first sat on the throne on 20th July. The formal coronation was performed with full ceremony and splendour on 16th January 1681. A son and heir was born to him on 18th May 1682, who was destined to revive the Maratha kingship about 30 years later. It was Shivaji II., popularly known as Raja Shahu. [Jedhe S. supported by Portuguese records. Chitnis is wrong aboute date.]

§ 3. War with the Mughals renewed.

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The new monarch gained a long respite from foreign attacks. (All the military resources of the Mughal empire were then concentrated for the war with the Rajputs under the Emperor's own eyes.) His invasion of Mewar had failed, and immediately after Shivaji's death he had recalled his eldest son Shah Alam from the Deccan to his side. Khan-i-Jahan* was sent to the South for the second time as viceroy, but with inadequate forces, (end of May 1680). In July, he laid siege to Ahivant, a fort in the Chandor range which Shivaji had recovered some months earlier; but the "defenders made good resistance," and the Mughals gained no success. They encamped in the neighbourhood for the rains.

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proved false by the English records, in fact he has antedated the events of August-October 1681 by one year.

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∗ From this point onwards we shall designate Bahadur Khan by his new title of Khan-i-Jahan, and Muazzam as Shah Alam. Ranmast Khan, who was now created Bahadur Khan, will continue to bear his former title.

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(Dil. 167; Chopra to Bomb. 7 Aug. in *F.R. Surat* 108).

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The Marathas could make no immediate reprisal on account of the weather. But Shambhuji sent word of defiance to Khan-i-Jahan that he would "give him battle in the open field after the rains." At the end of October his armies were out, as usual, after Dashahara. One division, both horse and foot, was designed to march towards Surat and another towards Burhanpur, while a third kept Khan-i-Jahan in check by forming a screen before his encampment near Aurangabad. (Chopra to Surat, 20 Aug. and 10 Nov. *F.R. Surat* 108.) The news of the raids, however, quickly drew the Mughal general into Khandesh (about 25th Nov.) and the Marathas retreated from the province, but it was for a time only.

§ 4. Sack of Burhanpur suburbs.

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At the end of January next (1681) the raiders were back again, evidently emboldened by the news of Prince Akbar's rebellion, which rumour had exaggerated into the downfall of Aurangzib. One band under Hambir Rao (said to be 20,000 horsemen) sacked Dharangaon,[*] and other towns in North Khandesh, and, passing further east, fell on the suburbs of Burhanpur, (30th Jan.) after making a rapid dash for 70 miles from the place where they were last heard of. The garrison of the capital of Khandesh had been temporarily reduced to 250 men, and the deputy *subahdar* (then in charge of the town) was absolutely unprepared for defence and taken by surprise. Early in the morning, before their approach was even known, the Maratha cavalry rode into Bahadur-pura, a rich and populous suburb 3 miles from Burhanpur and the chief resort of the traders, and there gathered an immense quantity of booty from the numerous shops and houses in it. Seventeen other wards (*puras*) outside the city-walls were similarly plundered. The surprise was so complete that none could conceal or remove a penny worth of property, or save his wife and children. The smoke of the burning houses first informed the governor of the enemy's presence, but he was powerless to do anything and merely shut himself up in the fort. Lakhs of Rupees worth of booty was taken in every *pura*. Many respectable men slew their wives and daughters and then fell desperately fighting the brigands, rather than see their family honour outraged. Others sat down helplessly, leaving their Fate to work its will.

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∗ The Dharangaon factors report the raid in a letter dated 11th February 1681. This town may have been sacked by the Maratha army retreating from Burhanpur (unlikely), or by a second band.

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For three days the Marathas looted the suburbs to their hearts' content, without the least interruption and dug up the floor of every house, thus discovering the buried treasure of many generations past. They even made ladders and tried to take the fort by escalade, but were repulsed. They carried off nothing but gold silver and gems, and left the streets littered with the metal and China ware clothing and spices which they had at first seized.

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On hearing of the enemy’s dash on Burhanpur, Khan-i-Jahan made a forced march northwards from Aurangabad across the Kanner and Fardapur hills, “covering in one day and night the space of four days’ march.” But his army suffered terrible privations from the roughness of the track, the abundance of jungles, and the many hills in the way. The camp-followers and transport cattle were footsore and lagged two stages behind the army, while the horsemen had to live on whatever they could get on the spot and to bivouac in the open. This unwise haste brought about its natural result. The whole force had to halt for two days to let the baggage come up. The enemy’s horsemen, overloaded with booty, were sure to take the road to Salhir, their nearest stronghold for depositing plunder from Khandesh and Berar, as the forts of Konkan and the Sahyadri were too far off. Khan-i-Jahan ought, therefore, to have hastened to Erandol and Chopra to intercept their flight. But after losing two days below Fardapur, he followed exactly the opposite direction and marched towards Idalabad and Burhanpur, long after the last-named town had been evacuated by the enemy. The Marathas immediately took the open road westwards and reached Salhir in four or five days with all their prisoners and booty. Popular voice in the Deccan charged the Mughal viceroy with having been bribed by Shambhu to follow this wrong strategy.¹ The citizens of Burhanpur complained to the Emperor to this effect and the Muslims threatened to stop their Friday prayers unless they were assured of the safety of their life and honour in future.*

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¹ K K ii 272 275, Dil 167-168

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∗ K K, ii 272, gives 20 Muharram 1091 (11 Feb 1680) as the date of the raid on Burhanpur, but Shivaji was then reigning and Shah Alam was viceroy at Aurangabad As usual with Khafi Khan, the day and month are correct, but the year is wrong I read 1092, which gives 30th January 1681, when the Deccan was depleted of Mughal troops and Shambhu was on the throne It cannot be January 1682, because on 13th November 1681 the Emperor himself had reached Burhanpur, and though the "thieves" (i e, Marathas) looted the camp of Lutf ullah Khan near Lalbagh at night ten days later, during a powder magazine explosion (M A 215, K K ii 278) the city was strongly guarded ever afterwards (usually by a son or grandson of Aurangzib) to ensure the communication of the Emperor in the Deccan with his northern capital. The plunder of 23rd Nov. 1681 may have been done by one of the Maratha guerilla bands that used to hover round the imperial camp, cut off small convoys and mockingly pray for the Emperor's long life as the giver of their daily bread! Jedhe S places the sack of Burhanpur in the month of Marga shirsha (12 Nov —11 Dec 1680), which is evidently a mistake for Magh (10 Jan —8 Feb 1681)

§ 5. Maratha raid on Aurangabad fails.

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After missing the Marathas, Khan-i-Jahan encamped near "the dargah of Shaikh Farid, 30 kos from Aurangabad," and subsequently moved on to Babulgaon, some 26 miles west of the city. Here he learnt that another Maratha band was coming up from the south, by way of Ahmadnagar and Mungi-Pattan to loot Aurangabad. He took horse immediately and set off with his cavalry at 3 o'clock in the morning, arriving near the city at noon, just in time to save it. The enemy were located at the Baipura suburb and the Satara hill, 6 miles southwards. The city was in the wildest terror. Rajah Anup Singh Rathor, who commanded the garrison, had too small a force to take the offensive and contented himself with standing ready near his own pura. All houses were closed, the men sitting armed and trembling and the women weeping within doors. The streets and bazars were entirely deserted; only three footmen guarded the Prefect's office (kotwali.) As soon as the Khan arrived, the enemy fled without fighting. (Dil. 169.)

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This relief of Aurangabad took place probably late in February 1681. At the approach of the rainy season, (April) the Khan took up his residence in the old quarter (Kuhna) of the city, built by the Mughal Government, as distinct from the suburbs (puras) built by the nobles, and began to raise a protective wall* round the city, as ordered by the Emperor. (Dil. 170.) But he was soon disturbed by the arrival of a new enemy, the rebel prince Muhammad Akbar.

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We get details of other Maratha activities in the Persian news-letters (Akhbarat.) In June 1681, Shambhuji's troops came plundering towards Indur, but they were driven back by Khan-i-Jahan's son Muzaffar and Ranmast, near the pass of Dharampur, and fled abandoning 8,000 heads of cattle and captives and many drums flags and weapons. Next month Netaji entered Baglana with 8,000 men. As usual, after the Dashahara day in October, the Maratha light horse set out to rove in different directions. There were rumours of their making a dash across the Ghats towards Ahmadabad, but Gujrat escaped this time. One division, 3,000 strong, came to raid Punagarh(?), but was routed by Ranmast Khan, who recovered much booty from the raiders. Another band, reported to be 25,000, moved towards Ahmadnagar, but Khan-i-Jahan intercepted it at a place some 22 miles north of Bijapur, and defeated it with heavy slaughter. An attack on Ahmadnagar was, however, actually attempted, as two Maratha princesses (a wife and a sister of Shambhuji) captured by Dilir Khan were lodged in that fort and the Marathas wished to rescue them. Some Maratha soldiers who had secretly entered the fort in disguise were detected and killed by the qiladar (Muqim Khan) and the rest driven away after a fight, (end of October.)

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∗ The wall was completed in four months, about April 1683, by Abdul Qadir, the son of Amanat Khan. (M.A. 224.)

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Shortly afterwards a band of 6,000 men threatened Sholapur, put the imperial qiladar, Manohardas Gaur, made a sortie and pushed them back; then the siege was raised on the arrival of Khan-i-Jahan's vanguard. Yet another Maratha force was out near Mulhir and Salhir, but Shihab-ud-din Khan, leaving his baggage at Galna, made a forced march, killed 900 of the enemy and cleared the Salhir region. (There is an unfortunate gap in the news-letters for the year 1682.)

§ 6. Prince Akbar seeks refuge with Shambhuji, June 1681.

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Prince Muhammad Akbar, the fourth son of Aurangzib, had crowned himself Emperor (1st Jan. 1681), issued a manifesto deposing his father, and advanced on Ajmir to defeat and capture him; but the pretender's army had melted away and he had been driven to take to flight from the neighbourhood of Ajmir (16th January),—as we have seen in Chapter 37. After being long pursued by his father's forces through Rajputana, Akbar at last crossed the Narmada near Akbarpur (9th May) under the guidance of the faithful Durgadas Rathor and made his way to Maharashtra. Two days later he wrote to Shambhuji begging asylum with him, but being unable to wait for a reply he pushed on through Khandesh and Baglana, writing again to Shambhuji. About the third week of May, Khan-i-Jahan heard of the Prince's coming and set out at night from Aurangabad northwards, evidently in the direction of Burhanpur. On the way he learnt from a letter of the faujdar of Baglana that Akbar had taken the route to Nasik. The Khan immediately swerved to the west and marched to Nasik only to find out that Akbar had passed that town one day before him. The Prince entered Konkan by a pass near Trimbak. On crossing the Mughal frontier he was welcomed by several high officers of Shambhuji and conducted with honour to Pali (1st June.)*

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The Prince was accompanied by 400 cavalry, a small body of infantry (mostly Rajputs with a few Muhammadans) and 50 camels for transport. The residence chosen for him was "a large house covered with straw, at the foot of Pali-garh''; the walls were lined with white calico and the floor covered with ordinary carpets.

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∗ Dil 170 171 Pali fort (Atlas, 25 S E) is 6 m due east of Nagothna and overlooks the same Amba river Raigarh is some 25 m s s e of Pali Akbar was lodged at the village of Padishahpur, 6 m east of Pali and two miles south of Dhondsa Chit 11 11, says that the name of the last village was changed to Padishahpur in honour of the new Emperor, but the two villages are quite distinct The Belgaum Gazetteer (ed 1884) makes the absurd statement that Pachapur, north of Belgaum was Akbar's residence

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Three hundred Maratha foot soldiers were told off to form his body-guard, and Shambhuji's subahdars (collectors) near about waited on him to pay their respects. A fortnight after his arrival, Hiraji Farzand (a natural son of Shahji) brought him a letter from Shambhuji with presents,—a thousand hun, a large string of great pearls with a diamond pendant, a large aigrette set with diamonds, and many pieces of costly cloth. Netaji Palkar was left in attendance upon him as Shambhuji's representative. "All the respect imaginable is paid to him and provisions for himself horse and men are daily brought in by the several subahdars, (it) being Shambhuji's order. He is in want of money but hath with him jewels of great value." (Bomb. to Surat, 10th and 21st June, 1681, quoted in Orme's Frag. 268—270; M.A. 211; Akh.]

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Shambhuji waited for an auspicious day to be chosen by his astrologers for paying his first visit to the new Emperor. But there was considerable delay in his coming. He at first suspected his guest's friendly intentions, and was later too engrossed in watching a conspiracy in his own Court to leave his capital.

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§ 7. Internal condition of the Maratha Court.

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After gaining Raigarh (18 June 1680), Shambhuji imprisoned his chief enemies, including their leaders, Annaji Datto and Nilkanth Moreshwar Pinglé. The latter's father Moreshwar Trimbak Pinglé had retained the Peshwa-ship by a timely desertion of Rajaram's cause, but he neither deserved nor enjoyed his new master's confidence ever after. Early in October Moreshwar died, and Shambhuji so far forgave the past as to set his son Nilkanth free and bestow the vacant prime minister-ship on him. A still greater act of royal clemency was the release, at the same time, of the arch-traitor Annaji Datto from prison and his appointment to the post of Accountant-General (Majmuadar), which was second only to the Peshwa-ship in influence.

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But the unquiet ambition of Annaji Datto abused his master's unexpected generosity. In August 1681, he formed a conspiracy with Soyra Bai, Hiraji Farzand, and some other leading men to murder Shambhuji and give the throne to Rajaram, under the protection of Prince Akbar. They intended to kill Shambhuji by putting poison in his dish of fish. But a boy who was in the secret "prevented his eating of it; he gave some of it to one of his servants and a dog; both died in a few hours." Another story is to the effect that the conspirators invited Akbar to join them, but he declined and promptly informed Shambhuji of the plot.

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The traitors were immediately seized, flung into prison, and put to torture. Annaji Datto, his brother Somaji, Hiraji Farzand, Balaji Avji Prabhu, and Mahadev Anant, with three others were killed by being flung in chains under the feet of elephants. Twenty more culprits were sentenced to death later. Rajaram’s mother, Soyra Bai, who had been the prime mover of every conspiracy against Shambhuji, was charged with having poisoned her husband (a year and a half earlier), and she was put by Shambhuji to a painful death, through poison (according to the Bombay factory report) or by starvation (according to Chitnis.) All this happened in October 1681. Her father’s family, the Shirkés, fell under Shambhuji’s persecution; their property was seized, many of their members were killed, and the rest fled to Mughal territory, entered the imperial army, and tried to carry on their blood-feud with him to the end of his days.

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Throughout this dismal affair, Akbar’s conduct had been spotlessly upright, frank and loyal to his host, and Shambhuji appreciated it.*

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∗ The story of this conspiracy and its punishment is based entirely upon the English Factory Records, which disprove Chitnis. Bombay to Surat, 30 Aug., 8 Sep. and 12 and 27 Oct. 1681 in

§ 8. Kavi-kalash, the favourite of Shambhuji.

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Shambhuji’s character and conduct made it impossible for any of the old servants of the State to regard him with that love and devotion which Shivaji had inspired among all ranks of the people. His cruel vengeance on all who had sided with Rajaram separated many of the leading Maratha families from him by a river of blood, while his rudeness, caprice and violence of spirit made even the highest of his officers feel insecure and unhappy in his service. On his part, he could never forget that practically all the notable ministers and generals had at first given their assent to removing him from the line of succession. He, therefore, felt that he stood absolutely alone and friendless in his native country; and his whole reign was in fact disturbed by frequent conspiracies and desertions among his officers and rebellions among his vassals.

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In this forlorn situation he seemed to have gained a truly devoted servant. A Kanauji Brahman, who had been the hereditary priest of the Bhonslé family at Allahabad, arrived at Raigarh shortly before Shambhuji’s grand coronation. He was deeply versed in Sanskrit theology and popularly believed to be a master of necromancy. He soon made his way into the Rajah’s heart, and gradually monopolized his trust and the supreme control of the administration, while Shambhuji rapidly became a *faineant* king, blindly following the minister’s advice, and devoting all his time to wine and women, with fitful outbursts of martial vigour. Already in November 1682 he was known in Bombay as “the chiefest minister of State” along with Prahlad Niraji.

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¹ O M 116 "The conspirators against S was (sic) Annaji Pandit, Rajaram s mother and Hiraji Farzand who would have brought Akbar in but he would not but immediately gave S notice of it by a messenger, which hath so much gained on the Rajah that he hath promised the Sultan 30 000 horse that are making ready to accompany him to Burhanpur" [8 Sep] "S is now at Rairi For plotting against his life, he hath put to death Annaji Pandit Hiraji Farzand Bowji (?) P, and five more (bound and put under elephants' feet) Twenty more are to suffer death [12 Oct] "Rajaram's mother is dead by report poisoned by Shambhuji Rajah's contrivance" [27 Oct]

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This new Sejanus was ennobled with the title of *Kavi-kalash* or Pinnacle of Poets. But he was a foreign Brahman and his administration ended in Shambhu’s ruin and the fall of the Maratha kingdom. Hence, the local Brahmans and the Maratha patriots alike have cherished the bitterest hatred to his memory. They have vented their spite by perverting his name from *kalasha* (pinnacle) to *kalusha* (sin)! The vulgar in Maharashtra easily swallowed the tale (Chit. ii. 7) that this minister, by performing many hideous *tantrik* rites and occult practices on the pretence of increasing Shambhuji’s health wealth and dominion through supernatural agency, really destroyed the young Rajah’s intelligence and will-power and made him the helpless slave of his magic.* The foreign favourite's wife is supposed to have seconded his wicked efforts by her marvellous cunning.

§ 9. Akbar's relations with Shambhuji.

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In his obscure village refuge Prince Akbar kept up the pageant of an Emperor as far as his reduced means allowed. He held public Court (darbar-i-am) without subjects, maintained a Chancellor of the Exchequer (diwan) without any revenue, and wrote letters in the imperial style dated in the years of his reign! Mercenary horsemen were constantly joining him, and by the month of August he had collected about 2,000 cavalry in his pay.

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∗ Kavi kalash could not have been the minister of Shambhuji's pleasure as Orme (following Manucci) calls him because Shambhu had already learnt to outrage women in his father's lifetime, and wine-drinking and meat-eating are customary among the Maratha caste to which the Rajah belonged Nor can the failure of Shambhuji's reign, compared with the glorious success of Shivaji's be attributed to this minister, because Moro Pant himself had been unable to induce his young master to achieve anything great It is not contended that Kavi kalash filled the administration with his own men as the other seven pradhans and all the lower officers were men of Maharashtra It is therefore, historically untrue to make Kavi kalash the scapegoat for Shambhu's sins (His unpopularity with the Maratha ministers of the time (and, therefore, with the Maratha historians ever after) was due solely to the fact that he gained the royal favour and they could not) Could he have possibly reformed a character on which Ramdas's teaching produced no effect? Odium theologicum intensified the political hatred felt by the Maratha Brahmans for Kavi kalash, they were vegetarians and Vaishnavas or Shaivas by creed, but he was a Shakta and Tantric worshipper, whose beliefs and rites were abominated by them The mutual jealousy between the priests of these two creeds and their sordid rivalry for the royal patronage are luridly illustrated in the Shiva-abisheka-Kalpataru

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But the rapid increase of Akbar's forces and the assembling of thousands of foreign troopers round him alarmed Shambhuji. At the end of July the Maratha Rajah warned his guest, "If you wish to raise an army, go away to some other kingdom. But if you wish to live in my realm, you must remain in the same condition that you came in." He forbade any more men to join Akbar, but fixed a daily subsistence allowance of 60 hun (Rs. 300) on the prince. [Akh., 16 Aug. 1681.]

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Akbar's frank and friendly attitude during Annaji's conspiracy convinced Shambhuji of his royal guest's sincerity. He now promised to Akbar the co-operation of a strong Maratha army in conquering Mughal Deccan, set about equipping his troops for the proposed war, and finally, after he had gained peace of mind by extinguishing the conspiracy in blood, paid his first visit to Akbar in order personally to cement the alliance and settle the plan of the joint campaign. "On 13th November, 1681, Shambhuji interviewed Prince Akbar at Padishahpur (=Pali), taking the entire army and retinue with him. Durgadas was with Akbar. Great honour was shown to him." [Jedhe S.]

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But nothing came of this long-cherished plan of invading the Mughal empire. Indeed, before the year 1681 closed, Akbar's sole chance of success was gone. The crisis of the Rajput war had ended in June, when the Maharana made a definite peace with the Emperor. The Mughal forces were now free to hunt Akbar down. On 31st July Prince Azam was sent off from Ajmir to the Deccan with a vast force, reaching Burhanpur in September and Aurangabad on 11th November. On 8th September the Emperor himself started from Rajputana for the South and took up his residence at Burhanpur on 13th November. Thus, by the middle of November all the military resources of the empire were concentrated in the Deccan under the Emperor himself, three of his sons and all his best generals, while a strong force under his grandson and the prime minister occupied Rajputana, across the road to Delhi. Aurangizib himself took post at the strategic centre Aurangabad (on 22nd March 1682), while he "secured all the frontiers with strong garrisons,...... the better to keep watch on the doings of Shambhuji Rajah and to give Akbar no opportunity of undertaking any notable enterprise." (Dutch letter from Surat, 31st Jan. 1682, D.R. Vol. 37.) At first he contented himself with following a watchful policy, waiting for Akbar and Shambhuji to show their hands, before choosing his own line of attack.

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§ 10. Aurangzib's strategic dispositions, 1682.

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In addition to meeting internal troubles, Shambhuji was busy during the winter of 1681-82 in attending to his navy and his maritime possessions, and spent the whole month of January 1682 in making a furious attack on Janjira under his own eyes. This was Aurangzib's opportunity. Hasan Ali Khan, who had distinguished himself in the Jat and Rajput wars and risen to high favour, was ordered (on 7th November 1681) to descend from Junnar into North Konkan at the head of 14,000 horse. The Maratha attempt to oppose him when coming down the Nanaghat pass was defeated, and he took possession of Kalian (about 30 Jan. 1682) burning all the Maratha villages on the way and also, by mistake, some nine villages in Portuguese territory. At Kalian he encamped and sent an agent to Bombay to buy some gunpowder and other munitions from the English. Many battles were fought with the Marathas in which the imperialists (especially the Bundela contingent under Dalpat Rao) distinguished themselves. (Dil. 172; Bomb. to Co. 4 Feb. in F.R. Surat 108; Surat to Bomb. 24 Feb. 1682, in Vol. 90.) In May next Hasan Ali withdrew from the province, in order to save his horses from the effect of the heavy rainfall of the west coast.

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Early in 1682 Khan-i-Jahan was ordered to make Bahadurgarh his base, and leaving his baggge there to hasten wherever he heard of Maratha bands roving. In the course of one of these expeditions he sacked Shivapur, a town midway between Puna and Shirwal. (Dil. 173; M.A. 216.)

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The news of Hasan Ali's victories recalled Shambhuji, to his great mortification, from the unfinished siege of Janjira. Leaving 10,000 men there to keep up the attack, he returned to Raigarh (Feb.) and made defensive arrangements. Five thousand men were posted to guard the fords near the mouth of the Pen river and arrest the southward advance of the Mughals, while the low country from Chaul to Nagothna was defended by 15,000 men. East of the Ghats 20,000 horse were distributed between Satara and Phonda to face the southern division of the Mughal grand army. (Orme, 110.)

§ 11. Mughal siege of Ramsej fails.

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Soon after this Aurangzib arrived at Aurangabad (22nd March 1682) and sent off Azam Shah and Dilir Khan to Ahmadnagar in the south, while Shihab-ud-din Khan with Dalpat Rao was sent to Nasik on the western frontier. The latter general took some small forts in this region and then (in April) laid siege to* Ramsej, 7 miles north of Nasik, and standing 3273 feet above sea-level. But it was defended by a gallant Maratha garrison under an expert qiladar, and the Mughals could make no impression on it. If we may believe Khafi Khan who was present at the siege, the fort had no iron cannon, but the garrison hollowed out trunks of trees and fired leather missiles from them "which did the work of ten pieces of artillery."

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∗ The gossipy Khafi Khan tells us (ii 282) that as Shah Jahan

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Siege trenches were dug and mines run, but with no success. At last Shihab-ud-din decided to raise on a hillock near the fort a wooden tower large enough to hold 500 musketeers. With incredible labour and cost it was built up storey by storey till it overtopped the fort-tower opposite. (Dil. 176.)

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In May, hearing that Rupaji Bhonslé, and Manaji Moré were coming with a relieving army, the Khan advanced and checked them near Ganeshgaon (11 miles west of Nasik), though he lost 500 horses in the battle. [Jedhe S.]

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Learning that the siege was protracted and a large Maratha force was coming to raise it, the Emperor sent Khan-i-Jahan to reinforce the besiegers. But even he could achieve no better success, though he tried feints and even magic. (K. K. ii. 282-'83.)

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had very easily captured this fort and its fall had been a happy omen of the speedy fall of all other forts in the neighbourhood in 1636, Aurangzib ordered Ramsej to be besieged first out of superstition.

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The Emperor was displeased, and about the end of May he sent a *sazawwal* (bailiff) to the siege-camp to compel his generals to deliver an assault. (*M.A.* 219). One night Khan-i-Jahan tried a secret escalade on one face, while he made a noisy false attack with all his fire-arms on the opposite face of the fort. But the defence had seen through his trick and sat in grim and silent preparation at both points. The Mughals in trying to climb the hillside were assailed by a shower of stones, burning grass roofs, and old quilts steeped in naphtha and set on fire. The few who had mounted the ladders were brained. At last the Khan retired with heavy loss. A second attack, delivered by Shihab-ud-din, fared no better, his second in command, Dalpat Rao, being wounded with a stone. (*K. K.* ii. 283, *Dil.* 177.)

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The Mughals gained two minor successes. On 20th May, a foraging party under Sharif Khan was attacked by the Marathas near Aurangabad, but returned after inflicting a heavy loss on them. (*M.A.* 218). Hambir Rao arrived with 18,000 infantry to raise the siege of Ramsej, but he was put to flight with the loss of 2,000 men. (Karwar Occurrences, 30th July 1682, in *F.R. Surat* 108.)

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§ 12. Aurangzib's vigorous efforts.

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Aurangzib's spirit was now up. He decided on extensive operations against the Marathas. As the English at Karwar write, "He is so inveterate against the Rajah that he hath thrown off his pagri and sworn never to put it on again, till he hath either killed, taken, or routed him out of his country." (30th July 1682.) The Bijapur Sultan was offered a large subsidy if he would co-operate with his forces by invading the Maratha kingdom from the south, i.e., from Miraj. But a real concert with Bijapur was impossible. Shambhuji was popularly reported to have sent an ambassador to Adil Shah desiring to be taken under his protection. The latter demanded the restoration of Panhala, a price which Shambhuji was unwilling to pay. (Ibid.)

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Assistance from Bijapur being a vain hope, Aurangzib turned to his own resources. From his centre at Aurangabad he sent Ruhullah Khan (23rd May) and later Muizz-ud-din (28th Sep.) to defend the Ahmadnagar district, while Prince Azam was sent towards Bijapur (14th June) to overawe that State and prevent it from aiding or sheltering Maratha bands. From Nasik Shihab-ud-din Khan was transferred to Junnar (June), while Ranmast Khan, the able lieutenant of Khan-i-Jahan, was promoted to the command of an independent army corps (Sep.) and ordered to invade Konkan. In July-August excessively heavy rainfall for a month together suspended active operations for a time.

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Khan-i-Jahan continued the siege of Ramsej for some months more, delivered another assault which failed, and then gave up the siege after burning down the wooden tower built with so much labour and cost. The exultant Marathas crowded the walls, beating their drums for joy and taunting the retreating Mughals in the foulest language, (October 1682.)*

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As commanded by the Emperor, Khan-i-Jahan guarded the Mahajat pass while Ranmast Khan crossed it and entered Konkan and occupied Kalian, late in Nov. 1682. Rupaji Bhonslé and the Peshwa opposed him to no effect, though they fought many battles with heavy slaughter. In the meantime a Maratha band had appeared near Nasik, and Khan-i-Jahan had to hasten there and chase them back. In the course of this pursuit he approached

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[^ *]: Khafi Khan adds that a third general, Qasim Khan Kirmani was sent there to retrieve the imperial prestige but he too failed to capture Ramsej. Subsequently, after Shambhuji had rewarded the brave qiladar and transferred him to a higher post, the Mughals bribed his successor and gained the fort (ii 284). [^ †]: The Mahaje pass is 23 m. n. w. of Nasik and 9 m. n. e. of Peint. Three miles south of it is the much better Sawal pass which joins Peint and Dindori. I do not understand why the Mughals should have chosen this route unless it was to sack Peint. They could have avoided the march through the hilly country from Peint to Kalian if they had descended into Konkan by some pass further south such as the Tal ghat. Was it to guard the northern road from Raigarh to Surat and intercept Akbar who was talking of making a dash on Surat?

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Aurangabad (20th Jan. 1683), but the Emperor sternly refused him audience and ordered him to join Prince Muizz-ud-din who was marching eastwards from the Ahmadnagar district to Nander and Bidar on the heels of a Maratha force rumoured to be commanded by Akbar in person. (M.A. 224; Dil. 178.)

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The Khan united with the Prince's force at Ramdoo, on the Godavari, 25 miles s. of Aurangabad, and pushed on eastwards to Nander. Thence the division went to Bidar, 86 m. due south. But learning that the imperial elephants out grazing near Pathri (57 m. w. of Nander) were being carried off by the Marathas, Khan-i-Jahan hastened back from Bidar, sent his baggage back to Nander from Lasona (20 m. w. of that city), and by forced marches overtook the raiders and rescued the elephants after a long running fight, which carried him to the frontiers of Chanda and Golkonda. Then he encamped at Kamtan, 6 m. s. w. of Bidar. (It was a highly creditable feat.) During this campaign the troops had to bear great hardship; even the general had no tent; only the coarsest food could be procured, and at every stage many of the men straggled behind. (Dil. 178—180.)

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Ranmast Khan's army held Kalian for some months and was victualled by the Mughal fleet from Surat, (Dec. 1682.) Later (March 1683) Ruhullah Khan came with a division from the Court and reinforced him. (M.A. 227; O.C. 4889.)

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Hasan Ali Khan, who seems to have been posted at Bahadurgarh, moved in the Parenda district in pursuit of the enemy. Early in 1683 he had a fight with them at Phaltan and was wounded.*

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At the end of December 1682, Prince Azam had a severe encounter with the Marathas. On 14th June he had been ordered to march out of Ahmadnagar and invade Adil-Shahi territory. In the course of this campaign he took Dharur. Then he entered Shambhuji's territory and leaving his wife Jahanzeb Banu (popularly called Jani Begam) behind in his camp, with Rao Anurudh Singh Hada and his Rajputs to guard her, he advanced with his army further into the enemy's country. The Marathas, sending off one division to keep Azam engaged, suddenly threatened the Begam's camp in overwhelming force. (The heroic daughter of Dara Shukoh mounted her covered litter on an elephant, and advanced two miles from her camp to oppose the enemy on the way.) Although Anurudh and other officers, as well as her eunuchs, tried to dissuade her from leaving the shelter of the camp, she did not agree, but urged them to advance, saying, "The situation is critical. Leave off talking and turn to the work."

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∗ Dil 174 BS 528 The year and place (Bhib-án) of the battle are given by Basatin The place may also be Bhalavna, the Litho ed reads 'Almán (? Almala)

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Calling Anurudh Singh near her elephant she spoke to him in her own voice, "The honour of the Chaghtais is to the Rajputs the same as their own honour.* I call you my son." Giving them some spears with her own hand, she told them, "If God gives us victory with this small force, well. Otherwise, you may rest assured about me; I shall sit down after doing my work (i.e., committing suicide, in order to avoid capture.)" Then a great battle was fought. Nine hundred Rajputs fell on Anurudh's side, and many of the Marathas too. At last Anurudh gained the victory, though he was wounded. While the fight was raging, Jani Begam continued to send her eunuchs to present packets of betel leaf to every one of the Rajput captains individually in order to cheer them.

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After the battle she called the wounded Anurudh Singh to her side and comforted him, gave him her own necklace of pearls worth Rs. 40,000 (a recent gift from Aurangzib), and placed it round his neck with her own hands. Then, playing the music of victory, she returned to her camp.

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Azam, on his return from his expedition, was greatly pleased with his wife's heroism and the devoted valour of the Rajputs. [*Akhbarat.*] Then after some time spent on the bank of the Nira, he was recalled to Court in June 1683.

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∗ Sharm-i-Chaghtaia ba-Rajputia ek ast.

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§ 13. Failure of Mughal efforts: Emperor's distraction and suspicions.

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In March 1683, all the Mughal divisions operating against Akbar were recalled to the Emperor's side. Ruhullah and Ranmast Khan evacuated Kalian on 23rd March, after burning and razing to the ground the fortifications they had built round the city. The retreat was opposed by a Maratha army under Rupaji Bhonslé, who attacked the Mughal rear at Titvala (seven miles n. e. of Kalian), killing many men and carrying off a large number of horses. [*Surat to Co. 10 Apr. 1683 in F.R. Surat 91; Portuguese Records, Vol. 1, pt. 2, Trans.*] The Jedhe chronicle tells us that Rupaji captured the Rajput chief Padam Singh (son of Rao Karn), but "in the stress of the battle slew him and many other high officers." [*Dil. i. 172-3 wrongly puts the event a year earlier.*]

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The severity of the struggle by which Ruhullah had to extricate himself from that broken wooded region and make his way over the Ghats back to the Deccan plateau, is thus vividly described in a news-letter from the imperial Court: "After Ruhullah had descended into Konkan on the seacoast, he sighted the enemy and fired on them with rockets, one of which wounded and unhorsed the son of the enemy general, and the Marathas fled away leaving the son captive. Ruhullah had him nursed and cured, but the youth would not divulge his father’s name. The Khan declined an offer of two lakhs of Rupees made by the Marathas for his ransom.

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“Then the enemy returned with a force of 35,000 men and closed the roads and mountain passes. Ranmast Khan who was in the pass, had to stop there, unable to reach Ruhullah. Provisions were cut off from the Mughal army. Ruhullah won the Feringees over, gave them robes of honour and rewards and got some provisions by the sea in ships. Then the enemy tried to close the sea-route, too. Ruhullah’s force was 8,000 troopers on paper. To the Khan’s prayer for speedy reinforcement, the Emperor replied, ‘If he has 8,000 horse, he needs no reinforcement. He can secure an easy retreat by releasing the captive general’s son’.” [Akh.]

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Thus we see that for more than a year after his arrival in the Deccan, from November 1681 to April 1683, the Emperor accomplished nothing notable, in spite of his immense resources. In truth he was at this time passing through a domestic and mental crisis which has been entirely concealed by the Persian Court-historians. The unexpected rebellion of Akbar whom he loved most among all his sons, as he in one of his letters calls upon God to witness, had totally shaken his faith in his family, and he did not know whom to trust or where he would be safe. Hence his policy for some time after was hesitating, suspicious, watchful and seemingly capricious or self-contradictory.

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On 3rd April 1682, the Surat factors report that Aurangzib "hath with him a great army, with which he sits still and attempts nothing, being under great jealousies and fears, thinks himself hardly secure." On 31st August a false rumour is reported from Khandesh, "All the news that we have heard since our last is that Sultan Azam is revolted and sides with the Deccanis" [i.e., Bijapur.] Next year (10th April 1683) the Surat Council write, "All his forces that were against his son Akbar and Shambhuji Rajah he hath withdrawn, which was a sudden thing, and put several thoughts into all people." In May 1683 Aurangzib repeatedly proposed to go back to Hindustan, leaving either Khan-i-Jahan or Shah Alam or Azam in charge of the Deccan War. But they successively declined the onerous task, giving very sound reasons for doing so. Shah Alam replied that if Amir Khan, the able and successful subahdar of Kabul, was given to him as his second in command he could accept the viceroyalty of the Deccan, otherwise not. Amir Khan asked to be allowed to hold his Kabul viceroyalty by deputy while serving in the Deccan! [Jaipur records.]

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Again, on 19th June, it is reported in a Surat letter, "The Mughal is grown very crazy and his mind continually alters; his umaras generally much dissatisfied in him and if his days be not shortened, he will in all likelihood not live much longer. Sultan Akbar hath the good will of most." Still later (2nd Oct.) it is the same tale: "How the king's mind may alter we cannot tell. It is continually wavering and he is extraordinarily peevish and uneasy because of Sultan Akbar. Sultan Azam, Begam [i.e., Jahanzeb Banu] and Dilir Khan degraded for even nothing but only suspected, without any grounds, of being kind to Akbar, that all persons of quality stand on ticklish terms, are mighty careful." (F.R. Surat, 91.)

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Two years afterwards there were similar rumours again. On 18th July 1685, the Surat factors write, "We have frequent alarms here of all the Rajputs being in arms to assist Sultan Akbar &c., backed by many of the umaras dissatisfied to the king, who is very old, and in all appearance there will be great troubles on his decease." (F.R. Surat, 92.)

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So much we learn from the camp gossip recorded by the English merchants and more briefly by Manucci too. (Storia, ii. 259). The private memoir-writers in Persian tell us a little more. Bhimsen narrates, 'The Emperor felt a suspicion against Prince Azam who had been sent to Ahmadnagar, and he summoned the Prince and Dilir Khan to his presence.' They delayed coming, but with great insistence he made them come. Dilir fell under the Emperor's punishment.' (160.) Ishwardas (67) is more detailed. He tells us that the Prince paid a midnight visit to the tent of Dilir Khan, his chief officer, and spent four hours in private talk with him. Spies reported the incident to the Emperor, whose suspicion was roused, so that he removed the Prince from the command of the expedition and recalled all his officers to Court. The Prince in anger resigned all his posts, disbanded his army, and shut himself up in his house, refusing to see anybody. Then the Emperor visited him and pacified his mind with soothing words.' Dilir Khan The Emperor's anger against Shah Alam was said to have been due to that Prince's very great kindness towards Akbar and unwillingness to follow the ruthless policy of slaying him in battle or, worse still, bringing him in alive to undergo his incensed father's vengeance.

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