History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c64.s1.1

v4.c64.s1.1

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 Not only was the strong hand that had so long held the State together suddenly withdrawn, but the future also looked very uncertain.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.