History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c64.s13.2

v4.c64.s13.2

Akbar's one thought was, how to gain the throne of Delhi. He valued Shambhuji only as an instrument of this design,—to lend him money and men, escort him to Rajputana, and thus enable him to join the Rathors and Sisodias, invade Upper India, rally all malcontents against Aurangzib's rule, overpower the imperial forces, and enter the Mughal capital in triumph, as his own father had done in 1658. Every day that he spent in Maharashtra was a day more of hope deferred. It was also a day more of unwonted suffering to him. A pampered youth of only 25, the favourite son of the greatest monarch in Asia; he was now living in a thatched cottage whose straw-plaited walls were barely concealed by cloth hangings and mud floor by coarse carpets. Accustomed to the richest dishes of a luxurious race, he had to be content with such poor fare as the Konkan villages yielded to a people of primitive simplicity. His wives and children were captives in Aurangzib's forts or exiles in the impenetrable nooks of Marwar. His present neighbours were people worshipping strange gods, speaking a strange language, wearing a strange dress, and leading a strange mode of life. There was no polished society, populous city, or customary instrument of pleasure within his reach. He felt like being a prisoner in a desert, in addition to being a disappointed claimant. Only by leaving Maharashtra could he get back to civilization.