History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c65.s6.1

v4.c65.s6.1

Nor were the Bijapuris the only enemy that Azam had to face. A famine broke out in his camp; the oft-ravaged neighbourhood of Bijapur could yield no food supply, the roads from the north were closed by the activity of the Marathas and the flooded streams, as the rainy season had now set in. "Grain sold at Rs. 15 a seer, and that too in small quantities." (Dil. 198.) The hungry soldiers ate up their draught cattle and camels, and then began to pine away through lack of food and sleep, because they had to be ever on the alert to repel the daily sorties of the garrison and the attacks of the Bijapuri field army roving in the open. "No food came from any side. The soldiers were greatly weakened and many of them died." (B.S. 536; M.A. 263).