History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c65.s7: § 8. Mughals at Bijapur reinforced.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v4.c65.s7
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§ 8. Mughals at Bijapur reinforced.
v4.c65.s7.1
When this Spartan resolution of his son was reported to Aurangzib, he at once took steps to send relief. All the grain-dealers in his camp with their 5,000 pack-oxen were despatched to convey food, some treasure loaded on many hundred spare remounts, and much munition to the Prince. A strong escort under Ghazi-ud-din Khan Bahadur Firuz Jang, left the imperial camp with the party on 4th October, 1685, and fought its way to the famished army. Sharza Khan at the head of 8,000 cavalry, barred their path at Indi,* and during the encounter a detachment of Deccani horse made a swoop and carried off 500 oxen with their loads, from the centre of the Mughal host. But finally the enemy were repulsed, though with the loss of some imperial officers.
v4.c65.s7.2
The arrival of Firuz Jang "turned scarcity into plenty in the Mughal camp, and the famished soldiers revived." His next success was the cutting off of a force of 6,000 Berad infantry, each man carrying a bag of provisions on his head, which Pam Nayak tried to smuggle into the fort at night. Firuz Jang, informed of the position of these men by his spies, "fell on them before daybreak and not one of them escaped the Mughal sword." The outpost of Indi was re-established in the middle of October and communication between Bijapur and Sholapur was again made secure. (M.A. 265-'6).
v4.c65.s7.3
∗ K. K. ii. 317 gives a graphic account of this battle; Ishwardas 97b, Dil. 199 says that it was fought at Nagthan. M.A. 265.
v4.c65.s7.4
The outlook now brightened for the imperialists in other quarters too. Early in October, Haidarabad, the capital of Qutb Shah, was entered by Shah Alam unopposed, its ruler having shut himself up in Golkonda. Many of his officers deserted to Shah Alam, and the king wrote to Aurangzib offering submission. The Mughal control over the Qutb-Shahi State was confirmed in March, 1686, when the prime minister Madanna Pandit—who had pursued a policy of alliance with Bijapur and the Marathas,—was murdered. On 7th June Shah Alam rejoined his father, bringing tribute from Golkonda.