History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c77.s5.4

v5.c77.s5.4

When the flood first struck the camp, a little before midnight, and the tents began to fill with water, men tried to run to safety, but could see no path of escape in the darkness, only waves on all sides. A loud cry arose throughout the army. The Emperor was in his privy when this universal outcry reached his ears. Imagining that the Marathas had burst into the camp, he rose in alarm, but stumbled and dislocated his right knee. The doctors failed to set it properly, and he remained a little lame for the rest of his life.* The Court flatterers used to console him by saying that it was the heritage of his ancestor Timur the Lame and a token that he would repeat the victories and success of that world-conqueror! [K. K. 476, *Storia* iii. 255, *Dil.* ii. 134a.]