History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c80.s4.3

v5.c80.s4.3

At first he had courageously struggled with disease, and had through sheer strength of mind continued for some days to transact business as usual and even to peep out of his bed-room window to reassure the public that he was alive. Though he could not hold public Court, "he received petitions from all who had business with him; and wrote answers and orders on them with his own hand with great firmness." [M.A. 508.] But the strain of this work only increased his malady, till he was seized with great pain, which at times made him senseless. Then the terror and agitation of the camp reached the extreme, and the wildest rumours spread about his death, wars among his sons, and usurpation of power by his generals ambitious of creating independent principalities for themselves.