Shivaji and His Times c8.s2.2

c8.s2.2

But there was one determined enemy of Shivaji in the Bijapuri army. Fazl Khan, the son of Afzal, and his chief retainer Siddi Halal, pressed the siege in earnest. A huge fort like Panhala could not, however, be taken by 15,000 men, even if all of them put their heart in the work. Shivaji had made some sorties and broken up the siege-trenches with heavy slaughter, forcing the Bijapuris to remove their camp to a safe distance from the fort. In these night-attacks Kartoji Gujar distinguished himself and won the title of *Pratap Rao* and the rank of a general (*sar-i-naubat.*) The Bijapuri army was terrified, and Fazl Khan henceforth avoided confronting Shivaji himself and transferred his operations against the neighbouring fort of Pavangarh. Seizing a hillock near it, he mounted guns and began to throw shells into the fort. The Maratha commandant of Pavangarh found his position untenable and pressed Shivaji for relief.