Shivaji and His Times c8.s21: § 15. Shivaji negotiates for submission
Shivaji and His Times c8.s21
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§ 15. Shivaji negotiates for submission
c8.s21.1
But at last the steady pressure of Jai Singh bore fruit. Purandar was closely invested, the garrison had been thinned by two months of fighting, and now the capture of five bastions of the lower fort made the stronghold untenable. Its fall was only a question of time. Shiva found it futile to prolong the resistance. The families of the Maratha officers were sheltered in Purandar, and its capture would mean their captivity and dishonour. He had also failed to prevent the Mughal flying columns from ravaging his country. Defeat and ruin stared him in the face wherever he looked.
c8.s21.2
With his usual foresight, he had for some time past been sending envoys to Jai Singh to beg for terms, but the astute Rajput did not take him seriously.* Then, as the Mughal success became more and more evident, Shiva began to rise in his offer of tribute and forts as the price of peace; but his terms were not proportionate to the military advantage gained by Jai Singh, and were therefore uniformly rejected.
c8.s21.3
The Mughal victory of 2nd June, and the impending fall of the lower fort decided Shivaji. He resolved to interview Jai Singh and offer fresh terms for peace with the imperialists, and if these were rejected he would make an alliance with Adil Shah by restoring Konkan and continue the war against the Mughals with renewed vigour. He had about 20th May sent his Chief Justice Raghunath Ballal (Pandit Rao) on a secret mission to learn Jai Singh’s terms, which were that Shiva must come in person and make an unconditional surrender, after which imperial mercy would be shown to him.†
c8.s21.4
Shivaji next demanded and secured from Jai Singh an assurance, confirmed with solemn oaths, that he would be allowed to visit Jai Singh and return home in safety, whether his terms were accepted or not. This visit was to be made in strict secrecy, as ‘‘the Emperor had forbidden Jai Singh to hold any negotiations whatever with Shiva.’’
c8.s21.5
[^ *]: ‘‘After the arrival of the imperial army near Pabal, Shiva's agents began to visit me, and by the time of my arrival at Puna they had brought two letters from him. But I gave no answer and sent them back in disappointment......Then he sent a long Hindi letter with a trusted servant named Karmaji, who repeatedly entreated me to read the contents only once. In it Shiva offered to be loyal and to help us in a war with Bijapur as more likely to succeed than a war in his hilly and intricate country......In reply I asked him....to enter the Emperor's service if he desired his life and safety.’’ (Ben. MS. 54a.) [^ †]: Shiva's next move was to send the Pandit Rao back with an offer to send his son to make the submission. Jai Singh declined. (Ben. MS. 55a.)