AURA

.1618-1707

SIR JADUNATH SAQKAR, Kr., C. I. E. 9

Honora1y !Ylornocr, Royal Jlsintlc Society of Great Bllfalq.

(Abridged from f he far get work in five vofumes,

1vith Map, Chronology and Index)

P~?'iii~.~~~
L DllRGA 8~i1 THUUH
~iftJnJC!rAL ~ll~UC US';,
'1'~1!1""T '! ,'1J(

CALCUTTA
M. C. SARKAR&~~ns
1930

Rs. 5.
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Printed by: S. K. Dll.S

PRABASI PRESS
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 CONTE NTS
CHAPTER 1. EARLY LIFI:, 1618-1652 1
Cu. 2. Sr:cOND VICE!l~YALTY OF THE DECCAN,
1652-1658 25
'
Cu. 3. ILLNESS oF S!iAH JAHAN AND REBELLION
~.

OF III5 SONS 44
i"' Cu. 4. v'\V'AR OF SucCESSION; AuRANGZIB TRIUMPHS 58
\ 61. 5. v\V'AR OF SucCEssroN; END or DARA AND

SHUJA 76
Cn. 6. Prnsr HALF OF THE REIGN: A GENERAL SKETCH 100
Ct1. 7. WARS ON TlIE FRONTIERS : ASSAM AND
AFGHANISTAN
CH. 8, VA:URANGZIB'S RELIGIOUS POLICY AND HINDU
REACTION TO IT 148 '
Cn, 9. WAR IN RAJPUTANA i REBELLION or AKBAR 169
Cu. 10.../RisE or nm MARATHA POWER 184
Cn. 11.'--s'mvAJI, 1670~1680 218
Cl!. rn. . ,...,,DECLINE AND FALL or BIJAPUR 241
Cu. 13,_ DECLINE AND PALL or THE QuTB SnAHs 268
CJ:!, 14. REIGN OF SHAMBtlUJI, 1680-1689 286
Cu. 15. STRUGGLE w11n THE MAt>ATl!As uP 10 1700 314
Cn. 16. Tue LAsr PHASE op Aut>ANGZ!B's CAREER 354
Cu. 17. AFFAIRS OF NoRTHERN INDIA ;391
Cu. 18. SoME Pl<OVJNCEs DURING l\URANGZ!B's REIGN 419
vc$1. 19. AuRA1:mzm's CHARACTER AND THE fFPEct
OP His REIGN 441
v'Ctt. QO. Tim EMPIRE o:r AURANGZl!I, ITS RESOURCES, TRADE
AND ADMINlSTRATl\7E SYSTEM 47S
CHRONOLOGY , , 487
INDEX 497
MAP At 'fHE E:r.m.
 A SHORT HISTORY OF
AURANGZIB
BOOK!.
CHAPTER I.

EARLY LIPE, 1618-1652.

L Significance of fiis reign.

The history of Auran~::ib is practically the history of India
for sixtv yea1s. His own rei~n (1658--1707) cove1s the second
half of the se\7enteenth century and stands forth as a most
important epoch in the annals of our country. Under him the
Mughal empire reached its greutest extent, at;d the lar~est
single Stute e\7er lmown in India from the dawn of history to
the rise of the British power was formed. Prom Ghazni to
Chatqaon, from Kashmir to the Karnatak, the continent of lndia
obeyed one sceptre. Isln.m made its last onward movement
ln India in this rei15n. The empire thus formed, while ttn~
rreccdcnted in si;:;t\ was also one political unit. Its provinces
wen~ ~ovemcd not by the mediation t)f sub-l~ings, but directly
by servants of lhe Crown. !Ierein Aman~;olb's Indian empire
was va$ler than that of Ac;oka, or Samudra-.gupta or Harsha
\7arc1hat;~\
But the rehJn lhat saw the formation of the !6te~1test In<li.:m
empire of pre"British days, witnessed also unmtstul<ablc sii;;ns
of Its commcncin~ decline and disruption. Long bef Ne Nadir
Shah the Persian or Ahmad Shah the At~han pro\7ed the
dudlshab to be c111 impotent shadow of ra'lalty and Delhi fue
 Sf!DR.T lllSTOR'i" OF AURANOZrn [err. f

mere memory of past greatness, long before the Maratha con-

federaq hid beneatb its super-imposed sway the re!5ular
monarchy of the \and,-e\7en before Auran15:eib closed his eyes
the Mughal empire had turned banl~rupt in finance am! presfoJe,
the administrdtion had brol<en down, the imperi.:tl power had
confessed its failure to maintain order and hold this vast
realm together.
The reiqn of Aurang:ib is also marked by the upspringin!5
of the Maratha nationality out of the ashes of their short-lived
kingship, and by the appearance of the Sihh sect in the role
,of warriors and armed opponents of the rulin!;l" power. Thus
the supreme factors of Indian histor? in the 18th and early
19th centuries owe their origin to Auran!Jzib's rei~n and policy.
In the Yenz reign in which the Mui?,hal crescent rounded to
folness and then began to wane visibly, the first glow of a
new dawn was distinct!'? seen in our political sl<y. The future
lords of our country's destiny gained a firm and safe footing
on its soil. Madras and Bombay became presidencies of the
En~lish East India Company in 1653 and 1687 respectively;
Calcutta was founded in 1690. The places of shelter thus
gained by the Europeans soon formed a dominion within a
dominion.
The end of the seventeenth century reveals the Mughal empire
as rotten at the cme. The treasu1y was empty. The imperial
army knew itself beaten and recoiled from its foes. The
centrifugal forces were assertinq themselves successfully, and
the empire was ready for disruption. The moral wealmcss of
the empire was even greate1 than the material : the Govern-
ment no longer commanded the awe of its subjects ; the pubHc
servants had lost honesty and efficiency ; ministers and princes
alil;te !ached statesmanship and ability ; the army bwlie clown
as an instrument of force.
Why was it so ? The ruler was free from vice, stupidity, and
sloth. His intellectual Reenness was proverbial, and at the same
 ll!S TRAOIC FA!LllfW 3

ti me he tooR to the business of 15overnin!J with all the ardour

which men usually display in the pursuit of p!eusure. Jn
industry and attention to public affairs he could not be
surpassed by any clerb. I-Iis patience anJ perseverunce were us
remarl?able as his love of discipline and order. In prilTate
life he was simple and abstemious like a hermit. He faced the
prh,.ations of a campaign or a forced march as uncomplainingly
as the most seasoned private. No terror could daunt his head,
no weakness or pity melt it. Of the wisdom of the ancients
which can be (Jathered from ethical books, he was a master.
He had, besides, under~one a long and successful probation in
war and diplomacy in his father's reign.
And yet the result of fifty years' rule by such a sovereign
was failure a11d chaos ! This political pal'adox mal~es his teign
an object of supreme interest to the student of political
philosophy no less than to the student of Indian bistoty.

2. T!ie ttag.edy of Aur:ang.~ib's life, no11T det7eloped

irhe life of Aurangzib was one lon!if tragedy,~a story or-,
man battling in vain against an invisible but inexorable Pate, a
tale of how the strongest human endeavour was baffled by the ,
forces of the age. A strenuous reign of fifty years ends in
colossal failure. And yet this Ring was one of the (Jreatest ,
rulers of Asia in intelliSJence, character, <1nd enterprise. This~
lriHJedy in histo1y was developed \11lth all the regularity of a
perfect drama.
The first forty years of his life were spent in steady and
arduous self-training and preparation for the supreme office in
the realm (Book I), This seed~time was followed by a year of
sharp contest fo1 the throne (Book II), which put all his powers;
to the tesl and i-ewarded his enerSi)y, coura~e and saqacitr with 1J
the ~olden crown of Delhi. Then came twenty-three years o!J
peaceful and prosperous reign and settled residence in the !i)'f:'eat
capitals of Northet'n India (Book III). With ev-ery enem'l
 SIIOR'l li!STORY OF AUR \NG71FI [cu. I

removed from his path, the whole empire of India obeying his
command, and wealth and culture increasing from the peace
a.lll order that his firm and \7i!i!ilant rule had ensured to the
country,-Auran!5:;;lb seemed now to ha\7e attained to the
summit ot human happiness and !5lory. This was the third Ad
of his life, crnd <1ftcr it beJ5an his decline. A pitiles Nemesis,
like that of the Greeh tra!5edy, raised against him an enemy in
the \-ery bosom of his family The rebel son of Shah )ahan
cannot 1011~ enjoy his triumph because he is confronted by the
rebellion ot his own son Muhammad Al~bar (1681).
, The fliqht of the deteated rebel to the Maratha l~in~ drew
Auran15zib to Southern India, where he was destined lo spend
the last 26 years of his life in tents and weal' oul lhe empire's
re1Jenue, army, and or!Sani:::ed administration c1s well as his own
health in un unending and fruitless strU!J!Jle. But the irony of
Fate at first veiled from his eyes and from the eyes ot his
contemporaries the futility of his efforts and the impending tra!Jic
close of his career. In the fourth Act of bis Hfc, which is
comprehended in the tourth Book of this liistory, all seemed
to !JO well with him ;-Bijapur and Gollwnda were annexed,
the t)crad chieftain of Sa1,1ar was forced tn submit, and lhe
troublesome Maratha l<ing was brouiiihl to the bloch and his
C<lpilal and entire tamily captured (1689). In this result' nothing
seemed to be wantin!J to complete the triumph of Aurarn;izib.
Hut a few thou'5htfttl observers could already discern ominous
sii;ins of the coming doom, peeping out here and. there, while
others were still blinded <15 to the future by the brillianc1 of
ihe empire. The seeds that had been sown in the third stage
of his life, unnoiiced and in i1Snorance of their fruits, be\San to
sprout up in the foudh and he had to \Sather theii baneful
h.1rvcst in the fifth and closin!il period of his life.
Therefore, ~be tra!ij"edy of J..\ur~rn!.3zib is concentrated in the
last eighteen years of his life (1689-1707), which foem the theme
of Baril~ V. Slowly but with increasing dearness does the
 OR[G[N.\L f!ISTORIC.\L sour~CES 5

tragic plot unfold itself, till Aurang;:;ib reali:::es the true nature of
the forces arruyed as;rainst him and the real trend of affairs.
But he does not abandon the stru~i;de; even when the hopeless-
ness of the contest forces itself on him and his Court, hi~
endeuvour is as strenuous as before. !-le tries new remedies ;
he changes his t.:lctics with changes i11 the political situation and
in lhe distribution of the enemy forces. At first he sends out
his '5enerals, while himself occupyinq a central position for their
control and guidance. ms generals fail to achie'Je a decision ;
very well, then this old man of eighty-two must go out to
conduct the war in person for six years ( 1699-1705) ; and he
retires to Ahmadnagar only when the first summons of death
reaches him. Then, and then only does he mournfully
recoljlnir:e Abmadna~ar as destined to be bis "journey's end"
(kliatam-as-safat).

3. !Y!atedals for fiis fiistor.)-..

Happily, the materials for a study of his life are abundant
in Persian, the literary lan!,;ua~e of Mughal India. First, we
ha\1e the ofticial annals,-the Padisfiafinamafi (in th1ee sections
by three writers) and the Alamg:imamafi-which co\1er th\;
41 years lying between the accession of Shah laban and the
eleventh year of Aurangzib's reign. These worl;?s were written
b'l order, on ihe basis of the State papers preserved in the
imperial archives, sttch as official cot'l'espondence, despatches,
news-letters, treaties and revenue returns. They are dch in
dates and topo!i(raphical details of the utmost value and acGuracY;".
For the last forty years of Auran15zib's reign we ha\1e the
concise Masic-i-Alamgiti, compiled from the same class of
officlal records, but after his death.
Next come a class of private histories, like those of Masum,
Aqil Khan, a Rorobhani soldier in Bern~al (metrical), and Khafi.
Kha.n. These were written b\7 officials, but, not having been
meant for the Emperor's eyes, they supply us with many of the
6 SHORT HIS roRY OP AURANGZifl [rn. I

fads suppressed in the Courl annals, thou~h their dates and

names are sometimes inaccurate and their descriptions
meagre.
There are even two histories of Aurarn~z;ib's reign written
by Hindus in the Persian torn;iue. One is the Nusfdia-i-
Dilfwsfia by Bhimsen Burhanpuri, the business man of Aurani;l:z:ib's
general Dalpat Rao Bundela. This author was an active
troveller, with a i;(ood eye for topographical details, and i1
careful recorder of all he saw from Mathura to Malabar. Iiis
work is of special \""'alue for Deccan affairs, because he was
brou.ght up and spent nearly all his life there. The other is
the I'atufiat-f~Alamgiti of Ishwardas Nagar, who long served
ihe Shail:<h-ulwlslam and liV'ed at Patlan in Gujrat. This worh is
of great importcince for Rajput affairs.
Besi~s these ~eneral histories of the reign, we haV'c mono-
1Jraphs in Persian touching only particular episodes or personas;les
of ihe time,-such as Niamat Khan Ali's account of the sie~e of
Goll<onda. Shihab-ud-din Talish's diary of the conquest of Kuch
Bihar, Assam, and Chat~aon, the memoirs of lrada{ Khan and
of 5,);ne other sen7 ants of B.:ihadur Shah I which start from
the clo.o,iniJ year;; of Aurang:z:ib's reign. Of the two De.ccanl
kingdoms, Golkonda and Bijapur, we have separate histories,
\Vhich throw lii;iht on the dealings of the Muqhal Go\7ernment
wHh them. For Assam affoirs we have the extremely valuable
indigenous annals called Buranifs.
Most fortunately, for seV'eral portions of Aurangz;ib's reign
I have been abte to secure the very raw materials of hi!'lto_ry,-a
source of information e\1en more valuable than contemporary official
annals described abme, These are the manuscript news-letters
of the imperial Court (akfibawt-i-darbar-i-muala) Preserved at
Jaipur and in the Royal Asiatic Societ)?'s library (London) and
the LETTERS of ihe actors in tlie political drama of the 17th
century, of which nearly six thousand, includin!;! more than a
thousand from Auromi;:-ib himself, are in my possession. In
 FOREIGN Tf.IAVELLERS JN INDIA 7

them we see evf'nts as they haprened day by day, and not as

they were dressed up afterwards by writers with a purpose.
Jn them we see the actual hopes and fears, plans and opinions
of !hose who made Indian histor\'.
The European travellers, Ta\ ernier, Bernier, Careri, and
7

Manucci, who visited India in this reiqn, ha\~e left long accounts
of the country. Their worl~s are of undoubted value as
throwing lil,lht on the condition of the people, the state of
trade and industr'{, and the history of the Christian churches
in India. Moreover, the criticism of Indian manners and
institutions by foreign observers has a freshness and weight all
its own. But of the political histot"'f of India, apart from the
few events in which they tool< part or which they rersonally
witnessed, their report merely reproduced the ba;;ar rumours
and the stories current among the populace, and cannot be
set against the evidence of contemporary histories and letters
in Persian.
.A. Cfiildfiood and education.

Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurang::ib, who as1.:ended the throne

o:f Delhi as Alamf5ir I., was the sixth child of Shah Jahan and
Mumtaz Mahal. He was born at Dofiad' Jn the night of 15th
Ziqada, 1027 A.IJ. (24th October~ 1618 A.D., Old Style).
from 1622 till the end of bis father's rei~n, Shah Jahan
was under the old Emperor's disfavour and was dviven into
rebellion in self-defence. But the prince's efforts were
unsuccessful, and he had ot last to submit to his father and !;live
up his young sons, Dara and Aurangzib, a~ hosta15es. These
two reached Jaha.ngir's Court at Lahm in Jun~ 1626. Shortly
afterwards Jahanlifir died, Shah Jahan ascended the thl'one, and
the two boys were brought to him at As.;ra by Asaf Khan (26
February, 1628).
* Dohad (~2.50 N. 7J.~O E.) JS a sub-d1VJsion of the Partch Mahal district in the
Bomba): Presidenc, and the iown slands just south ol fhe Doh~d Station on th~
B. B. & C. !. R<1Uway,
s SliOl;/T HISTORY OF AUH,\NGZlB [rn. I

Thus, at the a!5e of ten he came to a settled life ; and

arrarn~ements were e\7idently now made for his re!;'.!ular educa-
tion. Mir Muhammad I-lashim of Gilan is recorded as his
teacher. Bernier spcal<s of Mulla Salih as his old teacher, but
the Persian histories do not bear this statement out.
That Aurang:::ib had a nuh.tl'al l<eenness of mind and quicl<ly
learnt what he read, we can readily believe. llis correspondence
proves that he had thoroughly mastered the Qumn <:md the
Traditional Sayings of JY!ufiammad (Hadis), and was ever
ready with apt quotations from them. He spol<c and wrote
Arabic and Persian lilze a scholar. Iiindusi.ani was his mother
tongue, the language used by the Mui;ihal Court in priv.:ite life.
He had some Rnowledge of Hindi, too, and could tall~ and
recite popular say'ini:JS in that lan'5"uage.
Aurang:;:ib wrote Arabic in a vigorous and masterly 11asfd]
hatKl. In this he used to copy the Outan. Two such
manuscripts of his transcription he presented to Mecca and
Medina, after richly binding and illuminating them. "His
nastaliq and sliikasta styles of writing were also excellent,"
says Saqi Mustad Khan, ahd this we can readily believe, for
Aurarn;p:ib was the author of a vast number of letters, and
made it a point to write orders across all petitions in his own
hand. He did not like to hear useless poetry, still less lauda-
fm.. verses. But he made an exception in favour of poems
containing good counsels. "His favourite study was theolo!Jical
worl<s,-Commentaries on the Qw:an, the Traditions of
Muhammad, Canon Law, the works of Imam Muhammad Ghazzali,
selections from the letters of Shail<h Sharf Yahia of Munir, and
SbaiRh Zain-ud-din Qutb Muhl Shirazi, and other works of
that class."
Painting he never appreciated. Music he banished from
his Court, in the outburst of devotion which mar!~ed the
completion of the tenth year of his reign. Fine china-ware
he liked. But he had none of his father's passion for
1633) AURANG7.Ill 1'!0liTS ELEPtL\NT 9

building. No masterpiece of architecture, no superb or

exquisite mosque,' hc:ttl, or tomb marl.is bis reign. All thc:tt he
built were commonplace necessary things, such as the mosques
~y}lich marl<ed the scenes of his victories, and the numberless
samis which he built along the imperial hi1;d1wc:tys runnin15 to the
south and the wesl.

5. FigJits an e/epfiant.
' i
One incident of his boyhood made bis fame ring through-
out India. On 28th May, 1633, Shah Jahan set two hu~e
elephants, Sudhal<ar and Surat-sundar by hame, to fight a
combat on the level ban!~ of the Jamuna at Agra. They ran for
some distance and then grappled together just below the balcony
of the morning salute in the fort. The Emperor hastened there
to see the fight, his eldest three sons riding a few paces before
him. Aurang;:ib, intent on seeing the fight, edged his way very-
closc to 'the elephdnb.
The brutes after a while let go their grip and each stepped
badi u. little. Sudhafaar's spirit was fully roused. LosillJil' siqht
of his opponent be turned and chu.rged Aurangzlb who was
standing by. The prince, then only fourteen years old, calm!?
stood his Jil'raun<l, Rept his horse from turning bacli, and fiun!tJ'
his spear at the elephant's head. All was now confusion and alarm.
The nobles and the serxrants ran about shoutlng, fireworl<s were
let off to scare -away tbe elephant, but all to no effect. The
animal came on and felled Aurangzib's hotse with a sweep
of his long tusk. But the prince iumped t1P from the (Jround
drew his sword, and faced the raginiJ beast Just then his
elder brother Shuja forced his way through the crowd and

* Except one, the Pearl Mosque in the Delhi palace, which was bclfun on 10 D~c.
1659 and completed in 5 yc;;rs at a cost of one faff.Ii and si;dy thousand Rupees,
(1!.N., 468}. llis n10sque ;;t Luhor is not lhc be! one in that city, ')'he tomb 'of his
wlfe Dllras Batw at Aurangabad was his !;il'andest building.
JO SHORT HISTORY Of J\URANGZJH [cu. I

smol~e, i;Jalloped up to the elephant, and wounded lt with his

~pear. T.<a/ah ]ai Sin~h, too, came up and attacked the elephant
And now an unlooked for diversion came to the princes' aid.
The other elephant, Surat-sundar, ran up to renew the combat,
and Sudhal<ar, daunted by the spear-thrusts and fireworl<s
discharged at him, fled from the field with his rival thtmdering
at his heels. The rrinces were saved. Shah Jahan clasped
Aurnn~zib to his bosom, praised his coura!Je, and gave him the
tille of Bafiadur or 'hero.' The courtiers cried out that the
boy had inherited his father's red~less courage, and reminded
each other how Shah Jahan in his youth had atlacl<ed a wild
til;_:!er sword in hand before the eyes of Jahangir.
On this occasion Aurangr:ib gave a foretaste of his lofty
sririL When his father lovingly chid him for his rash courage,
he replied, "If the fight had c-nded fatally for me it would not
have been a matter of shame. Death drops the curtain even
on Emperors ; it is no dishonour."
On 13th December, J 634, he IJOt , bis first post In the
Muqhal peerage, with the rank of a Commander of Ten
Thousand Horse. Next September he was sent to the Bunclela
expedition in order to learn the art of war and the control of
men by aclual experience.

6. Ti5e Bunde/a W01; 1635. f

I
Bir Sin~h Dev, the Bundela Rajah of Urchha, had risen to
iJreat wealth and rower through the favour of Jahangir, at whose
bidding he had murdered Abu! Fazl. liis son Jhujhar Sirn;:h,
who succeeded him in 1627, proved refractory in Shah Jaha,n's
reign. He sei;;ed the old Gond capital of Chauragad1, slew ifs
Rajah Prem Narayan, and seized his treasure amounting {o ten
lal<hs of Rupees. The victim's son appealed lo Shah Jahan (1635,)
The Emperor sent three armies to converge upon and invade
Bundell<hand, with the help of Devi Singh, a descendant of
another branch of the Bundela royal family, to whom the throne
 I '
~iv~ I , ,,1,,,
!1~1
11
1635] BUNDELKHAND IN\71\DED Vfl/;f[ u "

, "J,1;, IV "1 It)/>

,~
was now offered. But a supreme commander --"\( \'7tt&~,, 4"9c9/ (,
Ii/.;

whose hh5h position would enforce discipline and ensur' ~' ' itJl1.
of plan and co-operation among the three Mughal genera s,
who. were of equal ranR. For this purpose Aurangzib was
appointed as the nominal head of the expedition. He was to
stay in the rear, but the !,"fenerals were not to ad without
consultini;i him.
On 2nd October, 1635 a hillocl< near Urchha was stormed
by Devi Singh's men, and on the 4th the Mughals took Urchha
iiself. Jhujhar had lost heart and tled to Dhamuni and thence,
across lhe Narmada, to Chauragarh. The Mu~hals, after captur-
ini;i Dharnuni (18th Oct.), tool< up the chase of Jhujhar, who
wos hunted through the Gond countries of Deo~arh and Chanda,
undergoing terrible privations and fati!,"fue and abandonin!J his
men and property at every step. At last, when sleepin~ in the
heart of the jun15le, the fugitive princes were surprised by the
Gonds and done lo death (Dec.) Such of their wives and
dattghtcrs as had survi\7ed the jauf:wr rite (self-immolation)
were dragged Into the Mugbal harem. Two sons and one
gr.:mdson of Jl1L1jhar, bein!il of tender age, were made
Musalmans ; another son and the minister of the late Rajah refused
to apostatize and were executed in cold blood. The lofty temle
of Bir Singh at Urchha was demolished and a mosque was
erected on its site. The foli of Jhansi was taken (encl of
Octobet') and the spoils of war, including the buried treasure
of Bir Singh, amounted to one ktote of I<upees.

']l Aurang:db's first rTiceroya!ts of Ifie Deccan, 1656~1644

..... ..
~ /

Towards the close of Akbar's reign, the Mttghal empire began

to expand southward!:> beyond the Narmada dve1. Khandesh
was annexed in 1599, then Betar and finally in 1600 the city
of Ahmadnagar. Its bo'f Sultan Niiam Shah was deposed and
his kingdom annexed to the Mughal empire. But the annexation
ril.'t
 SHORT lHSTORY OF Al!rU\NGZ!ll [rn.

\\Tas in name only, as the Muqhals could not efl:edively occupy

the ne\\- conquest. Durin.!J Jahangir's feeble rcilt(n there was a
re-viva! of the Nizam-shahi d'[nast)?" and power under the wise
and vii;:orous reqency of MaliR Ambar, an Abyssinian sla'7c of
rare _!Jenius and capacitf. His wise revenue system made the
peasantry happy, while enrichini;: the Slate. A born leadel' of
men, he conciliated all parties, maintained order, ancl left a
name for justice, \7i.!Jour and public benefit which has not been
yet forgotten. Building up a ,grand alliance of the Deccani
Powers <ind fully using the Maratha lighi cavalry, he dro\7e the
Muqh.:ils bad~.
Shah Iahan, on his accession in 1627, which just followed
MaliR Ambar's death, beqan a vigorous policy in the Deccan.
The new Nizam-sbahi capital Daulalabac! was captured with
ffosain Shah, the last king of the c!'lnasty (1633.) But a fresh
complication now arose. The Sultans of Bijapur (Adil Shah)
and GoUwnda (Qutb Shah) tried to seise tbt' adjoininq parts
of the fallen 1:2.ingdorn of Abmadnagar. Shabji, the father
of the famous Shivaji, with Bijapuri help, set up a puppet Nizam
Shah and ruled <i pol"tion of the country in his name.
Shah Jahan made heroic exertions to establish bis rii;<hts. For
mme efficient adminlsfrdtion, Daulalal,Jad und Ahmadnagur were
now separated from the pro\7ince of Khan<lesb and placed
under another viceroy (Nov. 1634). I11 February 1636 the
Emperor himself arrived in the Deccan lo direct the operations.
Three Mughal armies, totalling 50,000 men, were held ready
to be launched upon BijapL1r and Gollwnda, while a fourth
(8,000 stronq) invaded Maharashtra. Qtitb Shah immediatcli
submitted in terror, promised an annual tribute of two lal<hs
of nun, and proclaimed the MuqhaJ Emperor as his SLl:i:Ct'ain.
The lling of Bijapur made a stand for his independence.
But the three Mughal armies at once entered his l<ins;:dom,
utterly desolatin~ the fields and vlllai;l"es and enslavinq the
population. At lcist in May 1636 a compromise was inade. By this
1636) MUGil;\L CQ};QllloSTS IK DECC.'\N 13

treaty, the late Nizam-shahi Rin~dom was di\'idecl between the

two Powers, the Bijapur Sultan f6etting Sholapur and W angi
(bclween the Bhima and the Sina ri\~ers), Bha!Ri and Chidgupa
(in the north-east), !he Puna district and North Kon~an,-it1 all
yielding a revenue of 20 laRhs of fiun (or 80 lafahs of Rupees).
The rest of the Ahmadna~ar State was annexed to the Mu\,lhal
empire. In addition, Adil Shah recogni;::ed the over!ordship of
ihe Mughal Emperor, promised fo be friendly to his fellow-
vassal the Sultan of GolRonda (whose bounda1y was fixed at
the Manjera river), and bound himself to pay an indemnity of 20
laRhs of Rupees, but no unnual tribut~: )
The affairs of the Deccan bavin15 been at last settled and the
Mughal boundary clearly marl~ed and public:ly recognized by
the local princes, Shah Jahan returned to Northern India, leavinl;l
Auran~Eib ('J 4th July, 1636) as viceroy of the Deccan, with his
scat at Aurangabad. Tbls town, founded b'l Mali!~ Ambar, at
the village of Khirl~i, was allowed by Shah Ju.ban tb be named
Aurung.abad after his third son.
The Mughal conquests in the Deccan were completed by the
capture of the forts of Udgir (28th Sep.) and Ausa (19th Oct.),
and the crushing defeat of Shahji Bhonsle, who, after a loni;;
chase by the Mui;rhal genen1l Khan-i-Zaman and his Bijapuri
duxiliary Randt1ula Khan, had to make a complete surrender
at Mahuli (in North Konka11) at the encl of October. Me gave
up to !he Muli(hals his puppet Ni2am Shah with his royal
property, se\7en forts, and all his territories in M<1harashtra
except his small jagfrs in the Puna district, which \Vere to be
held as a \7assal of Bijapur.
Another Mughal ~eneral, Khan-i-Datm1n, levied heavy
conlribnUons from the Gond Rajah of Deogarh and other
chiefs. In Januar'l 1638, Aurangzib sent an army to conquer
Bali!lana, a small l:;iiniJdom north of the Chand.or range !yin~ on
the main route from the Deccan to Gujrat and containing the
famous hill-forts of Salhir and Mulhir. Mulhir and Pipla were
I
1..t SHORT IIISTORY m AURANGZIB [err. [

~aincd and the entire kingdom annexed by the end of lune.

Next year (1639), in October, Aurangsib caused the Maratha
freebooter Kheloji Blmnsle, a son of Shahji's paternal uncle. to
be sei:ed and put to death.

/ 8. ii.utang.;;:ib's Pamily.
Aurangsib had four wives. namely :
1. Dilcas Banu Be,gam, a daughter of Shah Nawa: Khan
(whose greaHirandfather was a younger son of !he Persian
Ring Shah Ismail I Safavi). She was married to Aurangzib at
A!;!ra on 8th May 1637 with the most gorgeous ceremonies.
She died at Aurangabacl 011 8th October 1657 from illness
following the birth of her son Muhammad AR.bu.r, and was
buried outside that city, with the title of Rabia~ud~dautani or
the modern Saint Rabiu. Her tomb, popularly called the
Deccani Taj Mahal, was repaired by her son A<:am under
order of Aurangzib. She seems to have been an imperious
lady, proud of bearing the 'Royal blood of Persia,' and her
husband stood in awe of her. [Anecdotes of Aumng.;:lb,
No. 27.J
2. Rahmat-un-nisa, surnamed Naivab Bai; was the dauit,hter
of Rajah Raju of the Rajauri State in Kashmir, and came of
the hill-Rajput blood. But on her son Bahadur Shah's
accession to the throne of Delhi, a false pedigree was
invented for her in order to give thu.t Emperor the right to
call himself a Sayyid. She built a sarni at Farclapur, at the
foot l)f the pass, and also founded Baijipura, a suburb of
Auranl?,abad. The misconduct of her sons, Muhammad Sultan
and Mua~zam, \Vho disobeyed the Emperor under the influence
of evil counsellors, embittered her latter life. Her advice and
even personal entreaty had no effect on Mua;;zam, who was
at last placed under arrest. Nawab Bai seems to have lost
her charms and with them her husband's favour rather early
1652] LO'.'E-.\ff AIR WITH tllR,:\ fl \I 15

in life, and ended her days in 1691 L1t Delhi, after many
years of scpclrution from her husband and sons.
3. Autanf!abadi ML?fial, so named becau:ie she entered
the prince's harem in the city of Aurangabad. The bubonic
plague carried her off at the city of Bijapur in October or
November 1688.
4. ,/ Udipuri Mafia!, tl1e mother of Kam Ba~hsh. The
col1temporary Venetian traveller Manucci speahs of her as a
Georgian slave-girl of Dara Shulwh's harem, who, on the
downfall of her first master, became the concubine of his
victorious rival. She seems to have been a ver\7 young
woman at the time, as she first became a mother in 1667.
She retained her charms and influence over the Emperor
till his death, a_nd__ was the darling of hi~ old age. Under
,lhe spell of her beauty he pardoned the many foults of Kam
Bal<hsh and overlooked her freal<s of drunhenne'3s which
must ha\7e shocked so pious a Muslim.
Besides the above four there was another woman whose
supple ~race, musical sl~ill, and masterf of blandishments,
made her the heroine of the only romance in the puritan
Emperor's life. Hiru Bai surnamed :lainabadi was a young
slave~girl in lhe l<eeping of Mir Khalil, who bad married a
sister of Aurangaib's m.other. During his viceroya!ty of the
Deccan, the prince paid a visit to his aunt a! Burl1anpur.
There, while strolling in the park of Zainabad on the other
side of the Tapti, he beheld Hirn Bai unveiled among his
aunt's train. The artful beauty "on seeinQ" a man!Jo~tree laden
with fruits, advunccd in mirth and amot'ous play, jumped
up, and plucked a mango, as if unconsc;lous of the prince's
presence." The vision of her matchless charms stormed
Aurangaib's heart in a moment; "with shameless importunit)?'
he took her away from bis aunt's house and became uttetlr
infatuated with her." So much so,
that one day she offered
him a cup of wine and pressed him to drinli it. AU his
16 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZIB [cir. I

entreaties and excuses were disregarded, and the helpless

lover was about to taste the forbidden drink when the sly
enchantress snatched away the cup from his lips and said,
"My object was only to test your love for me, and not to
ma\{e you fall \n\o the sin of drinl<1n!i! \" Death cut the story
short when she was still in the bloom of youth. Auranl6zib
bitterly grieved at her loss and buried her close to the big
lank at Auran~abacL
Auran!fl'zib had a numerous proieny. His principal wife,
Dilras Banu Begam, bore him five children :
/ 1. ZEli-UN-NISA, a dalls;?bter, born at Daulatabacl, on 15th
\, ',. ' . '
February, 1638, died at Delhi on 26th May, 1702, buried in
th~ i;!<1rden of "'fh~rty thousaiid Trees," outside . the Kabul
!ifati:'. Hei: tomb was demolished to mal~e room for a railway.
sh.; seems to have .inherited her father's keenness of
Intellect and .liten1ry tastes. f-Ier library surpassed all other
pri\7ale collections, and ~he ~mployed many scholars on libeea[
salaries to produce literary works al her bidding or to copy
manuscripts for her. As Aurangzib dislil~ed poehy, her
libera11ty compensated for the lac!~ of Court patronage, and
most of the poets of the age sought refuge with her. She
wroteJ:;i.ers.ia.n . odes under the pe1Hld!lle' of 1Y!afdifi or ...
the ,, '

Con.ceale.4 . O!JC. 'But Jh,e ext~;lt '. Diwbn~i-iY!aldili was certainly

r10t
- her
"., ...,-. work,

2. Zll''1T-~\N-NJ$A, afterwards
surnamed Pa.dishah Begarn,
born probably at Aurangabad, on 5th October, 1643. she
in theW Deq:an, for .a
looked after. ,h<;:~ .old father's household .........
quarter of. a century till his death, and survived him many
years, enjoying the respect of his successors as the livin~
memorial .of a li(reat .age. Histodans speak of be1 ' p\et';?' and
extensi\"'e charity. .She died at Delhi on 7th May, 1721, and
yYaSc.hurred... in . . the . Zii1~h11l-rnas~i1ci, ~:}pl~f~.di~ t}1()?gt1e.... ~i!I
(1 ~~~ ..<'It her expense in Delhi. ''
 AUR;\!:;"GZ\p,'s Ctl!LDRLN 17

3. ZUBDAT-UN-NIS'\, born at Multan, 2nd s~pternber, 1651,

married to her first cousin, Sipihr Shukoh (the second son of
the ill-fated Dara Shukoh) on 30th Januar'l", 1673, died in
Febmari!, 1707.
4. MUiiAMMAD AzAM, born at Burhanpur on 28th June,
1653, slain at Jajaw, in the war of succession followin~ his
father's death, 8th June, 1707.
5. MurrAMMAD AKBAR, born at Aurangabad, on 11th
September, 1657, died an exile in Persia about November,
1704. Buried at Mashhad.
Bi! Nawab Bai the Emperor had three children ;
6. MUHAMMAD Sm TAN, born near Mathura, 19th December,
1639, died in prison, 3rd December, 1676. Buried in the
enclosure of Khwajah Qulb-ud-din's tomb.
7. MUHAMMAD MuAZZAM, surnamed Shah Alam, who
succeeded his father as Bahadur Shah L, born at Burhanpur
on 4th October, 1643, died at Labor on 18th February-, 1712.
8. BADR-UN-NISA, bol"n 17th November, 1647, died 9th
April, 1670.
Auranli(abadi Mahal bore to Aurang:cib only orie child:
9. MuIRUNNISA, born 18th September, 1661, married to
her first cousin h:i<l Bakhsh (a son of the murdered Murad
Bakhsh) on 27th November, 1672, died in June, 1706.
Udipuri Mahal was the mother of
10. MUHAMMAD KAM BAKHSH, born at Delhi, 24th Februarf,
1667, slain in the war of succe:>sion, near f!a!darabad on 3rd
January, 1709.

9. Aumng.~ib in disgrace.
Aurang;:;ib's first viceroyalty of the Deccan ended strangely
in his disgrace and dismissal, in 1644.
On the ni~ht of 26th March, 1644, the princess Jahanara
was coming from her father's chambers to her own in Agra
fort, when her sliirt brushed against one ot the candles. lighting
2
 JS SJIORT JJ!STORY OF .l\URAt-<GZlD [en. I

the passage, and she was so severely burnt that for four
months she hovered between life and death.
The Physician Royal of Delhi laboured in vain to heal
her burns, but a slave named Arif prepared an ointment which
entirely healed her sores. On 25th November bei;ran a most
~p[endid and costly festiylty in celebration of her complete
recove1y. At her request Auran!;lzib was restored to his
father's fa\'our and his former rilnl~ und office, which he had
lost in the meantime.
Aurani;iz:ib had ilt-rived at A!;C(ra on 2nd May to see his
sister. Here three weel<s afterwards he had been suddenly
dismissed from his post, and depri\7 ed of his ran!< and allowance.
From one of his letters we ~ather that he rcsi!:Jncd his post as
a protest against Dara's persistent hostiliiy and Shah Jahan's
partiality lo his eldest son which robbed Aurang:;:ib of the
Emperor's confidence and support. He felt that his presfaJe
was lowered in the public eye and he could not govern the
Deccan consistently with self-respect or with any chance of
doing i;iooci service.'
At Jahanara's intercession the Emperor restored Aurangzib
to his farnur. and on 16th February, 1645, senl him off to
Gujrnt as Governor. His viceroyalty of this province ended
ln ldnuary, 1647, when he was appointed to Ball<h.
But e\~en in this brief period of less than two years he showed
his administrative copacity and firmness.
Aurani,;::ib followed an acth7 C and firm policy towards the
robber tribes and rebels of GHirat. In order lo checi< them
effedually he cngaged soldiers in excess of the men whom he

~ A hlcr.al interpretation of .:i Pt.~rsi,1n phn1sc (man~avt) has i~iV<-'n rise in t..:n!Jlish"
hislrics to the ln\"1h !ha! f'"tn~ :::Aura11gzib turned herm1! in a lit of religious de -
170
lion. The fad is lh'11 .:it !Iii' lime he [et! no reli~ious call at ull ; his motive WM
polil;Getl, not spiritual : he merelv re;igil<'d his office, but did nol acltrnlly t; fac f~) ii
1
hcrmWs lfk. _ How Aurunl,\zib made il public display of llis 1ealous1r towards Darn
<111<l was l>utllshed by S!i.th ).1hon in t'onscqu;,nce, is describ~d in the Anecdple. of
1
Aurall{l'1ib, Xo. 2.
1647] SHAH JAllAl-1 ll\VADJ:S BALKU 19

was bound by his present rank as a nwnsabdar to beep.

rle thus established in his father's eyes a reputation for capa-
city and couraSJe, and il was not lonsg before he was called
away to a far off scene where there was supreme need of
1bese qualities, by bcin~ created Governor and Cnmmander-in-
Chief of Bull~h and Badal;ihshan (21 Jan. 164/)

S10. ,ciumnf)i~ib's campaign,:, in Balk!), f647.

The provinces of Ball<h and Badakhshan, lyini;: immediately

beyond the IIindu Kush range north of Kabul, were dependencies
of the l<in!i:dom of l">uhhara. Their l<in~, Nar:ar Muhammad
Khan, was a weal< and incompetent ruler, who alienated all
classes of his subjects. Within three years of his accession to
the throne, rebellions broke out in many parts of his vast
l<ingdom (1645). Shah Jahan sei'.i:'ed the opportunity by sending
an expedition io conquer Balhh and Badakhshan, "because these
two pro\7inces were the heritage of Babar and also lay in the
way to Samarqand, the capital of Timur, who had founded the
Mul;'(hal dynasty."
In 1646, Prince Murad Bal<hsh with a \-ast army easily
occupied Badal~hshan and Balkh, in the month of June. But the
prince and his officers alike detested ser\7 icc in the poor, dull
and uncongenial land of Central Asia and dreaded any contest
with lhe fierce ll2:baR.s from beyond the Oxus. Soon (August)
Murad reillrneJ from Ball~b. al,l'ainst the Emperor's wishes,
le0vini;: his arnw without a leader ! Aurang2ib was then sent
to relrie'Ve the situation. Lea-vlnq Kabul on 7th April 1647,
with Ali Mardan Khan as his right-band man, he fou!;i!ht his
way throu1,1h the Uz:bak hordes step by step and reached the
city of Balfah on 25th May.
Al the head of the Buhhara national defence slood Abdul
Aziz Khan, the able and and heroic eldest son of Nar:ar
Muhammad. Under his directions !he Uibah hordes assembled
 20 SHORT msTORY OF AURANOZrn [cu. t

at different places in Balkh and threatened to isolate and invest

the Mughal troops. When l\.urang=:ib marched out of the city
of Balkh to breal~ up the enemy gathering at Aqcha (40 miles
to the north-west), he was daily opposed by the U;;:baks on
the way, while another body of them arrived from Bul<hara to
attack the city of Ball~h. The news of it forced Aurangzib to
fall bad~ on hfs capital, fighting every inch of the ground.
This march and retreat took up ten days during which the
Mu!Jhal army was a stranger to repose. Da)?' after day a
strenuous fight had to be maintained against lhe tireless and
mobile enemy, while hunger raged in the imperial ranks. The
soldiers were ever on the move, and food could be coo!ied
only on the backs of the marching elephants ! Bread sold at
one Rupee or even two Rupees a piece and water was equally
dear, and there was not cnoui;:h for all. But in the midst of
all this hardship and danger, Aurangzib's firmness and control
prevented an)? sladmess or disorder ; his watchful eye and
active bod\! hastened to the succour of every weak spot, and
his wisdom and courage brought the army back to safety.
Aurangzib's grim tenacity bad gained its object. Abdul Azi;;
now desired to make peace. His hope of crushing Aurangzib
had failed. He had personall'{ witnessed a stril<ing proof of
the prince's cool courage ; foi-, one day the hour of evening
pra\"er arrived when the battle was at its hottest ; Aurangzib
spread his carpet 011 the field, !melt down and calmly said his
prayers, re!il"ardless of the strife and din around him. He was
then, as durinSJ the rest of the campai15"n, without armour and
shield. The Bukhat'a army !Ja;;ed on the scene with wonder,
and Abdul Azi<:, in generous admiration, stopped the fight,
crying : "To fight with such man is to court one's own ruin."
Abdul Aciz proposed that Ball~h should be delivered to his
younger brother Suban Quli, as Sltah Jahan had publicly
offered to restore the countr'{ to their father. Aurang;;ib
:referred the question to the Emperor, who decided to restore
 1647} AURANGZJ!l GOVERNOR Of SJKDfl 21

the cotmhy to Nazar Muhammad, if the latter saved imperial

prestige by begging the Emperor's pardon !
This was done. On 1st October the fort of Balkh was
delivered to Naz:ar Muhammad's agents, and the Mughal army
began its retreat to Kabul, undergoini;i terrible privations and
loss of life and treasure in crossing the Hindu Kush passes, in
the teeth of attacks from the rear and front by Uzbaks and
Ha:::aras. The imperialists lost 5,000 men in this region,
besides an equally large number of transport animals. The
!Jrain and other provisions and military stores which the
Mu!f(hals had to abandon were worth several laRhs of Rupees.
The war cost the Indian treasury four 1frores of Rupees, while
noi an inch of territory was JJained as the result of it
After the Balkh expedition, Aurani;i;;ib acted as governor
of Multan and Sindh from March 1648 to July 1652. Durins;i
this period he was twice called away from his pi-evince to
lay siege to Qandahar and to try to wrest that fort from the
Persians, (J.;muar1 to December 1649 and March to July 1652),
His new province contained the wildest and most untractable
Af!i!han and Baluch clans. What Al1rangsib could do in that
short time was to slril-<>e down the most notorious brigand
chieftains and secure a nominal profession of allegiance to the
Emperor from the border clans.
He also set himself to revive the commerce of !he prn\lince
by affording facilities to the maritime trade. Tatta having
ceased to be il port b'i' the accumulation of sand at the river
moufh, Aurangzib opened a new port further down the Indus
and built there a fort and a clod~.

1 I. Autang:;;ib besie<;;.es Qandafiar, /649~1662.

The fort of Qandahar guards the road to India from the
west and to Kabul from the south. Hs strategic 1mportance
Hes in the fact that only 360 miles of le'C'el countn separate
ii from Herat, near which the lofty Hindu Kush range sinks
 Sr!Ol<f II!SlOfrt. 0 \UR\NGZ!d [cir. I

down to aftord an easy pas~a!iJe to an invad111.;: host from

Central Asia or Persia. Such an army must pass throu!ilh
Qandahar and must be turned bad~ there, it e\7er at all. In
an age \\7hcn [\abul was a part of the Delhi empire, Qu.ndahar
was our indispensable first line of defence.
In the seventeenth century, when the Portu~uese na\7y
dominated the Inclian Ocean and nearly closed the sea-mute
from India to the Persi.in Gull, the commercial importance of
Qandahar Wc1S no less than its strate!ilic. All westwdrd-bound
merchamlise from India and e\7en the Spice Islunds had to
fol!ow the land route through Multan, Pishin and Qandahar
lo Persia and thence to Europe. In 1615 fourteen thousand
loaded camels annually passed into Persia by this mute, and
the city of Qandahur i;,;rew rapidly in wealth and si;oe as a
most comlenient centre for the exchan15e of commodities.
From its position Qandahar was naturully a bone of
contention between the rulers of Persia and Indiu. In 1522
Babar gained it trom its Arghun ruler, but the Persian l~ing
conquered it in 1558. Then AR.bar bou15ht it from its Persian
prince-governor in 159-1 ; but in Jahanlilir's old a!Je, Shah
Abbas the Great tool< it after a siege of 45 days (1623.) In
1638 its Persian !ilO\~ernor Ali Mardan Khan, afraid of his
master's wrath, delivered the fort to Shah lahan. But the
Persians \\7ere not to be denied ; in February 1649 tl1ey finally
wrested ii from the Mughals, after u. sie15e of 57 days, whik
Shah fohan delayed sending a relievin15 force.
Imperial prestl!ile required that Qa.nJ.aha.r should be won
back from the Persians, and i.hree costly sieges were under-
taken by Shah Jahan's sons, but all to no a\7ail. The first "
expedition, under Aurani.f;:ib and the waz:ir Sadutlah Khan,
50,000 strong, arrived before Qandahar on 14th May .f649
and completeli invested the fort ; but their lad~ of lar55e
cannon made it impossible for them to assault the fort, which
was fat superior in the calibre and range of its arlille1y. As
 1652] AURANOZm P.\Its TO RECOVER Q,\NDJ.If,l,R

the Delhi Court historian fr<:ml<ly admits, "The Persiam had

!i:rown expert in the capture and defence of fods, by their
long wars with the Tur!~s. They were masters of fire-dl"ms
and artillery. They held such a strong and well-provisio1Jed
fort, with bi!5 l;{Uns and sl~ilful ~unners .... So the imperialists
failed with all their efforts." On 5th September, Auran'il::ib
bei;ran his reheat from Qanc!ahar, after hMin15 \vasted
3 months and 20 days before it, though in a ritched battle
on the bani< of the Arghanda b, some 24 miles south-west of
Qandaha r, his ;;ienerals Qalich Kha11 and Rustam Kha,1
Deccani signally defeated a large Persian army and pursued
it beyond Kushh-i-Nal~hud.
Preparati ons were ma.de on a IJrander scale for a second
attempt fo recover Qandaha r. Again Aurangz:ib and Sci.dullab
Khan appeared before th~ fort and laid siege to it (2nd May
1652). Batteries were r<tisecl for breaching the walls. and
lrenches were run tO\'l"ards !he ditch of the fort ; an aHcmpt
was made to drain the ditch dry, and a night atlacl< on !he
pec1R of the ridge behind the Fort'{ Steps (Cfiilii! :Zina) towers
was delivered. But all the efforts of the Mu~hals failed. "The
trenches could not be carried anY nearer in face oi ihe se\7ere
fire showered from the fort walls ... The enenw issued on
three sides, and from sunset to dawn fired their musl~ets
incessantly from loopholes in the foii-walls, so as to ~ive no
opportun itf to Aurang;;ib's worf<men to malw proqress." In
fad, the Persian artillery was as excellent as the Mugbal was
inefficient. The Indian gunners were proverbially bad marl<s-
men and their fire prncluced no effect on the fad-walls .
Within a month of opening the siege, the worl< of draining
the ditch and ntnning mines had to be suspende d for lack
of mutet'ia,ls. The Persians made repeated sorties hillin!tl and
woundi111,1 the Mugbals in the trenches and darnaginq their
guns. Even after two months of bombardm ent the foti-wal!s
were unbreach ed, and it \vould have been madness to deliver
24 SliORT tllSTORY OF AURANGZIB [C!i. I

an assault on such a fort Finally, by Shah Jahan's order

fhe Muli!hal army raised the sie111e and began its retreat from
Qandahar on 9th July.
Shah Jahan was very angry with Aurang;:ib for this ill-
success, which he wrongly ascribed to the prince's incapacity.
But in trulh it is unjust to blame Aurans;(z:ib for the failure to
take Qandahar. Throughout the siege he was really second
in command. The Emperor from Kabul directed e\7ery mpve-
ment through Sadullah Khan. Iiis sanction had to be tal~en
for every important step.
Aurangz:ib's best justification was afforded next year, when
a still vaster and costlier expedition against Qandahar led by
Dara Shukoh met with an e\~en more humiliating defeat.
These three futile sieges cost the Indian treasury mrer ten
k.rores of Rupees, and ruined Mu'ilhal prestige in the eyes of
all Asia. The Persian hing could rightly boast that the rulers of
Delhi l<new how to steal a fort by means of gold, but not
how to conquer it by strength of arm. Naturally the milita1y
fame of Persia rose ver'i.' high. Throu'!lhout the rest of the
century the rumour of a projected invasion from Persia used
to throw the Court of Delhi into the greatest alarm. For
years afterwards the Persian peril hung lil~e a dark cloud on
the western frontier of India, and the Emperor Aurangzib and
his ministers drew their breath more easlly when any warlil~e
Shah of Persia died.
 CHAPTER II
SECOND VICEROYALTY OF TfiE DECCAN
1652-1658.

1. Decoy and misety of !Ylugfial Deccan ;

financial difficulties.

On his return from Qandahar to Kabul, Auranl1(r:ib was

t1ppoinied subahdar of the Deccan for the second time (1652).
After nine months' halt at Burhanpur on the way, he arrived
at his capital, Aurangabad in November 1653 and there spent
the next fom years, leaving it only to invade Gollwnda and
Bijapur an<l finally departing on 5th February 1658 io contest
the throne of Delhi.
Since At11'angzib had laid dO\vn the vkeroyalty of the
Deccan in May 1644, the Mughal administration there had not
prospered. True, the country enjoyed unwonted repose, but
much cultivated soil had lapsed into jungle, the cultivators
had declined in number and resources, and the revenue had
fallen off greatly. This w1etched state of things was the natural
result of a succession of short viceroyalties and incompetent
viceroys. \
The Deccan had Jong caused a hea\7y drain on the
imperial treasury. The province was lariJe, the country broR.en,
with plenty of jungles, and imperfectly settled and oni:anized,
and there were two powerful States across the frontier.
Therefore, a very larfi!e force had to be stationed there. But
as the soil was sterile, bad harvests and scarcities were too
frequent, and the standard tevenue was ne'Yer collected. For
the four provinces which then constituted Mughal Deccan, it
stood at theee hores and 6~ /akfis of Rupees a year ; but the
actual collection in 1652 was only one kcoce, ot less than
 :31\0RT ri!STOl~Y or AUR~NOZrn [Cfl. I!

one-third. ! knee, the public income of the Deccan did not

balance the expenditure, and the deficit had to be made
good by semlin\5 money from the older and richer pro'Vinces
of the empire to support the administration of the South.
On his arrival in the Deccan, Aurang:oib was faced wiih i1
serious financial difticulty. The actual yield of the jagirs was
only a frudion of their nominal revenue. The Mu15hal officers
posted in the Deccan would ha'Ve statTed if they had to
depend solely on their jagirs in that province. Everywhere
Aurang:oib found signs of maladministration, the worR of his
predecessor.;. The actual collection was sometimes onlf
one-tenth of the normal assessment. The new 'Vicerof found
it impossible to maRe both ends meet. At this time the civil
and milita1y expenditure of the Deccan, exdusive of the sakuy
derived by the officers from their jag.its, produced an annual
deficit of Rs. 20,36,000, which was made good b'l drawing on
!he rcsef'Ve stored in the treasuries of the Deccan.
Aurang:oib shared the difflculty of other jag_itdats in the
Deccan in hain!J to heep up his normal contingent of troops
on an income reduced to a fraction of his nornlc11 pay. The
financial wrangle between father and son dragged on for years.
Shah Jahan wished to put a stop to the drain of money to
the Deccan, and here was Aurangzib asRin!J for cash from
other prminces in lhe place of jagits in the Deccan !
When appointing fiim to the Deccan, Shah Jahan had urJ6ed
Aurangz:ib to pay special c'l.ttention to the improvement of the
peasantry and the extension of cultivation. AuranJ6zib had
promised to do hi;, best for these objects. He only pleaded
for a sufficientlr long tenure and the men and money necessarf
for his purpose, as ihe depopulation and ra'Vaqe caused by
a generation of warfare, followed b'f ten fears of maladminis-
tration, could not be undone in two or three years.
Very soon his viceroyalty was destined to become memorc'lble
for ever in the histor'[ of land-seU!ement in the Deccan.
1653] RCVCNUC RiolcOR~IS l\f tlllGI! IL DfCC\ \ 27

~. MuLJfiid Quit Rfian : nLv cfiatacle1 and reornue system.

MuRsmo Quu KHAN was a native of Khurasan who had

mi15rated to India in the train of Ali Mardan Khan, the
fu15itive Persian 15overnor of Qandalwr. lie "combined the
valour of a soldier with the 0drnini~trati'Ve capacity of a ci\'il
servant." As dhl7an ot Aurang::::ib in the Deccan, Murshid
Quli effected revenue rdotms and fir~t achieved success for
his new system.
The Deccan hitherto had no revenue system at all.
rlere the marRing out of plots, the measurement of
land by chain survey, the assessment of re\'enue at so much
per bifllia, or the sharing of the actual produce between the
State landlord and the cultivator, were unt<nown. The peasant
1n the Deccan cultivated as much land as be could wltb a
plough anJ a pail' of oxen, qre\,,, whatever crop he lilied,
7

and paid to the State a small amount pet p!oag.!i, -the rctte of
revenue varyin~ in different places and beln<;i fixed arbitrarily.
Thus the peasantry lay open to the caprice and extortion ot
the petty collectors. The long wars of Mughal a15gression and
a succession of rainless years completed their ruin. The
oppressed t'jots tled from their homes, the deserted fields
lapsed into jun!,lle ; many once flourishin!i( village~ became
manless wildernesses.
The new diwan's reform consisted in extending Todar Mal's
system to the Deccan. First, he worl~ed hard to gather tbe
scatlered t':]ofs together and restore the normal life of the
villages by giving them their full population and proper chain
of officets. Everywhere wise amins and honest stn''ileyors
were <lepLtled to measLtre the l<1nd, to prepare the record of
well mad:~cd out holdings (raqba), and to distinguish arable
land from rod~y soils and water-courses. Where a village had
lost its headman (muqaddam) he took care to appoint a new
headman from the persons whose character Jiiave the best
 28 St!ORT lllSTORY OF AURANGZH\ [en. II

promise of their readiness to promote cultivalion and t.:1lw

sympathetic care of the peasantry. The poorer ryots were
s;!ranted loans (taqavt7f) from the public treasury, for the pur-
chase of cattle, seeds and other needful materials of a!ilriculture,
and the advance was recovered at harvest by instalments.
He had the wisdom to modify Ms system according to
differences of local conditions. Where the peasantry were
backward and the population scanty, or where the villai;ies
\Vere situated in obscure noofas, he left ihe old usage of a
fixed Jump payment per plou~h undisturbed. In many other
places he introduced !he system of metayership or sharing of
the actual produce.
His third method of revenue settlement was the elaborate
and complex one of Northern India. Here the standard or
maximum Governmeni share was one-fourth of the total pro-
duce, whether ~rain or pot-herb, fruit or seed. The revenue at
tbe fixed rate of so many Rupees per bigfia was assessed and
collected after considering the quantity and quality of the crnp
from seed-time to harvest and its marRet-prlce, and actually
measuring !he sown area. This became the prevalent
system in the subafJs of Mughal Deccan and was !mown for
centuries afterwards as "the dliara of Murshid Quli Khan."
J-lis excellent system, bacRed by his constant \~igilance u.rn.1
personal supervision, Ied to the improvement of agriculture
and increase of the revenue in a few years.

3. Improvements made in tlie Deccan admim:~tration b';;

Aurang~ib.

Immediately on assuming the vlceroyalty, Aurangiib tried

his best lo make the administration efficient. Old and fncom-
peienf men were dismissed or remO\.~ed to minor posts ; a
number of officers of proved ability were selected by the
prince, and to them aU situations of trust and importance were
lli!iven. Keen on securing militaryr efficiency, Aurangiib first of
1654] D!FPICU!.T!ES DURING VlCEROYALTY Of' DECCAN 29

all assured that financial support without which an armf cannot

be l~ept up to the tnarR.
A very able and e11er15etic lnspector-General of
Ordnance soon made a clean sweep of the olrl abuses. He
visited every fort, inspected everything, great and small, and
supplied every place with the requisite store of food and
munitions. Old and useless men who were being borne on
the establishment of the artillery were made to undergo an
examination in musl~etry. Those who could not hit the marl~
even once were dismissed. Old and disabled soldiers were
put on pension in consideration of their past ser\7ices. Thus
this officer effected a saving of r~s. 50,000 a year, while
actually imprnvfog the efficiency of the arm.

4. Causes of Aurang.:.;cfb' s diffetences 1rritfi tlie Ernpecot.

Aurangzib's second viceroyalty of the Deccan was marked

by a series of wrangles with his father. Either Auranl6Eib's enemies
had !Jot hold of the Emperor's ears, or the latter failed to
appreciate the prince's difficulties in the South. Aurangzib was
misunderstood, suspected, and unjustly reprimanded from the very
beginning of his term of office. And the bitterness of feeling
thus aroused was one of the reasons wlw the War of Succession
was conducted so heartlessly and unscrupulously.
At the V'ery time of his appointment to the Deccan Aurans;;zfb
objected to it as his jag.it:s there would yield 17 laRhs of
Rupees less than the fertile fiefs he was 'holding i11 Sindh.
Iiis proposal to be given more productive jag.it:s in exchange
for the existing ones, was the cause of prolonqed and acdmonious
correspondence with tile Emperor.
In some cases the viceroy's recommendations for postini;ts
and promotions among his subordinates were not accepted by
the Emperor} and the prince wrote indignanU1 to his fatheri
"I have been a sttbahdat since the age of 18 years, and I ha>re
30 SHORT HISTORY OF Al!RANGZIB [en. II

never recommended a single man who has proved unfit for

his post." On many other minor points there were differences
between father and son.
Another cause of friction was the charge of diplomatic
relations with Bijapur and Gollmnda. Auran15:::ib justly
contended that the Mughal eiwo1s at these Courts should
tal:.ie their orders from the viceroy of the Deccan and imperial
correspondence with them should pass throu111h his hands. But
this power was conceded to him onll7 towards the close of
his administration, and C\"'en then not fully.
At one time i\urang:ib was so disgusted with bein15 con~
stantly misunderstood, censured, and hampered by the Emperor,
that he refused to tal~e a most necessary step on his own
initiative, but justifiell his inaction with the bitter remarfa, "No
wondet that I did not tal<e the responsibility of doing it, seein'6
that I have been taken to tasl:.i for acts which I never did. I
have now i;;rown more cautious !"
In 1637 Khan-i-Dauran had invaded Deo~arh and forced the
Rajah to promise an annual tribute of 11/3 lal~hs of Rupees
to the Emperor. But the tribute fell into arrears, dn<l repeated
demands for lt produced no effect. So, in 1655, Shah Jab,111
ordered the country to be i1waded. The Gond Rajah, Kes.:iri
Singh, made a prompt submission and promised to pay up his
drrears.
The little State of Ja\.7bar, lyini;; on a plateau north of
Konl;ieyn and south-west of Ba~lana, was ruled by a petly
Rajah who did not own the overlordship of Dehl!. Shah
Jahan, at Arnu.ng.::ib's su~.gestion, sanctioned an invasion of his
country, which fri.ghtened the Rajah into makin.g his submission
and pr0misin.g an annual tribute (January 1656).

5. Minor: expeditions.
In !he 16th and 17th centuries much of 1he modern Central
Provinces owned the sway of abori~inal Gond chiefs and was.
 1656} MllGliAL-<IOLKONDA m:LA'i]C>:,s 31

!mown under the name of Gondwana. The great Oond

kiniJdom of Garb-Mandia had been crippled by a Muishal
im~asion and sac!~ of the carital in ,l\l~bar's rei~n. and. later
by Bundela encroachments from the north. But about the
middle of the 17th century another Gone! i<in~dom, with its
capital at Dcogarh, rose to ~realness, and extended its sway
over the districts of Betul, Chindwara and Nas;;pur, and portions
of Seoni, Bhandara and BaJa!,Jhat. In the southern part of
(]ondwana stood the \own of Chanda, the seat of a third
Gone! dynasty, the hereditar1 foe and rival of the Rajah of
Deo>Jarh.

6. Golifonda : 1vea!tfi of tfie kingdom ; causes of q.u,1fref

witfi tfie Mugfla!s.

GoLKONDA was a very fertile and carcfoHy irrigated

country, with a lar'flc and industrious population. The carital,
Haidarabad, was al this time the centre of the diamond trade,
not of Asia alone, but of the whole world. Numbers of
forei9n traders assembled here and transacted business. The
l~ingclom was famous for several industries and also possessed
in Masulipatam the best anchorage in the Bay of Ben<flal. The
forest~ of the hin'fldom sheltered lar\je herds of highl1 pri:<:ed
elephants, which added to the wealth of the king. Tobacco
and the palm flourished exceedingly, and the excise on tobacco
and toddy juice yielded a large revenue.
Aurang;;;ib had frequent cause to quarrel with the king of
Golkonda. The annual tribute of two lakhs of fiun was
always in arrears, and frequent dtmnin'6 on the part of the
Mughal vkeroy onl1 met with exwses and petitions for dela1.
Next, the exchange 'Value of the fiun rose from Rs. 4 in
1636 to Rs. 41/2 anp finally in 1654 to Rs. 5 each. Qutb
Shah had been paying hls tribute at the old rate of eight
lal<hs of Rupees a year. The Mughals now demanded that
 32 SHORT HISTORY OF Aur~ANGZIB [en. [[

the difference due to exchange for all Ifie pas/ yea!'S

should be paid at once, this forming a new burden of 20
laf~hs of Rupees.
Then he was rebuked for not havinq taken his overlord's
sanction before conquering the Karna.tak. Lastly there was
the affair of Mir Jurnla whicl1 precipitated war.

7. Mir Jumla : fiis history and position.

The treaties of 1636 had clearly marked out the boundar\!
between the Mughal empire and the two Deccani monarchies.
Barred in the north bi the strong' arm of the Mughals, these
two States began to !iJ'ive employment to their troops an<l a
free vent to their ambition by engaging in a career of conquest
in other directions. The whole of the KarnataR, from the
river Krishnil to Tanjore beyond the Kaveri, was covered
with a number of petty Hindu principalities, the jarring fra!J~
ruenfs of the ruined empire of Viia\!nagar. These now rapidly
fell a. prey to Muslim arms. The Golkonda troops advanced
conquerinfi! to the Bay of Beni;ral, and occupied the country
from the Chill<a lake to the Penner river.
Bijapur advanced conquering southwards and then turned
east till it occupied the cou.st between Jinji and Tanjore.
Hemmed in in the north and south by the conquests of the two
Sultans, as between the two jaws of a monster, Jay the kini;f
dom of Chandragiri, the last remnant of the Vijaynagar
empire, with its territo1y contracted to the region from Nellore
to Pondicherry on the east and the Mysore frontier on the
west. There was no\v a race between the Go!konda and
Bijapur Rings for the absorption of this kingdom ; the two
Jaws began rapidly to close from the north and the south
upon the doomed Karnatak. In this work of conquest a
most conspicuous part was played bi Mir Jumla, the ~ua~fr
of Goll.mnda.
 1650] MIR JUMLA CONQUl::RS KARNAT.\K 33

Muhammad Said, Rnown to history as MIR JmrLA, was a

Sa'l'li<l of Arclistan in Persia, and the son of an oil-merchant
of Isfahan. Leav\ni;r his native counhy in youth, he like
other Shia adventurers, soui;rht his fortune at the Courts of
the Deccani Sultans who belonged to his sect, (1630). A<o
a diamond merchant he rose to great wealth by his ~hrewd
ness and business capacily. His wonderful talents gained him
the favour of Abdullah Qutb Shah, who made him his
prime minister. Mir Jumla's industry, rapid despatch of business,
administrative capacity, military genius, and inborn power of
leadership ensmed his success in all that he undertook. Great
aliRe in civil government and in war, he soon became the
virtual ruler of Goll<onda : nothin!J could reach the Sultan
save with his approval. Sent by his master to the KarnataR,
he soon effected a complete transformation there. Mir Jumla
strengthened himself by securing a number of European
15tmners and cannon-founders, raised his army to a high state
of discipline and efficiency, and soon wrested the Cuddapa
district. His crowning feat \Vas the capture of the rock-fortress
of Gandilwta, hitherto deemed imrre!Jnablc. Sidhout; east
of Cuddapa, was also conquered, and his captains penetrated
as far as Chandragiri u.nd Timpati in the North Arcot district.
By looting the rich old temrles of the South and huntiu~ out
buried treasure, Mir Jumla amassed a vast fortune, till he
came to be !mown as the richest private man in the South
and the owner of twenty maunds of diamonds. By his
conquests he l'i'tised his jag.fr in the Kamatak into a Rin15dom
300 miles long dnd 50 miles broad, yielding a revenue of 40
lal<hs a ye,1r, and possessing several diamond mines. 'f hus
he had made himself fully independent of his master and the
virtual l<in!J of the Karnatak. Envious courtiets were not
wantin!il to whisper to the , Sultan of Gollwnda that the absent

* Sldhm~t b nlue miles due cast and Gunditi.ota 12 mil~s n. w, ot Cud.:jap.1 town.
Both arc situated on the Penner fr;ret.

3
3-! SliORT IIISTORY 01- AURANGZJB [Cf!. II

wc1;;::it 1s
armeJ sirernJth was a menace lo his own security,
and that the servant's wealth overshadowed the !Jrandeur of
1he master's Court. Qutb Shab, too, naturally wished to have
a share of his 1f7a!f.ir 1s gains in the Karnatal<. Mir Jumla, on
the other hand, l<nowin~ how weal< and worthless his master
was, n"~arded the conquest as entirely his own wott.> and
was loth to return to lhe life of Cl courtier. Qutb Shah at
last openly uncler!ooR to crush his disobedient serv.:lnf.

8. Qutb Sfia/i's tapfute wit/i tfie JY!ugfia/s, 1655.

Mir Jumla now lool<ed around for il protector. In addition

to mal<in!S" offers of his services to Bijapur, he began to
coquet with the Mughal power. Attrangr:il:J secretly nursing
his passionate ambition of conquering the rich State of
GoHwnda, was ea<Jer to secure such an able helper um!
counsellor as the prime minister of that hingdom. Through
!he Mughal envoy at Gollwnda the prince opened a secret
correspondence \Vith Mir Jumla, prornisini;:( him bbtmJless
faV'ours from the Emperor, if he joined the Mughal ser\7ice.
But Mir Jumla w~1s in no haste lo ilccept the offer ; he ashed
for a year's time, and Aurangr:ib was disgusted with his
duplicity.
Before Qutb Shah could muster either his coura!,le or his
fotces for the purpose of chastising Mir Jumla, a ctisis was
precipitated by the conduct of Muhammad Amin, the wa..'i:it's
son. This young man, haughty and rccMess, was actin~ all
these years as Mir Jumla's deputf at the Court of Gollwnda, ,
and ttscd to freat the Sultan with scant courtesf in open
Court. At las!, one day Muhammad Amin came to Court
reelini with drunkenness, fell asleep on the king's own carpel,
and soiled it in crop sickness. The long-suffering l<ing's an!Jer
boiled over, and he threw Muhammad Amin and his family
info prison and attached their property (21st Novembe1r 1655).
1655] QUTB Sl!AH ARRESTS MIR JUMLA'S SON 35

This was the opportunity for which Aurang:;::ib hud so long

been waiting.
Aurang;;:ib had received on 1Sth December ihe Emperor's
letters appointing Mir Jumla and his son to the Mughal ser\'ice
and bidding Qutb Shah not to hinder them in coming to the
imrerial Court nor to detain their propertr. Ile immediately
sent the order to Qutb Shah threatening him \Vith Witl' if he
delayed or disobeyed. In the meantime he mobili::cd his troops
on the Gollwnda frontier. Qutb Shah seemed to ha\7e been
blind to the coming storm, he disregarded these Mu!Jhal letters.
On hearins;i (24th December) of Muhammad Amin's captivity,
Shah Jaban wrote a letter to Qutb Shah to release Mir Jttmla's
family. He felt sure !hat his letter alone would effect the
purpose. But "in order to gratify Auran~::ib," he rather
relndantly sanctioned (29th Dec.) the in\7asion of Gollwnda, in
case Muhammad Amin was .,mi ddu\n-c.d. noth the"'e leUers
reached Aurarn;:zib on 7th January, 1656. f-le now employed
finesse to ruin Goll~onda. Withont s;iivini;i Qutb Shah time to
receive and follow Shah Jahan's letter of 24th December, which
explicitly ordered the release of the captives. he c.!eclarecl that
ihe Ring's refnsal to set them free in spite of the Emperor's
letter of 3r<!l December amounted to that flat disobedience of
imperial orders which had been laid down as a necessary
condition for the invasion of Goff~onda.

9./ilitlang:;:ib in11ades Go!k.onda Kingdom, 1656.

\.__: ,,,,,,...
Al once, by order o{ Aurans;izib, his eldest son Muhammad
'sultan crossed the frontier at Nander (10th Januar'f, 1656) and
1nade a dash on Haidarabi1d with his cavalry. On the 20!h
of the month, Auran!Jzib himself started from Aurani-J"abad and
hastened to join his son.
Meantime, after Muhammad Sultan had entered his territoty,
Abdullah got Shah Jahan's stern letter of 24th December and
at once sent Muhammad Amin with his family and servants
36 SrIORT HISTORY or AURANGZ!B (Ct!.![

to that prince, together with a humble letter of submission to

lhe Emperor. But Aurant,fo:ib had so contrived it that his sub
mission should come loo late to save him. Muhammad Amin
waited on the prince, 24 miles from liaidarabad (probably on
21st Jan.), but the prince refused to stop hostilities and pressed
on to the capital on the plea that Abdullah had not yet
restored the property of the captives. Qutb Shah's last hope
\Vas gone ; the Mughal cavalry had arrived so fast that he
had been completely tal<en by surprise. Confronted with utter
ruin, he fled from Haidarabacl to the fort of Golkonda in the
night of 22nd January, abandonin!5 his capital.
This flight saved his life because Aurang=:ib's secret instruc-
tions to M. Sultan breathed deadly animosity :

"Qutb-ul-mulR is a coward and '"ill pwbably offer no n:sist,rnce Immediately on

delivcrinll this messa~e. attacl< him impetuous\ and, if ''OU can m<1na~e ii, !ig!Uen
fii> necti: Qf tfie butd.;11 of fiis fieod. The best means o! achicvin~ this plan are
cleverness, oromplitude, and lightness of h,md."

On !23rd January the im~aders arrived at the Husain Saqar

tanR, two miles north of Haldarabad. Confusion reigned in
the counsels of Goll<onda. Next day the young prince entered
Haiclarabad. A strong party was posted in the city under
Muhammad Beq to prevent plunder and violence. 'Haidarabad
was one of the richest cities of India. This looting of Ifaidara-
bad by the Muqhal army was the tall< of all India, in that age.
As Aur<'U1gr::ib's equerry, Aqil Khan Rael, wrnte in his history,
"Most of the stores and property of Qutb-ulHmull<, such as
precious bool<s and other costly things beyond computation,
were plundered by Prince M. Sultan.,. Much of Qutb-ul-mull<'s
property,-among the rarities of the aqe,-was confiscated by
Aurang2ib."
Aurangzib arrived on the scene on 6th Februar'l with the
bulk of his army. With the vigottr and promptitude that
marked all his actions, he first made a reconnaissance
of the fort of Golkonda and its environs.
1656] AUf<ANGZIB JKVADES GOLKOJ\DA 37

Next day the siege of Goll~onda bei;ian. The west side

was unoccupied, but Mui;!hal officers entrenched on the other
ihree sides. The leaguer of Golhonda lasted from 7th
February to 30th March, and was conducted yery languidly,
because, with ihe materials at his disposal, he could do no
injury to such an impregnable fortress. Battles tooR place
with the Golhonda troops ho\7 ering round. These sl<irmishes
were varied by the almost dailf arrival of presents and offers
of peace from the beleaguered bini;! to the invader's camp !
But Aurani;i:;;;ib steadily refused to mal~e terms. lie coveted
1he whole t;:in!jldom and nothing less. He piled his father
with all sorts of arguments lo secure his consent to its
annexation. But Shah Jahan was loth to ruin a brother hing
for merely hyini;i to bring his diloyal rvaJc:fr under discipline.
Dara, who had been bribed and implored by the Goll<onda
e1woy at Delhi,-to the intense dis,,;ust and anger of Aurangsib,-
pleadecl hard for Qutb"ulmulk, and secuted peace for him
on the payment of an indemnity. The Emperor's letter accept
ing this settlement reached Aurang:::ib on 24th February.
Aurangsib suppressed the Emperor's letter of pardon to
Qutb-u[.mull< (dated 8th February), lest it should embolden the
latter and mahe him abate his terms.
Jn the meantime, Abdullah's agent at the Couri of Delhi
had bought the intercession of Dara Shul<oh and of the
Princess Imperial Jahanara, [Gllldasfita). Throu!;l"h them he
unfolded to the Emperor the true story of Aurangeib's
mana'uvring,-how Abdullah had been tricked and almost
slain by treachery, how he had not been given a fair chance
of carrying out the Emperor's orders, how the imperial
farmans had been withheld from him, how Shah Jahan's
kind intentions towards the suppliant ruler had been thwarted.
At this Shah Jahan's righteous indiisnation boHed over. He
wrote a sharp letter of censure to Aurangsib, with orders to
raise the siege and quit Golhonda territory at once.
38 Sr[Of~T IHSTOf<'{ Ol' AUf~/1.NOZil', [CH. [[

So, on 30th March, in obedience to the Emperor's peremp-

to1y orders, Auranli[zib raised the sie!ile and withdrew from
the environs of Goll<onda. Four days afterwards Muhammad
Sultan was married by proxy to the second daughter of
Abdullah Qutb Shah. The l<ing of Goll<onda, besides paying
a war indemnit'l and arrears of tribute amounting to one
K:tore of Rupees, had to cede the district of Ramgir (modern
Manil<druq and Chinoor). The Muiiihal arm'! set out on its
retreat on 21st April.
Mir Jumla had come to Attrangzib's camp at Goll<onda
on 2oth March more as a prince than as a noble. Six thou-
sand cavalry, 15,000 infantry, 1:50 elephants, and a very good
train of artillery accorn'panied him. Summoned immediately
to the imperial Courl, he arrived al Delhi on 7lh )ul-y aad
presented the Emperor with articles worth 15 /a/dis, includin~
a bi~- diamond weighing 216 mtis. He was at once createcj
a Commander of Six Thousand and appointed prime minister
in the place of Sadullah I\han lately deceased.

10. Auwng:<:ib's wmng_les wilfi Jfiafi Jafian about

tfie Go!K:onda booty.

This expedition renewed Aurang::ib's wrangles with the

Emperor. An exaggerated account of the looting of f!aidarabad
had reached Delhi. It was also represented to Shah Jahan
probably bl7 the Gol!<onda envoy, that Aman!jl>=:ib and his
sons had taken costly presents from Qutb Shah, without
mentioning the fact in his despatches 01' setting .their price
off from the tribute due. Auranigzib, on his part, complained
that Shc;ih Jaban had not kept his promise as to sharing the ,
Gollwnd indemhit'? with him ; "the entite Golhonda indemnlly
has been taken by the E~peror a11d placed in Daulatabad
treasury. How can l repay tn'l debt for the war and the
arrears of my army, abotit 20 lafifis of Rupees ?" .The
 1656] MUG!IAL RELATIONS \VITI! BIJAPUR 39

presents receiV'ecl from GoUmnda had, he said, been

cxag~eraled into "chcst~loads of iev1els" by malicious reporters
at the imperial Court.
Peace had been made with Gollwnda, but one subject of
discord remained open. Qutb Shah wanted to Reep the
Karnatab, and with justice : it had been won by his servan:
and formed part of his Ringclom. But Aurang2ib objected,
saying that it was Mir lumla's personal jagit and referred
the matter to the Emperor, who decided to hold Hie Karnat.11<
in his own hands as Mir Jumla's jafJ-fr, and Qutb Shah was
ordered to recall his officers from that province. But the
Gollmnda officers were loth to yield the rich prey. The'l
lingered there and threw every difficulty in the path of the
Muqhuls in occupying and settling the counhy,

~ 11. - Au;anrr.;;ib inrmdes Bijapttt; 1657.

\ ,_.,~

In the "i:eign of Muhammad Adil Shah (1626-56) the

l<ingdom of Bjjapur uttained to its hii;!hest extent, power, and
magnificence. His dominion stretched from the Arabian Sea
to lhe Bay of Bengal, across the entire Indian Peninsula.
Ever since 1636, Muhammad Adil Shah had lil7ed at peace
with the Emperor of Delhi, and we read of friendly exchan~es
of presents between the two Courts. This Sultan's good
name for piety, love of justice, and care for his subjeds,-
which was heightened by a certain simplicity of understanding
and i15"norance of the world,-great!y pleased Shah Jaban.
Mir Jumla's drrival at Delhi (7th July, 1656) secured the
triumph of Auran!Jzib's policf of <1i;;gression in the Emperor's
council. With Mfr Jumla dominating the Emperor's counsels
Autangiib confidently matured the plan of in'Vadinlil" Bijapur
on the expected death of its reigning hing.
On 4th November, 1656, Muhammad Adil Shah, the
seventh of the royal line of Bijapttr, died. Through the efforts of
his chief minister Khan Muhammad and the Queen Bari Sahiba,
40 Sl!ORT J-IISTOT~Y OF AURANGZrn [ell. II

the crown was placed on the head of Ali Adil Shah II, a
youth of 18 years, and the only son of the late R.ing.
AurarnJzib immediately wrote to Shah Jahan, urging an ilwasion
on the plea that Ali was not really a son of the ,deceased
Sultan, but a boy of obscure parentage whom Muhummad
Adil Shah had brought up in the harem. The death of
Muhammad Adil Shah was followed by disorder in the
KarnataR ; the :::amindars recovered much to their former
lands. At the capital things were even worse. The Bijapuri
nobles quarrelled with one another and with the prime
minister Khan Muhammad for the division of power. To
aggravate the evil, Aurangzib intrhlued vvith them, and
succeeded in corrupting several leading men of the Court
who promised their adh<;'!sion and prepared to desert to the
Mughal territory with their troops. Aurangzib hoped to
seduce the o!hers with the aid of Mir Jumla.
On 26th November, Shah Iahan sanctioned the invasion
and gave Aurangzib a free hand to "settle the affair of
Bi]apur in any way he thought fit." A force of 20,000
iroopers, partly from the Court and partly from the jag.its,
wiih a large staff of officers and Mir Jumla himself was
despatched to reinforce the army of Aurang;;ib. The war
thus sanctioned was wholly unrighteous. Bijapur was not a
vassal State, but an independent and equal ally of the
Mughal Emperor, and the latter hdd no !awful ri!jlht to conffrm
or question the succession at Bijapur. Mir Jumla arrived at
Aurangabacl on 18th January, and that very day at the
.;iuspicious hour chosen by the astrologers, the prince set out
wifh him to invade Bijapur. On 28th February, he reached
the en\7irons of Bidar, and 101id siege to the fort on 2nd
March. Siddi Marjan offered a stout defence : he made
several smiies, and fallin!i1 on the trenches tried io arrest the
progress of the siege. But the superior numbers of the
Mughals told in the end, <tnd Mir Jumla's fine train of arlillery
1657) SJEGE OF p,JDAR ,\ND K1\LlA'11 41

did great damage to the fort walls ; two towers were demo-
lished and the battlemcnls of the lower-most wall as well as
ihe outer breast-worl<s were le'i'elled to the !;l"round.
The ditch ha\7ing been fillecl up, the assault was delivered
on 29th March. A spar!< from a rocRet fired by the
Mus;:hals fell into a chamber of gunpowder and grenades
behind the tower. There was a terrific explosion. Marjm1
was mortally wounded with two of his sons and many of
his followers ; the exultini,J Mui;Jhals swarmed out of their
lrenches and rushed into the city, driving the remnant of the
defenders bacR with fearful slaul,1hter. Siddi Marjan from his
death-bed sent his seven sons to Aurangzib \Vith the Reys of
the fort. . Thus, the stronghold of Bidar fell after a siege of 27
days only. Among the spoils of \~ictory were rn lat/is of
Rupees in cash, 8 laifis worth of powder. shot, grain and
otner stores, besides 230 pieces of cannon.
Aurang:db next sent a force of 15,000 well mounted and
experienced troopers under Mahabat Khan, lo punish the
assembled enemy and ra'?a!Je the Bijapur territory up to
Kaliani in the west and Kulbarga in the south. This Mughal
detacbmenl encountered the enemy on 12th April. The
Bjjapuris, numbering some 20,000, under their famous chiefs
Khan Muhammad, AfEal Khan, and the sons of Randaulah
and Raihan, began the attad~. Mahabat Khan lil~e a good
!Jenera! l<ept his men well in hand, amidst the ring of his
enemies and their distradinlt! mode of attack ; finally he
cbari,Jed and the Bijapurls tied.
Forty miles west of Bidar, on the old road from the holy
shrine of Tuljapur to GoIJ.:wnda, stands the city of KALlANT,
the ancient capital of the ChaluRya l<ini;rs and of !he Kanarese
country. Aurangiib on 27th April sel out with light kit and
arrived before Kaliani in a week's time. The place was
immediately invested. Day and ni!jlht the garrison kept up a
ceaseless fire from the walls ; they made fierce onslaughts on
42 SHORT II!STOR'i o~ .\UR,\NOZrn [C!!. If

Mir Iumla's trenches, but to no purpose. Once Mahc1bc1t

Khan himself on escort duty was hemmed round bl! t11e
enemy c1t a place IO mile;; north-east of Kaliani. The battle
rageJ. long and fiercely. The brunt of the battle fell on the
Rajputs. The horsemen of Khan Muhammad burst in vain upon
the granite wall of Rao Chhatra Sal and his I-ladc1 clansmen.
Rajah Rai Sin15"h Sisodia, assaulted by the sons of Bahlol
Khan of Bijapur, was wounded and unhorsed in the press
of the enemy. Just then relief arrived : a char15e by
Mababat Khan broke the enemy's ranks and they fled ..
While Aurangzib concentrated his effotis on pressing the
siege hard, a Bijapuri army 30,000 strong assembled on!'?
four miles from his camp. On 28th May, lea\7ln15 a screen
of tents round the foti, the prince marched with the main
body of his troops upon the enemy's position. All divisions
of the two armies were erniaged with their respective opponents.
The fight rai;red for six homs. The Deccanis kept up a
running fight; four times in succession were ther bro!~en
and .:is often did thev form again and face the advancini;?
Mughals. But at last the repeated charges of the heavily
armed northern horsemen prevailed in the close fight ; the
Mughal anny cro,..,~ded upon the enemf from left and right
and scattered them :finally- ; the imperialists pursued them pell
mell to their camp, slaying and capturinQ all that they could.
Evertthing found in the Bijapuri camp,-arrns, sla\7cgirls,
horses, transport-cattle, and all hinds of property.-was
plundered. The siess-c was pressed with vigour, but the
defence by the Ab1ssinian Dilawwar was equally heroic. The
Biiapuris began to assemble again in order to oppose the
Mughals. So, on 22nd July, Aurang;;ib sent a large division
under his eldest son and Mir Tumla. to breaR. up their forces. This
Mughal corps advanced forty-eight miles, charged and brot?c
their formation, and pursued thern for four miles. The vie.tors
proceeded, k1yi11g the Bijapuri 'li!lages waste, up to Kulba.rga.
1657] PEACE WITH ;\OIL SHA!!

On 29th July, the imperialists scaled a tower on the other

side of the moat of Kaliani. The strug~le here was mmt
obstinate. But the assailants swarmed into the fod and held
this portion of the defences. On 1st Au15ust the l~eys of the
fort were delivered up by Dilawwar, who was gi\'ell a
robe of honour with permission to go to Bijapur.
After the fall of Kaliani, the l~ing of Bijapur opened
negotiations for peace. Bijapuri a~ents intrigued at Delhi and
secured the intercession of Dara with the Emreror. It was
agreed that Adil Shv.h would cede to the Mughals the forts
of Bidar, Kaliani and Parenda with their dependent territories,
as well as a war-indemnit\7 of one frote of Rupees. On
these terms Shah Jahan ordered Auran~:ib to mal<e peace
and to return with his armr to Bidar, while the reinforcements
sent to the Deccan from Malwa and Northern India v;-ere
recalled lo their former posts. Thus Aurangsib received a
sharp ched~ in the hour of his triumph ; he had l;lained only
the northern frinqe o[ the vast Biiapur Rinqdom when his
father cried halt to him. The Bijapurls profited by his distrac~
tion and weakened power and delayed and finally refused
to surrender Parend9..
To complete the misfortunes of the Mui;iha! cause in the
Decean, Shah Jahan fell ill on 6th September and rurnours
of his death spread throus;lh the empire. Aurangiib, harassed
by anxiety and dish'acted by contlicti!1\l plans, began his
retreat from Kaliuni on 4th October, 1657.
 CHAPTER Ill

JLLNESS 01" SliAH JAHAN AND REBELLION

OF HIS SONS.

1. 8/ian Jafian's eldest son Dara 8nut<.on.

1 On 7th March, 1657, Shah Jaban completed three decades

of his reign and be'i/an the 31st year. The reign had been
as prosperous as it had been long. The 'wealth of Ind',1
under this Great Mu~hal da=:;::Jed the eyes of foreign visitors,
and on galu days ambassadors from BuRhara and Persia,
TurRey and Arabia, as well as travellers from France and
Italy-, ga:ced with v;-onder. at !he Peacock Throne and the
Kohinur and other jewels.,) The white marble edifices which
he loved to build were as costly as they were chaste in
desiJiln. The ncbles of the empire eclipsed the l~inr.zs of
other land:; in weulth and pomp. The bounds , of the "pro~
iedecl empire" had been stretched farther than in any
preceding rei!5n. Within the country itself a profound peace
rei!ilned. The peasantry '/\"ere carefully cherished ; harsh and
exading ~o>'ernors were in many cases dismissed on the
complaint of the people. Wealth and prosperity- increased
on all hands. A Rind and vet wise master, Shah fahan had
i;rathered round himself a band of \7ery able officers, and
made his Court the centre of the wit and wisdom of the
land. But one by one the !1reat ministers and generals who
had contrlbuled to the 1iJlory of the reign were bein!J removed
by the piiiless hand of Death. And, as the giants of old
passed away, the Emperor found no worthy successors to
1657] CffARACTf'R OF D.\fN Sf!UKOH 45

them among the new faces and younger men about him.
He had alrcad'l completed 67 lunar years (24 Jan. 1657).
What would happen after him ?
Shah Jahan had four sons. AH of them were past youth,
and all had gained experience as governors of provinces o.nd
commanders of armies. But there was no brother! love
among them. The ill-feeling between Dara and Aurangzib
in particular was so bitter and had continued growin~ bitterer
for so many years past, that it was the tall~ of the whole
empire, and peace had been maintained between them only
by - ~Reeping Aurang::!ib far av'i7ay from the Court and his
eldest brother. Shah Jahan had given clear indications that
he wished to leave the crown to Dara, the eldest of his foul'
sons by tfie same moffiet. In order to train him in the
administration of the empire and to smooth the transfer of
the supreme authority to him, the Emperor had l<ept Dara
by his side for many years past, and allowed him to
go'lcrn his viceroyalties by deputie5. At the same time the
Emperor bestowed on him ranh and privileges which raised him
to an almost royal position. All ht1.d to buy or beg Dara's
mediation before they could approach the Emperot.
Dara was just turned of forty-two iears. He had tal~en
after his great-grandfather Akbar. In his thirst for pantheistic
philosophy he had studied the Talmud and the New Testament,
the writings of the Muslim Sufis, and the Hindu Vedanta.
Ifis aim w.:ts to find a meetirni{point tor Hinduism and Islam
in those universal truths which form the common basis of all
true reli~ions and which fana.tics are tocJ apt to ignore in
their :eeal for the men~ externals of faith. Alike from the
Hindu y:ogi Lal-das and the Muslim faqfr Sarmad, he had itn
bibed his eclectic philosophy, and at the feet of both he had
sat as an attentive pup\\. But he was 110 apostate from
Islam. He had compiled a biography of Muslim saints, and
he had been initiated as a disciple of lhe Muslim saint Mian
 SJ!ORT l!ISfORY 01" AURi\NGZJB [c11. III

Jviir, which no fcafir could ha\7e been. The saintly Jahanara

also speal<s of Dara a3 l1er ~piritual preceptor. Dara's own
\rnrcls in introdudn~ to the reader his theological worl<s
dearly pro\7e that he ne\1er discarded the essential doJ5rnas of
Islam ; he only displayed the eclecticism of the Sufis, a
recognized school of Islamic believers. IloWe\7er, his coquetry
,,-ifh liindu philosophy made it imnossiblc for him, even if he
had tile inclination, to pose as the champi~n of orthodox and
exclusive Islam, or lo summon all Muslims to his banners
by proclaimin~ a holy war against the people beyond the
fold of the faith.
l His father's excessive love did him a distinct harm. He
was always l<ept at Court and never, except at the third
sie~e ot Qandahar, sent to conduct campaii,;ins or administer
pro\7inces. Thus, l~e ne\. er acquired experience in the arts of
7

war and gcwernment ; , he never learnt to judge men by the

crucial test of danger and difficulty i and he lost touch with
the acdv~e armq, Hence, he was rendered unfit for that war of
succession which amon~ tl1e Mu15hals ser\7ed as a practical test
tor the sur\7ival of the fittest. Ilis unri\7alled wealth anJ
influence were not lil~el'!." to de\7elop moderation, self-restraint,
or foresi~ht in him, while the fulsome flattery which he
recei\7ed irom all must ha\:re aggravated the natural priJe and
arrogance of an hetr to the throne of Delhi. Evidently he
was no judge of character. Men of ability and self-respect
must ha>'e kept away from such a vain and injudicious master.
Dara was a loving husband, a doting father, and d de\70ted
son ; but as a ruler of men in troubled times he must have
been a failure. Long continued prospel'ity had t.mnerved his
character and made him incdpable of planning wisely, daring
boldly, und achievin\il strenuously,-or, if need be, of wrest-
ing victory from the jaws of defeat by desperate effort or
heroic endurance. Military organization an<l tactical combina~
lion were beyond his power. And he had never learnt by
1657] !:>llAli !MIA}, r ll.LLS Jf L 47

practice how to 15uide the \-a1 yin<;\ tides of a baHlc with the
coolness and jud~ment of a !rue general. This novice in the
<'l t of war was destined to meet a pradised W'kr.:111 as his
rival for the throne.

2. lllness ct 2>nafi Jafian, 165'1, and consequent

disorder in flit? empire,

On 6th Septembe,, Shah Jahan suddenly fell ill of strangllr'l

and constipation at Delhi. For, one weeR the royal physicians
tolled in vain. The malady wen! on increasinJ5". The dail'l
dacbac was stopped ; the Emperor e11en ceased to show hb
face to the public from the balcon'l. Afterj,,~"' O a wed! the
doctors al last got control over the 1mtlady. But the impro\"C-
ment in the Emperor's condition was slil5"ht, and so he decided
lo ~o to A!;fra and <lit> there quietly in sight of the tomb of
ihe wife he had loved so well. He entered Agra city .on
26lh October.
During Shah fahan's illness Dara conslantl'l watched by his
bed-side, and tended and nursed him most careful!'?, and
showed no indecent h,;i.ste to secure the crown for himself.
En.dy ln the course of his illness, when Shah Jahan despaired
of reco\7ery, he set himself to prepare for the next world.
Calling to his presence some confidential "cour!fers and the
chief officers of the State, he made his li'lst will before them
and ordered them to obey Dara henceforth as their soverei~n.
Dara, however, did not assume the crown, but continuep to
issue orders in bis father's name, while attempting to streni;,;then
bis own position. I Ie remm'ed Mir Jumla, the confidant and
partisan of Attrang::ib, from the wazir-ship (end of September)
and sent orders to Mir !tunla, Mahabat Khan and other
I
imperial officers to return from the Deccan to ihe Court with
ibeir contingents,
 48 SflORl' HISTORY OF AUR,~NGZ!B Im. m
By the middle of No\7ember Shah Jahan had recovered
sufficiently to be told of imrortant matters which had hitherto
been l<ept from him. One was that Shuja had crownetl
himself and was advancing from Bengal. With Shah Jaban's
consent an army-, 2Q,OOO strong, was sent against him (30th
No\7ember) under Sulaiman Shul:wh (the eldest son of Dara)
and Min:::a I<aiah Jai Singh. Soon afterwards equally d!armin~
news arrived from Gujrat. There Murad had crowned
himself on 5tb December, and formed an alliance with
Aurang~ib. So, about the end of this month two imperial
armies were despatched from A~ra into Malwa,-one to
oppose the advance of Aurang:;:ib from the South and the
other to march into Gujrat and oust Murad from the province.
The first of these armies was placed under Maharajah Jaswant
Singh (of Marwar), who was appointed governor of Malwa
vice Shaista Khan recalled to Court. Qasim Khan was induced
to accept the command of the second army by bein<J created
governor of Gujrat. Shah Jahan besouiiihf these generals to
spare the liv-es of his yourn6er sons, to tty at first to send
them bad~ to their provinces by fair words if possible, other-
wise bt a demonstration of force, and not, except in extreme
need, to resort lo a deu.dly battle.
During Shah fahan's illness Dara at first allowed none but one
or two ministers in his confidence to have access to the
Emperor. He also \Vatched the ferries and stopped all letters
and messengers going to his brothers in Bengal, Gujrat and
the Deccan, and kept their a~ents at the imperial Court
under watch lest they should send any repott to their masters.
But ihese precautions only wrought greater mischief. The
princes and people in the distant provinces naluralI'l concluded
from this stoppage of news that Shah Jahan was dead,
and all the confusion and disorder of a Mu~hal succession
broke out Ever'i'where lawless men beiGan to cause tumults,
the peasants refused to pay the revenue, the :;:amindars Med
1657] MURAD IN Oll[RAT 49

to rob or conquer their rivals, and lhe frontiers were violated.

The local authorities were paralysed by uncertainty and anxiety
about the future, and lc:tw and order suddenly disappe.:ued in
many places.
No doubt, letters in Shah Jahan's hand and seal
reached the princes assurinq them of his recovery, but the).'
maintained that these were reully written by Dara, an expel t
imitator of Shah Jahan's handwritini;:, and that the late Emperor's
seal was necessarily in the po~session of the usurper !
T\1e three younger brothers, Jthere[ore, 'lery plausibly assert~d
in their letters to the Emperor that their lovin!il minds had
been unsettled by these alarming rumours, and they were
marching on Ag-ra to see their father with their own e'i?eS and
s0tisfy themsel11es as to his real condition.

3. Murad Bakfisfi crnivns nimself in Gu;tat.

Muhammad Murad Bal<hsh, the youngest son of Shah Jahan,

wus the blacll sheep of the imperial family. lie had been
tried in Ball<h, the Deccan, and Gujrat, and he had failed
eve1ywhere. A foolish, pleasure-loving and impetuous prince,
his character had not improved with age ; he had nol learnt
to apply himself to business or to bridle his passions. Worse
still, he had not the gift of choosing capable agents. But
Murad possessed the recl<less valour of a soldier. Place him
in Hie field of combat, and the martial spirit of Timur would
fire his blood, he would resistlessly force his way to dose
grips with the enemy, and 1 amidst the carn~ge ragin!J round
him, forget e'i1ety other feeling save the fierce delight of
slaughter. But his personal valour was a poor compensatio11
for bis lad~ of Si(eneralship.
Knowing the prince's incapaciff, Shah Jahan had tried
to remedy the mischief by sendinlS to him a very capable
and honest officer named Ali Naql as his revent.\e minister
4
50 SHORT H!STORY OF l\URA:Wzm [Cli. III

and chief counsellor. Ali Naqi's pure dnd vigilant

administration raised against him a host of enemies among
the flatterers and boon companions of the prince. A
conspiracy \'Vas soon formed by Murad's fa-vourite 'eunuch against
!he hated minister. A letter in Ali Naqi's hand and seal,
professing adhesion to the cause of Dara, was forged and
given to a courier. who contri'led to qet himself arrested
by Murad's road patrol, without bctrayinq its real authorship.
Murad was revelling in his pleasure-garden when the intercept-
ed letter was brought to him a little before dawn. The prince,
who had not slept off his night's debauch, burst into wrath
and ordered Ali Naqi to be dragged to his presence. Quiver-
ing with pent-up wrath, he ran Ali Naqi through with his
spear, shouting, "Wretch ! in spite of all my favours you have
turned such a traitor !"
Murad was enlistini;! troops in large numbers and needed
monef badly. So he sent an eunuch named Shahba:= Khan ~
with 6,000 troopers and war material to levy confribution from
the rich pod of Surat. The unwalled cit'l was easily occupied
and looted. Under the guidance of some Dutch artificers
Shahba:= Khan ran mines under the wall of the fort of Surat,
1
and by exploding one of them forced the place to surrender
(2oth December). Murad thus gained all the JilUns and accu-
mulated . treasures of Surat, besides taking a forced loan of
five la/dis of Rupees from f\vo of the richest merchants.
In the meantime, soon after r.eccivinl;l the news of Shah
Jahan's serious illness, Murad and Aurangz::ib had opened a
confidential correspondence with each other by means of trusty
messengers. They also wrote to Shuja invitln!if his co~operation
against Dara, but ihe long distance prevented their forming
any definite or worRing agreement. Between Murad and
Auran~i!:ib, however, a plan of concerted action was soon
matured, From the very be5;1inninl;l Murad placed himself under
At1ram~:r:ib s guidance. But he was too impetuous. After his
1
1658]
1
MURAD S WE.-'ITY WITH AUR1i.NGZJB 51

success at Surat, he publicly crowned himself as Emperor under

the title of Matuwwaj-ud-din (5th December). In letter after
letter we find Murad all fire and haste, \Vhile Aurungiib fs
cold and hesilatin15.
Murad proposed i.hat the brothers should matcb at once
from the South and attach Dara before he had time to con~
solidale his power and to win over i.he captains of the imperial
army posted far and near. Aurarn;izib pressed him not to tal~e
any compromisin15 step or set up the banner of revolt openly,
but to yvait, to dissimulate, and to send hollow friendly letters
to Dara, till they should !mow for certain that Shah Jahan was
dead. Aurangzib had suggested to Murad that a diversion
should be made ugainst Dara by instiguting the Persians and
Uz:bal~s to invade Afl6hanistan, which was then a pro\7ince of
the Mugha! empire. Murad, theicforc, wrote to the l<inis- of
Persia reporting the rumour of Shah Jahan's .death and bes;il6ing
armed aid from him. The latter wanted to wail and \..,.erify the
news.
A s,olertm treaty for the partition of the empire on the
followin~ terms was dl'awn up by Aurangzib, sworn to
on the Quran, and sent to Murad :
(i) Murad was to hold the Panjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir
and Sindh nnd reign 0\7er lhem as an independent Ring. The
resl of the Mughal dominions was to beloni;i to Aurangzib.
(ii) One.third ot the pri;;e of war was to belon~ to Murad
and two~thirds to Aurangzib. *
His preparations beinq now complete, M11rad set out from
Ahmadabad on 25th Pebruaty 1658 und effected a junction
with A1;1rang:cib's fo1ccs at Dlpalpur in Malwa on 141.h April.

* These: tcuns arc clcoil\:' ~i'7en in Aurilnl("ib's O\\"'n lette1 (Adctbi-Alamg.rii, I), 7S),
his offlcer Aqil Khan Ra~i's hisfot \:' (p. 25), and file Ta.1fd~at-us~salati11-us-c/J,1(1.filaia,
thus re!ulitllil Berniel''s absurd slot\' that Auransalb promised to !(.ivc !he entire empfre
to Murad while he himself \vould go lo Necca as a tlarvisli (lfoualil) after a'1'Cl'
lhrowin\1 the mfiMl Dar~.
52 SHORT HISlORY Of l\.URANGZ!B (CH. lU

-t lJ.ucJ.ng,;;;ib's anxieties and policy on tfie e11e of Ifie

War of Succession.

From 4th October 1657, w1bcn Aurang.:oib retired from

the \\7ar with P>ijapur, to 25th January 1658, when he began
his march towards Jiinclustan as a claimant to the throne, he
passed through a most anxious and critical time. Events
which he conlJ not possibly control were moving fost. '
liis present position was daily growing more untenable,
while the future was ominous. But the difficulties, great and
complex, which he overcame raise to the highest pitch our
admiration for his coolness, sagacity, power of managing men,
and diplomatic sl:i.i!L
The nevvs had got ottt that the Emperor had ordered peace to
be made and recalled the additional troops sent to the Decca1;>1
Thus a cruel fate threatened to snatch away from' Aurangz::ib's
grasp the fruits of his long and costly war with Bijapur, just
when he was about to taste them. Aurangz::ib, therefore, deter-
mined lo play a Q"ame of boldness in order to realize the terms
of the treaty before the Bijapuris could recover from their
recent defeats or learn of the full extent of the weal:rness and
distraction of the imperial Government.
But this po1ict7 of facinq round to Bijapur and ma!<inli:
military demonstrations in the South had its drawbacfas too. The
lon!iJ'er AurarnJzib delayed in maturing his plans for contestin!;l
the throne, proclaiming himself a claimant, and marching on
Hindustan, the greater was the time that Dara would gain for
reculling the chiet captains from the Deccart, winning over
officers und men far and nenr, consolidating his own . power,
and effectually counteracting Aurangz;ib's possible desig-ns. If,
on the other hand, AurarnJr:ib concentrated his forces, made a
public claim to the throne, mi,trched northwat'ds and openl1 r--
brobe with the it:i1PCrial Government b)? enlisting lroops,-th,!'!n
1;;would,
,.,,,........... ,,.,._
no doubt, check Dara in time, he would secure lhe
,...,.~,~-
[1657 AllRANGZIB'S ANXIETIES AND PLANS 53

adhesion of ambitious adventurers. But at the same tirr ,_, <111

hope of getting Parenda or the promised indemnity would be
gone, and his other enemies in the South would raise their
heads ; the fruits of the last two -qears' warfare in the Deccan
would be totally lost to him.
Aurang:oib's letters, preserved in the Adab~i~Alamgz'n: tell
the story of how the hope of a speedy settlement with
Bijapur daily grew fainter and fainter, how he tried diverse
means to get the promised territory and money, how be
conceded to Bijapur one by one the hard terms wrung out of
it by the trn:dy,-till at last, in despair of gcttinq anything
from Bijapur, he ga\Te up all thoufj!ht of the South, and turned
his undivided attention and resources to the pursuit of his
schemes in Northern India.
Leaving Kaliani on 4th October 1657, Auran~p:ib reached
Bidar in five da'{s. This fort was repaired and properly
garrisoned and provisio11ed. On the 18th of the month he
resumed his retreat march and ard'ved at Aurangabad on the
11th November. As soon as he left Bidar, there was the greatest
rejoicing in the Deccani RinfJdoms ; here were the Mughals
abandoninf6 their late conquests as untenable ! He had sent
Mir Jumla to the Parenda district (28th Sept.) to get deliver1
of that foli in terms of the treaty. Bui. the hope of getting
Parenda and the Bijapur indemnity grew fainter and fainter,
in spite of all the efforts of Mir Jutnla, and at last that !i;Teneral
returned baffled to Aurangabad (1st January 1658).
As early as QSth October Aurangzib had taken a ver'{
necessar'{ precaution by sending a force to sei::e all the ferries
of the Narmada and pre\7ent correspondence between Dara
and the imperial officers in the Deccan. But what line of
action was he to adopt now '? His followers were looRing up
to him to declare his policy, but a decision at this stage was
most difficult to ma\:~e and beset with daiqers. 'I'he news from
the imperial Court was conflictjng, Shah Jahan's exact condition
 SHORT JIISTORY OP AURANOZm [ctr. m
could not be lwown with certaint, and for ma1w weehs
J\uran!Jzib lived in the greatest distraction ; and so did hb
followers.
Aurang::::ib had from the first decided not to raise the
banner of rebellion before lrnowin'i?" for certain that Shah Jahan
was dead. But the quid~ march of events forced his hand.
Dara's plan with regard to the South" was now full unfolded:
he had induced the helpless Shah Jahan to remove Murad from
the \"'icero'i'alty of Gujrat and to transfer the subali of Berar
from Aurangzib to Murad, so as to maR.e the two brothers
quarrel. Further, Dara had sent two armies against his two
brothers in ihc South (close of December) and recalled Shaista
Khan (a stroni;i supporter of Auran1;1zib) from his province of
MahV'a to the Court, while Mir Jumla now recei\7ed an
imperial letter of recall from Aurangzib's side which it would
have been t1at rebellion to disregard. Similar letters reached
Auran~sib's officers

5. Aurang:l:ib's preparations for contesting tfie ffirone.

Tbc time for action had at last arrived, if Auran~:=ib hoped

ev~er to be R.ing or e\7en to li\7e in freedom. His mind was
made up early in JanuatT 1658, and he tool< rnpid and
decisive steps. First, Mir Jumla was ai:rested by collusion with
him, lod~ed in moch captivit in Daulatabad fort, and all his
properly and excellent artillery seized by Aurangz:ib in the
name of the State. The prince gave out as the ostensible
reason for this act, that Mir Jumla was in secret intrigue with
the two Deccani Sultans against the Emperor ! J.;I~ n~xt wroJe ,
to Shah Jahan and the new wa:;;it: Jafar Khan to the effect
that his loving heart had been distracted ' by hearing sad
"";~mours about Shah fah an, and that like a dutiful son he w~s
going to Agra to see his tather jn his illn~~ ' release him fro~.
D_~ra's control, and ~hereby save the empire from _alarm,
c211f}?csl9n ?rid, tu.mull
1658] AllRANOZrn's DIPLOMATIC INTRIGUES 55

Letters were written to Qutb Shah pressing him to pay up

the balance of his war indemnity, and the Mu~hal envoy at
the Goll<onda Court was ordered to behave !,_!ently to that
l<in!J', and to induce him to do nothing Llllfriendly to
the Mughal interests during Aurang;:;ib's proposed absence
from the Deccan. Friendly epistles and presents were sent
to the Queen Mother (Bari Sahiba) of Bijapur, urging
her to expedite the payment of the promised money and
to keep the Bijapuris quiet during his absence. Still later,
a ver'\? tempting offer was made to Adil Shah b'\? Aurang;:;ib,
as the price of his friendliness : "Remain loyal and keep
'\?Ollr promises ... I a~ree that (1) the fort of Parenda and
its dependent territory, the Konkan, c111d the mafia/ of Wanqi,
which have been annexed to the empire, together with
that portion of the K<1rnatal< which had been granted to the late
Adil Shah,-should be left to you as before, and (2) out of
your promised indemnity of one kt:ot:e of Rupees, thirty lai<hs
are remitted. Protect i.his country ; improve its administration.
Expel Shh1a who has sneaked into the possession of some forts
of the land. Do you send me at least 10,000 cavalry. I shall
grant you all the terrilorry up to the bc1nR of the Banganga.'"
All this time Auranqzib was intriguing actively but in secret
with the courtiers of the capital and the high officers in the
provinces (especially Malwa). 9f, .;:11 the f9ur sons of Sheth
Jahan he had the best reputation for capacity and experienc~.
All self-seeMnq nobles and officers recognized him i:\S the
cominr;i man, and hastened to secure their future by doin5'1 him
friendly turns, or at least by sending him secret assurances of
their sqpporl. \
The enlisting of new soldiers had been going on apace.
Large quantities of saltpetre, sulphur and lead were bought
for making muflitions, while the gunpowder anq fuses in fhe
Deccan forts were taken awaY for the advance on Delhi. In
this way Aura11g:ib's army was swollen to 30,000 picked
 56 SHORT HISTORY OF AUR<l,NGZIB [ctr. III

!roopcrs, besides Mir Jumla's excellent !rain of cannon served

by English and French ~unners.
Allrangzib \Vas even strorn;:er in officers than in men and
material. During his rule of the Deccan he had gathered
round himself a band of \'cry able servants, all attached to him
by !Jratituce and some by personal affection. They did him
signal sen'ice during the contest tor the throne. Such were
Murshi<l Quli Khan, the df117an1 Shaifah Mir, the warrior and
confidential adviser, Aqil Khan Razi, the equerry and personal
attendant, Qabil Khan, the facile and trusty secretary, KhanM
i-Zaman, the energetic Inspector of Ordnance, Muhammad Tahir,
a veteran captain raised to tfle peerage as Wazir Khan, the
faithful envoy Isa Beg (created Mufahlis Khan), the hi15hborn and
experienced Shams-ud-din MuRhtar Khan, and above all that
jewel of <1 servant, Mir Jumla, great in war, 15"reater still in
counsel. Amonq his most devoted Iiindu followers were I<ao
Karan of Bifaanir, Subh-Karan the Bundela (of Dalia), and Rajah
lndramani of Dhamdhera.
Before leaving the Deccan Aurangzib tooR steps to maintain
his hold on the country during his absence. Prince Muaz::::am
was left at Aurangabad with two high officers and a strong
force to carry on the government,_ while Amangzib's har,em
was placed in the neighbouring fort of Daulatabad.
At last, on 5th February 1658, Aurarntzib started from
Au:an~abad to contest the throne. BQrhanpur was reached on
the 18th, and here a month's halt was made in ordet to
complete the or~anization of his army and other prepMations.
Leavin~ Burhanpur on 20th March1 he arrested and put in
prison his rather-in-law Shah Nawaz Khan, who persisted in his
loyalty to Shah Jahan (26th March). The Narmada was
crossed at Akbarpur, without the least opposition (3rd April),
and then while marching northwards to Ujjain, he leqmt on the
13th, near Dipalpm: (some 26 miles south of Ujjain), that
Murad had arrived a few miles west of hlm. Next day the
1658] Al!RANGZIB UNITES Wlfll l'Il!RAD 57

two brothers joined their forces near the lal<e ot Diralpur.

Jaswant was only one day's march in front of him. In the
e\7enin!J the princes encamped al the village of Dharrnat (14
miles s. s. w. of Ujjain), on the western banfa of the Gambhira,
an affluent of the Chambal river. Next day the !Jreat \Vat of
Mu!Jhal Succession be!Jan.
 BOOK II.

CHAPTER IV

WAl< OF SUCCESSION : AURANGZIB TRIUMPHS.

1. Jasivant at Dfiatmat ; fiis difficulties.

l<eachinli! Ujjain with his arnw at the end of February

1658, Jaswant was quite in the dtlrR about Aurang;;ib's inten-
tions and mo\7ements, so strictly did that prince watch the
roads and ferries of the Narmada river. The first news
that he got of Aurangzib was that the prince was already in
Mah\7a and rapidly marching on Ujjain.
In utter perplexity Jaswant advanced fourteen miles south-west
of Ujjain and encamped opposite Dharmat, to bloc!< the path of
the enemy coming up from the south. Here another startling
news reached him : Murad had joined Auran15zib (14th April)
and the two were within a day's march of him.
Jaswant had come to Malwa in {he hope that the mere
prestii;)e of the imperial banners would send the rebellious
princes bad~ to their provinces, and that all that he would
ha'le to undertake was a mere demonstration of force. Now,
when too late, he realized that his adversaries were in deadly
earnest and ready to fight to the bitter end.
Jaswant was se'?erely handicapped b'{ Shah Jahan's instruc-
tions to send the two rebellious princes back to their own
pro'linces with as little injury to them as possible, and to fight
them onl'f as a last resource. While Aurangzib followed his
own judgment onl'{, knew his own mind, Jaswant was hesitat-
in~1 distracted by the conflict between the instructions from
1658] /ASWAl\T's DIFl'ICULTIES Ar DrL\f~~l-\T

Agra and the exi>,:lencies of the actual military situation in

Malwa, and entirely dependent for his own line of udion on
what his opponents would do.
His army, too, was an ill-knit !5roup of disconJant clements.
The various Rajput clans were often divided from each other
by hereditary feuds and quarrels about di~nity and precedence.
Then, again, there was the standin~ aloofness between Hindu:i
and Muhammadans. It had been found next to impossible to
bri<Jade these creeds trn;1ether for a campaign under one !5Cneral.
There was no unity of command in the imperial army
assembled at Dharrnat, because Qasim Khans orders were to
co-operate with Jaswant and not to act as his subordinate.
Several of the Muslim offi~ers, moreover, were secretly friendly
to Auran>Jz:ib ; for we find that in the ensuing battle twenty-four
Rajput chids and onlr one Muhammadan general were l<illed
on the Emperor's side. Qasim Khan and his men l<ept
themsel17es out of harm's way in lhe battle and the full brunt
of it fell on the Rajputs.
Finally, Jaswant as a general was no match for Aurang:::ib ;
his fattlty plan and conduct of the battle proves his inexpe~
rience and hot~headedness. He chose his s;(round badl'l and
so cramped his men that the horsemen could not manceuvre
freely nor Ji:ather momentum for a charge ; he failed to send
timely succour to the divisions that needed it most, and, the
battle once be~un, he lost control over his forces as if he
were a mere divisional leader and not the supreme commander
of all. Lastly, he made the fatal mistake of despising artillery.
Evidently Jaswanfs plan was to sl<irt the enenw's artillery
and come to close quarters with their troops, disregat'ding the
gun~fire' during the first few minutes of the wild gallop. But
when the battle began, the Rajputs we_re penned within a
narrow space with ditches and entrenchments on their flanks,
and subjected to a deadly fire before they could spread out
for a charge. Secondly, after they had passed by the enemy's
60 SHORT 1!15TORY OF AURANGZ!B [rn. IV

artillery and ern;,raged Aurang;;ib's troops, the French and

En>;:lish gunners of the prince quiddy turned their guns sideways
and began to mow down the Rajputs in their new position.
it was truly a contest between swords and gunpowder, ctnd
artillery triumphed O\er cavalr)7".

2. Battle of Dfiarmaf.
The two armies were almost equally matched and numbered
a little over 35,000 men each, though Aurangr:ib's force wus
immensely superior in cohesion and artillery.
Two hours after sunrise on the 15th of April, the rival hosts
sighted each other. Aurang:;:ib's army advanced slowly upon
the imperialist position, l<eeping its regular formation, and
began to shoot down the Rajputs densely pacl<ed in columns
without space to manceuvre freely. The Rajput losses began
to mount up every minute. Then their vanguard, led by
Mul<un<l Singh Hada, Ratan Singh Rathor, Dayal Singh Jhala,
Arjun Singh Gaur, Sujan Singh Sisodia and others, with tbek
choicest clansmen, galloped forward. Shouting their war-cry
of Ram I Ram I "they fell on the enemy like tigers, casting
away all plan." The flood of Rajput charge first burst on
Aurani,;iib's artillery. The guns and muslzets fired at point~
blanl< range, woefully thinned their ranks, but so impetuous
was their onset that it bore down all opposllion. Murshkl Quli
Khan, the Chief of Artillery, was slain after a heroic resistance
and his division was shaken ; but the guns were not damaged.
The artillerymen probably fled before the storm, and retumed as
soon as it passed away. Victorious 0\7er the artiliery guard,
the assailants fell on the front pad of Aurangiib's vanguard:
Here an obstinate hand-io-hand combat raged for some time.
The Rajputs, flushed with success, swept onward and pierced
into the heart of Aurangr:ib's vanguard. This was the most
critical moment of the day ; if the Rajput charge were not
checked, all would be over with Attrangzib.
1658] BATTLE or DIL\l~l'!Xl 61

But this front division of the prince's army was composed

of his most picl<ed troops, 8,000 mail-clad warriors, and their
generals were reliable men, who, seated on their elephants,
l~epl their s;(rouncl firmly like hills while the flood of Rajpul
cbanJe raged round and round them in eddies. Here the most
stubborn and decisive fiiJhting of the clay toob place, and ''the
ground was dyed crimson with blood lil<e a tulip bed." The
force of Rajput impact was divided and weal<e11L'd when it
struck the dense mdss of Aurang::::ib's vanguard.
Only a few men from Jaswant's centre and advanced
reserve had moved up to support their brethren thus struggling
in front ; the Mughal troops under Qasim Khan rendered no
assistance. Thus, the char!Je of Jaswant's vanguard was not
followed up ; Aurang;:ib's troops, who had parted before the
rushing tide, closed again behind them, and cut off their retreat.
By this time the watchful eye of Aurang;:ib had taken the
situation in, his advanced rcser\7e had been pushed up to
reinforce the van, and he himself moved forward with the
centrf.:' to form a wall of support aitd refuge close behind
them. Above all, Shaikh Mir and Saf Shikan Khan with the
right and left wings of the centre struck the Ra,jputs in the waist
from the two flanks, while tbef were engaged with fAurangzib's
van in front._.}\.ll tt1e. six. Raj put .chieftain~_ engaged in the charge
were slain. Hopelessly outnumbered now, assailed in front, right,
and left, .and cut off from their rear, the l{ajputs were slaught~resJ
uflcr perfo1ming frantic de.Cd~ of val,our.
Meantime, the action had become general. Rec(wering from
the shock of Mulwnd Singh's charge as soon as the Rajpu!
ca\7alcacle swept on to another point, Aurangiib's lJUnne1s, with
their pieces mounted on high ground, concentrated their fire
on the enemy's centre under Jaswant himself.
The imperialists, crowded tog~ther on a narrovv ground
tlanRed with impassable ditches and swamps, could not
manceuvre freely, and "sacrificed their li\7es !H?:e moths in the
 SllORT HISfORY OF Al!RANGZIB [err. IV

flame of war." At the sight of the annihilation of their br,we

,-an~uard and a triumphant forward movement on the part of
Aurangzib, Rui Sin!Olh Sisoclia from the right flan!~ of Jaswan!'s
centre, and Sujan Singh Bundela and Amar Sin!Jh Chandrawat
from his 11an, left the field with their clansmen and returned
home.
Meantime, Murad Bakhsh \\7 ith his division had fallen on
Taswant's camp, close to the field, secured the submission of one
of its defenders, Devi Singh Bun<lela, and driven off the rest.
Then advancin!il into the field itself, Murad fell on the left
wing of the imperial arnw, and it soon ceased to exist, after
losing lts commander lftiRhar Khan.

Fliglit of Jaswant cmd fiis ll'oops.

Rai Sinlijh's fli',tht had already 1.mcovered laswant's right
Uanl< ; the fall of Iftikhar Khan exposed his left. Meantime his
van had almost entirely melted away ; the Musalmans, under
Qasim Khan, who had Rept aloof from the fi.ghting, prepared
to run away as they saw Aurangz:ib's host ad\7 ancing on them.
And now Aurun\!:cib from the front, Murad from the left, and
Saf Sh\Ran Khan from the ri!5ht, were convergin!,1 on Iaswanl
liRe a tumultuous flood, to envelop his small remnant of
clansmen. The Maharajah, who had received two wounds,
w-anted to drive his horse lnto the advancing enemy's.
ranlzs and get slain. But his .generals and ministers seir:e-d
his bridle und draqged his horse out of the field, and
tooR the road to Jodhpur. The battle had been already lost,
and after the flight of the r~atbors there was a general rout.
But there was no pursuit ; victor and vanquished alike \Vere
worn out by the strife, and there was a rkh prize at hand.
The entire camp of the two imperial ljl"enerals,-with all their
artillery, tents, elephants and treasl1re1 became the victorious
princes' spoil, while thefr soldiers looted the bai;!li)a!i]"e and
equipment of the vanquished army.
1658] AllR/\NGZrn's ADVl\NCr rROM DJ-11\RMAT 63

But far i;ireater than all these material gains \\'as the moral
prestige secured by Aurangzib. Dharmat became the omen
of his future success. At one blow he had brought Dara
down from a position of immense superiority to one of
equality with his own, or even lower. Wa11erers hesitated no
lon~er ; they now I.mew beyond a moment's doubt which of
the four brothers was the chosen favourite of Victory.
No sooner had Juowant and Qasim Khun turned their bacl~s
than Aurangzib's band struck up the notes of \1ictory :
Aurangzib knell down on the field and with folded arms
rendered thanks to the Gi11er of Victory.
On the imperial side nearlr ~ix thousand men fell in this battle,
and the main portion of the loss was borne by the Rajputs.
Eve1y clan of Rajasthan contributed its share to the band of
heroes who sacrificed their lives in their master's service
(swami~dfiamza). To Ratan Sinf,lh Rathor (the progenitor of the
houses of Rutlam, Sailana and Sitamau) a noble stone 11101m-
ment was raised by his descendants on the spot where his
corpse was burnt.

4. Aatang.;cib ad11ances to Agra.

The da1 after the victory the two princes reached Ujjain
and marching thence arrived at Gwalior on 21st May. It was
here learnt that Dara had come to Dholpur with a vast armv
and sei;oed all the well-R.nown and frequented fords over Ihe
Chambal river. His entrenchments frowned on the cross1n~
places ; his artillery crowned the opposite banR ; and every.
where stronq parties of his troops were on the alert for the
enemy's arri'V'al. To cross the river with its steep rocky banRs
and wide ra\7ine-interseded approaches, 1n the face of
such oppositon, would have led to a hea'V'l loss of life.
So Amani;i;oib secured the help ot ft loi;;al zatnfnclar 9nd leq,,i;:nJ
't11at at , Bl1adaoli, 40 ~ile: , east of DhoJpur, there :i.vas an
'" "
 SrIORT li!SfORY OF AUJ<ANGZrn fcu. IV
obscure ford with only !<nee-deep water, which Dara had
omitted to !'i(uard.
No time was to be lost. In the verf evening after their arrival
near Gwalior (21st May), while the main army halted, a strong
c\i\ision under three !;(enerals and some urlillery made a forced
march all ni'5ht, reached the ford next mornin'5, and crossed
safely to the other bani<. That day Aurang:ib himself set out
from Gwalior, covered the inte1val in two long marches and
crossed the n\7er al the same place with the rest of his armf
(23rd May). "The path was rough, the soldiers underwent much
hardship before arri'7inJ;t at the ford ; and on the way nearly
5,000 men died of thirst." The military advantage of the
movement was immense. B'l one strol<e he had turned the
enemy's position and rendered Dara's elaborate trenches and
batteries useless. The road to AS;Jra now- by open before him.
lt is now Dara's turn to abandon the line of the Chambal and
fall bad~ on the capital. He had to leave many of his
heavier J.t:uns on the river bank, and thus weal~ened himself in
artillery in the next battle. Prom the Chatnbal the \7ictors
marched north and in three clays came in touch with the
enemy near Samugarh, about ten miles east of Agra.

5. Dam's morrements after D!iarmaf.

The news of the defeat u.t Dlw.rmctt reached the imperial

Court, then at Baluchpur, ten days after the battle. Dara
.:2o;v .ra!s~d, ,~ rn~\V arnw in all ha*,,:... J.t lool~ed fo1mid;ble
~n appearance only, being 60,000 troopers in munbE'r. But
il was composed of a miscellaneous host of diverse clas~es
and localities, hastily got together, and not properly co~
.mdina!ed nor !rained in concerted actioZl. Moreo\7er, manf
of its commanders were carpet-lmights of the Court, ha11ing
neither the courage nor the experience of the veterans from
lhe Deccan. Dara had made the fatal mistal~e of sending
16581 DARA Ml\RCHES TO Sc\MUGJ\RH 65

awa';' his trustiest adherents and ablest lieutenants with

Sulaiman Shu!mh to oppose Shuja and now felt sore need
of such efficient instruments. The foreign Muslim soldiers in
the imperial service resented Dara's reliance on the Rajputs
ond left him to his fate. And he was also hampered b,-
Shah Jahan. Even now the Emperor urged him to avoid
war ; he still fondl'l hoped that the quarrel among his !:ions
could be peacefully ended by diplomatic messages.
On 18th M1y, Dara left with his troops for the bani~ at
the Charnbal, after a most pathetic leave-tal<ing from his a~ed
father in the Diwan-i-am of Agra fort. He reached Dholpur
on the 22nd of the month, u.nd seL::ed all the fords over the
Chambal in the neighbourhood. His aim was to retard
l\urang;:ib's udvance without precipitatin<G a battle and thus
!?,ain time fot Sulaiman Shukoh's army to join bim. But he
soon learnt to his consternation that Aurangsib had crossed
the river forly miles east of Dholpur, on the 23rd. So, he fell
bad< towards A!5ra and encamped outside that city near
Samu~arh, where Auram;isib arriV"ed on the 98th.
Thot day, Daru. on hearing of Aurang;::ib's approach, drew
up his troops and rode out as if to fight. B.~1t aJter sighting
the enemr he halted, waitin>b to see what his rivals would
do. At sunset he returned to his camp. It was a most
unwise step ; Aurangsib was numerically inferior and his
troops were worn out by a ten mile march in tbe sun over
a \.\~aterless dusty plain, whlle Dara's army was fresh. Dara's
soldiers and i.heir horses and elephants were prostrated h?
the extreme heat in which they stood hour after hour doing
nothing, while the prude11t Aurang<!ib tested his men all thal
evenins;; u.nd. night for the morrow's contest

6. Battle of c!ktmug.adi, 29/fi .Ma}.", 1658.

:Next momirig,~" Q9th. M1,1r, Ds:i.ru. nH1rsballed his rank~_OJ1~ a

wid;._p~i~"""h~o miles ln front of his camp. -.._,,,_.....__,,..,
His forces
5
f6 Sl!OlH t!ISTORY Or ~UR<\NGZ!B [CI!. IV

numbered about 50,000. Its bad~bone was composed of the

Rajput contin~ent and Dara's own retainers, all dC'.rnted to
his interests. BL1t nearly half of his army bclon<,5cd to the
Emrieror's service, and these men could not be relied on ;
several of their chiefs, notably Khalilullah Khan had been
cornipted by Auran!J:::ib. All the artillery of Dara was drawn
up in one row along his entire front ; behind it stood his
foot musl<efeers, next the elephanfs, and last of ull dense
masses of cavalry. Dara's artillery was less mobile and more
inefficiently served than Aurang;;~~s, f~1cl his horses uncl
transport animals were out of cond1tton. ,, "
In opposition to this host stood Aurang:::ib's hard~bitten
troops, seasoned veterans on seasoned horses, and his
excellent train of field~pieces handled by the European
gunners of Mir Jumla and \\ ell supplied with munitions. There
7

was absolute unity of command in his army, and all the

officers had been taught to obey without hesitation or question
that master will.
The battle joined about noon. Dara al once took up the
offensive and Jischarged all his artillery, mal<in~ a fearful
noise but doing little damage to the enemy at lhal long ranl5e;
Aurang=:ib wisely reserved his powder and shot.
An hour passed in this !<ind of cannonade, and then
Dara ordered a charge. His left wing was led by Rustam Khan.
Filing out through the sp;;~s ~ .between his guns, it formed a
rna.ss and attadled the opposin~ artillery with flashing blades
and wild battle-cries. Aurangzib's chief of artillery, Saf Shilian
Khan, and the musl<eteers behind his guns stood their ground
well and received the charge with one deadly volley from
the guns and a shower of bullets, atrows, and javelins. The
flood of onsef could not reach and ovetwhelm the guns ;
its speed slackened as the cannon balls ploughed up ils
ranhs. So Rustam Khan swerved to his r~ht hand in search
of an easier prey, and galloped towards Aurangzib's van,
1658] !/,\]PUT CJ-!AROC Al ,,,; "lllC1 \Rll 67

lea\7il1!? a cloud of dust behind. But Bahadur Khan wtth the

rif,~ht flan!~ of Aurangz:ib's centre had hurried up to the front
into the i;iap between the van and the a1 tillcry, and barred
the path of Rustam Khan. A close hand to hilnd combat
now ensued ; Bahadur Khan fell down wounded, and his
division seemed at the point of being touted, when Islam
Khan came to its aid from the rii;:ht wing and Shaibb Mir
\'lith the advanced reserve. It was now the turn of Rustam
Khan to be outnumbered and borne down. Mortally wound-
ed in his arm, with a dm:en other desperate men he
hewed his waY. to the centre of the enenw's ranks and there
fell amidst a heap of the slain. The small remnant of Dara's
left wing now tled bad~ under Sipihr Shulwh.
At the same time a more terrible fii;iht was being waged
on Aurani;:z;ib's left. There the Rajpu\s of the imperial van-
guard under Chhalra Sal Ilada slipped through the inte1val
between Zulfiqar's drtillery and Murad's division and fell
upon that prince with fierce \7igour, thus drivin~ a wedge
which separated Murad from Aurangzib's army. Rajah
Ram Singh Ra!hor, wearing !he gay yellow robe of ffoli
and with a string of priceless pearls tied to his turban, fell
on Murad's elephant, cryin"1 out in derision, "fou want to
wrest the throne from Dara !" Shouting to the driver to mal<e
the elephant lmeel down if he valued his life, the Rajah flunlil'
his spear at Murad, but it missed the aim, and the prince shot
him dead with an arrow. Other Rajputs foll as they swarmed
wund Murad's elephant, and with their robes "made the
ground loo!? yellow like a field of saffron !" The Rajput
horsemen could not reach the prince on his loftY. elephant ;
but Mttrad received three wounds in his face ; his dri\-rer was
killed, and the fiawda of his elephant bristled with arrows like
the baclz of a porcupine ; he was borne backwards bY. this
onslaught.
The victorious Rajpu{s pressed on to the cenfre and fell on
 68 SHORT li!STOr~Y Of AllRr\NGZIB fell. IV

Aurang=:ib, who was hastening to the aid of Murad on heanni,l

of the disaster on his left. The clash between these two
powerful forces was terrible. The J<af puts forced their Wu'{
to AuranQ:=ib himself, but that prince's ~uards offered an oppo-
~ition equally heroic, and bein~ themselves fresh they prevailed
over the Rajputs who were worn out and thinned in number
by the struggle with Murad. Yet ihe I<aJputs fou15ht on a~ainst
overwhelming odds "in utter contempt of life." But one by
one all iheir leaders fell,-Chhatra Sal Hada, Ram Singh
Rathor, Bhim Singh Gaur and Shi'latam Gaur. But the
remnant only made a more frantic stru!$gle, "lil~e tavening dogs,"
as a European eye-witness describes the scene. l<aiah Rup
Sin15h Rathor in red<less audacity jumped clown from his horse,
with his drawn blade hewed a way to the elephant of AurarnJ2ib,
and tried to cut the ~irths of the !imr7da in the hope of
hurling the prince down to the fJWUnJ. Ile slashed the beast's
leg, but was himself cut lo pieces by the 'body-15uard. The rest
of the Rajputs perished. Thus both the ldl and right wing;;
of Dara had been annihilated by this time.

7. Duta's own movements at 8amugatfi ; tfi.e end

At the \7ery be!Jinnin.q of the battle, as soon as l~ustum

Khan and Chhatra Sal had charJ6ed with his left win!5 and van,
Dara quitted bis position in the ce11tre, rode ihrou~h his
-ai:tilfe1;y, and wen! tO\V<H'ds Auran!$Eib's ri15ht wing in order tu
support Ri1starn Khan. No more fora[ mistake could lwre
been committe<l. Dara could no lon!Jer survey the whole field
and control his troops as thei1 supreme leader ; and at once
everything fcJ! into confusion. Secondly, by advancing in
f~ont of his artillery he obstructed its fire, while Aurnnll'il:ib's
guns continued to mo\Y down his ranks without any chance of
reply. This mistake ruined Dara more than all other causes put
to15eth_er. Dara. now 1.urned to the ri~ht in order to avold che
1658) DAI~A'S fll'IJLE MOVEMENTS AT SA1'JUG.\RH 69

enemy's artillery in front of him, and fell upon Shail<h Mir's

division.
Just then Aurang:db was left without an'\? '5Uards. If Dara
could now have forced his wa'l? to his rival's side, the victor
would have been his. "But he made a short halt, owing to
the difficulties of the ~round and to the fatigue thc1t O'tercame
him." His force lost its growing momentum, and the vigour
of its onslaught greatly slacR.ened, and the golden chance was
lost for ever. Fot, in the meantime Auram;i;oib bad dressed his
ranR.s and made new dispositions, and Dara was soon after~
wards called upon to abandon his forward movement straight
on his rival's elephant and to turn aside towards his own right
wing in order to bad! the troops of Chhatra Sal. _Thus Qa1a
made a long mov-ement across his entire front from the
extreme left to neqr the extreme ri~Jht. The fri~htful heat strud<
down his men .and horses during this unprofitable manreuvre,
while the artillery stationed in the enemy's front fired volleys
straight into his left flank. The men with him were exhausted
by this long and toilsome march 0\7er loose bttrnin~ sand,
amidst suffocating dust, and under a blao:ing sun which made
their armour blister the skin, while not a drop of water could
be had io quench their thirst.
}1eaJ1time, Autani;iz;ib's vanguard, rn obedience to bis rigid
discipline, had foept Hs proper position. But now seeing Dara's
two wings and van overthrown and his centre in disorder and
out of its proper place, Prince Muhammad Sultan, at tbe he;;i.d
of his father's van, sprang forward to attack Dara. .At the
sa'me time Aurang;oib's victorious right wing wheeled roun~ to
envelop Dara's division, while the batteries from the right
and left alibe assailed it. T.his was reallf the end of the flqbt.
Dara had learnt of the death of his best generals, and now
Aurang;db's troops, "like the waves of the sea, approached
him with countless guns in front of them.'' Their heavy and
well-directed fire rnowed down the troops still arow;1d him every
 70 SllORf Hi<;TLlR<i OF AllfF\NGZ[[ ) [cri. IV

minute. Dara's own elephant now became "a t<m~et ior the
enemy's balls," which began to cart"Y off his personal
attendants . The wretched prince had no help but to ~et down
from this elephant and tal~e horse. At once all was over
with him. His remaining troops all over the field, find
ing his fiawda empty, concludccl lhat their master had fallen.
Already they we1e half dead with fatii:,;ue and thirst, and now
a desolating hot \\ ind spran~ up and slrltcl;?. Dara's faintin~
7

troops in the face. Many of them died of thirst, without

strength to use their arms. Whal still remu.ined of the imperial
army had been only waiting for a cleci0nl pretext for fliS5ht,
and the sudden disappearr:1nce of Dara from the back of his
elephant i;rave them the wished for opportuni ty. At once lhe
whole .:trmy brohc and fled in the utmost disorder. Dara
stood almost alone, deserted by- all s.:t\e a few hereditary
followers. They took hirn out of the field to A>Jra.
The lust trace of resistance now 'Vanished i bul there Wd.s
no pursuit. Nor was any pursuit needed, for no vktoty cbuld
be more cornrlele. On the side of the> \lanquish ed ren thou.
sand men had fallen, besides horses and trunsport u.nima\s
beyond count. Amon!-6 ihe slain imperial command ers of high
ranl~. nine Rajpuls and nineteen Muslims u.re menlione d
by
name.
Bra\'est among so ma1w brave men was I~ao Chhatra S.:il
Hada, the chieftain of Bundi and the hero of fifty-two fi~ht5.
"With his Hadas clad in their saffron robes, the ensigns of
death or vidory, the Bundi prince formed the van~uard of
Dara. Cheering on his men, he mounted his dephant, but

* Th,1! D;ira dismounted ftom his elephant al a tinte of extreme d<rn\ler, when
he had lost ,111 hope of vida1y, is asset led by A. N. {IN), Aqil (48), Masun:t (636),
111d
Kambu (15a). The"c contemporilry and firsl-rate aulhorltks rc!Lite the baar 11ossi11
reproduced b-, ~lanucci and Bernier th<tt Dara change<:\ his elephant for a hotsc
al
Uw treacherous advice of Khalilullah Kha11 at a lirne wben lie bad .limos! complcit:ll
defeated Aurang~ib, and !hal this o1cl on the P>tl of Dar~ turned his ossmed victory
into '' tout. (8to~i;:r, i. 2s1.2s2 ; Bernier. 53-541 also Ishwardu>, 2-1b.2sa.)
1658) DARA'S f LIGHT rr~ON AOR \ 71

whilst encouraging them by his voice and example. a cannon-

ball hittin~ his elephant, the anitnul turned anJ fled. Chhatrn
Sal leaped from his bacl< ut1CI callee\ for his steed, exclaiming
"My elephant may turn his bad2 on the enemy, but nev-er
shall his master." Mounting his horse, and forming his men
into a dense muss, he led thetn to the chari;ie as,-iainst Prince Murad
whom he sinli(le-d out, and had his lance balanced for the
issue, when a ball pierced his fotehead." In the two buttles
of Dharmat and Samugarh no less than twelve princes of the
blood, together with the head of every Hada clan. gave up
their lives.
The most renowned victim of the day, howe\'er, was
Rustam Khan, surnamed firm: Jang, the hero of the Ush1l~
and Persian wars.
The army of Aurangzib lost only one chief of the first r.:rnl~.
Awm Kha,n, who died of the excessh~e heat.

8 8. E11ents at Agrn and capfir7ity of c5!iafi jafian, June 1658.

from the fatal f]eld of Samui?arh, Dara reached Ai;;ra with

a few attcnddnts at a,bout 9 o'clocl< at night, and shut himself
up in his house in the city. There was universal alarm .:rnd
lamentc1Hon in the royal famih?, . Shah Jahan sent word to Dara
to come to the fort and see him ; but Dara was utterly brol~en
down in body and spirit, and declined sa.ylng, "I cannot show
my face to your Majesty in my present wretched plight
Permit me to go awa'l with your farewell blessing on the
long journey that is before me."
The miserable prince, wifh his wik children and a do:oen
servants, .set off from A!Jra toward,s, pgll-~I. i:J.L.9,. h.Q'docla itiwioo
IJJornin!il. ':Mu1~s !~de11''wlfh ~o.ld coin$ from the palace treo;isl!t'l
were sent with hin,1 by order of Shah Jahati, and he tool~ away as
much of his own jewels and cash as he could tJ:ansport in thar
hurry. For the next two days small groups of his followers
 Sr!OR'f f!ISTORY Of AURANGZ!B [err. IV

began to 10111 him on the wa'l, so that his torce was raised to
5,000 men by the time he reached Delhi.
After the battle of Samul5arh, Aurang.:ib went to Mura<l,
and congratulated him, saying that the victory was due entirely
lo his y-otrn~er brother's heroism and that Murad's reign
would date from that day. lie even nursed the wounded
Murad affectionately.
In two marches from the battle-field the victors arrived
in the ~arden of Nur Man<::il or Dhara outside Ai,ira (1st
June). Here they stayed for ten days. Every day large
numbers of courtiers, nobles and officers deserted the imperial
side and joined them, and so did the former officers of Dara.
Tl1e day dfter Si:im9l6arh, Aurang.:ib wrote to Shah Jahan
directly, excusing his late actions as fa'rced upon him by his
enemies. On reaching ,Nu1 MamM he received a reply ip
Shah Jahan's own hand, in\7itinii) him to an interview. Th.is,
after some hesitation, Aurangzib declined to do, at the ad\7ice
of some of his friends (especially Shaista Khan and Khalilullah)
who told him that Shah Jahan had formed a plot to get
AuranJilzib murdered by his Tartar guard"womcn as soon as
he would enter Agra fort.
The masl< was at last thrown away, and on the 5th of Tune
the prince began the sie>ge of Agra fort, after sendlt1!5 his
I
eldest son Muhammad Sultan to occupy AJ5ra city (3rd June)
and maintain order there. Shah Jahan had shut the gates oi
Agra fort, prepared to stand a siege there. It was one of
the strongest forts of that age, and Aurangz::ib's artillery was
quite ineffective on its defences. Success by breaching and
assault was therefore ottt of the qttestion. A regular investment
would ha\7e detained the victorious broffiers there for months
and e\7cn years and thus !,'liven Dara time to raise a new army.
So, Aurarn;;zib sent his men to make a sudden rnsh and
seize the outside of the water qate (/(fii:dei) of the fort which
opens on the Jamuna. Thus the water"supply of the izarrison
 1658] SrlAJI ]AllAN SURRENDERS AGRA fOR1 73

was cul off and ther began to suffer the horrors of thirst in
midsummer. The few old and long disused wells within the
for! yielded only a bitter water unfit for drinking. At this,
many of the Emperor's officers, pampered idlers of the Court,
slipped out of the fort.
for three days Shah Jahan held out under these conditions.
He had made a pathetic personal appeal to Aurang::ib en!reatin1t:
him not to !<ill a living father by thirst, but to that
letter Aurangzib had replied, "It is your own doin\?." Then,
amidst ragin15 thirst, with only despair and treason around
him, the al,led Emperor decided to yield. On 8th June he
opened the gates of the fort to Aurang::ib's officers and
became a prisoner within the harem of the palace, beins;(
confined to the quarters behind the fiall of Public Audience.
He was deprived of all power ; a sfrorn;r force was posted
in and around the fort to pre\"ent rescue, and careful
watch was kept on his eunuchs lest the-y should carty letters
from him outside. The vast treasures of Agra fort-the
accumulations of three generu.tions of prosperous rulers of
India, passed into AuranfJzib's possession.
On 1oth June Princess Jahanara visited Aurangzib to hy
the effect of her personal influence and sisterly persuasion.
She proposed, in Shah Jahan's name, a partition of the
empire among the four brothers. Auran!i:Eib naturally declined.

I
9. ]Yfumd Bak/is/i's captivity and deatfi.
_Qn 13th
. June Aurarn;i:;::ib
.. set .Qut . from .Agra city towards
Delhi in pursuit of Daru. But on the way, at Matlmra, he
had to halt because an alarming situation had arisen on
account of Murad's jealous and wilful conduct. This prince's
courtiers were tellin5l him how power was daily slippin~ out
of bis grasp and Aurangzib was becoming all in all. lie
was l<een on reigning as king1 but Aurangr:ib seemed to be
7-4 SHORT HISTORY OF ,\UR,\N"OZ!B [cir. V

pultin~ off theiulfllment of that desire to a more and more

distant future. Therefore, Mura ct must assert himself, if he
\Vas not to be maue a cat's paw and then thrown aw<ty b'!
Auran!jzib.
Led on by such counsellors, Murad bei:Jan to act openly
in opposition to Auran~:;:ib : he increased his t1nny, seduced
from Aurang:;:ib's side many of the recently joined imperial
troops by the promise of hi~her pay and greater licence,
and conferred titles. Lastly he gave up visitin!;] AuratHJcib as
beneath his clignity. Thus, an open opposition to Atuc.1ngz:ib
was set up in the allied camp.
The situation was very critical. But Auran~=ib's
plan was quicl~l'l formed and skilfully carried out He first
lulled Mura.d's susp1c1011 to sleep by presentin!J him
with 20 lakhs of Rupees and 233 horses, and i1witecl him to
a feast for celebrating his complete recovery from his wounds
and for maturin~ a plan of campaign ali)ainst the fu15itive
Dara. Lastly, Auran!j"zib heavily bribed and won over to hi.;
side Murad's favourite bodf-servant Nur-ud-din Kirn.was, who
induced Murad to accept his brother's i1witation and enter
Auranqzib's camp \\'hen returning from a hunt (25th June).
Murad was cordially recei\7ed by Attrun15:::ib, well fed, plied
with wine, and when asleep cleprlved of his arms and made
a prisoner. At midnight the captive was sent in u covered
ladies' fia111da, under a stron!J cavalry escort to Salimgarh and
thence to the State-prison of Gwalior. This "excellent stratagem"
had been carried out so smoothly that Murad's followers did
not hear of his fate till it was too late. Next morning his
leaderless soldier'' were tal<en into Aurang=:ib's serdce, and
even his devoted officers had no course left open to them
but to submit to this new master. The entire establishment
and property of Murad passed into Auranq::ib's possession.
Murad lived for three years in the fortress of Gwalior,
but an attempt at escape which his friends oulside had planned
1661] MUF~ \D [',,\hlJSII erm \Ill D 75

and which narrowlr missed success throu~h Murad's own

thowJhtlcssncss, detet mined i\uran~:::ib to get rid of him. At
the Emperor's instigation, the ~econd son of Ali Naqi denwnded
retaliation in blood from Mttrad for the murder of his father
at Ahmadabad in 1657. This, under the Islamic la\\-, tht..:
jttd'5es were bound to ~rant. So, on 4th December, 1661. the
luckless aspirant to the throne of Delhi was beheaded by two
slaves in the prison cell of Gwalior and his corpse was buried
within that fort.
 CHAPTER. y:__

WAR OF SUCCESSION ; END OF DARA AND SHUJA

1. Pursuit of Dara after Samug.atfi.

Dara reached Delhi on 5th June 1658 and tried to raise

C\ntl equip a new army by approprialin~ the Government
property in the capital. But a wee!~ afterwards he left Delhi
for Lahor, on learning that the fall of Ai;lra fort had set
Aurung;:db free to pursue him. 1The Panjab was strongly
attached to Dara ; the pro"7'ince had long been his v-iceroyally
and was now held by his faithful deputi Say-yid Ghuirat
Khan. L.iea'>'ing Delhi at the head of 10,000 men, Dara
reached Lahor on 3rd July, und spent a month and a half
there in completing his war preparations. Seising the imperial
treasure there, he assembled an arm)! of 20,000 men and
sent off strong detachments to guard the ferries "over the
Satlej at Taiwan and Rupar.
Jn the meantime, Aurang:;;ib had deputed Khan-i-Dauran
to wrest Allahabad from Dctra's men and Bahadur Kha.n to
i<')ke up the pursuit of Dara, and then pt1shcd on to Delhi,
6}h July. At this capital he stayed three weel~s 1 constructing
a new administration in the place of the old one, and finally
he crmvncd himself Emperor under the title of A!amgJr
6na~i on 21st July. Khalilullah Khan was appointed ~overnor
of the Panjab and sent to reinforce the pursuit of Dara.
In the ni!ilht of 5th Au~ust, Bahadur Khan crossed the
Satlel by surprise at Rupar, and Dara's l;l:enerals fell back
from that river to Govindwal on the Bias. But when
Aurangzib from Delhi reached the Satlej, Dara fled from
Lahor (18th Au!i):ust) to Multan, with his family and treasure,
1658] PIH~SUIT OF DARA THROUGH SI~Dli 77

by boat. Once more Dara's genius quailed before that or

Aurarn;lzib ; he despaired of success, and his despair infected
his troops.
Auran!5::ib's forces set off from Labor on 30th AuJilust at
the heels of Dara, and that Emperor himself joined the
pursuers on 17th September. But Dara again tied, from
Multan (13th September) to Sal~har (13th October) . From
the environs of Multan, Aurangzi b turned bad! (30th Sept.)
for Delhi to meet Shuja's invasion, but the chase of Dara
was relentlessly continued bf Saf ShH~an Khan and Shail?h
Mir at the head of two strornti columns, totalling 15,000 men,
following the two banks of the Indus.
At Sal~kar tbe imperialists learnt (23rd October) that Dara
had left much of his properlf and his big .guns in the fort
of Bhal;>lwr in charli_le of his eunuch Basant, with many
European gunners under Nicholas Manucci, and himself fled
towards Schwan, deserted by all his troops except 3,000 men.
E\7en the trusty Daud Khan was at last dri\7en to lea11e his
unjustly suspicious master. At Sehwan the imperialists came
up with Dara by forced marches (31st Oct.) and occupied
both banl~s of the Indus, hopin~ to intercept him. But they
were very weak in boats, and Dara who was stron.s;;er in that
arm dashed through the broad ri11er (2nd No\7.) in safety and
reached Tatta (13th No\7.). The imperialists made forced
marches after him to Tatta (18th), but learnt that Dara had
fled furlher south to Badin (24th) and was marchinB over
the gulf of Cutch towards Gujrat.
The pursuers were now recalled to Courf i the pursuit
wl~ich they had carried on with such unflagginli_; vi!6our and
amazing enduranc e for three months since Dflta left Lahor, ha~
missed success, when almost within their grasp, solely through
their Jach of boats.
78 SllOl~l H!STOR~ or L\UR\NGlW [Cl!. v

2. Daw in Rajputana ; battle of Do.!otai.

After leavin~ Badin, 55 miles east of Tatta, Dara crossed
foe Rann or sill! la>50011 (end of November), suffcrin~
unspeakable hardship throm2h lad.~ of water. Arrived at Bhuj,
!he capital of lhe island of Cutch, he was welcomed and
~iven every hdp by- the Rajah, as also by- the Jam of
Nawana;Jar in Kathiawad. Thus he arrived at Ahmadabad
at the head of 3,000 men. Here Shah Nawu.z Khan, the new
governor of the ~wm~ince, joined him and opened the royal
treasury- to him (9th January-, 1659). Dara now raised his
army to 22,080 men, brought away the atlille1y of Surat, and
learning that Shuja had c1dvanced beyond Allahabad to atlad;?
Aurangz:ib, he made a dash towards Agra at the same time.
On the way he received an invitation to Aimir from Jaswant
Sin>5h, who promised to join him with the Ralhors and other
Raj puts.
But, in the meantime, Aurangzib after crushini:J Sbuja al
Khajwa (5th Jan.), had won over Jaswant with the help
of Min:a f.~ajah Ju.i Sini;:h by- means of mingled threats
of invasion and hopes of promotion. Dara had no help
but to fight, for Auri.mg:::ib had atrived near him. He
wisely- changed his plan. Instead of fighting a pitched
battle in an open plain, he decided to hold the pass of Deorai,
four miles south of Ajmir, in the narrow breadlh of which a
small host can lzeep a superior force of assailants back. His
two flanks were protected by the hills of Bitbli and Goh.la ;
while behind him lay the rich city- of Ajmir, whence he could
easily draw his supplies. He ran a low wall south of his
position, from hill to hill across the valley, with trenches in
front and redoubts at different points.
Aurani;;zib approached this position from the south, and
began a bombardment of it from the sunset of 12th March,
1659, to the ni!jlht following the 13th. Dara's nrtillery and
 DAr~,\ DEFEATLD M DI:OR.\l 70

:nusl~els trorn thdr high and sheltered position showered death

on Auran!S:::ib's unprotected ~unners and infantry, \Vhile the latter
could not fire bad<. with effect. Thi.: enemy's trenches were impre~
nable. So, on the 14th Aman~:::ib held u council of \Var and
Jdopted a new plan of attach, 17L'<:., to maRe a concentrated
atk1d<. in overwhelmin~ "treni;lth on the cnem)!'s left wing under
Shah Nawaz Khan, while their right win!,"? was to be kept in
play by the imperial division opposite it ; but the success of
the scheme was to depend not on this frontal attacl<. but on
a secret movement to turn the enemy's ldt rear (the Gol<.la hill),
which was to be scaled from behind by Rajah Rajrup of the
Jammu hills and his clansmen expert in mountaineering, who
had discovered a path to its top.
Towards the evening of the 14th, the imperial army mussed
in froni of the enemy's left deli\7ered their assault upon
Shah Nawaz: Khan's trenches. Their artiller)': reopened fire
with great rapidity and prevented the otht"r divisions of Dara's
army from leaving their trenches and marchin15 across the
front to aid their hard-pressed brethren on the left. The hardest
fi!ilht raged in this part of the field. Dara's men obstinately
defended their lines. Wa:'i!e after wave of the iiuperialists swarmed
up to the charge ; and at last they pushed back all the enemy-
out of the plain and won the ground to the ed\fe of !he trenches.
By this time Rajrup's men had toiled up the bad~ of the
Golda hill, while the enemy were absorbed in the se\ere
contest in iheir front. They planted their banners on the top
and raised a shout. Dara's left wing was seized with despair
at their rear being, th11s turned, but many of the men still
fought with courage. To overcome this last opposition, Shaikh
Mir dtove his elephant forward, but was l<i!led by a bullet.
At last, these trenches were stormed. Shah Nawaz:: Khan, while
cheering his men even after all was over, was blown away b)!
a cannon~ball. The rank and file brol<e a,nd fled awa1 unde1
the cover of dDrkness.
so Si!ORT rIISTORY Of .'\llRANGZU\ [CH. V

True, only one of the four entrenchments had so far been

carried . but it was enou~h : Dara's lines had been fatally
' .
pierced and rendered untenable by the turning of the Gol~lo.
hill. Accompanied by his son Sipihr Shuhoh and only a doz::en
of his men, Dara fled from the field in headlon~ haste tow.:trds
Gujrat. The country round Ajmir became a wild scene of
plunder ; thousands of Rajputs ha.cl assembled in the neigh-
bourhood at the call of Iaswant and were hovering round lil~e
\~uitures for their expected prey. The)! now looted the property
and transport animals of the 17anquished 0.rm)l.

3. f'fig.fd and capture ol Dani.

During the battle of Deorai, Dara's harem and treusurc had
been left on the bani< of the Anasagar lal<e (at Ajmir), on
elephants, camels and mules, in cho.rge of the faithful eunuch
Khwajah Maqul and an escort of troops, ready for flight
These fled from the place in the ni@ht of the 14th and joined
Dara near Mairta in the afternoon of the 15th. But Aurang;:Jb
had alread)l detached a stron~ force under Jai Singh and Bahadm
Khan in pursuit of them, and therefore Dara could not rest
anywhere but had to resume his march with the same lMsle
as before. Onl)l 2,000 troopers accompanied him when he left
Mairta. Co\7ering thirtl7 miles or even more a day in their
rush to Gujral, they underwent extreme miser)! from heat and
dust and want of tents and transport animals. Their few
horses and camels perished from heat and o\7erworR.
E\7 erywherc Dara found Aurarn;i!!ib's lelters had preceded
him and th<! local officers were ready to seiz::e him. His last
hope was !lone when his messen~er returned from Ahmadabad
with the dismal news that he would be resisted if he tried to
enter that city. At this destruction of their last hope of refuge
the party was "overwhelmed wllh confHsion and dismay, . .,
and the shriel<s of the ft:males drew tears from every e\!e ,
1659] SUFFERINGS OF D-\RA IN FLIGHT Sl

Dr. Bernier who was attending on Dara's sicR wife, gin~s a heart-
rending picture of their misery and suffering at this time.
"Reduced to tbe poorest and sorriest dress, . . . accompanied
by one horse, one bullod:?-cad, five camels for his ladies, and
a few other camels for transnort, his retinue shrunl~ to a few
men," the chosen heir to the richest throne in Asia crossed
the terrible Rann once aguin, and reached the southern coast
of Sindh (beginning of May).
f-lere, too, he found his path to lower Sindh closed by th~
forethought of Aurang:=ib, who had sent down Khalilullab Khan
from Lahor to BhaRRar. Aurang:=ib's local officers and Jal
Singh"s advanced detachments were converging on their prey
from north, east u.nd south-east. Only one path of escape
remained open; Dara turned to the north-west, crossed the
Indus and entered Siwistan, intending to flee to Persia by way
of QaHdahar.
In the meantime Jai SiniJh from Ajmir bad been pttshin![l
on behind Dara, covering 16 to 20 miles a day, in spite of
scurcity of water, want of fodder, and exhaustion of his horses
and transport animals. Following Dara's tracks he crossed the
lesser uud the greater Rann and the island of Cutch, suffering
frightful pri\7ations on the way. "At places grain sold at a seer
per Rupee, at others no food at all could be procured.'' Bt1t
be pursued his course with grim tenacity and reached the Indus
on the border of Siwis!an on 11th June 1659, though more
than three-fourths of his troop horses perished during the
journey. Then, leurnimJ that Dura had gone ot1t of Mughal
India, he began his rehm1 march to Hindustan up the Indus.
But DMa's family were utterly opposed to the idea of
migrating to Persia. His beloved wife, Na.dira Banu, \Vas
seriously ill and the pri\7afions of ci jotlrne'l through the
desolate Bolan Pass and the inhospitable region of Qandahar
would have RHied her. Dara, therefore, changed hls mind an,d
!oohed about for a chieftain in that neighbourhod who would
6
 SQ SHORT HJS'J ORY or Al!RANGZJ[l [Ct!. V

'5ive him a safe shelter u.nd the services of his clansmen. Such
a friend he hoped to find in Malil~ Jiwan, the :;;amindar of
Dadar, a place nine miles east of the Indian encl of the Bolan
Pass. Years ago this Afghan chief had been sentenced by
Shah Jahan to be trampled to death by an elephant. Dara,
then at the height of his father's fa\7our, had successfully bel,l'i;ied
the condemned man's life and liberty from the Emperor. Ile
now lool~ed tor Jiwan's gratitude, and reached Dadar, where the
chief took him to his house, showing him e\7ery respect and
care (probably 6th June).
On the way to Dadar, Nadira Banu succumbed to hard-
ship and want of medicine and rest. Dara was frantic with
grief al losing his life's companion. "The world grew dud~
in his eyes. He was utterly bewildered. His judgment and
prudence were entirely gone." He sent her corpse to Lahar
for burial in the graveyard of the saint Mian Mir (his own
spiritual guide), under escort of all the 70 troopers still left
at his side and his most J.e\7oted officer, GLtl Muhammad.
He offered his companions a free choice between returning
to their homes and accompanying him to Persia. Thus it
happened that not a single de\7oted follower now remained
with Dara, and he became utterly helpless and dependent
upon his host's fidelity.
,,, (__ ~upidity 0\7ercame the Afli{han's \ill'atitude and fidelity to
plii;!hted word. r!e treacherously arrested Dara and his
youn~er son and two daughters (9th June) and deli\7ered
!hem to Bahadur Khan.)

4. Humiliation and murdec of Data.

When the prisoners arrived al Delhi they were paraded

t hrou!4h the streets of the capital with disgrace (29th August).
Dara was seated in an unco\7ered na~da ~~ the bacl~ of a
small female elephant co\7ered with dirt. By his side was
..
 1659] [)3.RI\ PAT~ADLD '\;\[) MLWDI r~rn 83

his second son, Sipihr Shuhoh, a lad of tourteen ; and

behind them with a nal<ed =-word sat their ferocious >Jaoler,
the slave Na:zar Be~. The heir to the richest throne in the
world was now clad in a travel-tainted dress of the coarsest
cloth, with a darl< dinl;!y-rnloured turban, such as only the
poorest wear, on his head, and no necl<lace or jewel adornin5')
his pe1son. His feet were chained, thoul;l"h his hands were
free. Exposed to the full bla:::e of an August sun, he wa~
tahen in this guise through the scenes of bis former !Jlory
and splemlout. In the bitterness of disgrace he dtd not raise
his head, nor cast his f,I!ance on any side, bttl sat "lil<e a
crttshed twi!\J."
The pity of the citizens swept every other feeling away.
The crowd assembled was immense, and everywhere, Bernier
obser-ved, the people were weeping and lamenting the fate
of Dara.
That evenini:J Auran;;io::ib held a pri-vatc consultation with
his ministers about Dara's fate. Danishmand Khan (Bernier's
patron) pleaded for his life, but Shaista Khan, Muhammad
Amin Khan, Bahadur Khan, and the Princess Raushanara from
the harem demanded his death for the good of Church and
State. The pliant theologians in the Emperor's pay signed a
decree stating that Dara deserved death on the ground of
his deviation from Islam.
A riot by the citisens of Delhi against the traitor Malik
fiwan {recently created a IM;:ari with the title of Bahhtiyar
Khan), when on his way to lhe Court, on the 3oth, precipitated
the end of Dara. That very ni!;lht Nasar Beg and some
other slaves -visited Dara's prison in Khawaspura, tore a,wa.y
Sipihr Shukoh from his father's arms and hacl<ed Dara b .-
Ji)ieces. ~ A~!:_~n~\(;;ib~$'. order th .,cqrpse' ~vas~J:?l9-,C~d..9J1 ap
elephant, paraded throui;lh the streets of the city a secad
lin~e; and, then buried in a. vault under the dome of the tom,b
of Humayun.
 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZrn [er!. v

5. End of 8u!aiman 8/iukofi.

We shall now trace the fare of Dara's eldest son, Sulaiman
Shul<ah. Afi.et his vic!oty over Shuja near Bcnares, he had
pursued his defeated uncle through Bihar to Mungir, when
early in May 1658, he received a summons from his father
to return quickly to his side as Aural1!;1::ib had triumphed ut
Dharmat. So, he hurriedly patched up a peace with Shuja
and set out on his return. On 2nd Juile, when 105 miles
west of Allal1ahad, he received news of his father's ruin at
Samugarh. His soldiers \Vere distracted ; Jai Singh and Di!ir
Khan, his greatest generals, as well as all the other imperial
officers left him for Aurangzib. Only 6,000 men, less than
one-third of Sulaiman's army, accompanied him in his reheat
to Al!ahc.ibad (4th June), where he wasted a precious wee!~
in distraction not hnowin!J what to do with his CLtmbrous and
costly furniture an;d plate and vast harem of women. At
last, at the advice of his chief follo\'vcrs the Sayyi<ls of Barba,
he decided to make a wide loop round Delhi, march by the
northern side of the Ganges, through their home the Middle
Doab, and then cross th.:: rivers at the foot of the hills, in
order to reach his father in the Panjab without fear of
interception.
Sulaiman rapid1'Z moved by way of Nagina to C!1andi, on the
bank of the Gan'leS opposite to Hard\Vur. Numbers of soldier;
deserted him daily, and strong enemy forces pushed up from
Delhi barred his path e\7 erywherc in the south, east and west.
So, Sulaiman fled to the Srinagar hills fo1 an as'f'lum, his Suffkl
foilowcrs of Barha refusing to accompany him there. Prithwl
Sini;ih, the Rajuh of Srina!,Iar (in Garhwal) admitted him on
condition of his being accompanied by his family and seventeen
servants only but none of his soldiers. The Rajah was al! Mnd-
ness and attention to his princely Jiluest in distress, and Sula!man
enjc,;iyed peace in his rude but safe refuge for a year.
1661] SULAIM'\N Sr!UKm!'S CAP fl\"! f'!:'. 85

But when Aurarn;iz:ib was at last triumphant over all iiis

brothers, he turned against Sulaiman. On 27th July 1659 he
sent Rajah Rajrup to secure the surrender of Sulaiman from
the Rajah of Srinagar ; but for a year and a half his efforts
were futile. Aurangz:ib next employed Jai Sinf,lh, who wrote to
Prithwi Singh not to destroy his l~ingclom by disobeyin!J the
Emperor's order. The Garhwal Rajah was old and refused to
undertal<e the sin and shame of betrayins;i an accepted refugee.
But his son and heir, Meclini Sini;:ih, was more worldly~mindecl ;
the hope of rewards from Delhi conquered his scruples. There
was also the fear of losing his l<ingdom, as Aurangzib was
instigating the neighbouring and rival hill~Rajahs to invade and
annex Garhwal. On hearing of this decision of his host, Sulaiman
tried to escape over the snow to Ladak, but was pursued, captured
wounded, delivered to Aurangz:ib's agent, and brou!ifht to Delhi
on 2nd Januar'\?', 1661.
On 5th January the prisoner was placed before his dread uncle
in the Hall of Private Audience of the Delhi palace. His ')'Outh,
extreme beauty, martial fame, and present misery deeply interested
the courtiers and e-ven the ladies of the imperial harem in his fate.
Aurangzib spol.!e to him with apparent l<indness, "Be comforted ;
no harm shall befall you. Yott shall be treated with tenderness."
The prince made the sa!am or sign of grateful acl<nowledl,5ment....
He then told the Emperor, wHh much self-possession, that if it were
intended to give him the poustd" to ddnk, he begs;red that he might
be immediately put to death. Aurangzlb promised in a solemn
manner, nnrl in a loud 'Voice, that this drinl< should most
certainly not be administered.

'the pousia ls a drink made of POPf'l?heads crttsbed and soaked in waler for
a nillhl. This was the potion 11e11erally 11tven to princes confined in th~ forltess of
Gwaliot, whose beads the Emperor was deterred by public sllame from tak!n11
of!. A foriie cup of this bev~rage was broul(ht to them earl'i in the mo;ninq 1 <1nd
they were not ljiven an1:thinll io eat llntil it was swallowed. This drink ema<:ialed
the wretched victims, who lost their strength and inle[lect by slow degrees, beCjlme
torpid and s~nsele>s, and al len\ifh died.
1
"
 86 SHORT t!ISTORY Ol AUf~ \NGZ!f1 [Cl!. v
"'U/ (The captive was sen! to Gwalior and in that dismal state-prison
l\.u~anlJEib in violation of his 'solemn promise' caused the deuth ot
the unhappy Sulaiman Shub.oh (May 1662) by overdoses of opium.\

6. Sfwja' s f1tst advance to contest Ifie succession ;

battle of Bafladatpllt.

Prince Muhammad Shuja, the second son of Shah Jahan and

governor of Ben15al, was a man of ~real intelligence, elegant
taste, and amiable disposition. But his constant devotion to
pleasure, the easy adrninistration of Bengal, and his 17 years'
resic\ence in that enerv-ating country, had made him weal~,
indolent and negligent, incapable of arduous toil, sustained effort,
vh%ilani caution, or profound combination. Ire had allowed
his administration to drift, his army to grow inefficient, and all
his departments to fall into a slack and sleepy condition. His
mental powers were as keen as before : but they required qreat
emeri,1endes to call them forth, and shone only by flashes ; he
was still capable of vigorous action, but only fitfully.
Jhe story of Shah Jahan's illness, with the usual exaggeration,
.:rei'lched Shuia at. Rajmahal, then the capital of BcnJJal, and he
immediately crowned ,himself Emperor with the title of Abu!
Fauz NasiMtddin Muhammad, Timur III, Alexandet il, Shah
Shuja Gha~i. ..
StattinfJ with a large army, an excellent parb. of artillery, and
the highly useful war-boats (nm1?wam) of Bengal, he rea~hed
Benares about 24tl1 January, 1658. Meantime Dq.ra had despatched
against him an 1-i my of 22,000 men under his eldest son
Su!_~1nan Shuk~h, ~ssisted by the able and experienced Mirza
Rajah Jai Singh and Dllir I<:nan Ruhela.
Early in the morninq of 14th February, Sulaiman
suddenl)1 attacked Shuja's camp, at Bahaduepur, 5
niiles north-east of Benares. The surprise was so complete
 1658] Slill)".'S '!WO XlTCMPTS TO REACJ1 AGR". 87

that the sleeping Bengal soldiers and their leader had

no time to put on their tunics, but tled away lea\7ing
e\7er'{lhing behind. With great difficulty Shuja, mounted
on an elephant, forced his wa'l out of the rin!ll of his enemies
and found safety in his war-boats, whose gun-fire Rept the
enem'l away from the bani<. liis entire camp and property,
estimated at fifty laRhs of Rupees, were seiz::ed by the victors ;
even the humblest soldier had to abandon bis all.
The panic-stricl:.1en army fled by the land route through
Saseram to Patna, robbed by the \7illagers on the way. But
hearing of the approach of the pursuing imperialists, Shuja
fled to Mungir and blocked the road with his trenches and
batteries. This brought Sulalman sharply to a halt at Sural-
garh, 15 miles south-west of Mungir, and be wasted precious
months here without beinJii able to ad\7ance. But the news
of Dharmat forced him to maRe a hurried peace with Shuja,
lea\7inq Bernial Eastern Bihar and Orissa to that
prince (7th May)., arn;! set out on his return to Agra.
i j.\t~ran\(eib, after crownin~ himself at Delhi (21 Ju[;x:),, wrote

?- friendli letter to Shuja, adding the eniire province of Bihar

io his viceroyalty an<.l promising him other fa\7ours.
, The news of Auramgzib's absence in the far off Panjab at the
heels of Dara revi\7ed Shuja's ambition. .Now was the time to
conquer the Ltndefended country up to Aqra and release Shah
Jahan. So, at the end of October, 16581 Shuja started from
Patna with 25,000 cavalry and artillery and boats, and reached
Khajwa, three days' march be'lond Allahabad on 30th
December. Here be found Sultan Muhammad barring his path.
In the meantime, Aurang!oib dfter abandoning the pursuit of
Dara at Multan (30th September), had hastened back to Delhi
by forced marches (20th November), and strongly teinforced
his arm)?' near Allahabad with me11 and money. Shuja's open
road to Agra was now blocl<ed, and on 2nd January 1659 the
Emperor himself joined his :son near Kora, eight miles west of
 SS SHORT l"IJSTORY OF AURANGZll\ [en. V

Shuja s position. Mir Jumla, too, arri\7ed there from the Deccan
on the same day.

7. Kfiaj117a: jaswant'.s treacfiery and firmness of Aucang.ttib.

On 4th Janu~ry, Aurangzib marched his army in perfect

order till he arri\7ed one mile in front of the enemy's carr\p,
Here he halted, his soldiers maintained their exact positions,
each rnan sleeping on the !i(round with his armour on and
his saddled horse standing at his head. That night Mir Jumla,
with a born ~eneral's instinct, sei:ed a mound midway between
!he two armies and by hard labour drugged 40 guns to it,
which commanded the enemy's camp. Careful 'Vigil was bept
by his officers throughout the night.
A few hours before the dawn of the 5th of Januari, the day
fixed for t!1e battle, a confused noise u.rose in the 'Vanguard of
Aurang;.;ib's army ; the alarm and disorder rapidly spread
throui:Jh the entire camp. The air was filled with the yells of
the assailants, the cries of the fugiti\7es, and the tramp of
horsemen reck~lessly gallopinfJ away. The darkness heiqhtened
the confusion. The root of all this trouble was Maharajah
Jaswant Singh, the commander of the imperial right wini;r, who
had brooded over some fancied slight or neglect and matured
a deep plan of venll(eance. lie had, it was said, sent a secret
messa11e to Shuja saJ7ing that he would a!tad~ the imperial
camp behind the field at the close of the night, and that while
the Emperor would hasten to the rear to repel him
Shuja should swiftly fall on the disordered army and
crush it between two adversaries. So, shortly after midnight
he got his 14,000 Rajputs ready, 1urned \1is back
to the field, rushed the camp of Prince Md. Sullan which lay
in the path of his flifJht, and there carried off e\7erythin~ that
the Rajputs could lay their hands on. Much of the Emperor's
O\VD camp suffered the same fate. The Rajpt1ts tool< the road
 1659) )ASWANT's TREACHERY _::\T 1\HAJ\Vl\ 89

to Agra, but in the darl<ness and surprise the confusion spread

to the army at the front.
But the situation was sa\7ed by Auran~zib's wonderful
coolness and Shuja's hesitation. Shuja received Jaswant's
message, heard of the tumult, but did not leave his own Ccttnp
at nfght, fearing if might be a mere wse contrived between
Aurangzib and Jaswant to lure him on to his destruction !
The Emperor was at his tafiajjud prayer in his field-tent,
when the news of Jaswant's attacl< and desertion reached him.
Without uttering a word, he merely waved his hand as if to say,
"If he is gone, let him go !" After deliberate!)?' finishing the
prayer, he issued from the tent, mounted a taf:fit~i~rmrmn
(portable chair), and addressed his officers, "This incident ls a
mercy vouchsafed to us by God. If the infidel had played the
traitor in the midst of the battle, all would have been lost. His
flight (now) is good for us."
So Aurans;ri:ib firmly faept his own position, and prevented
the confusion from spreadini;i- to his di\7ision. Orderlies were
sent off to urge the leaders of the \7arious corps not to stir
from their own places, but to rally the fugitives. With the retum
of da1lis;:ht many faithful officers who had been swert far awa'l
by the tide of fli15ht hastened to rejoin the imperial banners,
round which more than 50,000 soldiers were now assembled
as a!i!ainst Sbuja's 23,000.

8. Battle of Knaji11a.

Shuja !mew that be could not adopt the customar)! plan

of battle, making his force correspond, division for di\7ision, to
the enemy's dispositions. fHs small force would then have been
overlapped and swallowed up by the \7astl'i' extended front of
an enemy wh:) outnumbered him as three to one. So, with
great judgment he made a new formation today : all his arniy
was drawn up in one long 'line, behind the artH!ery. With true
90 srmrtr trrSTORY Of' ALWANGZ!ll [Ct!. v
generalship Shuja decided to assume the offensive, and maRe up
1
for the srnall ness of his number by the moral superiority wh!ch
the attaching party always has.
The battle began at 8 A. M. with a furious discharge of
cannon, i-ocbets and musl~ets ; then the two vans closed
together and plied their bows. Sayyid Alam, at the head of
Shuja's right wing, charged the imperial left wing, driving in
front three infuriated elephants, each brandishing a two-maund
iron chain in its trunb. Neither man nor beast could
stand their impetuous onset. The imperial left, which
had no prince or great liJ'eneral to command it, brol~e and
fled. The panic spread even to !ht: centre ; the soldiers
ran about in confusion. To make matters worse, a false
report of the Emperor's death suddenly spread through the
ranl~s and many fled away. The enemy-, after clearing
the left win!J, pushed on towards the centre, where
only 2,000 troopers now remained to guard the Emperor.
But his two reser\7es tlun~ themselves forward and barred
the enemy's path. The Emperor with the centre turned his
elephant's head to the left, in order to support that win!il.
Sayyid Alam was repelled and fled bad~ by- the same path
that he had come.
But the three elephants continued to advance wildly, their
wounds havin![ made them fiercer than before. One of
them came up to Aurang;;ib's elephant. It was the critical
moment of the battle. If the Emperor had given ground or
tur11ed back, his whole arm'2' would ha'Ye tled. But he stood
lil.<e a roe!~, chaining the legs of his elephant to prevent its
tli!i!ht. At his order one of his matchlocl~men, Jalal Khan,
shot down the ma!Jut of the attu.cl~ing elephant, a btave royal
ntafiut nimbly leaped on its bacl.< and brought the riderless
beast under his control. The Emperor now got breathinq
time, and turned to succour his right, which had been
hard-pressed by a charge of the enemy's V'anguard and left
1659] BXI ru: OF Kll.\JW .\ 91

wins;: tmder Prince Buland Afahtar. fn spite of their small

numbet, their gallant charge dislodged their opponents ; man'::
of the imperialists fled away. freed from the danger on his
left, Auran~zib now looked at his right and found there signs
of confusion and flight. But e\.,.en in the Jireatest difficult\! and
dans;:er, his coolness and presence of mind did not desert
him. It at once struck him that, as his own front had hitherto
been turned towards the left, if he were now to face suddenly
round and march lo the right, the rest of the arm\! would
interpret this tJolte face as tlif;(hL So, he first sent orderlies
fo the van lo tell the generals of his real object and to urge
them to fight on without fear.
Then he wheeled the centre round and joined hrs hard-
pressed right wing. The succour came not a minute too soon.
This was the decisive move of the da1. The tide of battle
now rolled resisHessly against Shuja. The imperial right,
newly strengthened, made a counter-charge and swept awaf
the enemy from before them, with great carnage.
Meantime the imperial van, under Zulfiqar Khan and
Sultan Muhammad, had beaten bad~ the attacl< on it, advanced,
and shal<en the enemy's front line. So thicl< was the showel'
of canno11-balls, rod~ets and bullets from Aurangcib's army
that no man could stand ii. There was now a fJeneral
advance of the whole imperial armr, tight, centre, and left.
"'LHie masses of darl< clouds, they surrounded Shu)a's own
division (the centre), his two flan!?s ha:vlng been scattered
already. The cannon-balls flew about his own head and
l:<ll!ed many of his personal attendants." Therefore, he left the
dangemus prominence of the elephant's bad~ and took
horse.~

-: ~r~kr's st1ttemeut, copied b'>: Stewart, t~ujo, was on the point at

'i(aluinq !he victor\; when he lost all bl: dtstnountin ftorn his elephant, meref\' gl,,.es
!he b~zar ~oi;s1p. None of the con!cmporary authorities on whom mi; account oi
the boWc 15 bao;ed, supports such an idea, which is also naturalh' hnprol;iable.
Indeed, Uw battle had been a\rejly loo! iltld Shuia \Va" In Imminent risk of being
c:aplured, when he took hot'SC.
 Sl!ORT lilSTORY OF AURANGZJil [elf. V

This was the end of the struggle. All was now lost, as
his soldiers believed that their master was dead. In a moment
all that still remained of the Bernial army broRe and fled.
Shuja galloped away- from the field with his sons, his general
Sayyicl Alam and a small body of troops. Iiis entire camp
and baggage were plundered by the imperialists. 114 pieces
of cannon and 11 of the celebrated elephants of Bengal
became the victor's pri;:e.

9. Tfie pursuit of Sliuja and tfie war in Binal'.

In the afternoon following the victory of Khajwa, Auran~r:ib

sent a pursuing column under Muhammad Sultan after Shuja,
Reinforcements under Mir Jutnla soon raised this force to
30,000 men. Shula fled through Benares and Patna
to Munii(ir, where he made a fo1inigh1-'s stand,
(19th Feb.-6th March). The city of Munglr stands in il
narrow plain, two and a half miles broad, between the
Ganges river and the Khargput hills. Along this plain runs
ihe most convenient road tram Patna to Bengal. Shuja had
blocl:zcd the road by means of a wall and a ditch running
from the river to the hill, with raised bastions at every thirty
yards' distance, defended wifh large guns landed from his
boats and manned by his soldiers.
Early in March Mir Jumla arrived before Mungir, and
findin!ii the main road barred, bribed Rujah Bahro:: of
Khargpur and under his s;ruidance carried the imperial army
throuqh the hills and jungles south-east of MuniJir fort, thus
turning Shuja's rear. Thal pri11ce now fled from Mungit' (6th
}forch) to Sahlbganj, where he blocl:zed the nurrow pass
with a wall (10th-24th March). But the imperialists won
over Kbwajah Kamal Afghan,, the zamindar of Birbhum and
Chatnagar, and with his help cmd guidance made a detour
1659] MIR JUMLA VERSUS Sl!lJJ,\

round the south-east of the Murn~ir district ctnJ reached Suri

on the ~8th.
But a false rumour that Dara had triumphed near Aimlr
and was wreal<ing vengeance on the Rajput States now
induced the Rajput contingent under Mir Jumla (especially
the troops of Ram Singh, lhe eldest son of Jai Singh) to
desert and push on lo their distant homes. Thus the pursuing
force lost 4,000 men (30th March), but was still twice as
strong as Shuja's army.
In the meantime, Shuja had evacuated Sahibganj (~7th March)
for Rajmahal ; but finding even Rajmahal unsafe, he retreated
(4th April) to the Maida district. His chief noble Ala\vardi
Khan, who had planned to desert to Mir Jumla with many
oi.her officers, WdS beheaded (2nd April), on the detection of his
plot. The imperialists occupied Rajmahal on 13th April, and
thus tbc whole country west of the Ganges passed out of
Shuja's hands.
The war lhat now ensued between the two sides was a
curious contest Hfae lhat between a tiger and a crocodile.
Shuja's regular troops had by-- now been reduced to flve thousand
men, while Mir Jumla's army was fi\7e times as large and, man
for man, superior in fighting capacity. Shuja was, therefore,
hopelessly inferior on land. But Mfr Jumla"s army was a
purely land force. He had not, at first, a single boat of his
own for campaigning in this land of wateMvays, and his guns
were fewer and smaller than his enemy's. On the other hand,
Sbuja had an artillery of bir& pieces admirably served by
European and half~brced gunners. He had the entire flotilla
(naw1vm:a) of Ben.gal at his disposal for crossin!J rivers,
transportin!;t his troops, or cannonading the imperial defences
and camp on the river~banR. wherever he liked. This arm
gave Shuja wonderful mobility and multiplied the effective
streni;ith of his small army, while the lack of bocits paralysed
Mfr Jumla's efforts and neutraliied his superiority on land.
 "iHOlH lllSTORY OJ .\UR.\\IOZlll [CtI. 'J

Shuja, maR.in~ Tarn.la (four miles west of the fort of Gaur)

his base, entrenched various places on the eastern bani< of the
Garn;ies to pre\7ent Mir Jumla from crossing over. But his
plans were foiled by Mir Jurnla's wonderful acti'7ity in procuring
boats from remote places and Auran~:=:ib's clever strate~ical
move in sending another arnw, under the governor of Patna,
to ma~e c1 diversion on the left banl~ of the Ganl,]es und turn
Shuja's ri~ht flank.
from his headquarters at Do15achi 1 thirteen miles south of
Rajmahal, Mir Jumla struck two successful blows at Shuja. I le
wrested from the enemy, by d night surprise, an island in
midstream, opposite Do!6achi, where a detachment of Shuja's
men was posted, and he held it against repeated attempts to
recover it. Lu.ter, the imperialists surprised and destroyed a
battery of eight guns which the enemy had erected on the
eastern bani~ fadn!J Suti.
The imperial army was distributed along the entire western
bank : Muhammad Murad Beg was left in comm<1nd at
I~aj111ahal in the e:xtre1ne north ; the prince with Zulfiqar Khan,
Islam Kh<111, and the buHi of the army, remained at Do55achi
13 miles south,va.rJ;, fa:inJ Shuja. At Du.napur, some 8 miles
fltrther south, Ali Quli Kha.n was posted, while Mir Jttmla
himself with six or seven thousand troops occupied Suti, the
southernmost point of the Mugh:il lines, QS miles south of Rajmahal.
But a third coup planned by Mir Jumla failed with heavy loss,
because this time Shuja was on the alerl ctnd had prep.:1red an
ambush. On 3rd May 1659, when only the firsl part of the
expedition sent by the Mughal ~eneral had landed, the men and
their b9ats were attad~ed by a superior enemy force which
had been waiting for them in hiding. The imperial detachment
sacrificed in this 11-0.in attempt four high officers and many
hund1ed soldiers, besides 500 left as prisoners. No succour
could be sent by Mir Jumla from the western banh, as his
boats were afraid to face the Ben~al floti!Ja.
1659] ])ISASI u~s '[0 Ml!CillAT s l'l !JL\JMA!l \L 95

Late in the nh;iht of Sth June, Prince Muhammad Sulfan

fled from his post at DoSJachi to Shuja. lie had 101115 been
chafini;! under the tutela')e of Mir Jumla, and a~rired to reis;!n
independently ! Shuja secretly offered him the hand of his
daughter GulntR.h J:>amt, and his help in \laininfJ the throne, and
thus won the thoughtless prince c)\7er. On hC"aring the news,
Mir Jumla at Suti firmly R.ept his own men quiet, and the
morning after the tiight wde to the prince's camp at Dogacht,
haran\lued the leaderless troops, put heart and hope into
them, and restored order and discipline. A council of war
was held ; all the other ~enerals agreed to obey him as their
sole head. Thus the army weathered the storm ; "1t lost
only one man-the prince."
Soon afterwards, the torrential rains of Bengal suspended
military operations. Mir Jumla, with about 15,000 men, took
post at Masuma-bazar, while !he rest of the imperial army,
under Zulfiqar Khan, stayed at Rajmahal, the two divisions
being separated by 60 miles of road impassable in that season.
The rains converted the neis;ihbourhood of Rajmahal into
one marshy lake. The city's food supply from the Majwa
hills (in the north-west) was cut off by reason of Shuia.
bribing its Rajah ; the water-route was commanded by Shuja's
flotilla ; and so scarcity of grain reached its extreme amoni;;
the Mughal garrison in Rajmahal. fn this situation, Shuja
made a sudde11 attack with his flotilla and captured the cil?
on 22nd Augusl, with all the property of the Mlll$hals.
lili

10. Tfie wac in Bengal.

At the bel;!inning of December 1659 Shuja marched from
l~ajmahal with 8,000 men, against Mir Jumla who was
encamped near Belgb<\ta, (42 miles southwards, and opposite
Janglpur in the Murshidabad district). Here he twice o.ttac;ked
the imperialists and did them such damage, 011 account of
 S~!ORT HJSTOf~Y OF AURANGZIII [c11.

their marhed inferiority- in artillery-, that Mir lumla fell bad~ on

Murshidabad, while Shuja marched parallel to him to Nashipur.
But in the meantime, Darn.! Khan the ~o\7ernor of Bihar, with a
second army had forced a passa!6e across the Kushi river,
swept a\\..,.ay the Shujaitc forces on the north bani~ of the
Gan~es a;1d was in full inurch on Tanda. On hearing this
news Shuja ldt Nashipur (26 Dec.) and hastened towards Tanda
via Sufi. Mir Jumla immediately 15a\7e him chase, Shuja
crossed the Ganges at Rajmahal and the imperialists reco\7ered
that city on 11th January 1660. Thus, the whole country
west of the Ganges was finally lost to Shuja.
This year Mir Jumla's plan of campaign was brilliantly
novel : he would attach the enemy from an unexpected
quarter, the north-east. Shuja's position now was a Ions;! line,
stretchin>J north-west to south-east from Samda island
(opposite Rafmahal) to Tanda, with his headquarters about
the middle of the line at Chmtl<i Mirdadpur. Mir JL1mla's plan
was to mahe d wide detour in a semi-circle north of this
position, by way of RajmahaJ, Ahbarpur and Maida, then
turn sharply south and swoop down upon Tanda from the
east. With the help of the 160 boats brou~ht from Patna, lw
carried his army over the Garn;5es, 10 miles north of Rajmahal,
-and joined Daud Khan,
Shuja was hopelessly outnumbered from the first, and now
(February 1660) found his only line of retreat, in the south,
threatened. At this tilne, Princc\llr Muhammad Sultan deserted
him and sneal<ed back to the Mugbal camp at Do~o.chl (Sih
Feb).. He was doomed to pass the rest of his life in prison.
On 6th March Mir Jumla reached Maida and worl:~ed hard
for a month to complete his preparations for his crnwning
' strok~ which would crush Shuja in one move. Prom his
headqu<'ttters at Mahrnttdabad (a few miles below Maida
town), he started on 5th April, and after a march of 10 miles
surprised ihe small enemy patrol at an obscure ford of the
 1
1660} SHUJA S FLIGHT. l'ROM TANDA. 97

Mahananda river. Without a moment's delay, the imperialists

plunJJed into the water ; all order was gone and in the
confusion the shallow ford was missed ; vast numbers went
below theit depth on both sides of the tracl~, and more than a
thousand soldiers were drowned, incluJing a son of Dilir Khan.
But it was the decisive move of the campaign. All was
now over with Shuja. I le must immediately flee to Dacca,
before the enemy's net could completel'i? close round him.
lie hastened to Tanda at dawn of 6th April and ordered his
Be!Jams to come a\v-ay at once "without waiting even to change
their dress." His treasure and a selection from his other property
were loaded in four large boats and sent down the stream.
In the afternoon he himself embarked. His two younger sons,
(Buland Akhtar and Zain"ul-abidin), his chiefs, Mirz:a Jan Beg,
Sanid Alam of Barba, Sayyid Quli Uc:bah, and Mirza Beq, a
few soldiers, servants, and eunuchs,-300 rneninall,-accompanied
him in 60 boats (kosas). This was the sole remnant of the
splendid Court amidst which he had ruled three provinces, and
the vast army with which he had twice contested the throne
of Delhi !
Wild terror and confusion now reigned in his camp at
Tanda. l-Jis unguarded property wu.s plundered. Next day (7tl:
Aprll) Mir Jumfo occupied the dty and restored order. !-le
sei'5ed for the Gov-ernment all the property he found or could
recover from the p!trndeters ; the women left behind by Shuja
were properly guarded and taken cate of. At Tartipur 400
loo.ded boats of Shuja's flotilla were seized, besides the two
treasure-laden gfiutabs. His a1my now came ov-et to Mir
Jumla (9th April). Then the general set off from Tanda (19th
April) for Dacca.

11. Sfiuja abandons Bengal; fiis end.

Oh 1Qth April, Shuja reuched Dacca, the second . capital of
Benqal, a bankrupt in fame an<l fortune. Buf it was to be no
7
 SHORT HJSTORY OF AURANGZJB !ctt. v
asylum to him. The :.wmindats were all up against bim and
he was too weal~ either to subdue them or lo face Mir lumla
who was bastenimJ behind him. So, on 6th May" he left Dacca
and i:ilided down the river towards the sea. At every sla'5e
soldiers and boatmen deserted him in large numbers. He had
already begged help from the l<ing of Arracan, and two days
after leaving Dacca he was met by 51 ships sent by that bing's
governor of Chatgaon. All hope of maintainini;r a hold on
Bengal was given up and he steeled his heart to banish himself
to the land of the savage Maghs.
The news spread consternation among his famil'Z and
followers. The piracy of the Arracanese of Chatgaon in the
rivers of East Bengal had made them too well !mown to the
people. Whole districts in Noal~hali u.nd Baqanianj had been
depopulated through their ravages. Their darins;J attacRs,
ferocious cruelty, uncouth appearance, barbarous manners, lad<
of religion and caste, and practice of eating unclean animals,-
all caused them to be rei;iarded by the people of East Bengal,
Hindus and Muslims alil:1.e, with a mixture of terror und
loathirnJ.
But there was no help for il, if Shuja wanted to avoid the
fate of Dara Shukoh and Murad Bahhsh at the hands of
Aurani;i;;:ib. So, on 12th May 1660, he finally left the home
of his ancestors and the province which he had ruled for
twenl\: yea1s, and sailed for Arracan with his family and Jess
than forty followers ; ten of these were Sa'lvids of Barbar
famous throughout India for their valour and devotion to their
master.
Shuja was not happy in his new home. His unquiet ambition
brou11ht down a tragic end upon him. "Manv dwellers in
Arracan, Mughal and Pathan,. ... showed themselves inclined
towards him. lie planned an outb1eak intendin!J to slay
the king and take his kingdom, . and then advance once more
to test his fortune in Bengal.". C!Ee king of Arracan heard of
1661] Slll!JA KILLED IN ARRACAN 99

1he plot and "planned the assassination of Shah Shuja. Shah

Shuja with a few men fled into the jungle. The Maghs .... pursued
the poor prince, ....cultin'6 his body into pieces." (Dutch report,
Feb. 1661). J
 BOOK Ill
CHAPTER VI
THE f!l~::ir HALF Of THE REIGN: A GENH~AL SKETCH
1. Tne confrast between tfie two nalt7es of Aurang:;;ib's
tei9n ; liis petsonal mouements.
The reign of Aurang:ib is naturally divided mto two equal
parts of about 25 years each, the first of which he pa6sed in
Northern India and the second in the Deccan. Durinq the
earlier of these two periods the centre of interest lies unmis-
takably in the North, not because the Emperot lived lhere, but
because the most important developments, civil and military,
concerned this region, while the South fii;iured as a far off and
nes;.(li~ible factor. In the second half of the rei5511 the situation
is reversed : all the resources of the empire are concentrated
in the Deccan ; the Emperor, his Court and famil17, the bull~
of the army, and all his best officers live there for a quartet
century-, and Hindustan sinks bad~ to a place of secondary
importance. The generals and soldiers in their enforced exile
in the Deccan sigh for a return lo their northern homes ; one
homesick noble offers the Emperor a lal<h of Rupees for leave
to spend only one year at Delhi ; the Rajput soldiety complain
that their breed is dyin!ll out by reason of their lifelon!il stay
in the Deccan away from home and family. Dutin~ this period,
pradicall'i' extendin~ over one human generation, the administra-
tion in Northern fndia naturally falls into deca}! at the with-
drawal of the master's eye and the ablest officers ; the people
grow poorer ; the upper classes decline in morals, intelligence
i!nd useful activity : finally lawlessness breaks out in most parts,
 1
AllRANGZl l\ S PERSONA! MO\"EMCNTS 101

During the first half of the rei\iln the centre of interest in

Northern India shifts with startling rapidity and ran!i)e. The
imperial banners march from Kabul in the extreme \vest to
the Namrup hills in the extreme east of India, from Tibet
beyond our northern limits to Bijapm across the southern
boundary of the empire. Many operations on a smaller scale
are carried out against lawless peasa11ts and chiefs in seV'eral
widely separated districts. We see the Emperor's religious
intolerance fully unmasked durin!ll this period.
After his i;rrand coronation at the commencement of the
second year of his reign (13 May, 1659), Aurangr:ib mostly
lived at Delhi, guiding the State from the capital. At the
capital he received (1661-67) the grand embassies sent from aU
pa.rts of the outer Mt1slim world to wish him well on his
accession. For the benefit of these forei!Jn guests he made
that lavish display of his wealth and power which "dazzled
even eyes which were accustomed to the pomp of Versailles."
In the 5i.h year of his reign, AQrangz::ib made a trip to Kashmir,
leaving Delhi on 8th Dec. 1662 and refornin~ to that city on 18th
Jan. 1664. In February 1666 his father's death tool< him to
.N;?ra. So long as Sh~h Jahan lived in captivi1y, Aurnni;!zib
had naturally aV'oided Ai;;ra and held his Court at Delhi.
In 1674 the seriousness of the Afridi rising" f6rced the
Emperor to qo to Hasan Abdal, to be near enough to Pl:!Shawar
to direct the operations of his armies. Hete he lived from
26th June, 1674 to 25rd December, 1675, returning to Delhi on
27th Match, 1676. Early in !679, the death of Maharajah
Jaswant Singh and the opporlunify it presented of annexing the
Jodhpur State deew him to Alrrtir. !n Rafputana he spent the
next two tears and then, eady in the 25th year of his rel!tn,
he started fot the Deccan where he finally exhausted his life
and empire after 25 years of sttenuons but unavailing ioil.
Auran!il'zib first sat on tfie t6rone on 1st Ziqada, year 1068
of the Bifera era (21 July; 1658) ; but his secot1d or grand
102 St!ORl' t!ISTORY OF AURANOZHI [en. VI

coronation tool< place on '24th Ram:;;an, 1069 (5 fune, 1659).

In the second year ii was ordered that in official documents
eTJel'y yeac of ttie teig.n should be calculated !tom 1st Ram~an.
But it was found incorwenient to feast and rejoice in a
season of religious fastin!J and prayer, and so, from the 4th
year onwards the Emperor sat on the throne immediately at
the end of the month of Rarm:an, i. e., on the da)! of the
Id-ul-fitr, (sometimes a day later), and the celebrations ran on for
10 days from that date. In the 21st fear (1677) he abolished
the celebrations, the making of presents to him b)! the nobles,
and all kinds of displaf at Court on the occasion of the
coronation anniversar)!.

2. Aurang.:;;ib's illness, 1662.

Earl'l in the 5th year of his reif,in, Auran!Jiib had a severe
lllness, which was ali(gra\7afed by his obstinate deV'otion to wod~
and religious austerities. The days of Qamian (10 April-
9 May, 1662) were extreme!)! hot and lon!J, and overwmk
and lac!< of sleep and proper nourishment during this entire
month of fasting in the da)!time in the frightful heat of a
Delhi summer, great!)! weakened him. At last on 12th
May, a fever seiz:ed him ; the doctors bled him so much that
he became extremely weak ; at times he fell into fits of
insensibility and a deadly pallor ' spread over his face. The
qreatest anxiety and distraction reh;med in the palace and the
c.apital, and tl1e evil was aggraV'ated b)? the rival mo\7ements of
his sons to gain adherents and secure their own succession.
Up to the 5th day, his fever and weakness continued
without abatement But such was Aurang;;ib's strength of mind
that he showed his face in the Audience Rall for a moment
that evening and the next, leaning on a ma.cc and receiving the
I I
presentation of the royal standards. The 1llness continued for
a month more, but there was no longer any cause for
public alarm or disorder. On Friday the 23rd and 30th
1663] AUW\NGZIB'S SEVERE ILLNESS 103

he went to the Jama Mosque in a litter to pray in public.

His complete recovery was celebrated on 24th June. The
absolute peace that was maintained throughout the empire during
this cri!ical month and a half is the highest tribute to the
streni;ith of Aurarni(cib's character* and the stability of the
mle he had founded.
On his reco\7ery, Aurangzib was advised to regain his strength
and refresh his spirits by a visit to the pleasant valley of
Kashmir, then lwown as the "Earthly Paradise." Early- in May
1663 he started from Lahor for Kashmir, entering the valley
throu!Jh the Pit Panjal Pass at Bhimbar. The Court passed
two and a ' half months most happily at Srinagar. On the
return journey Laho1 was reached on 29th Sep. 1663, and
Delhi on 18i.h January next.
During these early years passed at Delhi, when there was
no cloud on the horizon of the frontiers, Aurangr:ib often
devoted himself to the pleasures of the chase in the neigh-
bourhood of the capital or in the Doab, though in old age
he condemned sfiitat as the business of the idle (bdad.

3. Laudess risings in tfie ptot7inces.

Man\! minor conquests tool~ place in the outsRirts of the
empire during the first quarter-century of Aurans;izib's reign ;
such as Palamau (south of Bihar), Assam and Kuch Bihar
(both abandoned), Idar, Chat~aon, and Tibet (ln 1665, amoun
ting only to the aclmowlec!qment of the Emperor's suzerainty
by the Buddhist rule1 of that country. This country was
evidently Ladak 01 Utile Tibet).
The disturbances of internal peace in Aurangiib's reiqn
were of three classes : (a) The outbreaks inevitable during a
* Bernie1's Agna (Danlshmand Kh;:i.n) on hearinlJ of Aurang~ib's fortitude d11ring
l!lnes, exclaimed, "What strength of mind l What Invincible coura'ile I Heaveo
piese~e thee, AttranlifJOfb, tor l!reater achievements l Thott art not ~d desli11ed lo
die l" (P. ll!5).
104 SllORT HISTORY 01 AURANGZIB [CH. Vl

succession dispute among the princes, when the collarse of

civil authority ternpts plunderers and ambitious chiefs to
enrich themselves by lawless acts without fear of punishment.
(b) Hindu risings aqainst the policy of temple destruction
which began to be enforced throuqhout the empire in the
12th year. (c) l"<evolts of vassal princes. We have also a
few sporadic cases of defiance of imperial authority b'? petl'?
chieftains in out-of-the- way or jungly places.
The Hindu revolts provoked by Aurangzib' s biGotty,
as well his dealings with the Sil<hs, will be treated in detail in a
subsequent chapter.
Some local disturbances were also caused by pretenders
setting up for his dead brother'> or nephews. A false Dara
Shukoh appeared in Gujrat in August 1663, a false Shula in
the Morang hills forest of Kuch Bihar) in May 1669, a second
in the Yusuf:ai country in 1674, and a third in Kamraj (Kashmir)
us late as 1707 ; a bo!clus Buland Al~htar (second son of Shuja)
in the Allahabad province in July 1699, and a counterfeit of the
rebel prince Akbar in the Deccan in March of the same year.
Rao Karan of the Bhurtiya clan, the chiefbin of Bil~anir,
had served in the Mughal army of the Deccan in the last year
of Shah Jahan's reign, but had come back to Northern India
at Dara's instili(ation without taking Aurangzib's leave. Afterwards
he had put off paying the customary \7isit of respect to the new
Emperor. So, in Jl.ugtist, 1660, an army, 9,000 strong, was sent
under Amir Khan to brim~ him to reason. Rao Karan was cowed
into submission, waited on the Emperor (27 NoV'.) and recei\.,.ed
his pardon.
The ne:d lawless Rajah to f~el Aurangiib' s heavy hand was
Champat Rai Bundela. After the war of 1635 the family of
Bir Singh Dev was dispossessed and the throne of Urchha
given to De\7i SiMh, a descendant of his eldest brother. But
a famil-r sprun11 from a younger brothet of Bir Sin!i!h's father
ruled as the lords of Mahewa in Eastern Bundelhha nd. Their
 1661] Cf!AMPAT Bl!NOELA HUNTED TO DEATH 105

leader was Champat Rai. When Auran;:;;ib reached Ujjain

after his victory over Jaswant, Charnpat Rai joined him.
But when Shuja \Vas advancing to Khajwa and the wildest
rumours spread throui;ih the empire, Champat deserted, and
returning home took to his old game of robbery. The
Emperor sent an army under Sttbhl<aran Bundela and olher
I~ajput officers against the rebel (10 Feb., 1659). A contingent
under Rajah Devri Singh Bundela and the jagirdars and local
troops of Malwa were ordered to assist him. Everybody's
hands were now turned against Cbampat, who fled from place
to place closel'\? followed by the imperialists.
At last about the middle of October 1661, Champat Rai
findinq capture by his false friends imminent, and unable to
defend himself in the extreme agony of fever and weakness,
stabbed himself to death, and so also did his constant
companion in life, Rani Kali Kumari. But his son Chbattra Sal
Jived to be long a thorn in the sides of the Mu~hals and finally.
to found a new l<ingdom, Panna, in Eastern Bundell<hand.

4. Conquest of Palamaa, etc.

Beyond the southern limits of Bihai lies the district of
Palamau as a sort of rugged step leadiniG to the plaleau of
Chota NaiGpUl' on the south-east and the Central Provinces on
the south-west. It is a wild country, broken up by spurs and
peaks, with many rainy~weather rl"Vers unfit for navigation
and fielding no assured supply of water for irrigation. The
southern paet of the district is extremely rocl<y barren and
jungly ; in the northern part the valleys are a little wider and
more fertile ; but "nowhere in the district is it possible to get
more than six or se\l'en miles from a well-defined hill. There
are no le\7e1 plains, and the .general appearance of the district
is that of a confused mass of roc!zy hills, mostly covered by
a dense .growth of jungle. From the summit of a rid~e or hill,
106 SliORT ll!STORY or AllfHNGZ!B (cu. VJ

the country appedrS covered by a waving sheet of low forest,

with all signs of human habitation concealed from view, except
perhaps a glimpse here and there of a low red tiled roof, u
distant li(rove of trees, or an occasional herd of cattle." The
population is scanty, living in small and scattered villa~es
embosomed in the hollows among the hills.
The dominant clan of the district in the 17th and 18th
centuries were the Cheros, a Dravidian people, said to have
brunched off from the Rajbhant tribe. In 1643, the Mugbals
tal<in~ advantage of family disputes, reduced Rajah Pratap
Chero to the status of a Mu!i:!hal mansabdar, and turned his
ancestral kingdom into a fief, subject to an annual payment
of one lakh of Rupees. The tribute was exorbitant in amount,
and beyond the power of the Rajah to pay regularly. [t
naturally fell into arrears, while additfonal provocation was
gh1en by the cattleraids of the Cheros across the Bihar
frontier every year.
By order of the Emperor, Daud Khan the qo\7etnor of
Bihar invaded Palamau in April 1661. He easily occupied the
forts of Kuthi, Kunda, and Deogan which guarded the northern
frontier of that l<ingdom, and advanced cutting the jungle and
making a road towards the capital. On 7th December he
attacked the enemy's trenches two miles before Palamau, and
after a severe fight for three days put the Chero army to tlight.
Then a path was cleared \vith great labour through the remain-
ing two miles of jungle, and the Mughals a.ttacked the Rajah's
trenches before his capital on the 13th. After a stubborn fight
for six l10urs, the enemy fled into the city, which \Vas immediately
stormed by the exultant Mughals. At nigh the Rajah
escaped from his fort, which was sei;;ed by the Mughals next
day. Palamau was annexed to the subafi of Bihar.
In 1662, a disputed succession in Nawanagar, the capital of
the State of Halar in north-western Kathiawad, led to the
Mu1Jhal suzerain's intervention. The faujdar of Junagarh, after
1659] OPPRESS!Vf TAXES l\BOLISHED 107

a stubborn fight with the usurper in which the imperialists lost

611 men in hilled and wounded (13 Feb. 1663), slew the
usurper and restored the ri!,Jhtfu[ heir to the throne. But the
peninsula long continued unsettled.
In 1664 two forces were sent from Darbhanga and Gorakh-
pur to co-operate in chastising the rebel Rajah of Morang (a
hill country west of Kuch Bihar and north of the Purnea
distrid). Early in 1676 we read of Morang being conquered
anew.
A punitive expedition visited the Kumaun hills, the dominion
ot Rajah Bahadur Chand, in 1665. After a long contest, the
Rajah secured his pardon in 1673.

/f' 5. Abolition of duties on grain ; Empetot's

l,,,/~"' lolamic ordinances.
Immediately aftet' his second enthronement, Aurarn;li!ib took
two measures which had become presssinq necessities. Durin~
the War qf Sltccession the economic l'Uin of many parts of
Northern India was complete 1 and qrain was selling at famine
prices. The c11il was aggra11ated by the inland transit duties ;
at e11ery ford, fertf, hill pass or pro\7inclal boundary, cafidari
or toll of one-tenth of the value of the i;(oods was taken on
lhe passing merchandise as waiJes for !il'Uarding the roads. In
the lanier towns, lihe A~;wa, Delhi, Lahor, and Burhanpur, a duty
(called pandati) was levied on all articles of food and drink
brnught from outside for sale. Aurangi!ib abolished both
the rafidati and the pandati in the Crownlands and
requested the jagirdars and u1mindars to do the same in
their estates. This was done, and there was a free flow of
corn to every place affected by scarcity, and the price of grain
fell appreciably. A lar~e number of cesses (abwabs), many of
them trivial and vexatious, were abolished by Auratigzdb i11
1673. [See my Mug/ial Administration, Ch. 5. l The ocftoi
.dut'i .on tobacco was abolished in 166(>.
108 SHORT llISTOl<Y OF AUl<ANGZIB [Cti. VI

Aurungzib had claimed the throne as the champion of pure

Islam against the heretical practices and principles of Dara
Shuhoh. Soon after his second coronation (June, 1659) he
issued the following ordinances to restore the rules of orthodox
Islam and to bri111,1 the lives of the people into closer accord
with the teaching of the Quran.
(1) The Mu5Jhal emperors before him used to stamp the
Muhammadan confession of faith (Kalima) on their coins.
Aurangzib forbade it.
(2) The ancient hings of Persia, and following them the
Muslim rulers of that countr)7 as well as the Mughal soverei~ns
of India, used to observe the da)7 when the Sun enters the
Aries as an occasion of gener.:tl rejoicing and carnival al
Court because it was the New Year's Day (nauto.Jt) of the
Zoroastrian calendar (1st of farwardin). Aura1w:;;ib forbade
tbe keeping of the da)7 and transferred the customar)7 Nauroz
rejoicings of ihe Court to the coronation festivity following the
month of Ram:;;an.
(3) A Censor of Morals (mufitasib) was appointed to enforce
the Prophet's laws and put down the practices forbidden b)7' him,
such as drinking distilled spirits or fermented beer, bfiang and
other liquid intoxicants, gambling, and. the illicit commerce of
the sexes. Opium and ganja, however, \\?'ere not interdicted.
The punishment of heretical opinions, blasphem)7 and omission
of pra)7cr and fast b)7 Muslims also lay within the pro\Tince
of this Inquisition. A part)7 of mansabdat:s and afiadis was
posted under him to enforce his orders.
(4) An imperial circular, dated 13th Ma)7 1659, was
sent to all lhe pro'Yinces, forbidding the ct1ltivation of
bfian9.
(5) All the old mosques and monastelies, man)7 of which had
become mere ruins, were repaired, and imams, mua~:;:ins, fdiatibs
and attendants were appointed in them with regular salaries.
His pmitanlcal ri55our grew with age. We ma)7 conveniently
 i\URANGz m's PU~!TAN!CAL REGULATIO NS 109

study here his measures for enforcing his own ideas of the
morose seriousness of life :
(6) At the commenc ement of the 11th year of his reign,
he forbade the Court musicians to perform before him.
"Graduul ly music was totally forbidden at Courl."
The sons of the Muses took their revenge b? turning the
pL1blic lau.gbtcr against their crowned foe. About one thousand
of the musicians of Delhi assembled on a Friday when
Aurang:e:ib was going to the mosque. They came out with over
twenty hif.;hly ornament ed biers, as fs the custom of the countiy,
crying aloud with great gdef. From afar Aurang2ib saw this
multitude and heard their great weeping and lamentation, and
wonderin>J, sent to l<now the cause of so much sorrow. The
musicians replied with sobs that the king's orders had killed
Music, therefore they were bea.ring het to the grave. The hirn~
calmly remarl.;!eJ that they should see that she was thorough lf
well buried!
(7) The ceremony of \\7e~hinq the Emperor ai;iainst qold
an't! silver on his two birthdays (according to the lunar and
solar calendars ) was stopped.
(8) In 1668, the two stone elephants placed b-x Jahangfr on
the two side"pillars of the Hatlpul .gate of Agra fort, were
removed by the Emperor.
(9) Jn April 1670, the cotUtiers were ordered to !ilivc up
the Hindu practice of saluting each other by raisinq the hand
to the head and to confine. themselves to the cry 'Pedce be on
you !' (salam alek.um.)
(10) In March 1670 he forbade the festivities which used lo
be held on his bitthdaf; hencefoti h the royal band was to
play for three hours only instead of the whole day. Early in
the 21st year of his reiqn (No.,.ember, 1677) the customar y
rejoicings on the anniversa ry of his coronatio n were abolished.
(11) It had formerly been the practice of the emperors to
appl)l' a spot of paint (tfia) with their own fingers to the
110 SIIORT HISTORY OF AURANGZJB [ell. VI

forehead of great Rajahs when investing them. In May 1679

lhe ceremony was altogether abolished as savouring of
Hinduism.
{12) Aurangzib fJave up the ceremony of darsnan or
appearins;i every morning at a balcon'f on the wall of the
palace to receive the salute of the people assembled on the
ground outside,-which Ahbar had introduced and his successors
had hitherto practised. lt was ahin to the Hindu practice of
having a !ooh at one's tutelary idol before be!5innin1; the
day's worl<.
(13) The roofing over of buildinJils containing tombs, the
lime-washini;r of sepulchres, and the pilgrimaqe of women lo
the graveyards of saints, were forbidden, as opposed to
the Quranic law.
But his attempt to elevate manl<ind by one leap foiled, and
the administration made itself ridiculous by violentl'f enforcing
for a time, then relaxing, and finally abandoning a code of
puritanical morals opposed to the feelings of the entire popula-
tion, without first trying to educate them to a higher level of
thought. As Manucci noticed, "It was so common to clrinl~
spirits when Aurarn;rEib ascended the throne, that one da'? he
5aid in a passion that in all Hindustan no more than two men
could be found who did not drinh, namely himself and the
Chier Qaz:i. The regnlations were strld at firsl, but little by
li!tle they were relaxed, ...thcre being few who do not drinh
sccretly...The ministers themselves dranh and loved to get
drunl~." So, too, in the case of the order against music.
Notorious instances of llamblin!i:l were punished by the
Empetor. Manucci mentions that he ordered all the public
women and dancing~girls to marry or lea\ie the realm ; but
ihe same writer's narrative shows that this rule was a dead
letter. His prohibition of the fi.oli celebration in the streets,
when obscene sonli(s were sung and fali.l'S;!ot was extorted
from all people for bonfires, was clearly a police regulation.
166 l I 51\l<MAD THI: MYSTIC BEHE.i.Dlm 111

So, also, was the order putting a stop to Muharram processions

in future, after a deadly fight behveen rival processionists at
Burhanpur in 1669.
In 1664 Aurangr:ib issued an order forbiddin>J the burning
of [-!indu widows with their husbands' corpses. But
Government was powerless to enforce the prohibition
everywhere. The inhuman practice of castrating children with
a view to sellini;i them as slaves, was ordered to be Sltppresscd
(1668) tbrouli(hout the empire.

6. Persecution of Dara's fa17ow:ite tfieolog_ians

and of fieretics.
The enforcement of Islamic odhodoxf iJa'.te Aurang:oib
an opportunffy for punishirn~ ihose liberal holy men of his
creed whom Dara had favoured. One such \Vas Shah
Muhammad Badal<hshi, a disciple of Mian Mir and a facile
composer of mystic poetry. Dara had gteatly honoured and
chedshed him, and, therefore, after Aurang;;ib's accession be
was summoned to the imperial presence. But on the way
he died at Lahor in 1661.
But the most notable victim of this class was. Sarmad, a
Sufi of the highest celebrity in India. This man was born of
Jewish parents at Kashan in Persia and made himself a
rnbbi (theological scholar) by his master1 of the Hebrew
Scriptures. Then he embraced Islam under the name of
Muhammad Said, a11d after coming to India as a trader, met
at Tatta a Hindu lad named Abhay Chand, with whom he
was so infatuated that he became a nahed faqit: and induced
Abhay Clrn.nd to be his disciple, At Delhi, he was made
much of by Dar"' Shukoh and e\7en introduced to Shah Jahan.
Sarmad was a pantheist, and his smooth flowing verses
breathe not only the mystic fervmtr of the Sufi, but also a
lofty spirit pf catholicity which rlses above the wrangle
112 snorn f!ISTORY Ol' AURANGZ!f\ [rn. VI

of sects and adores the truth inherent in all creeds. His

attitude to Muhammad was one of deep respect; but on
several points of Muslim theology and tradition his opinions
were unorthodox. "Goel," he held, "is a material Sllbstance ...
and Iils materiality is symboliEcd by a human fi~ure and
body ... The reward of good deeds and the punishment of
sins tal~e place in tliis world. A man's soul is born a!,;ain
after a period of sleep exactly as long as his last life."
Sarmad used lo go about stark naked. As an
uncompromising Monist, he denied the existence of Matter
and felt no shame about anything pertaining to his body.
A bench of Muslim theologians sat in judgment over
Sarmad and sentenced him to death on account of heresy.
The real reason was political, as he is said to have assured
Dara of success in contesting the throne.
In 1672, a Shia officer (diwan) named Muhammad 'fahir
\v"as beheaded for cursin15 the first three Khalifs. In 1667, a
Pmtuguese friar who had embraced Islam and then reverted
to his former faith, was killed at Aurarn;rabad for apostac'l.
The spiritual guide of the Bohra sect, Say'lid QutbMudMdin of
Ahmadabad, is said to ha\7c been put to death with 700
of his followers, by order of Aurangzib.

1. Aurang.~ib's relations ivitli tne outer Muslim world.

After he was firmly seated on the throne, Aurarn;rzib
received a succession of embassies from all the Muhammadan
States which had trade relations with India, to congratulate
him on his accession.
After the War of Succession, he planned to drown in a
.shower of gold any scruples which the headmen and
theoloJJians of the Holy City might ha\7e felt in acfanowledging
,a,s lawful sovereign the usurper of a loving father's throne.
In No\7ember, 1659, shortly- after his grand coronation, he
<lespatched Sayyid Mir Ibrahim, with six lakhs and sixty
 RLT MION"S wrrn Pf.RSil\N c OURI 113

thousand Rupees for distribution among the Sayyids, recluses.

senritors of the mosques and shrines, and devotees at Mecca
and Medina. Thereafter agents of the Sharif used to visit
the Delhi Couti every year and levy contributions in the
name of ihc Prophet. But at last ihe Sharif's !treed made
Auraqg;:ib 1.urn against him. In the last decade of his reign
he wrolc lo his watdr, "The Sharif of Mecca, huving heard of
the great wealth of India, sends un envoy every year for
mahn~ lib own gain. The money that I send there is meant
for the poor .tnd nol for tiim."
Alter Aurangr-ib had made himself undisputed master of
the throne, Shah Abbas II. sent a grand embassy under Budaq
Beg, the captain of his musl~cteers, to congratulate him (1661).
The Persians ha11e been rii;;htl1 called the Frenchmen of
Asia. Their country has been ihe spring-head of the culture
thou~ht and fashion of the entire Islamic world. Persian
influence has moulded the poetry of all Muslim lands, and
Persian manners and taste have been laboriously, if sometimes
clumsily, imitalC'd by all Muhammadan Courts from Cordova
and Constantinople to Delhi and Serirn,rapatam. Kings
have dreaded the sharpness of a Persian satirist's pen
more than their enemies' swords. The news that a
Persian mission was coming caused a flutter in the
Mughal Court. E11eri one from the Emperor down to
the meanest guardsman felt that he and his country
were on lhcit trial. His manners and conduct would be
judged by the masters of social decorum in all Asia, and lf
he was found wanHng in correctness of taste cind pi'oper di~nily
in the least particular, he would be made the laugh!ng-stocl<
of the entire Muslim world.
The presents from the Shah were worU1 Rs. 4,22,000. On
27 July 1661 the envoy was given leave to depart On him
and his entourage the Emperor conferred gifts worth
Rs. 5,35,000. A return embassy charged with a reply to Shah
8
 Sllor.ir 111srOJ~"- or :-.urgNn.crn !CII. VI

Abbas's letter, was sent under Ta.rbiyat Khan, the ~~Nernor ot

>1ultan, on 2nd November 1663, with presents worlh more
than seven Jalihs of I.<upees, und a. letter in which Auran~:oib
thanked the Shah for his friendly views, but declared ir 1 ,1
lofty tone that he needed no man's help as he depended
solely on God's fa\70llr ; his astonishinr;; victories were ,,
proof of God's abmtndin1,1 l,]ru.ce on him. Then he naturally
i;!lldcd into a lonQ and exultant narrative of his triumphs over
his brothers. The Mu~hal envoy had audience of the Shah
al. Isfahan, but he was ver'l rudely lreatccl and subjected lo
much humiliation and sufferin~. The Persian bin1,1 often
uttered threats of invading Indra in his presence. ft was
probably at this time that he sent Aurarn~zib a long letter
composed by Mirza Tahir Wahid, vi!Jotousl'l clcfendin!J the
Shia religion, !i[lorifyinq the Persian royal house, sneering at
Aurangeib. and braqqinfl of his own success ns c1 ruler u.nd
defender of the true faith !
At last after a year's stay in Persia, Tarbiyat Khall was
!$iven .:oage ( 1666) and entrusted with i1 tauntin;;: ktter for
Aurang<:'ib. In it Shah Abbas writes, "! learn lhut most of lhe
zamindars of India are in rebel!ron because their ruler is
weal.~. incompetent and without resources. The chief of
them is the impious kafir Shiva, who had long lived in such
obscurity that none lmew of his name ; but now, takinl6
advan\a!Je of your lac!< of means and the retreat of your
troops, he ha$ made himself visible Jibe the peal< of a mountain,
seieed rnan)7 forts, slain or capttm::d rnany of your
soldier~, occupied much of that country, plundered ilnd wasted
many of your ports, cities and \illages, and finally wants to
come to grips with you. You style yourself a World-conqueror
(Alamgfr) while you have onl)? conquered your father and
ha,te ~ained composure of mind by the murder of your
brothers. It is beyond your power to repress lawless men.
My ancestors have been the refuge of the l<in~'s of the world,-
 :,[J<\ll IAllAN'S CA\l'll\71' 1111 l 15

117\tness how we restored to their throne" llumafun and Nacar

Mul1<1111111aLI Khan. Now that you, the successor of llumayun,
are in distress, it is my royal uim to go personally lo India
wilh my multitudinous amw, meet you (which has Ion~ been
my , lcsird, !J[\7e you every help and e:dinguish the fire of
disorder." ALtrnng::ib ventt>d his impotent raqe on the innocent
envoy, accused him of havin!J iu.iled in his duly, denied him
audience, and degraded him in rank.
This Shah died in Au"1usl 1667, .:111d the threatened Persian
i1wasion of India ended in word~. though Aurang2ib kept a
vi!',?ilant eye on his Persian frontier to the end 9! his life.
Other embassies to Auran1,1zib came from Ball<h and Bukhara
(1661 and a!,lain in 1667), Kash~har (1664), Ur<i:anj (Khiva),
Constantinople (1690), and Abyssinia (1665 and a~ain in 1671).
The Delhi Government had also friendly intercomse with
several petty chiefs of Arabia and Central Asia, as well as the
Turbish !Jovernors of Basra.
In the spuce of less than se\7en years (1661-67), Auran~zib
spent 011er 21 lu.l~hs of Rupees in receiving and sendiniz out
these embassies, besic.les 11 lal<hs given to Abdullah Khan, the
ex-Kin1t of Kasbghur, who toofa refuge in India in 1668.

S. 81iali Jalian's captive life in A11ra Iott and 1l7taJZg[e,1

witfi Aurnng."=ib.

When Shah fohan opened the g,1tes of Agra fort to his

\7iclorious son, he became a prisoner for the rest of his life.
liCtlle' "Kini.{ of Kins;(s" the chanl6e was very bitter indeeJ, at1d
it was only after many a stru~gle that he accepted it
The, letters' tl1~t, he . wrote. to Dara and Shuja were inten;epted
by__ Jjpg~!}!~_;;jb~. ,.lnen ..and . the eLU1ud1s. who tried.Jo smuqJir]e
them out of A~ra, fort were severely, l?,~1"tished.,, The result -0f
these fuille. _a~empts ~PS to jjgl;iten \he l;lonJs Qf ,hls captivify.
116 St!OfH IIIS'JOR\.' OF AURANGZm [en. VI

Shah !ahan was now completely ringed round by enemies. No

one could interview him. Every remark m<ide by the captive
was promptly reported to Aurang;db by official spies. Even
writin~ materials \Vere withheld from the ex~Empcror.
The fall of the most magnificent of the Great Mughals was
robbed of dignity b~~ Aurangzib's insatiable cupidity, which led to
many sordid WTangle:; between father and son for the posses<>io11
of the crown jewels worn by Shah Iahan or lzcpt in Agra fort.
The cnptilll;' Emperor could ne\1cr for1Set !hut he \Vas their
lawful O\Vner and that his son \\7as an usurper without any
moral right to State property. To this argument Auranl;l'zib
replied, "The royal propeliy and treasures exist for the -;:ood
of the community, because these pay no tilhe ....The l~ing is only
God's chosen custodian and the trustee of God's money for
the benefit of the people." All the crown property in Agra
fort, therefore, bdon![(ed to him as the reigning sovetei!iln.
Dara at the time of his tTight had deposited 27 lakhs of
Rupees worth of jewels, belonging to his wives and daughters,
in Agra fort. Amangzib dematldecl their surrender. Shah
Jahan long resisted, but at last he yielded them up. Aqain,
Aurani;r=:ib demanded that Dara's women singe1s should be sent
to him. Immediately after the capitulation of Aqra fort (8th June
1658), Aurang;;;ib had seale(l up all the rooms of rofal apparel,
furniture, plate, jewels and treasttre. All the property was
ordered to be "attached strictly and with e'Very possible care."
On the departure of Muhammad Sultan, the eunuch Mutamad
became alt in all and treated Shah Jahan with great harshness
and neglect. "He sometimes allowed it to be seen that he
treated Shdh Jahan as a misel'able slave."
During the first year of bis captivity a \l'ery ncrimonious
correspondence passed between father and son. Throuqhout
the conlroversy Auranqsib poses as the champion of Islam and
Jlood igo'Vernment, as the humble instrument of God in the worl~
of reform and popular beneficence ; he condemns his father's
!659] llJ'fTEf1 LL'J'fEl6 TO SH,l,1! JA!lilN 117
'
incompetence and unjust rule, and defends his own conduct
with all the mingled self-ri!i)hteousness and affected hum1l1ty of
a Pharisee. To the charr;:e of being an unnatural son an<l a
a rebd he replies thus :
1

"So loni;: as you held lhc reins of go-vernmenl, I nev-er did

anything without your permission, nor did I ever step beyond my
jurisdiction. Durinl;l your illness Dara usurped all power, !,lirt
up his loins to promote fiinduisrn and destroy Islam, and
.1cted as Rim,!, totall'l setting you aside. The government fell
into disorder..... My march on Agi-a was not due to a rebel-
lious spirit, but to a desire to put nn end to Dara's usurpation,
his lapse from Islam and his exaltation of idolah'y lhrouQhout
the empire...... ! was compelled, out of regard for lhe next world,
to tal~e up the perilous load of the crown, out of sheer necessilf
and not from free choice,-for restorinq peace and the rules
of Islam in lhe realm."
f-lis own idea of the 11-ing's posiUon and duty is high, even
stoical : "Kingship means the protection of the realm and the
guardianqhip (of the people), and not the enjoyment of bodily
repose or the lusts of the flesh."
lie points exultantly to his own success a1i]ainst heavy odds,
as a proof of God's favour to him and of the rlqhteousness
of his cause. Shah Jahan, therefore, as a wise m<m must
submit to the divine dispensation and accept Aurang!i!ib's triumph
as the best thing that could l1avc happened to him !
In uttei- scorn for such hypocrisy, Shah Jaban taunted
Auran!iielb with being a robber of other people's properl'i_', while
professing to be a true Musalman. The prince defended his
conduct in a lofty strain of idealism : "You have written that
it is confra1y to the Muslim faith to sei::e another's propedy.
Know that the royal propeliy and treasures exist for the good
of the people......A Ringdom is not hereditary private property.
The Mng is merely God's .elected custodian and trustee of fl~
money fo1 the Jilaod of the subjects."
118 S!!Olrt' lilSl'Ot./Y OF \LlR-\NCii'.11'> [rn. \7[

\lcxt. Sbah Jahan warned his cruel son [() remember tlMt
his ~ons mighl treat him as he had trectled his own father.
Aurun~::ib's reply breathes the confident self-righteousness of
the Pharisee: ''Well, nothin~ happens without God's will.
The btc thul you have mentioned 0\7erlook (my) elders also.
How can I escape from the dispensations of Prnvidence ? Every
one 1ets from God a return accordim;i to his own intentions,
und as my intentions are ~iood, 1 believe rhat l shall not !Jd
any:thin!J but ~ood [frotn my sons]."
But Shah Jahan was a truer prophet than his boaslfltl so11.
The Nem..::sis of Auran'5iib came in the person of his fourth srn1
Muhammad Ahbar. When thal prince rebelled in 1681, he
addressed a bitter am.I lattntin\J letter to his father, which bears
a strikinl,l' similarity to Aurangsib's present letters to Shah
Tahan. In it Auran!i(:::ib is taxed with administrati\"'e foilme
and ad\1 ised to pass his old arte in religious meditation a.s a.n
atonement for the sin of havin!',l deposed his fathet
and murdered two of his brothers. And finally, Aurarn;isib
is asl:.:ed, with what propriety he could tax Ahbar with bein~
an unnalul'dl son when he himself had rebelled agoinst
his own father !
The correspondenc.; between Shah Jahan and his son became
intolerably bitter. At last the old monarch bowed to the
inevitable and lil<e a child that cdcs Itself to sleep, he ceased
to complain.
Blow after blow fell on his strid<.en heart. First Dara
Shulwh, then Murad BaRhsh, then Sulaiman Shukoh,
were done lo death by Aurc1ng:eib. Shuja and all
his children were driven to destruction among the unlmown
horrors of the land of the Ma>Jhs. "But in spite of these
colamilies, he i1ever lost patience or thanhfulness to God ; to the
last day his heart was the home of endurance and steadiness."
Religion Qa\"'e him solace. His constant companion now
was Saryid Muhammad of Qanauj, This pious man officiated
1666] LAST DAYS m CAP l!VI:'. Sli1\ll JA!l,\N

as his chaplc1in, leclor and almoner. "All the t:x-Emperor~

time was <.ll'ilided between (professin5J) obeJience to God,
prayer, performance of the obli!;!utory reliQious serllices with
all the s1mun, readin<;i the Ouran, or listeninlJ to the historie;
oi the '[!real men of tbe past."
Another no les~ sainlly bul more tender comforter he harl.
in his daughter Juharn1ra, whose lovin!i) care atoned for the
cruelty of all his other offspdng. This princess, a disciple 9f
the saint Mian Mir, now practicall)." led the life of a nun in the
harem of A~ra fort, nutsinq her aged and forlorn fother wit!1
the cle11 otion of a mother and daughter in one, while she
also lool~ed after the orphan dau~bters of Dara and MuraJ
whom she had gathered under her protecting \Vini;is. In such
spiritual company, Shah Jahan prepared himself for the better
land. Death lost its terrors in his eyes, and even appeare<l
as a welcome release from rnisety.

8 9. 8liafi Jafian's last illness and deaffi.

That deliverance, so wistfully desired bt1t so calmly waJted

for, came in Ianuary 1666. On the 7lh of that month, Shah
Jahan was seized with a fever. Soon other complications
apreared. He had now completed 74 years of a!ile and had
gone throui:i;h much hardship before his accession to the lhrnne.
The intense cold of midwinter lowered his vitality.
E<.,t'i'l in the ni@"ht of Monday, 9.2nd Ianuarv, his condition
was declared hopeless and the end was e'<pected an17 moment.
At the news that death was near, Shah Jahan thanked God for
all the gifls and fa'iloitrs received in life and proclaimed his
resignation to the will of his Maker. With perfect composure,
he ga\l'e directions for his funeral, offered consolation to his
surviving wives, A!~barabadi Mahal :tnd Fathpmi Mahi~!, lils
eldest dauql1ter !ahanara, a11d the other ladies of the harem,
 SHORT ii!STOl~Y OF -\1 !RANGZIB [rn. VI

who were weepin~ around his bed, and charsrccl Jahanara k>
look after her half-sister Purlrnnar Bamt and other women
whom his death would leave helpless. Next, he made his will,
tool~ leave of his lamily and se1vants, ~iving tl1em his last
prestnts and !:2eepsahes, and orckrecl the Qunm to be read
Finally, while the sacred verses were beinl,l solemnly intoned,
amidst the wail of the women and the sobs of his attendu.nts,
Shah Jahan, retainini,: full consciousness to ihe last dncl ~a;;iniJ
on the resfin!J-place of his bdovecl and lonQ-lost Mumta:=:
Mahal, repeated the Muslim confession of faith, and murmurl'd
!he rrayer,
''O God ! mal<e my condition !Jood in this world and the
next, and sa\'e me from the torments of hell-fire !"
A moment later he sank peacefully into eternal rest. It was
a quarter past se17en in the evenirnJ.
The body lay in the oda(:lonal tower (Musamman Burj)
where life had departed, in full view of the Taj Mahal, wbere
he wished his mortal remains to mingle with those of his
queen.
The officers in the fort brol<e open the door at the b.:tse
of staircase of the tower, which bad been walled up during
Shah Jahan's captivity, and tool< the coffin out.
Then, convey-ing the coffin O'Ver the Jamuna in a boat,
they reached the Taj Mahal, and buried him by the side of all
that remained on earth of his consort Mumtaz Mahal.
The public grief at the death of Shah Jahan was universal
and sincere. All his 'Virlue~ were told over again <lnd his few
faults forqotten. .
Nearly a month after the e'Vent Aurang;;ib came to A'<(ra
and 'Visited Jahanara, whom he showed e\7ery comtesy and
favour. During the last days of Shah Jahan, her entreaties had
conquered bis just resentment and he had at last signed,
after many previous refusals, a pardon to A11rang;;ib for
the wwniis he had done to his father.
1666] JAllANARA i\ND AtmANO?m 1~1

Auram;isib's ircaiment of his father oulra!;{f'd not unly the

111oral sense of his contemporaries but also !ht' social decorum
nf th<> a!ile.

~1l)llG1i'>-1l t 1rI
~ ~I I ~ 1.t
 CHAPTER VH
Wl\RS ON Tiff Uf~ON flEl<S : AS~)AM !\ND /\FOl!/\N!STAN

8 !. frhmtial tl!lotioos 117/tli kitch F>iliar and

il.i:ram bdotc 1658.
Early in lhe 16th cenlul'y, ,, Mom,~oloid soldk:1 of fodunl'.'
named Vishwa Sini;ih (rei:,;:n 15 J 5-1540) founded d dynasl\1'
which !:>till rnles over Kuch l~ihar. Ile adopted the l linclu
reli<Jion and liinclu cL1lturc u.nd ably ot\~ani2ed hb a.dminish'<'I
tinn and Ct.nny. His elde'il son dlld succcsso!' Nra Na1'<Wim
(r. l540- l 584) was u sainH1 redm;e ; but l..!.u<Jl1t.tdi.!'7, tl1c son
ot this f~ing's ymrn!;lcr brotbcr, forced him to instal him u.s
l<in~ over Kamrup or the eastern Kuch coun1ty, lying between
the rh-ers Sanlwsh dnd Bar Nadi, whkh the Mnslim histol'ians
call the pt'O'?ince of Kuch Ilajo dnd which now forms the
Goalpu.ra and K~mm1p dislrids of Western l\ssc'ltn. l~d>~hude\7's
son Paribshit uttacbcd Lal~shmi Naraya11 1 ihc successor of
Nara Narayu.n, who som~ht the aid of the Mu\;(bal i;rovL~l'l101'
of l)engal. The Muslim drmy conqllered and annexed Kuch
["lajo (! 6 I 2), a11d lhlls the im peridl frontier W<1S carried up
to the Bar Nadi on lhc north-ec1st, u.ncl the Mughal Go'17crmnent
came into contact witli the Ahom l~in!Js who ruled ovel'
centru.l and eastern Assam acrnss that sttcatn.
The Ahrnns were a brauch of tbe Shun race, whose
cradle was the hilly region !yin~ norlh anJ east of Upper
Burma. ln the 13th centmy it prince of tildr ancient ~~imJdom
of Pon~ established himself in the ti.c. corner of the
Brahm,wutra va1tey. He then advat1ced westw<lrds, conqueril1~
the tribes on the way. The Ahorns were a hai'dy t'dCC of
dc111on-wol'shippers, eatln}J beef anJ fowl and drinl~inl;'I
 AllOi'I Sl>Cll 1v \NI) oovnrnMl'NI

spirituou~; liquor, with the Burmc~v nperlness in buildin-5

::.tocl?ulks dnd bc1mboo-brkl1JCS 1 pl)"in~; boats .:rnd mafa111Q niQhl
altt1cb. They were fl'lldally or~~anised under ,1 number oi
nobl,l!len (called Oofiaim, Barnas, ctnd Pfiukans). The noble~
cttltiv.tkd lhdr e~tdles by ~la\'C labour. The entire udult male
popul,11iu11 Wd~ li<1ble to military service. 'l'hcir army consisted
l'ntircly uf loot-SL)ldicrs, stiffc11ed by elephants.
The l~in'~ WdS the p,1triarch of tlw clan, and was V'C'nerated
cl" <1 ~e111[-divinc bein\l und the custodian of the tutclat'l god
of the lribc (Somdco). Ahom punish1rn2nls were clraconic,
men bcin~ plll lo deuth with torlttn' for the sli~htest fault.
11ttl in the collrsc of thdr stdf in Assam, tlre Ahnms
bcJc1ll lo cl1dwJe under !hi.:: i11fluence of Indian civilization and
!lw I Iimlu rdi<;lion. llindu priests and artisans had entered
A~s<)lll in thi.:: frdin of the queens of the Kuch rncc. Victory
in w,m; wilh the ~\\thdn Sllltuns of BenQal bad led to the
Ahoms h::arnin\( lhc use of fll"e-drms, and lo the settlement
ot lar<Jt' munbL~rs of captive L1ctHJdlis (mostly Muhammadans)
in the cmmt1y. Laslly, tlll' Vaishn,w rt'ligiou was preached
by- Sbu11bardev ctnd olhel' saints, Lind il madL' ~i-cat rrogeess
ill \he lcmtl.
The we,tl~ point of the Ahom faini;:dom wus iis diversity of
population. The dominant race was the Aboms. The middle
slrntum of the popttlillion wc1s composed of the Assamese
proper, --- plainsmen wilh many Ben~al affinities, defective in
plwskal strcn1Jth1 endurance and marti,1! spirit At the bottom
of socid'f lay i1 vast body of slaves1 some being Mongoloid
SL'l'fs, but most beinQ Bc-n)Jall prboners of war. These last
wetc unwilling dwellers in the land.
Early in the 17th centlll'\T, th~ Mu~hals, after annexing
Kttch IJ.:1jo (1612), lwd a long wai with the Ahoms, \Vho hd.d
harbcm1'ed a prince of ihe deposed dynast');'. At ldst in 16::18
a peuce was made, by which the Muhammadans weri:: allowed
lo i'etain lhc country west of the Bur Nadi in the (1odh
 (rn. \71!

Bralrn1upulra valley, and west of the Asmar J\li in !he rc<~1u11

south of that ~reat river. This peacl' lasted fur 20 years.

2. /l/fom conquest of Rammp, fo58.

l\ut when in 1657 Shuja set uut with most of lhe troops
of Ben5,)al to contest the throne, Prom NcH'i\'\7dll, the r~ajah nf
Kuch Bihar, tool< udvdnta(::e of the dcfoncdcss sl,1lc ol tlw
prodncc, und sent an army under his ww1ir B!1dbc111ulh ltl
arrest dn obnoxious vassal who bad fled ro Mu\;hal tltTltuty
(I-lajo). At the same Hme the Ahom vicero):' of lhe west w,1s
mahini,; preparations for enterinl;l Mu1ihal Ki1mrup. Mir Lulfull,1h
Shira:;:i, the faujdac of Gcltthc1Li1 fearin!J an .:i.tbcfa from two sides
and Rnowin~ help from Bcn~al to b~ impossible, !led by booJ
to Dacca. The Assmnesc occupied Gc1ttlklti, (he cr1pl\.1[ of
Kurnrup without c1 blow, ,:md plt1ndcrcd all the mo\7,1bh and
immovable things in il.
This happened ead17 in 1658. l)ut by June 1660 the
civil war was finally (Wer, and Mir Jumlu w0s dpp,)illll'd
viceroy of Piengal with orders to ''punish llw lc1wlcss :Cdmindars
of the provinc<>, especially those of Assc11n and M<1~1li (i\rrnccm)."

3. Mfr Jumfa conqul'rs !focfi Binar and Assam.

On 1st November, !661, the \'icer(JY started from Dacca

with an urmy of rn,OOb horse, and 30,000 foot. A vast il<)tilla
of war"\1essets (at least 323 boa:ts of all hinds) uccompunit'd
him,-the most rowerful of them beimJ tJliut'abs or foatin!o[
batteries, each towed b\! four lonlJ 1ow-boats (called kosas)
and carrying 14 i;iuns und a crew of 60 men.
Mfr Jmnla nwdc his way , into Kuch Hill<\!' by dll obscL1re
and neli)'leded hi~hway. In si:x: dc1ys !he Muglwl amw reached
the capital (19th December), which had been descried bf tlw
Rajah and his people in !error. The namt' of the fO\lvn \\!us
16621 Mm JUMI I\ CONQllLW:i ASS!\li 125

dMll'~'d to AlamqinH,,(ar ; '' musquc was built bl! dcmolishinl,l

the principal lcmplL-, cu1d the whole l~ingdom was annexed
to Hw Mu~~hal empire.
l\itcr a 16 days' st.:iy tlw ~eneral ldt Kuch Bihar (4th
lcllllkll"V, 1669.), ,111d invaded Asst'llll. "On <>ccount of the
Jllll<JIL'S and munerous 1wft7s lhc duily pro!Jress Jicl not exceed
.J. m 5 mill's." Ilb men bud to 'i)O th1ough unspeal~ablc
full'~lll'. Tl1e Ahom ,1rmy, dev,1sk1tcd by cholera, offered <1
feeble always refreutin(J before the invadels or
rcsislcrnce,
bein~~ muled wUh heavy- slauishtcr The Muslims advanced
vicloriot1sly up the Bralunapulrn, canying ull the stocl<ades,
tn'whc:. ;rnd holes full of bamboo spikes on the way. fort
dfkr tort was occupied,--Jo11i<JL1Phil at the mouth of the
Mo11c1~ river (QO!h fanuury), G,1uhati, Srighal at the mouth
of tbc Bar Nadi (5th Peb.), Pt1ndu, Beltalc1, Kajali at the
moulh of tlw KallarnJ, Sam<lhara .:i.t the mou!h of the Bharali
ri\7cr <ind Simla~1Jal'h opposite to it on the south bank of the
Brahnl<lptttr.:i, (25lh Fcbrlti:uy). The Ahom fleet lried its
fortune a!Jainst thl' Mughal na\7y i11 the ni>Jht of 3rd March,
when Mil Jumla unnihilutccl the enemy's naval PO\Ver and
sd2ed :300 boats.
Tlw invaders reached Gmh}Jaou 011 17th March. Its Rajah
foyadhwaj had tfod awu.y, abandoning his cc1pital and all his
prop,rty. Thc- spoils tu.l?.cn in Assam were enormous :-82
e\t~phanls, 3 la.hbs of Rupees in cash, 675 pieces of artillery,
1345 camdHswivds, moo Namc!iangis, 6750 matchlocfas,
340 nwunds of s;iunpowder, a thousand and odd boats, and
17:'1 storehouses of paddv, each containinq from 10 to 1000
maLtncls of iJraln.
Mit Jumla now made his arran}Jem~ots for IJOing into
c<1ntonmenls cmd kcepitl!J holtl of the conqL1ered country
durinf;l' ihc cominli]' rainy season. Owing to the shallownes~
of the ri\7er near the capital, the Mttghal 11eet could noi sail
up \o that town, but had to halt some 18 miles north-west of
 [l'11. VII

it al Labhau. The \f!Cllcral wilh !he llMin clrJ11)7 went i11k1

qua.rtcrs at Mdthurapm, c1 villc.uJe lylnt: un a hi~h '.:round,
0 cven miles s.-c. of Gad1~;aon (:7 ls! March). ThC' Ahorn
capital, containing al! !ht: ,)rtillery, clcplldnls, shxcs uml propL'rly
of the Mu~hal <trmy, wus held by a slronl}. ~~,1rrison under
Mir Murta20a. Many outposts were set up.
The cncnw's forces \VL'rc thus distributed ; the liar Clohain
occupied the mountains south of Garhgaon, nmsl of tl1L' o!IH~1
nobles with their followers lived in lhc hw~c island of Mujuli,
formed by the for!;>. of thL~ Bru.hnwputra dnd lhc DihituJ, while
the l~ajah flee\ to Namrup, !be edskrnrnosf pr0\ illcc of his
7

dominion.

.+. Constant fifJfifing. liiif/1 .4homs ; Mrmnaf.I iso/otcd

during tfic rain.>' season.

!Jul there Wi.1~ no repose in the Mll<Jh,,J outposts even irnm

the first. Tlw Ahoms soon rt>sun1ed tl1e offcnsi\7c, 11rnl~in1J
nilJht attucl~s on the outposts. E\7Cll 0<1rh\~i\Ol1 w,15 ,1ssc'\ttltcd ;
but tl!e aH:empt failed. Early in May, \be rains Cillll~' down
in torrents, the rl\7 ers rme in flood, lhc 1n0\7l'1lK'lll of troops
by land becc1me impossible, uncl lht' impel'ial outposts were
isolated. In fuct, during the wbok rniny Sl'Json, from the
beginnin15 of May :o nedr the i:nd ot October, !he MuSJl1al
army in Assam liwd in d st<1le of sic1Je. Each of its posls
$food lil<e oil\ island 5ll1TOllllded by Willer, Cltlcl 110 pruvision
i.:ould come from the fleet at Lal~hm1 because the ri\7er ol
GarhgrnJn was not deep euom;r/1 for the lar!JL' clL'llK'd bo,1(s,
whik th<.:> small lruding vessels ..:ould not' sdfoly hl? 011 it so
long as the Ahom entrE'n('hmcnls on its bunks were not
carried.
For lack of proper food, c<walry horses 1.111d draw;iht
cattle perished by tbe thollsm1d. No supplies of any faind,
not even news, could come from the outsick world.
 ll/\JW~lllP!o Llf M\1011/\I ~ JN \SS,U! l \27

()fl 10111 lvfoy thL' MLll~hal mtlpo~t ul Gajpur tell, the Almm-;
!lrn:. cultirnJ off cummunic<1tin11s between the Mu~1hal a1 my dnd
J1dVy. 1\1 Ciarh<.lc\011, loo, lhc enemy concentr.:itccl dtlli r~cpt
tlw \lilrriso11 in 11erpdual alarm. Mir Jumla, theretore. with-
drL'W ,11l his lf},w,1s. The Ahorn !~in~ rcco\7ercd ,11l his country
<'<lsl Pl L1l~h,nt. !'he MwJhals held only Garlu,idL)!l arnl
]vf,1lhttt'c1 PLlr.
The vi<.~nur ol Ahom attud~ was now redoubled The
minor L'11ccn111ters lhat tool~ p!dce almost daily dre beyond
cuu11t. Thl' wcll-b1\;d c,wdlicrs ot Delhi fouqht wilhout hcediui
how they were blistered by the sun, or Slk1lwd in water and
bt>spallcrcd with mud, -but l'\7e1 vhJilant and ever '?eacty to
rl'(Wl the t'ncmy.
After dl111osl d,1ily ,1tlad~s dtl\ I dlarms, <Ill ass,1ult in torcc
w,1~ ddi\7ercd on (.Jarh<jJaon in the ni!;lht of 8th July. The
Ahoms brol?1.' dmv11 Ille bomboo railin!J on the 11l)1'th side of
I
Ille paLlet' cnclusLll'L', routed H1e 11uxan matchloclHncn posted
Hw1T, ,md sdzt..'d h<1lf the cndosur~, which Wds the dt,1dd of
CiarhiJann. Fin.1lly, b\' the i:xel'linn tJf cv01y man in the
!,!arrison lhe fol'! Wc1$ completely recm"ered, and the nil:d1t of
n1s1s passed .w1ar. The ';)l"tl!Kk'st uf all the ass.1ults was
ddi\7Cl'l'd on Imh Jul'[ by lbe entire Ahom army in tour
&visions from fou1 sides ul the so.me time ; but they all failed,
,\lld never <HJt1in was tbl' enclosure pt:>nclralecl b):' the en..::my.
111 Aw;:usl ,1 tc1riblc epidemk brol~c out in the Mugha1
camp u.l Malhttrnpur ; tever ,1mi flux mrrie<l off lmndreds
daily. Dilit Kba11's corps \Vus reduced fl'Otn 1,500 !mopers lo
<1bout 450. Tile whole of Assam was inkdcd, ctnJ two
hundred dnd tllirt17 thousaud of its people' died of disedse that
year. In the Mu~hal camp no suitable c.liet or comfort was
,w"1ildblc for the sick ; all had to live on coarse rice ; no
wheat, no pulse, no fJfiee, no Slllfldl', one! no opium OL' !oba.cco
t>xcepl a little at fabulous prices. A pipe of lobacco sole\ at
Rs. 3, u tohr of opium .;it i.1 gold monal', a seer of JJWflf!.wda!
 128 SllOIH ll!Sl'Olff O! Alll1MH11.111

al !...'.~ JO, c1nd sdlt dl~o al the same rnte a" the la~!. Tin~
llindustani and TurRi soldiers lan<JUishecl for wtlnt of wheaten
bre<1d ; the horses perished from eiltinP, rice.
At la::.l life at Mathurnpur becmnc trnbeatab!t>, a11d on 17th
Am;:mt the dl'lll'l returned lo Garh1Jao11 ; many uf tile sicl~
were left behind 101' want of transport.
The exultant J\horns renewed their attclcl~s on G<l!'h1,it1011
and there WLlS fo;i-htinQ" every ni~ht outside tile fort. The
pestilence now reached its f'Xlrcme, c\~ the refU<Jecs lrorn
Maihurapur had infected the SJarrison of Gmh~o.on. Mir Jumla
lived and ate lil~e the common soldiers.
By the third wed~ of September, the worst Wds lWcr.
The r,1111 began to decrc<lse, lhc 'flood went down, the
roild5 re-appeared.

5. Dolit:;s of !Ylaf1fial na11,rz; Mit Jam/a

cesumes tfie offensive.

Throu~h all these dad< months the Mu<Jlwl n,wy posted c1t
Lakhau under admiral [bn Husain, saved itself cl!ld thus s,wed
the arm:;r. His boats plied up and clow11 lhc ri'Vcr and l~erl
constant touch with Gauhati and ihromJh it with Ducca and
Delhi. Then he !uncled and mude reprisals il!Jc.linst tlw ].\horn
nobles shelterin~ in the Muiuli island. l\nd flnnlly, when !he
rains b~l6'<111 to decrease he co-opcr.:ilcd from the north to
open the road to Garhgaon. Ft-om LaMklu lar!Jc quantities of
pro\7isions were now sent bv land and water under escort,
and arrhred at Garhgaon on 24th and 3ht Oclobe1
respectively. Plenty now tool~ the place of [drnine.
The !lmd ha\7ins;t dt'ied, i.he Muqhal ccwahy was u~dill
irt'esistiblc, and Jayadhwaj and his nobles fled to the hills of
Namrup a second lime. Mir Jumla now resumed the offonsive,
and marched by wav of Solagtt!'i to Tipa1n, (18th December).
This was destined lo be the farthest point of his a<l\7ancc. On
1662] MIR IUMLA'S TREATY WITH AHOMS 129

2oth No\7embcr he had a fainting flt. "This was the beginning

of the disease of which he was to die." But he clung
tenaciously to his purpose. On 30th No\7ember the Baduli
Phul~un came 0\7er to lhe Mughal side, and was highly
rewarded and made the Emperor's viceroy for Eastern Assam.
More Ahom notubles followed his profitable example of
desertion, and J0yadhwaj was left helpless and alone in ihe
peslilentiul hills of Namrup.
On 10th December, Mir Jumla had a severe attack of
illness; a burning fe\7er seized him, to which pleurisy was
soon added. The entire Muizhal army refused to ente1 Namt'llP
and plotted to desert their iJeneral and return home.

6. Ttcatx of peace 1tritfi Assam.

Throu\(h Dilir Khan's mediation a treaty was signed with
the Ahom l~ing, on the following terms :
(i) Jayadhwaj would send his dawJbter and the sons of
the Tipam l<ajah to the Mughal Court.
(ii) The Ahom Ring woLtld deliver immediately a war~
indemnity of 20,000 to/as of gold, 1,20,000 tolas of silvel', and
SO elephants to the Emperor (besides 15 and 5 elephants for
Mir Twnlc1 and IJHir Khan respec!ivdy).
(iii) Dl1rinq the next 19 months he would deliver 3 lal<hs
of folas of silver and 90 elephants in three equal instalments,
as the balance of the indemnity.
(i'i') Thereaftet' be would pay an annual tribute of 20
elephants.
(v) Pendin>Z the full payment of the indemnity, lhe sons
of the Burba Gohain, the Bar Gohain, the Garhgaonia PhuRan,
and the BN Palra Phul~an, were to be held by the Nawab
.as ]H)$taSJeS.
(vi) Assam, west of the Bharali river on the north bank
.of the Brahmapufra and west of the Ka!lani,f river on the
9
130 SHORT lllSTORY OF Alll~ANGZJn [cu. Vil

south bani<, was to be annexed to !he empire. Thus the

Mughals were to gel more than half of the province of
Darrang, rich in elephants.
(vii) The captives carried ofl by the Ahoms from the
Mughal dominions (esp. I<urnrup) were to be relcnscd, us nlso
the wife and children of the eiaduli Phul~an whom the l~ing
had thrown into prison.
On 5th January, 1663, the Ahom J~iniJ's dauli(hler, hostages,
and some Jil'Old silver and elephants, as part of the indemnily,
reached the Mughal camp, and five days later Mir Jumla bcg;m
his return march. At la$!, yielding to mcclic.:il advice he
embc:irRed in a boat and glided down lhe river towards Dctcca,
dying on the way on 31st March, 166.3.

7. Greatness of Mfr Jumla's cliamctec.

Judged as a military exploit, Mir )umla's invusion of Assam
was a success. I-Ie forced the Rajah to mal~e a humiliatinr,r
treaty, realized a large indemnity, and secured the promise of
a large cession of territory and further pdymcnts. If its
political consequences were not permanenl, if the ceded
districts were Jost and even GauhaH wrested from the Mufilhul
grasp only four years u.fler his death, lhe fouH Wc1s not his.
Thouli(h Mir Jumla's expedition ended in heavy loss of llk'n,
his own death from disease and exhaustion and the speedy
loss of his acquisitions in Kuch Bihar and Assam, yet hi<>
charncter shone with supreme radiance in this enterprise. No
other qeneral of that u!Je conducted wor with so much
humanity and justice, 1101 l:iept his soldiers, pri\rates and
captains alihe, under such discipline ; no other general could
have retained to the last the confidence nnd even nffcdion
of his subordinates amidst such appallin!ii suffel'inli(s and
dangers. The owner of 20 mauuds of cliatnoncls, 'Viceroy of
the rich province of Bem;ral 1 he shared with the meanest soldier
1663] Gm::1\TNESS OF MIR JUMLA's ClL\RACTER 131

the privations of the march and brou~ht premature death on

himself by scorning dellghts and living laborious days. He
issued slrict orders forbiJdirnJ plunder, rape and oppression
on the people, and saw to it foat his orders were obeyed.
The stern punishment which he meted out to the first few
offenders hctd a se1lutary effect. We realize Mir Jtimla's peculiar
cxccl!cncc more dearly by contrust with others. With a hero
lil<c Mir Jumla, the rhetoric of the historiun Talish ceases to be
cxtrava1,1.1ncc; his eulogy of the general is not fulsome flatter)!
but homuge deservedly paid to a born l<ing of men.

8. Mur1fials lose f(anmrp : flglit for it, 1667-1681.

The Mughals continued lo hold Mir Jumla's gains in Assam
till 1667. Thi." Ahoms paid the warindemnit? in foll, but
in five years. Their new [~ing Chal~l'adhwaj (accession in
Novemlwl' 1663) determined on war and mude prepa!'ations
for it. Jn Ault!ust 1667 be sent two armies under his nobles
down the two banf<s of the Brahmaputra. The Mughal forts
on the way fell in rapid succession, and finally Gauhati
itself was captured early in November. Immense quantities
of arms, horses, and other spoils fell into the hands of the
vidors, c1nd larqe nttmbe1s of Muslims, lncludi111il several
ofiiccrs, were tar.ten pdsoners and massacred. At one blow
the Mu>Jhal fron\ier was pushed back to the Monas river.
Gauhat! became the seat of an Ahern viceroy.
The Muqhals tJ;ied to rcconquet the lost tenilory, but a
looit dcsultor'l and finally fruitless warfare followed. Jn
February 1669, l~am Sini;th (the son a11d successor of Mirza
Rajah Jai Sin!;)h) arrived at Ranqamati from the Coud to
tal~c charli1e of the war. But from the first his task was
hopeless, He had only S,000 troopers round his standards
and his losses were seldom replenished. The Ahoms, being
a nation h1 arms, mustered one hundred thousand when
132 SHORT rnsrorn OF AlWANGZllJ [c11. VH

mobiliied. Unlil~e the time of Mir Jumla's invc1sion, the

maste1y of the water now belonged to the Ahoms, and the
Mughals could do little with thcit 40 war-vessels on the
Brahmapntra.
Nor had Ram Sin',lh his heart in the worl~, us he knew
that he had been sent to Assam to die of fever as a punish-
ment for his having ussisted in the escape of Shivaji from
Agra in 1666. Soon after his urrival on the scene, I~am
Singh laid siege to Gauhati, but L1ll his attempts to tal~e it
failed. In March 1671 he fell bad~ on I~an1Jatn11ti 11nd
stayed there for some years, doing nothing. Finally in 1676
he was permitted to return to Court.
After the death of Chakra<lhwaj ( 1670), the Ahom
monarchy was greatly weat~ene<l by internal troubles. Prom
1670 to 1681 "in the short space of eleven yeurs lhcre
were no less than seven l~irn;/s, not one of whom died a
natural death ;" ambiiious and unscrupulous nobles usurped
the supreme power, fought each other fol' selfish gain, made
and unmade Rings. In PebrL1ary, 1679, the Ba1 Phulrn, in
fear of his r1\7al the Burha Gohaln, betrnrcd Gcrnhati ink)
the hands of the Mughals.
But in 1681 Gacladhar Singh ascended the Ahom throne
and soon refrievcd the qlory of his house. He easily captured
Gauhati with a vast amount of boot\?-. Thus, Kanmtp was
finally lost to Bengul.
While Mit' Jumla was besieged in Gathgaon (1662), Kuch
Bihar had been reco17ered by its Rajah and the Mtt!ilhal iturrison
expelled. In March 1664, Shaista Khan, lhe new governor
of Bengal, reached Rajmahal, und the Kuch Rajah immc"
diately made his submission in fear of the Mu!/fhal arms,
and paid an indemnity of fl-ve and a half lal~hs of Rttpees.
This Rajah, Pran Narayan, died in 1666, and thereafter, for
nearly half a centu1y1 the State was paralysed by d\711 wars,
royal oppression and internal disorder. The MuJiihals tool~
 JlO!<'JllGllrSE PIRl\TES IN BJ:NOAL RJVLRS 133

a<lvanla!Je of it to extend their sway o\7er the southern and

eastern portions of the faingdom, conquering much of the
present districts of l<ans;ipur and Western Kamrnp, and forcinq
lhe Rajah in 1711 ro confirm these ~Jains by treaty.

9. Pfmtes of CfJatg.ao11 and lfJeic mvages in Beng.al.

The district of ChatfJaon was for many centuries a
debatable lc1nd between the Muslim rulers of Bens;!al and the
MornJoloid chiefs of Arrul<<lll. Eady in the 17th century
the Feni river Wus fixed as the boundary between the two
Powers, but durinrJ the nexl half century ihe Ma!ilh ascendency
ln lhc rivers and crccfas of East Bengal became complete in
c011scquence of Jahngir's supine administration, the rebellion
of his heir Shah Jahan, and the increase of the Arrai<anesc
ncwul power by the infusion of a foreign element., 11i:t., the
fcringf 01 PortuqLtese adventurers and their half-caste offsprin!if,
who lived in Chatgaon as the obedient instruments of the
local l<,\jah.
"The Arralwn piralcs, both MaQh and Fel'ins;ii, used constantly
to come by the water-route and plunder Bengal. They carded
off the Hindus and Mt1slims that they could sehre. On reachinlif
home the pirates employed some of the bardv men that
had sm17i17cd the vofa>Je in tillage and other degrading pursuits.
The olhcrs were sold to the Dutch, Eni;1lish and French
merchants ,1t !he ports bf the Deccan. As they continually
practised raids for a Jong time, Bengal daily became more
and more desolale and less and less able to resist them. The
district 1.)f Babla (i.e., Baqat!iJanj and part of Dacca), which
formerly abounded in houses and cultivated fields and yielded
a lar~e rc\7enuc as duty on betel-nuts, was swept so clean
with thei1 broom of plunder and abduction that 'none was
left to tenant any house or l<indle a light in that reljlion.' 1
"The Sd.ilors of the Ben~al flotilla were inspired with sLich
fear of the pirnies that whene\7er a hundred 'IN1rMboats of fhe
 134 St!ORT IIISTOI~Y OF AlWANGZ!n [cu. VII

former si~;;hled only four of the la!ter, the Bcn\(ul crew

thou;,i-ht themselves lud~y if they could save tlleil' lives by
tli!;_1bt.''
"The Fcrin!,li pirates used to iJhre half their booty tu tl1e
Rajah of Arrakan und l~ecp the other half. They were
popularly lrnown as the Hamwd (a corrnption of lhe PortwJucse
word Acmada or fleet) an<l owned a hundred swift qallefs
full of war-material." Manucci !mew them as "men bard Dt
heart, accuslomed lo l~ill even little children witl10ut a
re~ret."
A heavy loss was caused to the impcl'iul rcvem1c by H1e
depopulation of the ri'lcrsidc areas of Easl BenjJal. lmperi.:l.I
prestige was e\7en more iJrievously affected. The Sc\fcly of
the province demanded that ihe nest of pirates ell Cildll,IaOll
should be conquered.
Shaista Khan was ordered to tmdedal~c this unfinished worli
of Mir Jumla. At fil'st si~Jht his tusl< scemell to be utterly
hopeless. The Mui;rhal llotillu. (nawwam) stationed in Bt~nqal,
for the maintenance of which 14 lul<hs of I~upees a '!eat
was provided by means of land ~Jrnnt, had greatly
deteriorated owin!J to Prince Shuja's slacl~ administralion
and the peculation of the officets. Whut remained of it
was ruined durinli! Mir JLtmla's invasion of Assam. In short,
the Bengal navy had now practically c<~ased to exist
and Shaista Khan's first task was to creak~ one anew.
This he now did. I-lis spirit and eneri;tf 0\7erc.:u111! C\7Ct'y
obstacle. At the dock'la1ds of Dacca, tlughll, Jcssorc, Bale"
shwar, Karibarl etc. new ships were built, and in a little
0\7er a year's time a new navy of 300 boats was built and
manned and equipped for war. At Dhapa, six miles south~easi
of Dacca town, a hundred war~vessels were stationed and 200
more at Sani,Iramgarh 30 miles furlhe!' south, the two posls
beinq connected b1 a militar'l rnad raised abo\7e the flood
level. The island of Sondfp is a very convenient halfWa\?
16651 135

house bdwccn Sangrum}Jarh and Chatgaon, being only six.

hours' sull of thC' latter town. Its present master was Dilawwar,
a n111away captain of the MuSJhal navv, but a warrior and
ruler of remarhable ability.
In Novembe1 1665, tlw cruisin!il admiral Abu[ liasan attached
and cc:iptured Sondip ; Dilawwar who had fought most
heroically, though he was now an old man of eighty, was
wounded <1nd tc:il~~n in chains to Dacca, and a Mughal garrison
wns put ln the island.
Shaista Khan now won the Ferins;1is 0\7er with ternptini;;
offers of service under the Mughals. His worl< was made
easier by a murderous quurrel between these men and their
Arral~ancse masters. The whole Ferini;:i colony of Chatgaon
huniedly fled with their families and properly to Muqhal
territory (Dec. 1665). Their leaders were enro!Ied in the
imperfol ll<Wf on liberal sdlaries. "The coming ol7er of the
Fcringis J~i.'\V'C compos111e to the hearts of the people of Benl6aL"

10. Mug.fiat conquest of Cfiatgaon.

On Q4th December, 1665, the cxpedi!io11ary force, 6,500

stron~~, left Dacca under command of Bm:urg Ummed Khan, a
son of Shaista Khdn. The imperial fleet numbered 288 \7essels
of c\11 l<inds ; the Fel'ingis, with about 40 vessels of their own,
acted us auxiliaries. The plan of campaign was that the fleet
under Ibn 1Ittsa1n should creep alonfJ' the coast, while the army
should march parallel to it, cutting the jungle along the sea
shore siagc by slalile and mabing a way, each branch support
in!il the other. Parhad Khan leading the va11guard crossed
the Peni river on 14th January, 1666, and ente1ed the
Arrakanese ler1itot\!.
On ihe 23rd, the Muqhal admiral sailed out of the
1
Kumaria creek and encountered the enetl1'{ s fleet consisting
of 10 gffacabs and 45 jalias, which had come out of the
136 SHORT lllSTORY or AlU~ANGZrn [cu. VII

Kalhalia creel< to ll(i\'.'e battle. The FeritHJis led the Mu~~he1l

van, and their onset decided the day. The Maghs in lhe
g.fittrabs jumped everboard gi'7in!i( their ships up to capture,
while !he jalias 11ed awuy.
But this was only the liSJht squadron of the enemy's
fleet. Their lar!ler ships, which carried more <~uns, n(1W came
out of the Hurla creel< into ihe open sea.
The second and greatcr '7iclory was won next mornin~
(24th fanuary), when the Muslims flying their \7idoriotts
banners, ad\7anced upon the enctn)! firing their IJUlls. The
Arralwnese fleet retreated into the Karnafuli river, firinlJ 011
the ad\7ancing Mughals. Entering the mouth of the ri'V<-r di
3 P. M., the)! drew up their ships in line of battle bctwc(.'11
Chats;iaon and an island in midstream. On the opposile b<lnl<.
close to the vil!a!jle of feringi-bandar, the)! had erected three
bamboo stodwdes. But Ibn Iittsain sent most of his ships up the
ri\7er and also made an aitad. by land, and tool~ thl' stocl~ddes.
Then the Mughals, flushed with victory, dashed thcrnsclve;
t1pon the enemy's ships, A great bi!tlle was four;!hf. The fol't
of Chatgaon also opened fire on the Mus.:ihu.ls. At 1<1st the
enemy were vanquisl1ed ; many of thefr sailors jumped
o\7erboard and escaped by swtmrnirnJ, a few being drowned ;
the rest were slain or taken prisoner. One bundl'ed cllld
thirlyfi'le 'Vessels became the prize of the victors. Next
day, (25th January) the fort of Chatgaon was bcsic!Jed.
Early in the morning of !he 26th the fort capi!ulnted
to Ibn Husain ; but the disorderly followers of the iamindar
Munawwar Khan who enteied first with a 'View to
plunder, set fire to the houses, and tnttch of the town,
including two State elephants, was burnt. The Atral~anese also
fled from the fort on the other bank of the Karnafull iiver, but
ihe fuJ;litives were attacked and plundered by their former
slaves, the kidnapped Muslims of J3enqal who had been scHled
here as peasants.
 1666] MUGIIALS CONQUER CJIA'IGAON 137

Meantime, ever since hc<u'ini;r the news of the ad\7ance of

the fleet on the 23rd, the armi7 t1ndcr Farhad Khan had been
mal~ing strcmtous efforts to force a wai7 thrott<Jh the dense
jun~Jlc townrds Chafli(ilon. At his approach the Maghs
abandoned lhcir outposts in the way. The Commander-in-Chief
himself urri'Ved at Ch,1tgaon on the 26th and mJde his
lrit11nrhul cnfrf into the fort the next d<1i7. The prize taf~en
was of little monef \7alue. It consisted of three el~phants,
1,026 pieces of cannon made of brass and iron (mostly small
pieces, carryirn~ 1 lb. or smaller shot), tnany matchlocks and
cC1mcl-swi'i7els (~ambamks), a11d mttch ammttnition. But the
most s;?lOl'ious result of !he victory was the release and
restoration to home of thousands of Bengal peasants who
had been Mdrwpped b'i? the pirntes and held in serfdom :
and its 1t1"rcntest benefit was the increase of cultivation in dcltuic
Bengal. Chnt(Jaon was made the seal of a Mughal faujdar
and the name of the town was changed to Islamabad.

11. Tfie Af.qlians ; tfiefr cfiamcler and relations

witfi Ifie Mug.fia! empire.
In the valleys !eadin!il from India to Kashmir and Afghat1lsfan,
and in the c11compassing hills, li11e numberless Turfao~franian
dans, called Patbans in the north and Baluches in the south.
E-ven after conversion to Islam, the\? have retained their old
speech, their old tribal 01.ganl:eatlon 1 a11d their immemorial
profession of briljfandafi!e.
Br<we and hardy as these people are above all the races of
the plains, they are torn by the feud of clan against clan and
often of fa mil'? against family. In all tbeh histor'l thef have
failed to establish any larJ?e and compact Stale, or e11en any
endudns;f confederact of tribes,
They ha\7e ne\7el' formed a nation, but ah\7d'iS clans. Within
the dans even, the strict discipline of the Rajput tribal ststem
is wanting ; the Yusufaai or Afridi follows his chii::ftain only
 138 S~!OR1' l!!STO!~Y OF l\llRl\NGZrn [cti. VII

while it is his interest or pleasure to do so. These evcr-formi1u;

ever-dissolvinq groups of families are the only effective fun:es
of an Afghan clan for offence or defence ; the nominal chieftJin
merely governs on the sufferance of his followers. The family
and not the clan is the lrue Llllit of Af!Jhan sociclf.
Hi1,1hwav- robbery \vas the hereditary profession of thL'Sc
( ..__
ho.rely savages, as cunnin!l as they are bold. Their lands
yielded ioo scanty a sustenance for their fast-1,1rowing nurnlx'rs ;
and the peaceful !ilains ot a1,1ricuHure were loo poor and s!O\v
a reward in comparison wilh the plunder of their mon2 industri-
ous neighbours and of the rich traders passirnJ wilhin easy
reach of thi:>m.~ The ri!ilhl of the hillmen,-- Afridis, Shinwaris,
Yusufaais and Kha.taRs,-to lc\'y toll on the lraffic between lndia
and Kabul, had been practically admlH.ed by lhc Muf;?hdl
Governmen!, which had found by lon'6 experience tl1dt it Weis
cheaper to bribe the clansmen thnn to coerce them, ds cl means
of preserving order in 11Mt region and l~eepin!J tht' rnads
open. But even political pensions were not always effective in
securing their obedience. A leadet would sprini;:i up amonli!
them, pretending sanctity or princely descent, orqanli!e a bund
of youn!i( men by feeding them for some time at his own cost,
and then swoop down upon the fields of l'i\7al clans or the
imperial territory below for plunder. The !JD.llfJ' held tolJC'tbcr so
long as the stream of booty did not fail ; bu( when ft ran
dry, or the least inequality in its di\7ision w,1s suspected, these
natural democrats turned their arms against one another, and
the league brol<e up."'
A stronfi! Mughal emperor would resolve to enforce hi!:.
authority and protect his subjects ; armies would be poured
into the vallevs of the clansmen, and after heavy losses their
orliJ'anised resistance would be beaten down, their houses

* "A famous samt a111onl( the Yuqufzais ls snld to have. l~ft his ti ibe a btessi1111
aml a curse, 'l11at the1r should ulwa)?s be free, but that lh~\' should 1wvcr be
united.' " (Elphlnstone, 333.)
 AFGHAN l'RONl'lERSMEN RCBEL !\ND ROB 139

demolished, the k'lcl country held by means of a chain of

military posts, their crops cut down and the Afghan population
thinned by the sword. Bul c'V'ery now and then they would
cul off a weal< garrlsoo ; the Mughal outposts would ha'lc to
be withdrawn in winter and the wol'!~ of pdcification renewed
in spring.
In a few years the !Jrowlh of population would more than
fill the \7oid caused by the Mugbal sword ; and the huni;rry
hordes would aqdin begin lo swarm into the neighbourinl,l"
district or plunder tradecara\7ans.
The fii'st disaster lo the Mul;)"hal arms here toot< place in
FebrLtaty 1586, when an army o,f 8,000 men under Rajah
Birbul was cut off in a S\vat defile. (The Ememr had finally
to patch up a rcuce by pensioning the tribal lec:tders and
0\7erloofaing lhcil' depredations. Under Jahangir and Shah
Jahan, the suine stak of things conHnucd.')

fQ. "lusuf:wl l'ising of 1667.

Ea.r11.1 in 1667 began another movement for expansion

<hll10ll!J the Yusufaais, whose home lies in the Swat and Bajaur
\7i.'\llcys and ihe plain of north Peshawar. One of theh great
men, named 13hagu, drew the heads of olhc1 families into
his scheme, crowned a prntended sdon of thefr ancient b.ings
as Muhammad Shah, and securc<l relili)'ious prestiqe to his
banners by association wlth Mttlla Chalal~, who enjo1.7ed a
qreat local reputation for sanctity. Bha~'t1 ns wa~lt and \7lrtual
him~, orqanh!ed un expeditionary force of 5,000 clansmen,
crossed the Indus abo'\7c AttocR. and invaded P<lkhli, a plain
l'iing east of ihat river in the Hazara district, through which
1an the principal wad to Kashmir. Here they caphtred the
fort of Shadman the local chieftain, and le\7led rent from the
pe<.lsants. The nurnb~r of invaders daily increased and mote
Muqhal outposts we1e attacked. Other Yusufzai bands began
140 SHORT ll!STORY OF l\URANOZll\ [rn. Vil

lo pluncler the imperial territory in the western Pcshc:twar and

Attod~ districts.
The Emperor took stro11~ measures of defence, and ordered
lhe rebel country to be invaded by lhree columns. The
enemy anticipated the invasion bi? coming over to the south
side of the ferry of llarun across the Indus a11d holdin~ it in
force, so as to prevent the Mughals from crossinl,( into their
country. On 1st April 1667, they were attadwd here by
Kamil Khan (the faujdar of Attach.). After c< stubborn fi1,;hl,
the enemi? brol~e and were dri\7cn into tl1e river ; two
thousand of them were sl<lin, many wmmtled, and many
more drowned. The imp12rial territory on this side of the
Indus was clea1ed of the enemy.
In May, Shamshlr Khan, ul the head of a lan;ie dC'tachnwnt
from Afghanistan, tool< over the supreme comnJand and
crossed the Indus into the Ytisufaai country.
Shamshir' fought many a battle with them and 'Jc1ined
many a success. Entrenchin!i( his camp at Ohind, he occupied
!he le\7el country of Mandaur where the Yusufanis used to
grow their food crops, and destroyed all their farms and
homestead in the lowlands. On 4th June, he marched out
of Ohind lo attacfa Bhas;(u in his present position. Several
viltas;ies were tal:i.en after bard fightimJ all.1afnsl heavy odds and
with considerable losses ; the houses were burnt down, the
properti? looted and no 'Vcsti~e of cultivation left. The
enem'f's trenches at Mansur on the Panjshir river wele cnrried
(28th June, 1667). At the end of AugList, Muhamntud Amin
Khan, one of the highest grandees of the realm, arrived with
a large force and took over the supreme co111mC1nd from
Shamshir. Tl1e villages near Shahbaigad1i and in lhc \.,.alley of
Karabmar were plundered, while in the Swat V'alley the villa!Je
of Hijaz was destroyed (October). The Yusufaals seem to ha."le
beien quieted by these hard blows ; and there was no general
rising of the frontier tribes till 1672.
167'2] MUGHl\L D!SASTl:m !N !Cl!AIIIAR PASS 141

13. Aftidi aad JOiataf: cising of 1672; disasfecs to

Magfia! [!enernls.

In 1672, the tactless action of the fo.ujdar of Jalalabad

bred discontent iJ.mong lhe Khaiba.r clans. The Afridis rose
under their cl1idtain Acmal Khan, a born general, who
crowned himself l~in!J, struck coins in his own name, and
rrnclnimitu;i war a!Juinst the Mu~hals, summoned all the Pathan
du.ns to join the national movement and closed the Khaibar
Pass.
In the sprin!J of 1672, Muhammad Amin Khan, now \7iceroy
of Afghanistan started from Peshawar for Kabul, with his army
accompanicd by their families and household propetiy. At
)anm1d ht:> learnt that !he Afghans had blocked the way
ahend. f3ut intoxicated with wealth and power, and despisin!J
the Af!Jhans' prowess, he rushed blindly on to his doom.
Advancinli( to Ali Masjid (21st April) he entrenched. At
night lhc Afridis descended from the hillside and cut him
off from the stream whence he drew his water~supply. Next
da'l men and beasts in the imperial army bcli!an to perish of
thirst from the heal of the sun. The Af~hans assailed the
Mughals with storm of missiles. From the lofty' peak of
Tartara, 3,400 feet overhead, stones were rolled down on
the doomed men crowded in the narrow gorge below. The
leaders were soon l~illed, and disorder seized the Mughal
artny. 1'Iforses, elephants and men were mixed up in
confusion." The Afghans now charged down the hillside,
sla'linlil ahd plunclerinlil the entit'e Mugha! camp.
Muhammad Amin Khan and some of his high officers,
succeeded in escaping to Peshawar with their bare lives ;
but everything else was lost. 11Ten thousand men fell under
the enemy's sword in the field, and above two krores of
Rupees in cash and !<ind was looted b'i ihe enerny. The'l
142 SJJORT IllSTORY OF Allf~ANCi7.IB [ell. Vil

captured twenty thousund men uncl women u!ld sent them to

Central Asia for sale." The viceroy's family-his motl1er,
wife and daughter,-had been made cartivc, and he
had to secure their release by flilyin?, a huge rnnsom.
This sis;rnal V'ktory increascd the fame and resources of
the Afridi leader. The tale of his rich booty wcnt the round
of the hills and lured recruits lo his banners.
The Khalal~s arc il Jan5e L111d warlilw clan occupyinq the
southern part of the Peshawar district and much of KnlMI
and Banu. They were the hereditary enemies of the Yusufz:dis,
because the boundaries of these two duns met in the middle
of the Peshawar district. Their chieftain Khush-hal Khan was
a great poe!. Years a!ilo he had inspired defiance of the
imperial Government among his clansmen. Bul he hilcl been
treacherously arrestee\ and l?ept in IIindustun for th1cc years
as a prisoner. In 1667 he bad joined lhe Mrn.:rhal force
that invaded the Yusufzai country. Bttt now joininl,J Aetna!,
he became the leadinq spirit of the 11<1tional opposition,
inspirin~ the tribesmen with his pen no less than his sword,
and winning many a '7idory over the Mttl.(hals.
The danger to the empire was very <Jl'eat : lhe l'isi11Sir was a
national one, aff ecling the whole Pdtba.n land "from Qanddhill'
to Attocb," and its leaders were also men who hild scrv"l~d in
the Mulifhal army ln Hindustan and the Deccan, <111d !mew the
or\)ani:rntion efficiency and tactics of lhe imperialists. The two
sides had the same arms, a11d except tlrnt the Afghans lad~cd
heavy artillery, the superiority lay with them, as they were hatdr
hillmen fightiniJ in their own 11.11;1qed country, while the Indian
troops have always had a horror of mountain war and ave1sion
to facin~ pri'valion and cold.
The Emperor, immediately on hearing of the disaster, toofa
stron!J measures to guard Peshawm aJi!ainst any AfSJban incursion ;
Muhammad Amin Khan was del;lraded ; Mahabat Khan, who
had li(overned Afghanistan thrice before, and achie\7 ed success
j 67.1] Slfll)l\Ll l(J]l\N ('ll'J cwr HY 1\I"GllANS 143

in dcalimJ with these people, was recalled from the Deccan <md
sent to Kabul as viceroy for the fourth time. But the new
~~(wcrnor shrnnfa from risl~in!J the f<ltc of his predecessor. lie
avoided uny cner<Jetic action a<Jainst the exultant Af~hans, and
mt1dc a secret arraw1emcnl with them, each side promisini;i not
to molesl the other. Next sprin>.i he went to Kabul by the
Karapa Pass after bribing !he AfiJhans on the way not to
oppose him. But the Kbaibar ronte remained dosed as beiore.
Tht' Emperor was highly displeased and sent Shujaet Khan in
independent command of a lar1Je force with abundant war-
matcrial und urlillet"f, to punish the Afqbans (14th November,.
1673). Jaswant Singh was to co"opel'ale with him.
Shujacl Khan was a man of humble oriqin who had risen
lo hi<Sh rnnl< <11Kl the Empcl'Or's favour by his success in quellinq
the Sl\tnami risin~J. He was therefore regarde<l with jea!ol1s1
and contempt by hirJh-born officers lihi." Mahabat Khan and
Maharajah Jaswant SimJh. Shujaet, on his part, proud of his
master's favour <:1nd of his own past triumphs, despised the
advricc of Iuswant, and took his own line of action. This lacl<-
of co-operation umom,s the Mul;(hal leaders caused the
disaster of 1674.
Slmjad K11dn tl'icd lo push on to Kabul. After crossing the
Gandab, he ascended the saddle (k:ota!) of the Karapa Pass
(21st Fcbntury). Tl1at ni~ht there was a heavy fall of rain and
snow ; and every one in the Indian camp was brou~ht to
death's door by the extreme cold am.l wet. The Afflhans from
the helqbts on the two sides bef6an to harass the suffet1nq army.
The lmpcl'ialists were benumbed with cold. At dawn the
Afahans charqed the miserable atmy from all sides. Shuf aet
Khan, for)Jetful of his duty as a geneial, sous;rht and found a
soldiei's death in the front rank. His leaderless tl'oops were
hemmed round ; but a band of 500 Rathors, wisely sent by
Jaswant, ardV'ed witl1 quns, broke the enemy1s col'clon, and
bro\11iht the remnant of the army bad:i. to camp. Tbl'ee hundred
144 SllO!::!'l' HISTORY or AlmANGZill [cu. VU

of the Rajputs sacrificed themselves in this heroic exploit. Of

Shujact's followers thousands had fallen before.
To restore imperial prcsHIJe, Auran!ilzib himself went to
l lasan Abdal, between Rawal Pindi and Pcslrn.wur, (26th June,
167 4), and stayed there for a yeur and a half clireclin<J lhe
operafions. A vast army accompanied him with a /urge pad~
of artillery. Strong and well-equipped columns with plenty of
material were sent into the enemy's country. Aqhar Khan, a
Turl~ish noble, who had often distinguished himself 1n lightin;:i
the Afghans, was hurriedly recalled from the Deccan and
deputed to clear the way in the Khaibar region, (July).
Mahabat Khan was removed from his post as -viceroy, on
suspicion of having connived at tl1e destruction of Shujacl
Khan.
With Aura1u;;2ib's ani-val on the scene, imperial diplomu.cy,
no less than imperial arms, began to have effect. Ml'llf clans
were won over by the qrant of presents, pensions, iat]its, and
posts in the Mughal army to their headmen. As for the
irreconcilables, their valle)?'s wete penetrated b'Y. detu.cl1111enls
from Peshawar. Thus, in a shol"t time, the Ghorni, Ghil::oi,
Shirrani and Yusufz:ai cla11s were dcfeateu and ousted from
their villages. Dafria Khan Afrit!i's followers prnrnised to
bring the head of Acmal, ihe Afridi pretender, if theit' past
misdeeds were foi-given, (end of Au1Just).
Meantime, great deeds were bein~z done by As;;har Khan
west of Peshawar. First, he foiled a niqht attacl~ of the
Mohmands and their allies and retu.Iiated by slaylnlil' 300 of !hem,
ra'Y'ai;tinq their homes and brin1Jinq away Q,000 c<1ptives and
much booty. Then he tried to open the Kbaibar Pass, but
aftet a lonq contest near Ali Masjid in which both sic,les lost
heavily and Aghar Kha11 was severclf wounded, the attempt
was abandoned. The jealousy of his colleagues, especially of
the I-lindustani nobles, added to the difficulties of A>;:hu.r Khdn
<i.nd his brother Tttrfas, Next, with a force of 5,000 Rajpu.ts
1675] LONG WAR wmr FIWNTIER )~fOl!ANS 145

and Af>Jhan friendlies, he occupied NamJrahat and tried to

l<eep the roads open. The Ghilzais who had seized the
Jagdalal~ Puss were repeatedly defeated and expelled from
it. Of all ihc ML1firhal generals he alone was uniformly
\7idoriotts oV'er the frontier tribes, and Afghan mothers, it
is said, used to hush lhefr babies to sleep with hls dreaded
name.
In !he sprinl,! o[ 1675, when Pidai Khan set out on his
rel11rn from Kabttl to Peshawar, the Afghans attacked him in
the Ja'ildulal~ Pass. Hts V'an was defeated, its Arab commander
was slain, and many of the elephants, arlille1y, bag~age and
women of this cliv-ision were carried off by the enemy. But
lhc \7iccroy's cottra~e and steadiness saved the cenfre.
A!Jhar Khan, then at ihe tnana of Gandamal<, on hearing of
his critical sitl1ation, CL\tne to the rescue by rapid mat'ches,
and forced the Jagdalak Pass, routing the enemy from the
biJJtOR,S.
Early in June, however, ua great defeat befell the imperial
armi." Muharram Khan with a large force was operalinlil
a~;i-ainst the Afghans near tbe saddle (kola/) of Khapush in
the Bajaur countri, where one dct'l he wets lured into an
ambush, hopelessly ot1tnumbered, and lost hea\7ilY.
Retributory measures were taken immediately, and all
the Mughal positions in Afghanistan were strengthened.
At the end of August came the news of two reverses,
though on a small scale ; I-IU:bar Khan, the tfianadar of
Jaqdalafa, was slain wlth his son and other Mul[lhal soldiers ;
AbdLtllah, the ffianadar: of Barangab a11d Surl<l~ab, was dri'Ven
out of his post, after losing many of his troops. But, on the
whole1 the lmpcl'ialists beld their own by means of outposts
and foi'ts at stratel[lic points in the Path,an country. Br the
end of the 1ear 1675 ihe situation had sufflcientlv. irnpro~ed
to enable the Emperor to leare Hasan Abdal and return to
Delhi.
146 SllORT IllSTORY OF J\llRANGZTn [c11. VII

14. Amie Knan ab!;; g_orJems /!fgncmistan, 1678~98.

Mir Khan, the son of Khali!ullclh, held previously
distingnished himself by punishini;i the Yusufaais of Shuhba;:;\(arhi
and suppressing two rebellious AfiJhan chieb in Bihar. In
1675 he was given the tiile of Amir Kbt111, and on 19th March
1677 appointed viceroy of Kabul. Ire arrived al his post on
8th June 1678 and continued to ~ovcrn Afghanistan with
sil;lnal abilily till his dec1th twenty years later. l Ic set himself
lo win the heads of the Afghans and enter into social
relations with them, with such succes'i that lhc chiefs of the
clans "left their shy and unsocial manners aud bciJ.:tn to visit
him without any suspicion." They becatlle very friendly to
him, and every one of them lool~ed up to him for advice
in conducting his domestic affairs. Under his astute
mana!Jement, they ceased to trouble the impcrinl Government
and spent their energies in internecine quarrels. Once he
brol~e up the confederacy under Acmnl by secretly insligatins;{
that chieftain's followers to asl< him to cli\7klc the conqttet'ed
territory amonlJ them. Acmal declined the proposal, saying,
"flow can a small territory be di\7ided among so ma111 men ?"
The disappointed hillmen threw up his service und began to
return home in unger. Acmal had ut last to malie a division
of the land ; but as he naturally showed \(reater consfdcrntion
to his own clansmen and kinsfoll~, his other followers were
disgusted and left his camp. Much of Amir Khan's
administrative success was due to lhc wise counsel, tact and
ener_\;y of his wife, Sabibji, a dauqhtcr of Ali Matdan Khan.
The Emperor triumphed in Afghanistan by followinSJ
the policy of paying subsidies* and settinSJ clan <iqalnst
-----------------------~---
In Rallmat, lob, Auran~~lb dcsnibed the d(ccnscd Amii IClJ<\n's
administrative methods,,.how he was a lusl go'7c1 nor, pos~cosed of p1uctfral
sl<lll and l11cl it1 dealing with oil 1 how he useu lo ttiall~ sa1riu\j~ In lhc
b11cl..ieled expenditure ol the pro'7ince and keep the passc~ open to tl'Mf!c ;
and how he keP.l many of !he hillmen usefully employed by enliotln~ lhem
 KllUSIHJAL KHAN KIIA1AK llNS\lHDUED 147

clan,-or, to use his own metaphor, "breal;?ing two

bones by lmod~in!,J them together." The imperial dominions
were no lom;rcr invaded frotn be'lond lhe border. The
Khaibar route WdS l~ept open by . payini;i re!i)ular pensions to
the hillmen. Amir Khnn's diplomacy brolw up the followin!J
of Acnldl. Aud when that self-styrled bing died, the Afridis
made terms with !he cmpire.
The slruggle was, however, continued for manyr years
.:iftcrwurds by the stern und unbendinlJ independent Khush-hal
Kh<tn Khnfok The Bungashes and Yusufzais, -his vetyr son
Ashraf,---wcre fighting ai;lainst him in the Mughal ranfas ; but
neither a\re, no!' a growing sense of the hopelessness of his
cause, could tame his bitlcrncss of fcelinlJ and obduracy of
spirit. .Alone he liept the fla!,l of Pathdn freedom fTying, till
his own son bctra1ecl him into the enemy's hands. <An exile
from his countr'l, a captive in his enemy's fortress, he could
stlll bt)ast,
"I am he who has sorely wounded Aurang's heart.
Klmiba:r's fJMS have I made to the Mughdls their..
dearest ptlrchase:j
('rhis Afs;than war made the employment of Afghans in the
ensuing Rajput war impossible. Moreo\7er, it relieved the
pt'essure on Shi\7aji b)7' draining the Deccan of t\1e best M11ghal
troops for ser\7ice on the notth~western fronfier.j The Maratha
chief tool~ ad\7anlagc of this diversion of bis enemy's strenqth to
sweep in a da-ezling sttccession of triumphs through Goll<omla
to the K<Jmatali and bacR aqain through Mysore and Bijapur
io l:?aigarh, dminq the fifteen months following Decembet
1676, It was the climax of his career ; but the Afridis and
Khataks made its tm brol~en success possible.
in \he Imperial sel'\"i~e, and profuse!\'. bl'ibecl the clans out of the imperial
coffers, his own income and hls illegal ei.:dd1ons. Also 11 b. On 25th Oct. 1GS1
Aurnn\j~ib 1cceivcd a despatch from Amir Kh<w ~tating, "Six lalihs of Rupees
wcw allotted by Government to b~ paid lo the AfhM> lm guarding the roads.
I have spent one <Jncl half folihs and saved the ienrnindel' to the State.''
 CHAPTER VIII
AURANGZIB'S RELIGIOUS POLICY AND HINDU
I<EACTION TO IT

1. Tfie Muslim State, its fficot,'l and cfiamctei:.

By the theory of its orhJin the Muslim State is a theocracy.
Its tme l:iing is God, and earthly mlers are metel'l His age11ts .
bound to enforce His law on alL The ci'Vil authorities exist
solely to sp1ead and enforce the trne faith. In such a State
infidelit'i? is loi;!icall'l equivalent to treason, because lhc infidel
repudiates the authority of the h'ue hin~ and Pil'\!5 homa!Jc
to his ri'7als, the false gods and goddesses. Therefore, the
toleration of any sect outside the fold of orthodox Isfo.m is
no better than compoundinq wilh sin. And the wo1st
form of sin is pol'ltheism, ihe belief that the one true
God has partners in the form of other deities. (Islamic
theology, therefore, tells the true belic\l"er lhat his hi!Jhcsl
duly is to mab.e "exertion (jifiad) in the path of God,"" b1
waging war against infidel fonds (dat,.,11/,.,fi.mb) till the)?
become a part of the realm of Islam (dar .. uf,.,fslam) tin<l
their popttlaUons are cotwerted into true belie\l'crs~i{After
conquest the entire infidel population becomes theol'ehcall'i?
reduced to the slatus of slaves of the conquerinr;r al'tn')",\
The conve1sion of the entire population to Islam and) the
extinction of e17er)? form of dissent, is the ideaJ of the

Jifiod Ii sabil 111/afi (Quran, ix. Q9). Por jlfiad see tru11hcs, 243248, 710 ;
Ency.clopaxlio. of Islam, i. 1041. "j\nd when !he sacl'cd monlh$ arc Pll5$Cd, kill
those who loin o!hci deities with God, wherever ve shall find them, .llut if tho\!"
shall con11crt,. .then let them 110 !heh 1vay." (Qul'lm, Ix. 5, 6.) "Sa1r to tlu.'i
infidels, ii 1he11 desist ftom !heir unbelief, wltut ls now pns! shall he fo1gl\'en them.
But if the\? return lo /I.... fight then against them l!ll ~trlfe bl~ <1! an 11r;l, and the:
~eliqio11 be alI ol n God's" (~ii!. 39-49),
 ZIMMIS IN /\ MUSLIM S1'ATE 149

Muslim Slale. If any infidel is suffered to exist in !he

community, it is as a necessary evil, and for a transitional
period only. Political and social disabilities must be imposed
on him, and bribes offered to him from the public funds, to
hasten lhc> day of his spiritual enlightenment and the addition
of his nc1111e to the roll of frue believers.~

2. Political disabilities of non~Mus/lms.

~ non~Muslirn, therefore, cannot be a ciii:=:en of the State ;

he is a member of a depressed class ; his status is a modified
form of slavery. lie li\""es under a contract (:i.imma) with
the State : for the life and property that arc ~rud~ingly
spared to him by the Commander of the Faithful he must
underqo polilical and social disabilities, and pay a
conm1t1tation-money (ja~fy,a). \ .
Ifo must pay a tax fo1 his land (fdiaraj), from which the
cal'ly Muslims were exempt ; he must pay other exactions
for the maintenance of the army, ln which he cannot enlist
even if he offers to render personal service instead of pa<tini;t
the poll~tax ; and he must show by humility of dress and
behaviour that he belongs to a subfecf class. No non-Muslim
(:dmmf) can wear fine dre$ses, ride on horsebadi 01 carry
arms ; he mt1st behave respectfully and submissively to every
member of the dominant sect. t __________ ,

* "With tei;iard fo the idolatcm of a nc>n-Arablc ~ounlr\'.", Sl1afi malnla!ns that

de$\rm;!ion is incurred by them also ; bttt otM1 le~rned doctors agree Hint I! is
lawful !o rr;duec thern to sla1'C1'\'.", thus allowin them, as ii were, a respite dt1rini;i
which it t'l1il'i' please God to direct them into the 1i~ht pafi1, but maM1111, at ihe
s;ulic llme, Hieir per~ons and si1bsla.nce subserl.'ien! lo the cause of Islam." (I!uiihcs,
7lO). /3nc:xclo. Islam, I. 017 (dat'til~tforl~.
t p,)~ 1<in11nls or Prolected non-Muslim~, 1Iu11hes 710-715 ; Enc$clopDi!rlia of
Islam, l, ~58,1051 ; Mutt's Caffpfiate, :3rd ed., 149J~s. "Each adult, male, free, sane
Zimm! mu$! pa\1 a poll-tax, fi:t'j:a. Hts real estate either becomes a 111aqf far the
whole bod\1 of Mtislims, but of which he continues to ba\'e the use, or hu hold~
ii sHJl as hls own, In clthet event hey pa1s on !! and Its crops il la11tHaJ<:, iti{i~aJ,
which 011 the owner being a Muslim laHs. lfe is liable ~!so to oihe1 exactions tot
150 Sl!OfH IIISTOl~Y OF l\lWl\NCiZfll [c11. VHI

As i.he learned Qitzi MwJhis-ud-din d~clc1red to Ala-ud-

din K!1alji, in accorcfoncc with the tcuchim~ of the bool~s
on Canon Law : "By these uds of de~Jradution are shown
the extreme obedience of lhe idmrni, the !Jlorificulion of thL
i.rue foit11 of [s!am, <tnd the abu.semenl of false faiths. Tl1e
Prnphel h<ts commanded us to slay them, plunder them, c.u1d
mul<e them capti\7c... No other religions <tulhorit)! except the
gecat Imam fl Ianifa] whose foith we follow, llcls sanctioned the
imposition of the ja:d,l!a on Hin<lus. According to all other
theolmJians, the rule for Hindus is 'Either death or !slum.' "
The :dmmi is under cerlaln lefJal disabilities with rcqard
to testimony in lawcourts, protection under crimit ial l<1w, and
marriage. The Stc:tte, as the other party in i.hc contract
(:,;;tinma), iJuarantees to l1im seCL1rily of Hfe and properly and
a modified pioteclion in the exercise of his rdi1Jion :-he
cannot erect new temples, and has to avoid any offensive
publicity in the exercise of his faith.
The early Arab conqL1c1ws, notably 1n Sindh, followed the
wise and profitable policy of leaV"irnJ the shrines and rdhJious
practices of the non-Muslim populalion practically ttndisturbed.
There was at first no wanton or system~\tic iconodc\sm. With
the !Jtowth of the Muslim porulatlon, however, the lon!J cnjo)!ment
of ttnch<1llengcd power bred in them a spidt of intolerance '111d
a lo'Ve of perseculion." E\7ef'\? device shod of massacre ln
the rnainlm1<1nce of the Muslim al'lnks. Ile must dislin~uih himsdf from bclie\1'1.'L'S
b)I llres>. not ddinu on horsl'\1acl~ ot catr'{i!l\! Wt!upons, <>ml b\f ,, ~encmlly 1'<.,spcd-
(ul u!titude towtds Muslims. fk is also und~r cedain kg,11 dls11bilil!es willt r.:11.ird
lt) t~slimony in !awcourts, pro!cction under criminal law nnd in ni.ll't'l<>\(e ... N<)I' iu
the exercise of !heir wornhip muy they (tlw aimmis) tiqe ill\ offlnsivr 1ll1blidt\"
Tfiey: ai:e no/ ciffaem of Ifie !Y/11.1/im State." (Enc;f!c/a. Islam, [. 951<9$9,)
Elliot, L 46D. The :.immis "n1<w r~pair and C'i'Cn rc\nilld l'Xisli1111 chUl'ches, bttl
not eiect new ones on 11e1v sites." (Ency:cfo., l. 959), "The coJ1structlon of places of
worship in the Muslim lel't"iloni is unlawful !Ol' !hem, tmlcss withln theh own hou~es,
but if churches and syna~o11ues originally belongin'il to Clwislians nm! Jews b~
destroyed or fall to dcc<1.11, lne1r ate at liberty to r~bt1ikl ilTI<l rellttlT them." (lh11(l1cs
711.) "It has bec11 settled accordin~ lo Ca11ot1 Law !hnt no long.s!andin(I t~mplc
should be demolished nor Ull\1 ne\\ one allowed to be built." (AuNnq2lb's Benarcs
larma11, J A. S. D., 1911, 6$9).
 POLICY OF l~LLIGIOUS PFRSECl!T!ON 151

cold was resorted to in order to convert heathen

blood
subjects. In dQdi!l911 to the poll-tax a11cl public degradation
in dress <1nd demc~1'aw: i~1;p~~d -~1~ -the~n--the 1,();~~Musli~~s
were - suble~l;~( -i;- -varlous--h~-p~s . a~~i-f~~~t- R~;~rd~. in -the-
fornr- of
mC.111cy a1Kr _
-P~~!ii~-~11~plpy~~-;~; ;;i;1);__ofle1:ed.1;
a~1osf~Ms fr6i11 1Iii1~l~~Is;~. The leaders of Hindu relif,llon and
sodetv Wd'C--srsfor1i<ltfcaffi- -tepressed, to deprive the sect of
spiritual instrndion, and their reli!'.Jious !'.Jatherings and proces-
sions WCt'l' forblcldcn in order to pre'Vent the growth of
solidarity and u sense of communal strenJ6th amonJ6 them.
No new temple was allowed to be bttilt nor any old one to be
rep<1ircd, so thut the total disappearance of all places of
!Iindu wmship was lo be merely a question of time. But
many of the more tierr spirits of Islam tried to anticipate the
destructive hancl of Time and forcibl'l? pulled down temples.
In this later ai;:e, particularly among the 'furl.<s, the old
Arab tolen1tion of false faiths appeared sinfuL Outside their
own realms, the destt'Udion of temples and the slaufiihter of
rnndus sanditlcd every war of a~gression. Thus a frame of
mind Wd!> produced in the Muslim commi111ity which habitually
re'i(arded p!tlllder and homicide as the purest of human acts,
as "exel'tion (jifiad) in the path of Goel." The murder of infidels
{Kafft,.,fcas6i) is counted a merit in a Muslim. It is not neces-
sa17 that he should tame his own passions or mortify his
flesh ; it is not necessary for him to grow a rich growth of
spiritlutlity. He has only to slay a certain class of his fellow
bein~s or plunder their lands and wealth, and this act in itself
would raise his so11l lo heaven.'"
~ When, in 1910, Boutros Pasha Wi\S murdered by an El!'iDfian Muhammadan for
no l)crso 1rnl provocation but for the political reason that he bad P1estded o\'er the
court that sentenced H1e Dcnshawii! villaqers, and !he !f(ullt of the murderer wa~
eondusivclir pro;;ed by evidence, the Chief Qa~! of Eg\i"pt pronounced the iudgment
that accordin\l to Islam it fs uo ed1ne for a Muslin> t<J sla1: an unbelievct'. 1'bis i~
th~ opltt!M h'"ld b1: the h!\lhesl exponent of Islamic !aw in a modem cM!lsed
(:OU!lft\r.
 152 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANOZl!l [ell. vm
A creed whose followers are taught to rc~ard
robbery and murder as a religious duty, is incompatible with
the progress of mant<ind or with the peace of the world.

3. Influence of tfie Qurnnic political ideals on tfie

Muslim population and tfie subject cteeds.

Nor has it been conducive to the true interests of its

followers. Muslim polity formed "the faithful" into a body
with no other profession than war. As lon!J as there were
any fresh lands to conquer and any rich K:afits to plunder,
all went well with the State.'' The dominant body prospered
and multiplied rapidly ; even arts and industries, literature <llld
paintin!i( of a certain type were fostered. But when the Ude
of Muslim expansion reache<l its farthest limit and brobe in
V'ain on the hills of Assam and Chat~aon, or the arid rocks
of Maharashfra, there was nothing to a\7ert a rapid downfall.
The State had no economic basis, and was not able to stand
a time of peace.
For, the cruel hindness of the Government had unfitted
the dominant people for avocations of peace and the silent
but deadly strng56!e for existence. War is lhe only trade they
ha\7e a natural aptitude for, and peace me.ins to them
"unemployment," vice and downfall.
Tbe settled principle of Islam ended by mahin>J the
Muslims a prMleged class, nourishe<l on Slale bounties,
naturally prone to indolence in peace times and unable to
stand on their own legs in the arena of life. Public office
came to be regarded as the bitthright of the faithful, and so

* "The Arabs !il7Cd on the lat of the conquered prol7inccs, and subject p~opje$
served them. Ol boot\! t<1h.cn in \\7ar four.fifths were distributed to the aimy 011
the field ... And there mose, also, new sources of rcl7entH' In the laml asscssnwnt
and poll-tax of conquered countrres, the sm plus of which, af\er defra'l?ln~ cMl
and military charges, became eqm11ly with spoils of war pa!rlmony 6f the Ar11b
nalion." (Muir'$ Calip6ale, 156). Elliot, i. 461.
 l:VIL EFPCCTS OF RJ:LJG!Ol!S PERSECUTION 153

e\7ery inducement to display superior ability or exertion was

fo.faen away from them. The vast sums spent by the State
in maintainlrnJ pauper houses and in scattering alms durinlif
Ramwn and other holy days and joyous ceremonies, were
a direct premium on laziness. Thtts a lazy and pampered
cluss was created in the empire, who sapped its strern~th
and was the first to suffer when its prosperity was arrested.
Wealth bred indolence and lo\7e o{ euse; these soon led
to vice ; and vice finally brouiJht about poverty and ruin.
At the same time, the treatment of the subject people prevent~
ed the full development of the resources of lhe State by them.
When a class of men is publicly depressed and harassed by law
and executive Cdpricc alil~e, it merely contents itself with drag~lnljf
on an anlmul existence. The Iiindus could not be expected to
produce the utmost of which they were capable ; their lot was
to be hewers of wood and drawers of water to their masters,.
to brin~ ~rist {o the fiscal mill, lo develop a low cunninr,'r and
flatte1y as the only means of savinq what they could out of
the fruits of their own labom'. Amidst sttcb social conditions,
the human hand and the human mind cannot achie'le theie
best ; the human soul cannot soa1 to its hili(hest pitch. The
banenncss oi the Hindu intellect and the meanness of spirit of
the Hindu upper classes are the greatest condemnation of
Muhammadan rule in India. The Islamic political ttee1 judged
b)? 1ts fruit, was an utter failure.
As a widely ttavelled and profound modern philosopher
writes, "Islam is a religion of absolute surrender and submissive~
ness to God-but to a God of a cel'tain character-a War~Lord ...
The ritual of this belief embodies the idea of discipline... This
militar'' basis of Islam explains all the essential virtues of the
Musalman. It also explains his fundamental defocts-his
unpro56l'essi1Veness1 his incapacity to adapt himself, his lack of
initiative and invenllon. The soldier has simply to obey orders.
All the resl is the affair of Allah." (H. Ke'iserlinq).
154 SHORT ll!STOf~Y OF /\lWJ\NGZ[ll [cu. Vl!l

When public offices are distributed in consideration of race

or creed and not of merit, !he non~Muslim populations are
thereby clfrven to conclude that they have no lot or part in
sLtch a Stu.te. The Islamic theocracy when set up over u
composite population has the worst vices of oli1Jarchy and of
alien rule combined.
In Mughal India it was, in addition, the dominion of a small
minority. And this millority differed from lbe politically
depressed majority no! in racial qualities, physical or menial,
but in creed only. It was rightly felt by all persons outside
the fold of !he dominant creed that lhe power and resources
of the community, entrusted to the Government for the public
,good, were being misused by beinf,l applied lo the prorai;randa
of a Church which aimed at their extinction. Such a State had
no ri!ifht to be called national ; it did not rest on !he love and
,devotion of the people.

4. To!erntion undet !slam exceptional and

contrary lo Qucanic lm11.

Such was the ideal of !he State i\S conceived by orthodox

islatn. No doubt, common sense often triu1;npbct.l over loqic
,and statestmmship 0\7er theology ; 01 the wealmess of httmdn
nature made it impossible for every Mng and e\7e1y oJTicer
to enforce the intolerant system evetywhere or in its entirety.
Thus ii happened lhat unJer Muslim rule there wet'e pcl'iods
when tbe HindLts enjoyed toleration and sccmity of property,
or w'hen an enlightened and liberal Rin!J cncouiagcd lh~m
to malie progress in literature and art, wealth and public
'Service, and his State s;,irew in streniJth and mate1'ial resources.
But such indulgence of infidel(ty was by its very nature
precarious and exceptional. The Muslim world regarded it
as a deplorable fallinq off from the ol"lhodox ideal, and a
wicked nes;,ilect of royal duty, The Muslim soldiery on whose
 1
l\llRt\NGZfl\ S 'ICMPI I DH10Lll!ON 155

sword depends the king's power, would rc1:1ard the liberal

Sultan a<> an apo~tate,
unworthy to rule 0\7er them.
Therefore, the growth ani!,. J2Fo~re"s.?~ ~Qf JJ,OJ1Muslims, _e\7en
1heii continued exi~tenct:'1 i~ incompatible with the" basic priq,ciples
ot d MLt$lil1l Staie. , ;rhe political community is in a condition
of unstable eqllilibrium, ltll either the dissenters are wiped~ Ollt
01 the scertrc pc1~ses 'out ~f Musllm hands. Thus a chtu!1ic
<:inta<Jonism 'bt.::twe~n the rulers and the t ~fCri;""s~t up, wil.!Ch
!ms in the end brol<en up e\7ery lslamic State with a composite
population. And the rciP,n ;f Aurangzib was to illustrate
this trulb.

5. Awcrngrdb's bigofl'y and temple destruction.

Am ang;ofb began his attcid< on tfinduism in an insidious

way. In \he first ',?ear of his reilijn, in a charte1 grnnted
to a pricsl of Benat'es, he a\7owed that his religion forbade
him lo allow tfie building. of new temples, but did not
e111om the des tmction of old ones. During his viccroyalty
of Gujrat, 1644, he had desecrated the recently built Iiindu
temple of Chintaman in Ahmadabad by Ri!linq a cow in it
and then tltrned the building into a mosque. He had at that
time also demolished many other Hindu temples in the
province. An order was issued earl\? in his t'eign in which
the local officers in every tow.n and \7lllaiJe of Orissa from
Kata!~ to Medinipur were called upon to pull down all temples,
including even clay huts, built during the last 10 or 151 years,
(1!1d to allow no old temple to be tepau:ed.
Next, on 9th Apdl, 1669, he issued a general order "to
demolish all the schools and temples"' of the infidels and to
put down their religious teachinSJ and practices.'' His
destro't'ing hand now fell on the lJreat shrines that commanded

For a list of the templ~s dcstro,..~d b'i' him wltli quotation' from autt10r!t1es,
~~e Vol. Ill, Append.I~ V.
 156 SIIORT lllSTORY OP l\URi\NGZIB [err. VIII

the venerat ion oi the Ilindus all over lndia,- such as the
second temple of Somnath, the Vishwanath temple of Benares,
and the Keshav Rai temple of Mathura.
The hol-t cit-t of M<1tlmra has nlways been the special
victim of Muslim bigohy . It stood on tile Ring's hhJhWu\
7
betwee n Agra and Delhi. Aurung;::ib appoint ed a "relifJio
us
man," Abdlln Nabi, as faujdar of Mathura to repress the
rlindus.
On 14th Octobe r, 1666, lec::imin~ that there was i1 stone
railing in the lcmple of Keshuv Rai, which Dara Shuhob had
present ed to it, Aurang zib ordered it to be remove d. And
finally in Ianuary 1670, he sent forth commdncls to dcslro)?
this temple altogeth er and to chan>;l"e the name of lhc city to
Islamabad. The destruction of liindu places of worship was
one of the chief duties of the Mafitasibs or Censms of
Morals who were appoin ted in all the sub-di\risions and dtles
of the cmplre. In June 1680, the -temples of Amber, the
capital of the lo)?al Stule of Jaipur, were brol<en down.
In 1674 he confiscated all the lands held by Hindus as
reli!6ious P.rants (117ailifa) in Gujrat.

6. Jailiy.a or poll~tax on non ...M11slims.

For permiss ion to li\?e in an Islamic Stnic the unbeliever
has to pay a lax called JAZIYA, which means substitate monCJl,
i. e., the pt'ice of induhience. It was first impose d by
Muham mad, who bade his followers ' 1fiqht those who do not
profess the true faith, till they pay ja:c!ya with the hand
in
humility." (Qamn, ix. 29). The last two wo1ds of this
command ha'(7e been lahcn b-t the Muslim comme ntators to
mean that the lax should be lc'7ied in a manner humiliating
tb the taxpaye rs : the taxed person must come on
foot and mal~e the paymen t standin g, while the receive
r
should be seated. Women, children below fourteen, c\lld
 rmLES Of' IAZIYA 157

slaves were exempted from the tax ; blind men, cripples and
1ltmdtics paid only when they were wealthy ; monfas were
untaxed if they were poor, but if they belonged to rich
monasteries the heads of these religious houses had to pa\!.
The impost was not proportioned to a man's actual income,
but the nssessecs were roughly divided into three classes
according as their property was estimated at not more than
QOO dfrfiams ("the poor"), between 200 and ten thousand
dit'nams (''the middle class"), and ubove ten thousand ("the
tich"). Money-chanqers, cloth-dealers, landowners, merchants,
and physicians were placed in the highest class, while
artisans,-such as tailors, dyers, cobblers, and shoe-makers
were counted as "pom." This last class paid only when
tbc:fr prnfesslonal income left a mal"Q'in above the cost of
maintainin!il themsel'Ves and their families. Be1;1i;;ars and
paupers natllrally escaped the tax.
The rntes of taxation were fixed at 12, 24 and 48 dirfiams
a year for the thtee classes respectively,-or Rs. 311s,
Rs. 62/3 and Rs. 13L/3, On the poor, therefore, the incidence
of the tax was at least 6 per ce11t of their gross income ; on
the middle class it ranged from 6 to 1/t p. c., and ori the
rich it was always lightet even than 9)/2 per thousand. In
\"iolation of modern canons of taxation, the far;:f'J!a hit the
poorest portion of the populatio11 hardest, and annually took
away from the poor man the full \7alue of one year's food
as the pdce of reli>;lious indulgence. Afabar had abolished ihe
tax and removed an invidious badge of deqradation from
the majority of his subjects (1564). Aurangiib reversed this
policy,
By imperial orders the fa~l'J!a was reimposed on the
1
'unbelievers" in all parts of the empire from 2nd Apl'il,
1679, in order, as the official historian recotds, to "spJ:ead
Islam and put down the practice of infidelity.'' The Hindus
, of Delhl and its environs gathered togl;;(tber and piteously
'
158 SIJORT HISTOI~Y OF l\l1T~1\NOZill [cu. Vlll

cried for the withdrawal of the impost. l3ut lhe Emperor

turned a deaf ear to them. Next Priday, the whole road from the
i,;ate of the Fort 'to the }dma mosque was bloched hf a crowd
of Ilindu suppliants. They did nol disperse in spite of warnin15 1
and the Emperor after waitin!J vainly for <111 hour to 150 to the
public prayer, ordered elephunts to be driven throu!Jh the
muss of men, tramp!in15 them down <ind cled1'i11!J fl wuy for
him. A temperate and reasoned letter from Shivctil tll\1in!J
the impolicy of the new impost and appeulini;t to Amans;irib
to thinR of the common Father of manl::tind and the equality
of all sincere beliefs in God's eyes, met with no be1.ter
success. (Vide Appendix VI of VoL lII, or Sliitmfi, ch. 13).
The tax yielded a very lar!Je sum. In the province of
Gujrat, for instance, it wus 5 lal~hs of Rupees a yeur ; and
,,,.e sha\\ not be fur wronl;); in hokHrn~ lha! the jai(.{':J,1 meant
for the Hindus an addition of fulll' one-third to t'\7Cl')! subject's
direct contribution to the State. To be a Muslim was to be
free from this extra taxation.
The officially a\7owed policl' in reimposin15 thi: Ja:;;is;a was
to increase the number of Muslims bl! pt1ttinl[! pressure on
the Hindus.* As the contemporary~ obser\7Cl' Munucci noticed,
"Many Hindus who were unable lo pal' turned Mulmmmadan,
to obtain relief from the insults of the collcc!ors .... ,,,Auran!Jzib
rejoices."

" As the oflkiill hiloi y wiittcn from Stale p,1p,1s <1l !ht im.!,11we of his
lavomi\c sccre\ary pu\s it, "Al\ \he aims n! \he reli1iious l:m~wror bcill\I (\in:c!cd
1o ihc sprcnd of the Jail' of Islam and the ol'crlh1ow of inlidrl p1adicc;, he issued
orders thal fr<)m 1st f~<1bi-ul-nwwal (2 Aptil 1679), fa:u"y.a should br I0vted from the
:dmmis in accordanc, with lhe Qu1anic lniunctkrn 'till they P<W com11<11sal1on out
of their hands in humilil'Z'." (M. ;!. 1i4). The Mil'at~i~Alimadi, 313, <1notlu1 hlstor'Z
based llPOll official papers, uscribes the same molive to the Ilmperol\ The !11c(1rv of
some modern wrllets that the 1a~i'Jla was on!\' ('Omnrntallou ll!O!IC'\?" pn!tl for
exemption from military service is not borne oi1t by history, to1 it wa as /ale as
1otfi /Yfa'J[, 1855 that "the 1a::dya as a 1<1x on the fl ce exercise of rdig!o11 was l'C'placed
by 11 lax for exemption from militat1: serl7ic<?" evo:-o in l!nrnpean 'J'urtwv. (/;"'11cyc/o,
Islam, i. 105Q),
 TJI WS AGAINST ll!NDUS 15S>

7. Repressive measures against tfie llindus.

By an ordinance issued on 10th April, 1665, the mafisul

or custom duty on all commodities brou1Jht in for sale was
fixed at 2112 p. c. of the 1mfue in the cu.se of Muslims and
5 p. c. in thdt of Hindu \7cndors.
On 9th May, 1667, the Emperor abolished the custom
duty .::tltogdher in the case of Muslim traders, while that on
!he Hindus was retained at the old level. The real loss to
the State was lil;!elr to be still greater as the Hindu traders
had now a strong temptation to pass their goods off us the
property of Muslims, in collusion with lhe latter.
A third instmment of the policy of putting economic
pressure on unbelievers, was the granHn!i! of rewards to
converts and the offering of posts in the public service,
liberation from prison, or sLtccession to disputed properl-q,
on condition of forninf;l' Muslim.
In 1671 ah ordinance was issued that the rent collectors of
the Crownlands must be Muslims, and all \7lceroys and laluqdats
were ordered to dismiss their Hindu head clerks (pestik:ats) and
accountants (diwanian) and replace them by Muslims. It was
found impossible to nm the adminisfration af tel' dismissfnq the
Hindu pesfileat'S of the provincial governors, but in some places
Muslims replaced Hindu kzotis (district rent~colledors). Later
on, tbe Emperor yielded so far to necessity as to allow half
ihe pesfikats of the 1e\7enue minister and paymaster's
departments to be Hindus a11d the other half Muhammadans.
Under Auranf,J'sib, "qanungo~ship on condition of tmninq Muslim"
became a proverbial expression ; and several families in the
Panjab still preserV'e his letters patent in which this condltion
of office is unblushin!i!lY laid down.
Some of the converts were, by the Emperor's orders,
placed on elephants and carried in procession ihrouqh tfo~
160 Slioln' J([5TOI<I! OF AlH1ANGZll3 [cir. vm
city to the accompaniment of a band and flarJs. Others got
daily stipends, four annas <1t the lowest.
In March 1695 all [-Iindus, with lhc exception of the
Rajputs, were forbidden to ride palkis, elephants or thorough-
bred horses, or to carry arms.
On certain days of the calen<lar, the Ilinclus all 0\7Cl' India
hold fairs near their holy places. Men, women and children
in vast numbers iJather together ; boolhs arc set up and pad<s
opened by the traders. Herc the village women meet their
distant friends and l::!insfoH~, and enjoy the show. Auranli):::ib
in 1668 forbade such fairs throughout his dominions.
The Hindu festi\7al of lamps (diwafi) and spring carni\7al
(fiolf) were ordered to be held only outside ba:::ars and under
some restraints.

8. Hindus of Matfiuta district oppeessed :

peasant risings.
Such open attacks on Hinduism by all the forces of
Go11ernment nalur<:11l'l produced great disconlcnt among the
pctsccutec\ sect. Some frantic attempts were rMdc on the
Emperor's life, but they were childish and ended in failure.
Early in 1669 a most formidable popular rising tool~
place in the Mathura district.
Abdun Nabi Khan, who was faujdar of Mathura from
Am;iust 1660 to May 1669, entered heartily into his master's
policy of "rooting out iclolatty."
Soon after joining his post he built a Jama Mas)id in the
heart of the city of Mathura (1661~166) on the mins of a
Hindu temple. Later, in 1666, he forcibly remo11ed the car11ed
stone railing presented bf Dara Shufaoh to Kesh1111 Rai's
tempte. When in 1669 the Jat peasanhy rose unde1 the
leadership of Gokla, the zamindar of Tilpat, Abdun Nabi
marched out to attack them in the v-illaqe pf Bashara, bttt
 1669) GOKLA JATS RISING 161

was shot dead during the encounter (about 1Oth Ma?). Gokla.
flushed with victory, looted the parl,l"ana of Sadabad, and the
disorder spread to the adjacent Agra district.
At this Aurang;;ib sent strong forces under high officers to
quell !he rebellion. Throt11,l"hout the year 1669 lawlessness
reilJned in the Mathura district. On 4th December flasan
Ali Khan attacl~ed some rebel villagers. They fought till
noon, when being unable to resist any longer, many of them
slaughtered their women and rushed upon the swords of the
MwJhals, fhJhtinl5' with the recklessness of despair.
Next month Iiasan Ali Khan defeated Gokla. The rebels,
who mustered 20,000 strong, mostly Jat and other stalwart
peasants, encountered the imperial forces at a place 20 miles '
fro111 Tilpat. But after a very long and bloody contest !hey
l,"lave way before the superior discipline and artillery of the
MttiJhals, and Heel to Tilpat, which was besieqed for three
days c111cl al last stormed at the point of the sword. The
havoc was terrible. On the victors' side 4,000 men fell and
Dll the rebels' 5,000, while 7,000 persons, inchtdinli( Gokla
and his family, were taken prisoner. The Jat leader's limbs
were hacked off one by one on the platform of the police
office of Aqr.:1, and his family was forcibly converted to Islam.
!Iasan Ali's strong measures had the desired effect, and
peace was soon restmed to the district, but for a time only.
In 1686 !he second Jat rising began, under the leadership of
Rajaram, which will be described later.

9. Ttie $atnami,sect , t!ieit t't'sing, 1679..

th0 8atnamis that rose against Attran!il;oib were really

-3adfis, who employ the name Satnami' amonq themselves.
They are a unitat"ian community, founded in 154~ by Birbhan
of Bijesar, near Narnol, and inay be 1ooR.ed upon zts an
offshoot of the Rai Dasis. The people nicknamed them
11
162 SHORT lIISTORY Ol /\.lll~ANG7.IU [ell. vm
Mundiyas or ShavelimJs from their practice of sha\7itHJ off all
the bair,-e\7en the eye-brows, from their heads. Their
stronghold in the 17th century was the district of Narnol,
75 miles south-west of Delhi.
Khaft Khan gi\7cs them a good character as an honest and
manly brotherhood, saying, "ThomJh they dress lil;ie faqirs,
most of them follow a1Jriculture or trade on a sn1c11l capital.
Followinsz the path of their own faith, they wish to li\7e with
a !Jood name and ne\7cr attempt to obtain money by any
dishonest or unlawful means."
These people came into conflict with the forces of
Government from a purely temporal cause. "One day a
Satnami cultivator near Narnol hi.ld a hot dispute with a foot-
soldier (piada) who was watching a field, and the soldier
brof<e fhc peasant's head with hiS' thicl~ sticl~. A p<trfy of
Satnamis beat the assailant t!ll he seemed dead. 'The sfilq.dat
(petty revenue collector), hearing of it, sent i1 body of piadas
to arrest the men ; but the Satnumis assembled in force,
beat the piadas, wounded some of them, and snatched
away their arms. Their number and tumult increased e'lery
hour."
The quarrel soon iook on a rcli1,1ious colour a11d assumed
the form of a war for lhe liberation of the Hindus by <1n
altack on Aurang;;ib himself. An old prophetess uppeared
amon1t them and declared that her spells would render the
Satnamis fighting under her banner invulnerable to the enemy's
weapons, and that if one of them fell elli!hlr ()thl"rs would
spring up in his place. The moyement spread lil: wildfin.~
and the Go'lernment was completely tal~cn by surprise. Soon
some five thousand ,Satnarnis were up in atms. The local
officers undenaled the dans;iet and sent out troops in small
parties which were successively defeated. These initial victories
only raised the confidence of the rebels and confirmed the
tale of their maJilical powers. The faujdar of Namol wa~
1672] SATNAM! REBELS Cl~US~IED 163

routed with heavy loss and that town sei<"ed by them. The
victorious rebels plundered Narnol, demolished its mosques,
and established theil own administration in the district, holding
it by means of outposts and collecting the revenue from the
peasants. The noise of their tumult reached Delhi, where the
Qrain supply became scanty and the citi:;:ens were li(reatl'!3
alarmed and distracted. Superstitious terror of their magical
powers demoralised the imperial army.
Aurang;;ib was now folly roused. On 15th March he
sent a large force, 10,000 sfronq, under Raclandaz Khan and
many other high officers with artillery and a detachment
from the Emperor's body-gLtard against the rebels. To
counteract the spells of lhe Satnamis, the Emperor, who had
the rcrmtation of being a livi11g saint (Ala1119it :<:inda pir),
\\"rote out prayers and magical figures with his own hand
and ordered the papers to be sewed on to the banners of
his army and displaved before the enemy. The encounter
was terrible. After a most obstinate battle, two thousand of
the Satnamis fell on the field, while many more were slain
during the pursuit. "Very few of them escaped ; and that
tract of country was cleared of the infidels."

to. Tfie course of tfie .Sikfi religion ; c!iange in tlie

cliaracfet and aims of its /iead.

Towards the close of the 15th century, there arose in

the Panjab a Hindu tef01'mer named Baba Nana!~, who called
upon the people to prefer the essence lo the form of religion,
a living faith to a dead mechat1kal ritual, and the spirit to the
letter of their scriptures ; he insisted on the unity of the
Godhead underlying the multitude of the idols of popular
worship, invited earnest believers to his fold without
distinction of caste or creed, and' tried to form a brother~
hood of the elect. The aims of Nanak were abahdorted by
0
164 S!IORT ll!STORY OF /\UR1\NGZfl\ lrn. vm
his sect when his successors in the leadership of the Sil~bs
set up a temporal dominion for themscl\7es and made military
drill tafae the place of moral self-reform and spiritual growth.
"Todaf there is no spirit of pro~ress among the Sil~hs.
They ha\7e crystalliZ!ed into a small sect. Centuries ha\7e
failed to produce a new spirlual tc<tchcr from amomJ them."
[R. Tai;iorc].
Nanal<, a Hindu of the Khalri or trader cusle, wc1s born
in 1469 ut Talwancli (now, Nanal~ana), 35 miles s. w. of
Lahor. 'fhe essence of his creed was belief in the one true
li\7in!J God, and the shaping of e\7ery mdn's conclucl in such
a waf as to reali;:e that God.
As he said, repealing the words of K,1bir, "God can be
obtained by humility and prayer, St'lf-rcbtraint, searching of
the heart, and fixed !Ja;:e on Hirn." Na1Ml~ (who lived till
1538) drew round l1imself a band of earnest worshippers, and
in time the'l solidified into a sect.
The SiRh gurus throw;ihout ihc 16th century, from Nunal~
to Arjun the 5lh guru, won the reverence of ihc MuiJlml
emperors by their saintly li'lcs, and thcr had no quarrel
eilher with Islam or the State.
Before the rei15n of Aurarn;:iib the Sil~hs wen~ ne\71."!l'
persecLtted on ce/igious iJrounds, and tl1ci1 collision with thl'
Mu!ifhal Government, which began In Jalrnnl;lir's time was due
cnti1ely to secular causes, and the chaniJc in the character of
the >Jurus was solely responsible for it.
Under Arjun, the 5th liJUru (1581-1606), the nmnbcr of
Sihh converts !ilt"eatly increased, and with them lhe fJUru's
wealth. He organized a petmanent source of income. A
band of aiJents were stationed in c7e1y cit'{ from Kubul to
Dacca where there was a Sll'?ch, to collect the tithes and
offeriniJs of the faithful ; unc( this spiritual tribute, so far as it
escaped peculation by the aigents, reached the central treasut'l'
at Amritsar. The ~u1u was treated as a tempo1al l<inli! and
 SIKH GURUS QUARREL WITH EMPEROR 165

!i,lirt round by a body of courllers and ministers called masands,

which is the !Iindi corruption of the title masnadNi-ala borne
by nobles under the Pathan Sultans of Delhi. Arjun in
a weal~ moment blessed the banners of Khusrau, the rival
of JaharnJir for the Mughal throne, and even gave money help
to that prince. On the defeat of the prett'nder, Jahani;rir fined
the ~uru lwo lnhhs of Rupees for his disloyalty to the Ring
de jute. The iJllru refused to pay the fine and stoically endured
imprisonment and torture, which were the usual punishments
of revenue defaulters in those days. Worn out by being
forced to sit in the burning sand of Labor, he died in
June 1606.
With his son !far Govincl (1606-1645), a new era began.
"Unlike his father, Har Govincl co11stantly trained himself in
rnarlial exercises and systematically tutnecl his attention to the
chase." ac increased his body-i:Jttard of 52 warriors till it
became a small dl"m)!. As he told a follower, "In the gui:u's
house religion and wol'ld{y enjoyment shall be combine-d."
Soon after Shah Jahan's accession, when that Ernpernr was
hawking near Amt'itsar, the guru entered the same area in
pursuit of @me, and his Sikhs quarrelled wilh the servants of
the imperial hunt about a bird. The two parties came to
blows, and in the end the imperialists were beaten off with
slaughter. An army was sent against the audacious rebel, but
it was routed wilh heavy loss, at Sarn;irana, near Amritsa!',
1628. The victor's fame spread far and wide. "Many men
came to enlist under the guru's banner. They said that no
1
one else had powel' to contend with the Empel'or.' Such an
open defiance ' of imperial authority could not be tolerated
near Labor. Larger and larger armies were sent against the
guru, and though he gained some successes at first, his house
and property at Amtitsar were, in the end, seized, and he
was forced to tahe refuge at Kiratpur fn the Kashmh' hills
beyond the reach of Mwithal arms. Here he died in 1645.
166 SHORT HISTORY OF AURl\NGZIB [en. vm
On the death of guru liar Kishan in 1664, a scene of
disorder and rapacity brofw out amonq the SH~hs. "Twenty.
two [men] of Balzala claimed the right to succeed him. These
sclt-macle gurus forcibll! ioof~ the offerin!Js of the Sikhs."
After a time Te\lh Bahadur, the younsJest son of llar Govlnd,
succeeded in bcin~ reco~ni:ocd as guru by mosl of the Si!~hs.
While residing in Anandpur he was roused lo dcHon by
the sirJht of his creed bein~ wantonly a.ttackcd and its hol)?"
places desecrated. He encouraged the resistance of lhc
Hindus of Kashmir to forcible conversion to Islam and openli
defied the Emperor. Taken to Delhi, he was cast into prison
and called upon to embrace Islam, and on his refusal was
tortured for five days and then beheaded on a warrant from
the Emperor (1676),
Now at last open war brol<e onl between the Sikhs
and Islam. Soon a leader appeared among the Sil<hs who
orqanh::ed the sect into the most efficient and implacable
enem')? of the Mtt!6hal empire and the Muslim faith. Govind
Rai, the tenth u.nd last guru (1676-1708) and the only
son of Tegh Bahadur, was a man of whom it had been
prophesied before his birth that "he would convet't jackals
into tigers and sparrows into hawl~s."
We may here pause to consider whai cuuses made the
success of Guru Govind possible, The first was the itraduat
elevation of the s;iuru to a superhuman positio11. The Sibhs
were taught to obey their guru with blind t111questio11inSi!
.
devotion. This implicit faith in a common supel'ior lmit the
Sikhs ioli(ether lil<e the soldiers of a regiment. The Sil~hs wel'e
of
famous in the 17th centut'Y fOI' thefr sense i brotherhood
and love for each other. They felt thehlselves to be a
chosen people, the Lord's elect. In the language of Bhal
Guruclas ~ "Where there are two Sikhs, there is a compan\;
of saints ; where the1e ate five Sil~hs, there is God !" The
unit'l due to sameness of 1eli~ion was further cemented b1
 1
GUt!U GOVIND S LIFE AND TEACHING 167

the abolition of caste distinctions under orders of Govind.

All restrictions about food and drinR, so prevalent in Hindu
society, had already been discarded. If Cromwell's Ironsides
cottld have been inspired witl1 the Jesuits' unquestioninq
acceptance of their Superior's decisions on moral and spiritual
questions, the result would have equalled Guru Govind's
Sikhs as a fightin~ machine.

11. Guru 6011ind, 1iis ideal and caceec.

Govind steadil'l drilled his followers, qave them a distinctive
dress and a new oath of baptism, and began a policy of
open hostility to Islam. He harangued the Hindus to rise
against Muslim persecution, and imposed a fine of Rs. 125
on his followers for saluting any Muhammadan saint's tomb.
His aims were franl<'.!f material. "Mothet dear, I have been
considedng how 1 may confer empire on the Khalsa." He
lived in prince!\! state.
Jn the hills of North Panjab, Govind passed most of his
lik, constantly fighting with. the hill-Rajahs from Jammu to
Srinaqat in Garhwal, who were dlsqusted with his followers'
violence and seated by his own ambition. Large imperial
forces were sent from Sarhind to co-operate with the quotas
of the hill-Rajahs and suppress the quru ; but they were
usually W01'sted. Iiis army went on increasing, as recruits
from the Panjab doabs flocked to him and received baptism.
Even Muslims were enlisted. Anandpur was five times
invested. After the last attacl:z, the guru evacuated the fort, and
closely pursued by the Mugha1s, passed through many adventures
and hairbreadth escapes, changing his place of shelter repeatedly
Hhe a hunted animal. His four sons perished. Then Govind
with his few but faithful guards undertook a journey to South-
ern India. In 1707 the new Emperor Bahadur Shah I induced
him to accompany him on the march to Rajputana and the
Deccan. The g'uru reached Nander on the Godavari, 150 tnlle!i
168 Sf!Of~T HISTORY OF AURANGZ!Il [en. VIII

n. w. of IIaidarabad in Aw.iust 1707 at tlw head of some

infantry and 2 to 3 hundred cavalry, and there after a stay of
more than a year he wus stabbed to death by an Afghan
(1708). With him the line of gurus ended.
Thus we see llwl the Mmtlwl Government under l\uralll'JEib
did succeed in brcalzinlJ up lhe ;Juru's power. H robbed the
Sil~hs of a common lc-ader and a rullying centre. Thereafter
the Sil<hs contimted to disturb public peace, but only in isolated
bands. The'i? were no longer an t1rmy fi>JhtinlJ under one chief,
with a definite political aim, but merely mm~ing bodies of
brigm1ds,-exfrernely bra\7e, enthusiastic, and hardy, but essentially
plunderers uninspired by any ambition to build up un OrPoanized
Government in the land. If f~anjit Sin!Jh had not risen, there
would ha\7e been no large und united State under Sil~h dominion,
but a numbe1 of petty principalities in the Panjab with a
rulinlfl aristocracy of Sil1h soldiers, sendin!J their orl;lanized
marauders every rear to raiJ and lay the country wasic.
The worst consequence of Aurans;rzib's bi)Jofr'i? was the war
that he pr0\70i~ed with the two !ilrealest r~ajp11t clans.
 CHAPTE~ IX
WAR IN RAJPUTANA; REBELLION OF AKBAR.

1. A11tang..11ib seittes Manvar, 1679.

(_Marwar is a desert land, but in Muqhal times its stratei;ric

importance Jay in the fad that the shortest and easiest trade~
route from the Mughal capital to the rich manufacturing city
of Ahmadabad and the busy port of Cambay lay through
its limit&. \Prom Agra the western road throuf,l"h the loyal
Stale of Jaipur up to the imperial city of Ajmir was safe and
well-frequented. Thereafter it crossed a !;lap in the Aravali
barrier und ran level through the Marwar cities of Pali and
Jhalor lo Ahmadabad. If such a province could be annexed to
the impcrinl dominions, the proud lord of Udaipur would be taRen
in tJank!, and a long wed~e of Muslim territory would be driven/
riiJht across Rajputana, cleavin!ii it into two isolaled halves ,
which could be crushed in detail. Ma1 war was the foremost
-----"---
Hindu Slate of Northern India at this time. Its chieftain was
Jas-wa;t- s!t;!ilh:-
wllo-- enjoyed
the- -tii;rivalled t'anl~ of a
Mahar~ja~h-~i1d whom the death of Jai Singh thirteen yeC\rs
CHJo had left as the leading f-!indu peer of the Mui;rhaI Court.
The success of Aurangz:lb's plan of the forcible conversion of
the Iiindus reqltired that Jaswanl's State should sin!~ into al
quiescent derendency or a regular province of the empire.
Hindu resistance to the polic'l of religious persecution mus
be deprived of a possible efficient head.
On 10th December, 1678, Maharajah Jaswant Singh died
at Jamru<l * when commanding the Mughal posts in the Khaibar

1Je wM never viceroy of Afghanistan or even ..iov<;!rnor of Kabul cffy, but ,

me1 ely ffiqnadqr ol Jamrud.
170 SHORT Il!STORY or AURANGZlB [CH. IX

Pass. Immediatelv on hearing of Jaswant's death l\.urangzib

tooR steps to seiie his liingdom and place it under direct
Mughal rule. {!:Jn 9th Janua1y, 1679, lhe Emperor himself set
out for Ajtnir, in order to be close enough to Jodhpur to
overawe opposition.)
The death of Jaswa11t had thrown the I~athors into
confusion and dismav. The State was without a head.
Jaswant's highest officers and best troops were absent in
Afghanistan. At first no resbtancc could be offered to the
vast and well-cH1ectcd Muqbal armies that poured into the land.
Aurangzib had learnt (on 26th Pcb!'Uary) that two of
Jaswant's widows had given birth to two posthumous sons
at Labor. But the Emperor was not to be moved from his
policy of annexing Marwar b? any regard for the law of
legitimate succession. He returned from Ajmir to Delhi
(2nd April). On that day the invidious poll-tax on the
Hindus was imposed a!Jain after a century of abeyance.
Indra Singh Rathor, the chieftain of NafJor, and !iJ't'ill1dw
nephew of Jaswant, was invested as Rajo.h of Jodhpur in
return for a succession fee of 36 lafahs of Rupees (26th Ma?),
and sent to Marwar. But the Mughal administrators and
generals in occupation of the country were retained there,
evidently to help the new Rajah in tnt~i1115 possession of
his State.

2. How Ducgadas saved Ajif r8im;fi.

On reachinq Lahar two of the widowed Ranis of Jaswant

gave birth to two sons (Februal'y, 1679), one of whom died
in a few weeRs1 while the other, Ajit Singh, li'i'Cd to mount
the throne of Jodhpur after a most eventful and 1omuntic
caree1-. At the end of June the Maharajah's family 1eached
Delhi, and the riqhts of Aiil were a!i{ain urfi!cd before
Aurangsib ; but he only Ol'dercd that the child should be
 1679] AJIT S!NGH'S ESCAPE FROM DELllf 171

brought up in his harem, with a promise to give him a ranl~

in the Mughal peeraiGe and investiture as Rajah when he
would come of age. One conternporar'f historian sa'fs that
{he throne of Iodhpur was offered to Ajit on condition of
his turning Muslim.
The lo'fa! Rathors were seized with constemation al
Aurangzib's proposal. The'{ vowed to die to a man to save
their chieftain's heir. Their leader and guidinlJ genius was
Dutgadas, the flower of Rathor chivalry, a11d son of ]aswant's
ministel" Aslwran, the baron of Drunera. But for his twenlf
five years' unflaqgin!J exertion and wise contdvance, Alit Singh
could not have secured his father's throne. Fighting against
terrible odds and a host of enemies on e\7ety side, with distrust
<lnd wavet'inl;l among his own countrymen, he Rcpt the cause
of his chieftain triumphant. Mus;ihal gold coLtld not seduce,
Mu!Jhal arms could not daunt that constant heart. Almost
alone among the Rathois he displayed the ra1e combination of
the dash and 1ecRless \7alour of a Rajput soldier with the tact,
diplomacy and organi2ing power of a Muli!hal minister of State.
On 15th Iuly the Emperor sent a stron>J force under the
pro\7ost of Delhi city and the captain of the imperial guards to
seise the Ranis and Ajit and lodge them in the pdson fot'tress
of Nun;{<trh. The Rathor plan \V"as to ensure the escape of Aiit
bt offedm;t desperate resistance and sacrificing their own livres
freely in a series of rear-quard actions. Raqhunatb, a Bhatti
noble of Jodhpur, with Cl hundred de\7oted troopers made a sot1ie
from one side of the mansion. Before their wild charJi!e the
'imperialists quailed; and sei;:in~ this momenta1y confusion
Dur>Jadas slipped out with Aiit and the Ranis dressed in male
attire, and rode direct for Marwar. Fo1 an hour and a half
Raqhunath dyed the sheets of Deihl with blood, but at last he
felt. The Mughals now set off in pursuit, bttt Durgadas
had co~ered nine miles by- the time he was overtaRen.
lt was now Ranchhordas Iodha's turn to face round wfth
 172 SJJORT IllSTORY OP AUW\NGZl!l [ell. IX

a small band and gain precious time by barrinSJ the enemy's

path. This happened thrice ; in the evening the MttSJhals,
worn out by the three murderous conflicts, dbandoned
the pursuit, and Aiil was saiely conducted to Marwar (23rd
July). His name became the rallying cry of the Ruthor lcgiH-
mists. Aurani;izib's policy in Marwar seemed to have been
wrecl<ecl. Bttt his statecraft strud~ a shrewd blow to count<.'r
the action of Dun;iadas : he brous;rht up <1 millmK1n's infant in
his harem as the true Ajit Singh and proclaimed Dur~indas's
protegc to be a bogus prince. At the same time he dclhroncd
Indra Singh, the two months' l:(ajah of Marwar, for his
manifest incapacity lo rule.
A stron>J Mu15hal force was sent into Marwar for the
reconquest of the Sta.le. Anarchy and sldmJhkr were let loose
on the doomed pro\7ince.
The Emperor tool< up his headquarters <\t Aimir 011 25th
September ; his army advanced fi>Jhling under his son Muhammad
Ah.bar. The Mughal van was Jed bl,'. Tahawwm Kl@1, the
faufdac of Ajmir. The Mairtin clan of l-2alhors, under one I<aj
Sinli(h, barred bis palh in front of the temple of tbc Boar neui
the sacred lalie of Pushl<al', and a three days' continuous battle
ended onl':l with the extindion of the brave defenders. There~
after the Rajputs alwal,'.s carried on a qucdJla warfare from
their lurking places in the hills and desert. The Emperor now
dMded Marwar into dis!ricls ovrer each of which l1 Mui;rhal
officer was placed as faujdar (end of October). No resistance
could stand against such heavy odds, and the whole countty
was soon occupied by the foe. "Jodhpur and all the lil'Ci'lt
towns in the plain fell and were pillaged i the temples were
thrown down an<l mosques erected on their sites."

3. Mag.fiat nmt iviffj JYJafiamna of Udaipw:.

The annexation of Marwar was but the preliminary to an eas\?
conquest of Mewar. On the revival of the ja~fya tax, a demand
1680) MAliARANA RAJ SINGrl FlG!fl'S 173

for its enforcement throughout his State had been sent to the
Mahu.ranu. If the Sisodias did not stand by the Rathors now,
the two clans would be crushed piecemeal, and the whole of
Rafasthan would lie helpless under !he tyrant's feet. So
thought Maharilna Raj Singh, and so thought his clansmen.
The mother of Aiit Singh was a Mewar princess, and r~ai
Sirnlh could not, either as a l<-insman or us a [:might, reject her
appeal to defend the orphan's rights.
I~aj Sin>Jh be13an his preparations for war. Auran!il"zib with
his usual promptitude struck the first blow. Seven thousand
picfaed soldiers under Hasan Ali Khan marched in advance
from Pur, ravaging the Rana's territory and clearing the W<>Y
for the main Mmzbal army. The Rajputs hac! nolbing that
could rnatw a stand against the excellent Mughal artiller'[
served by European s;runners. lience !he Rana had prepared
for the invasion by abandoning the low country and retlrinf,l
with alt his subjects {o the hills, whither the Mui;ihals durst not
penetrate. Even the capital Udaipur was found evacuated.
The Mugh.::ils took possession of it und destroyed its great
temple, and nlso three temrles on the Uclai-saqar lake.
Hasan Ali Khan entered the hills north-west of
tklaipur in search of the Rajput army ; on being
reinforced and freshly provisioned, he inflicted a defeat
on the Maharana (22nd January), capturing his camp
and property and much .grain on the way, and destroy-
ing 173 temples in the environs of Udaipur. Chitor had
been ah'eady occupied by the Mu1;1hals, and 63 temples of
the place were destroyed when Attrangzib visited it at the end
of February. The Emperor left Udaipur and retumed to
Ajmir (on Q2nd March), while a strong force under Prince
Al~bar held the Chitor district as a base. But the imperial
outposts were too far scattered to be defended easily, while
the whole of the Rajput land was seething with hostility. The
Mughal positions in Mewar and Marwar were isolated from
174 SliO!H Ill$ fORY ON AUW\NGZ!ll [ell. IX

each other by the wedge of the Aravali range, whose crest

the Rana held in force, and from which he could mal~e
i,udden descents and deal crushing blows on !he east or
on the west as he pleased, while the MrnJhals in transferring
troops from Chitor to southern Marwar hud to mal~e a long and
toilsome detour through the Bcclnor, Beawar, and Soja!
districts.
The rough circle formed by the massed hills of Mcwar
and stretching from Udaipur westwMds to Kamalmir and
from the Rajsamudra lal<e soulhwurds lo Salumbra, resembled
a \7ast impregnable fort with three !Jates, opening east, north
and west, 11i~., Deobari, Rajsamudra, und Deosuri, , throuqh
which the P,arrison could sully out in full force ,rnd crush
atW isoluted Mughal outpost. The Mtt1Jhals, on the other hand,
could effect a concentration only by 1110\7ing ulon!J a lnn>J
arc of which the Rana held the short base.
Prince Al<bar had been left at Chiior in chanJc of ull the
Mughal posts eust of the Ara\7ali and south of Ajmir. But his
force WdS t?o small for lhe effecfrve defenc(." of this \7dst re~;;ion.
The Rajputs, fighting in their homeland, lmew e\7er1 nook of
the ground and were helped by a friendly pcasanhy. The
Mur,ihals were strnnli!ers in that wild brol<en country an<l
marched among a hostile population.
A marked increase of Rajput adivit\1' began with lhe
Empei'or's retirement to Ajmir (in March). They made ralds,
cut off supply trains and straqiJlers, and made the Muljl"hal
outposts extremely unsafe, thus creatinl;l a terror of their
prowess. The command of M11!ilha! outposts went abe~!il'ing,
captain after captain declining the dange1ous honour ; the
Mugbal troops refused to enter an)?' pass J detach010nts sat
down only a short distance from the base and refused to
advance furthet.
About the middle of next May Akbar's camp near
Cbitor was sttrprised at niight and some sfous&hter clone by the
1680] MUGllAL l'AILUW~ IN ME\VAR 17:5

l<djputs who had entered it by a rl!se. The Maharana descen-

ded from the hills and roamed the Bednar district, threatening
Ai<bar's communi cations with Ajmir. At the end of this month
(May), a terrible reverse befell the Mughal arms : Ai<bar was
surprised by the Rdna and evidently suffered a hea\7'17 loss.
A few days later, the Rujputs carried off a convoy of Banjaras
with 10,000 pad<oxen brinli!ing i;{rain to the prince's army
from Malwa. One of the Rana's armies under his son Bhim
Sini;{h ranged the country, stril<ing swift and sudden blows al
weal< points. "Our army is motionless through fear," so Akbar
complain s.
At these signal instances of Al<bar's failure, the Emperor in
high wrath sent hirn off to Marwar and placed the co\nmand
of Chitol' in the hands of another son, Prince Allam (26th June).
The imperial plan hencefort h was to penetrate the Mewar
hills in three columns ,-from the Chitor or eastern side Prince
Allam would advance by way of the Deoba1f pass and
Udaipur, from the north Prince Muazzam by way of the lake
Rajsamud ra, and from the west Akbar thrott!Jil , the Deosuri
pass. The first two failed to achieve their tasRs.

4. Prince Akbar's campaign in Marwar.

Prince Ai<bar, on transfer from Chito1, took post at Sojat
in Mal'war on 18th July, 1680. But in Marwar he met with
no better success than in Mewar. The Rathor bands spread
over the country, closing the trade routes and l<eepin!l the
land in perpetual turmoiL Akbar's instructions wel'e to make
the central position at Soja! secure, then occupy Nadol, the
chief town of the Goclwar district, and from thfs new base to
send his vanguard under Tahawwu r Khan to advance east
0

wards into Mewar by the city of Narlai, force the Deosuri

pass and invade the Kamalmi r re.gion, where the Maharana
and the defeated Rathors had taken refuqe. But so great wa:s
176 SliORT llfS \'ORY OF AllRANGZ[ll [cu. IX

the terror inspired by the "death-loving" I~ajputs that

'fohawwur's troops sat down in fear and inactivity.
ARbar left Sojat on 21st September, and reached Nadol
ut the encl of the month. J)ut Tahawwm Khan refused to
enter the hills, and Af~bar h11d to use compulsion towards his
timid lieutenant. On 27th September lhe Khu.n advanced
towards the mouth of the pass to reconnoitre. When he hu.d
yielded to l~ajput seduction and decided to play the trci.itor, '
we do not trnow. !3ut from September 1680 we notice i1
suspicious slackening of his acl!vity.
Then the Emperor's patience was worn out. I le sent to
l\.bbar the irnperidl Bakhshi with orders to enforce a forward
mo\7emenl of lhe di\7ision. Further delay could not be
excused. So, Al~bar advanced his base frorn Nddo! to
Deosuri (19th November), and from lhc latter vitla>Jc sen!
Tahawwur Khan on to force the rhilwara pass ; the Mughals
advanced to Jhilwara, fii;ihtin>J nnd carryin!il lhe banlcades
across the path, and the Khan, from his station ut fhilwa1c1,
began to rav<u(!e lhe neighbouring country freely.
The ad\7ance to Jhilwara was made on 22nd No'lcmber.
The next step would ha\'l'c been to push on eiqht miles south
to Ko.malmir, the last refw,Jc of the Rana. Bttt durin!J the
next fi'Ve wcel~s we ha'le a~ain the same suspicious inacti'litf
on Tu.hawwur Khan's part. ln truth, {he prince's
treasonable plot was fully hatched durim;( this period. On
1st January 1681 he united with the Rujput rtlbcls, issued a
manifesto deposing his father, and crowned himself Emperor ;
and the next da)? he set onl for Ajmir to wrest the Mughal
crown from Aurangr:ib's brows.

5. P,rince Akbar ptoc!aims filmself Empecoc, 1681.

Sultan Muhammad Alzbar, the fourth son 6f Aurang<:ib,
was only 2:5 years of ai:;ie at this time, In his campaign ln
Mewar he had given signal proofs of slackness and incapacity.,
1680] AKBAR'S PLO'l' FOR TllE TURONE 177

for which the Emperor had sharply censured him. Jn Marwar,

where he was sent next, he failed either to crush the ro17in15
l<athor bands or to penetrate into Mewar by the Deosuri Pass
as planned by his father. Smarting under disgrace for these
repealed failures, he lent u. ready ear to the temptinl6 in17itation )
/
of tht' I<ajputs lo sei?:e his father's throne with their help.
Tu.hawwur Khan, his chief officer, was the intermediQry ol
thi:se treasonable negotiations. The Maharana Raj SiniJh and
Durgadas, !he Rathor leader, told Akbar how his father's
bi15oted attempt to root out tbe Rajputs was threatening the
stability of tl1e Mughal empire, and urged him to seize the
throne and restore the wise policy of his forefathers if he
wished to save his het'ltage from destruction. They promised
to baclz him \\Tith the armed strength of the two !Jreatest Rajput
clans, the Sisodias and the Rathors.
E17erything had been arra.nged for a march against
Aurangzib at Ajmir, when the Maharanu died, (Q2nd October,
1680), and during the month of mourning that followed, his
successor Jai Sin!;lh naturallY remained inacti\7e. Thereafter,
Tahawwur Khan having reached the Jhilwara Pass, not far
from the Rajput headquarters at Kamalmir, the nei;;otiations
were easily resumed and qttickly concluded. The Rana
agreed to send half his army, both foot and horse, under his
son or brother to fis;lht the prince's battles. The 2nd of
January 168 l was fixed as the day when Al~bar would bel:(in
his march on Ajmir to contest the imperiu.l throne.
Two days before this date he wrote a false letter to his
father to disarm his sttspicion : "The brothe1 and son of the
new Rana, under the guidunce of Tahawwur Khan, have
descended from the hills and come to me. The Rathor
Jeadcts also ha11e come here ro make terms throl1gh the
mediation of the Khan. They ttt:li)"e that unless I myself conduct
them to your Majesty and personally bciJ pardon on their
behalf, they cannot compose their minds for cotninq over to
12
178 SHORT JllSTORY OF AURl\NGZIB [err. IX

our side. I um, therefore, starting [with them] for \'.Otlr

Presence."
Then Al~bar threw off the masR. Four theolo!6'ians in his
pay issued a decree over their seals, declaring that AurnnlJ:=ib
had forfeited the throne b his violation of the Islamic Canon
Law. ARbar crowned himself Emperor (1st }dnuatT), and
created Tahawwur Khan his Premier Noble. Most of the
imperial officers \'lith him were powerless to resist or lo
escape, and feigned adhesion to his cause.
The Emperor's situation at Ajmir \Vas critical. The two
main divisions of his army which were untainted by treason,
were quartered far away. His immediate retinue consisted
merely of unserviceable soldiers, with his personul attemldnts,
clerlls and eunuchs, while rumour swelled the rebel army to
70,000 men, including the best blades of Rajputana.
Every one expected a rapid advance of Al~bar's troops,
the rout of the small imperial bod-guard, and a cha1115e of
sovereiiGns. But Akbar began to spend his days and nights
in indolence and pleasure. He took a fortnight (2-15 January)
in covering the 120 miles which separated him from his
father, when every hour's dela'f told in Aurangeib's favom.
For, meantime, couriers had galloped off on all sides to
recall the scattered Mughal detachments to the Presence.
Loyal captains were straining every nerve and marching day
and night to join the Emperor in time. Shihab-ttd-clin Khan,
the father of the first Nii:am, reached Ajmit' (9th January)
with his troops after a forced march from Sirohi, in wbicb
he covered 120 miles in two days. Some other officers were
~qually quick Thus the act1fe stage of the crisis was soon
over. The palace at AJmir was put in a posture of defence ;
entrenchments were dug around the camp ; the passes leadin!if
to the dly were held in force ; on 14th January, the Emperor
isstted forth into the open, and encamped six miles sot1th
of ,Aimir on the historic field of Deorai. But despair and
 1681) PRINCE AKB,L\R TO .l.TTACK NllMNGZtl3 179

defection raged in the camp of Akbar. As he came nearer,

increusing numbers of Mughal officers began to desert him
and escape to the imperial camp. The thil"ly thousand Rajputs,
how('\7er, remained true to him.
The crisis came on the 15th of January. The Emperor
ad\7anced four miles further south and waited at Do-rahah.
In 1.he e\7ening, Prince MLta::::::um after il forced march
through rdin and wind and the bitter cold of midwinter, joined
the Emperor, doubling his strength. On the other side,
Akbar arri\7ed three miles from his father's camp, halted there
for the night, and fixed the next morning for the decisive
battle.
6. M11tdet of Tana111111m Rfon, failure of Afcbar.

Bul cluritu;t the night Aurangzib's cunning diplomacy

secured the completest \7ictor-r without resort to arms.
Tahawwur Khan, 1.he ril[!bt-hand man of Al~bar, had married
a daughter of Inayet Khan, a high officer then in the imperial
camp. Aurang2:ib made Inayet write to Taha\\7Wl11' Khan
ur~ing him to come to the Emperor, with a promise of
pardon for the past, and a thteat that if he declined "his
women would be publicly outraged and his sons sold into
sla\7er-r at the price of dogs."
The letter bewildered Tahawwur Khan. After putting on a
coat of scale armour under his robe, as a precaution against
treachel''{, he secretly left his tent without informing Al<bar or
Durgadas, ai"rived at 1.he imperial camp a little before mid-
night, and demanded audience, but refused to put up with
the indil[!nit<t of being ushered into the Presence unarmed
like a captive. The dispute became loud. At last the crowd
of royal attendants attracted to the ,spot by the noise rained
down blows on him with their maces. The bidden cuirass
sa\7ed him (or a time, bl1t at last some one cut his throat and
"silenced his uproar."
 180 SHORT msrOR'i OF AllRANGZIB !rn. IX
Meantime, Aurangzib had wTilten a false letter to Al~bar. [11
it the prince: was praised for the success he had hitherto gained
in carryin~ out his father's stratagem of lurin!-J all the Rajput
fi;(hters into a snare and brin;(in~ them within easy reach of
the Emperor ; and he was now instructed to crown his achie'V'e-
ment by- placin\:? them ln his van in next morning's battle, so
that they mii;lhl be crushed when altad2ed by AuranliJzib from
the front and Al<bar from the rear. As contrived by Amung;;:ib,
the letter fell into Durgaclas's hands, who read it and went to
Akbar's tent for an explanation. The prince was asleep and
his eunuchs had strict orders not to wal~e him. Durgadas next
sent men to call Tahawwur Khan. Then the I<aiputs discovered
that the soul of the whole enterprise had stolen away to the
imperial camp some hours a!JO ; !he intercepted letter was
believed to have been verified by these facts. No time was to
be lost if the Rajputs were to escape from the lreacherotts plot
they had discovered by good lttck. Three hours before dawn
they took horse, robbed what they could of Akbur's property,
and .galloped off to Marwar. Profiting by this chance, tbe
imperial troopers \\7hom Aktbar had forced to march under his
banners and the loyal captains whom he had placed under
arrest, escaped towards the camp of Aut"ang<oib. Tahawwur
Khan had been the connectinq link between the Rajpllts and
Akbar ; h~ had been the new Emperor's commanderin-chicf
and prime minister in one, and his tliqht dissol\7ed the
confederacy.
In the morninq Akbar wofae to find himself deserted by all.
His vast arnw had melted away in a slniitle nii;lht, as if by ma!,Jic,
and only his faithful old retainers, a band of 350 horse, were
left with him. Mounting his ladies on horses and loadinr;i what
treasure he could on camels, he rode away for de<:tl' life in the
track of the Rajputs. '
The remnant of Akbar's property which had escaped plunder
was seh;ed, and his deserted famil'l,~consisting of otte wife,
 1681] FLIGHT OF AKBAR 181

iwo sons, and three daulf!hters,-was brouSJbt awa'f to the

Emperor's cam[). Relentless punishment was meted out to his
followers. The Princess Zeb-un-nisa, whose secret correspond-
ence with AR.bar was discovered, was deprived of her allowance
of four lal:.>hs of Rupees and her landed property, and confined
in the Salimgarh fortress.
A well-appointed army under Prince Muazzam was next
sent into Marwar to hunt Al<bar down. During the second night
after ARbar's flight, Durqadas having disco\7ered the fraud
played by Auran!jlzib, turned bacl< and tool< Al<bar under his
protection. r~ajput honour demanded that the refugee should be
defended Jt al! costs. Akbar with his protectors roamed through
Marwar, nevet passing twenty-four hours at the same place ;
but the Mugbal officers in Gujrnt were on the alert and headed
the rebel off. Then Durgadas most chivalrously undertoot~
to condttd Ahb.:ix to the Maratha Court, the only Power in
India that had successfully defied Mugbal arms. Every !mown
ferry and pass was guarded bf imperial pickets ; but the
Rathor leader with the greatest st~ill evaded them and misled
his pursuers as to his real objective, crossed the Narmada
(9th May) near the ferry of A!?barpur, and appeared within
a short distance of Burhanpur on lhe Tapti (15th May). But
here, too, his path was barred by imperial officers, and he
marched due west through Khandesh and Baglana, finally
reaching Shambhuji's protection in Konkan (1st June).

7. Peace lrTiffi Mafiarnna.

Al~bar's rebellion disconcerted the Mu!ilhal plan of w.:ir at a
iime when their net was bein!'J drawn closer round Marwar,
and it ga\7e automatic relief to this State. It was probably
at this time that the Sisodias seized the ,opportunity of mah.ini;r
reprisals, under the gallan{ prince Bhim Singh and the
Maharana's finance minister Dayaldas, ra\7aqing Gujrat and
Malwa.
182 SHORT [!!STORY Of i\UR,l.NGZIP> [cri. IX

l The Rajput war was a drawn game so far as the actual

fighting was concerned, but its material consequences were
disastrous to the Maharana's subjects ; their corn-fields in
the plains were ravaged by the enemy ; they could stave
off defeat but not starvation. So, both sides desired peace~ J
Maharana Jai Singh personally visited Prince Muhammad Asam
(14th June, 1681), and made peace with the empire on the
following terms :
1. The Rana ceded to the empire the patg.anas of
Manda!, Pur and Beclnor in lieu of the ja~iya demanded
from his Rinqdom.
2. The Mugbals withdrew from Mewar, which was
restored to Jai Singh wilh the title of Rana and the ranR of a
Commander of Five Thousand.
Thus Mewar at last recovered peace and freedom. Not
'-'
so Marwar. That unhappy theatre of war was turned into a
\vilderness during the truceless conflict which constitutes
Jodhpur history for the next thirty 'i?ears. "The sword and
pestilence united to clear the land." ARbar's junction with
Shambhuji raised a more formidable dan!Jer to the empire
and Aurang:ib had to concentrate all his forces in the
Deccan and even to be present there in person. The~
Muqhal hold on Marwar was consequently relaxed. This
was the sal\7ation of the Rathors. Throui;!hout the succeedinfJ
generation we find the Mughal hold on Marwar pulsatin~
with the military situation in the Deccan.
The Rathor system of warfare, undet Durs;iadas's able
guidance, anticipated the Maratha method and its success by
harassing and exhaustin!;! the impelialists gnd even by
driving the helpless Mughal commanders to buy a secret
forbearance b'l paying cfiautfi to the Rathors. Thus the
war went on with variln>J fortunes, but without cessation {\..
for 30 years, till August 1709, \vhen Ajit Singh enteted
Jodhpur in triumph for the last time and his lordship of
 1
l\URANGZIB S R'i.JPUT POLICY CRITICIZED 183

Marwar was fot'mally and finally aclwowledged by the

Emperor of Delhi.
clJn the bei1Jht of political unwisdom, Aurang2ib wantonly
pro\7oRed rebellion in Rajputana, while the Afghans on the
frontier were still far from being pacified. With the two
leacllng I~ajpL1t clans openly hostile to him, his army lost its
finest and most loyal recruits.I' Nor was the trouble confined
to Marw.:tr and Mewar. It spread by s'j:'mpathy among the
Hada and Gaur clans. The elements of lawlessness thus
set mo\7in@ overflowed fitfully into Malwa and endangered
the vitally important Ml1ghal road through Malwa to the
Deccan.
 BOOK IV

CHAPTER X
RISE OF TI-IE MARATiiA POWER.

1. T!ie keynote of Deccan fiistocy in Ifie &1le11teentfi

Centur"J!.

In the middle of the Fourteenth centmy the foundation of

the Bahmani kins;Jdom created an independent centre of
Muslim power in Southern [ndia, and Indian Islilln started on
a new career of expansion in the south and repeate<l the
work of the Delhi Sultanate in North India by crushinli( out
fhe great Hindu l~in!Jdoms of the Deccan which had hitherto
retained their independence. This process went on throu!,!hout
the Fifteenth century. Even when, at the end of the first
quarter of the next century, the great house of Bahma11i fell,
its herita~e passed into the worthy hands of Niz:am Shah and
Adil Shah. Ahmadnagar and Bijapur uow became centres
which folly kept up the traditions of Islamic dominion and
Islamic culture founded by the Sultans of Kulbarli(a. The first
quarter of the 17th century saw the final extinction of the Ni;:am
Shahs. Bijapl1r now rushed in to fill the leadership vacated by
Ahmadnagar.
But with the commencement of the Seventeenth century a
new combatant had entered the southern arena. The Mtighal
Emperor was now free to conquer the Deccan, and this fact
dominated the whole history of Southern India throughout the
17th century. Adil Shah (the ruler of Bijapur) found that he
must qive up the dream of winning the hegemony of ihe
Deccan, as the heir of the Bahmanis and the Nis:am-Shahs,
;;!
 DECLINE OF BJJAPUR MONARCHY 185

and that he must fin<l an outlet for his ambition eastwards

and southwards only, so as not to crnss the path of the>
dreaded Mughals of the north. By the partition-treat)! of
1636, the southern boundary of Mughal Deccan had been
deurly marRc-d out, and during the followini;; twent)! years
Bijapur had risen to the pinnacle of her greatness by stretch-
ing her sway from sea to sea across the Indian peninsula,
while the capital city had become the mother of arts and
letters, of theology and science. But the warrior-Rings of an
earlier, poorer and ruder generation were now followed by-
successors who preforred the harem and the darbat to the
tented field and the saddle. The climax of the Adil-Shahi power
was also the beginning of i!s rapid decline anddismembcrment.
A feudal State cannot be governed by a faineant hin!J nor
by a consli!utional prime minister. When the l~in15 is no lonlJer
a hero, the militar'l vicero'ls of the provinces wlll not obe'l
him. ~ Therefore, after the death of the last great Ad11 Shah (in
November 1656), the dissolution of the remaining Muslim
i<irniidoms of the Deccan and their absorption into the MuiJhal
empire would have taken place as an ine-vitable, speedy
and almost silent operation of Nature, but for the entrance of
a nev\7 factor into Deccan politics.:
These were the Marathas. The'l dominated Deccan histor'l
for the centur'{ and a half that followed the accession of
Aurangzib, and North Indian histmy for the last fift'l 'lears of
the 18th centuty. The Maratha people had been there from
time ol.lf of mind, but s_ince the 13th centurv: they had li'Ved
dispersed through many States, as the subjects of aliens in
the land of thelr birth; without any political organization or
status of their own. A genius was needed to gather these
scattered w1its together into a nation and drive them like
a solid wed!6e into lhe Mughal empire, shi'Vetini;i it lo bits.
That qenius was Shi\7aji, the contemporary and antagonist
of Auranli(sib.
I
 186 SHORT HlS'JORY OF AURANGZ[[) [cu. X

From the day \\7hen the Emperor Al~bar launched forth

into a policy of conquest south of the Vindhyas to the day
94 years later, when Auran~:cib rode in triumph into the
fallen capital of the last of the Qutb-Shahs, ,the Sullans ot
Bijapur and Gollwnda could never for a moment for~et
that the sleepless aim of the Mugha.l Emperor was their final
extinction and the annexation of all their territories. They
found in the genius of Shivaji and the recl<less audaciti of
Shambhuji their onli shield in the hour of supreme danger.
A union of hearts between Bijapur or Gollwnda and the
Mughal empire a15ainst the Marathas was a psycholo15ical
impossibility.
European historians maintain that it would have been
wiser for i\urarn5:cib to have left Bijapur and Goll<onda in
independence to serve as the police of the Deccan against
the growing Maratha lawlessness which finally pro\7ed too
strong for the Mugha!s. This view is based upon ignorance
of the true condition of the Deccan. By the time that Shivaji
had succeeded in forming a national State as a nucleus round
which the Maratha chiefs hitherto in Muslim pay might cluster,
the l<ingdoms of Bijapur and Gollwnda had arrived at the
last stage of decline. Their kings were mere puppets sun!< in
pleasure, their capitals ran blood during the frequent
faction-fights for the office of wa~il', the administration
had utterly broken down, law and order had disappeared,
the provincial go\7ernors had become iudepen<lent, the generals
were selling themselves to the highest bidder. Such Govern-
ments could not be expected to tame Shambhuji and chastise
Shanta Ghorpare more effectually than Auranl3'iib himself
could do.
Briefli put, the grouping of Powers in the Deccan was
thus : The dread of Mughal aggression drove lhe Sultan or
Goll<onda whole-heartedly, and that ofBijapur distrustfully
and intermittently, into the arms of Shivaji. Bijaput"s leagues ,_....
 RELATIONS AMONG DECCA.NI POWERS 187

wilh Shivaji were formed only when Mughal invasion was an

insistent fo.ct and the situation of Adil Shah was desperate ;
and these lea~ues were soon dissolved b17 the growing fear
that Shi\Taji was trying to enrich himself by treacherously
seizing ils forts and lands. Of the three Deccani Powers, Qutb
Shah may be left out of our account, as he never sought a
rupture with the Mughals duriniJ this period. The Bijapur
Go-vermnent fell into a hopeless decline'' after 1666, when All
Adil Shah IL !,'lave himself up entirely to wine, while rival
nobles began to fight for the wazirship and the control over
the capital and the faineant king. Matters grew worse when
the boy-king Sikandar succeeded in 1672, and the history of
Bijapur became in effect the history of its regents. Great
disorder prevailed in the administration. This was ihe
opportunity which made Shivaji's rise to independent power
possible.
Shivaji could ne'ler for u. moment be sure of the Delhi
Go\7ernment's pacific disposition or fideliti to treaty promises.
Hence, he lost no chance of robbing Mughal territory in the
Deccan. With Bi!apur his relations were somewhat different.
He could raise his head or expand his dominion only at the
expense of Bi!apur. But when, about 1662, an understanding
with him was effected by the Adil-Shahi ministers, he ga\l'e up
molesting the hear! of the Bijapur l<ingdom, With the Bijapuri
nobles whose fiefs lay close to his dominions and across the
path of his natural expansion (e. g., Kolhapur, Kanara and
Kopal), he could not be at peace, though he did not wish
to challeni;Ie the central Government of Bijapur.

2. Causes of Mu9fial weafoess in tfie Deccan.

From Januaty 1658 when Auran~zib left the Deccan to
contest his father's throne, tlll March 1682 when he returned to
* The dowmva1d course h~c( bG\lttn much earllet, in 16461 wt>e11 Muhamina_d Adi!
Shuh was Prostr<tted bv a seve1e and lln~ctln\I illness.
 SHORT msTORY OF AURANGZIB (CH. X

the South to wear out the last quurter century of his life in
ceaseless warfare, a period of 24 years intervened, durin!J
which there were five viceroys of the Mu!Jhal pr0\7 ince of
Deccan, amon!jl whom Prince Shah Alam held the office for
1I years, Buhadur Khan for 6 years, Shaista Khan for 4,
Jai Sin'6h for nearly two, and Dilir Khan for one year. Dttring
these twenty.four years the Mughals pursued a \7ii;iornus forward
policy a!l(ainst Bijapur only under Jai Sini;;h (1666), Bahadur
Khan (1676-77), and Dilir Khan (1679-80). Military operations
against the Marathas were actively carried on by Slcaista Khan
( 1660-62), Jai Singh (1665), Maha bat Khan (1671--72) Bahadttr
Khan (1673-75), and by Dilir Khan for a short while in 1678-
79. A state of war between Shivaji and the Mu!Jhals existed
for a much lon!Jer period, but during most of it the imperial
generals acted languidly, so as to hoodwinl~ their distant
master, while maintainini;i a secret understanding with Shivaji /
1
(and, later, with Shambhuji) and accepting bribes from
him.
Only a few clear successes but no decisive result was
achie'led by the Mughal arms in the Deccan durini;i these
24 years. The cause of this failure was partlr personal and
partly political. Shah Alam was a timid unenterprisin!J prince,
1
inclined by nature to peace with his nei!;lhbours and the''
pleasures of the harem or the chase. Besides, his chief
lieutenant Dilir Khan's open defiance of his authority often
made the viceregal calllp in the Deccan a$ powerless as a
country torn by civil war. Shah Alam and Dilir always
worl~ed at cross purposes and thus ensuted Mu~hal failure
in the Deccan.
Secondly, the imperial officers were heartily skR of the
I
J ceaseless war with ShivajL The Hindu officers in Mughal pay
I secretly fraterniied with the Deccani champion of Hinduism,
while se\7eral of the Muslim generals were i;ilad to bribe him
io let them live in peace. Abo1,7e all, no Mulifhal i;tovernor
 NA l'URAL f CA1 Ul~t:S Of' NAlfMU'.\Sli !'RA 189

ot the Deccan was supplieJ with men and money ev-en hc.1[f
adequate to the tasl< of defeating B1japur and the Marathas.
The rebellion of Prince ARbar and his tl\c~ht to Shambhujl
raised a dan~eJ" to the throne of Delhi which could be met
only by Am1111gzib's personal appearance in the South. Thus
a complete change was forced on the imperial policy in that
quarter. The first t.:isl~ of Aurangiib now was to crush the
power of Shambhuji and render Ah.bar impotent for mischief.

3. Ma/iacaslifta : tne land a11d its people.

The home of the Maratha people is made up of t!1ree

clearly marl~ed regional divisions. Between the Western Ghats
and the Indian Ocean lies a !on!J narrow strip of land of
varyinli( beeadth, called /(onRrm (between Bombay and Goa)
and Kanara (south of Goa). It is an area of certain and
hca\7'{ rainfall,-from 100 to 120 inches [n the year,--with
rice for the predominant crnp, and dense mango-igl'Oves,
plantain orchards and coconutpalms. Then, after crossing
the Ghats eastwards we have a belt of land, some 20 miles
in breadth, called Matraf. "It is extremely rugged, a series
of table-lands cut on e\7er')? side by deep winding valleys."
Going further towards the east, the spurs of the Wes tern
Ghats sin!<., the river \7alleys widen out and form Desfi or th..::
vast 1011in~ blac!Moil plain of the Central Deccan.
This land, almost locked among the hills and open only [n
the east, is the cradle of the Maratha kingdom. East of the
Ghats the t1infall decreases rapidly, and is uncertain and
insufficient for agriculture, while the soil is nah1rally sterile and
broken up b\? low ranges of bare rncky hills. "The Deccan,
genetall)?' speaking, yields to much labOU!' a bare measure of
subsistence."
,t In such a country, where Nature enforces a Spartan sfmpli
cit)?, there can be no luxury, no learned leisure (except atnon~
190 SliOR'r lllSTORY OF Al!RANGZ!B [cu. X

the priests), no aesthetic development, no polished manners

even. But such a countty and climate have their compensatin!J
advantages. They develop self-reliance, coura!i(e, perseverance,
a stern simplicit'l, a rough strai!ilhtforwardness, a sense of social
equalit'l and consequently pride in the dignity of man as man.
In the 7th century, the Chinese pil<;trim Yuan Chwang noted the
Marathas for being "proud-spirited and warm1c, grateful for
favours and revengeful for \Vrongs." In !he course of the next
ten centuries they became more cunning and less chivu.lrous ;
but the basis of their character remained the same,-activity,
self-reliance, self-respect and love of equality. ,
Social distinctions were fewer and much less sharp atnoni;r
the 16th cen!ur'l Marathas than among richer and more civilized
communiUes. The same sense of equality was fostered by
religion. Their popular saints of the 15th and 16th centuries
taught the sanctity of conduct rather than mere birth, and the
oneness of all trne believers before God.
The simplicity and uniformity of early Maratha society were
also reflected in their language and literature, which were poor,
undeveloped, and essentially popular. Nature provided them '
with many readr-made and easilf defensible forts close al hand,
where the'l could quickly Hee for refuge and whence they
could offer a tenacious resistance. "The whole of the Ghats
often terminate towards the top in a wall of smooth rod~, the
hi!i(hesf points of which, as well as detached portions on
isolated hills, form natural fortresses, ..... (with) a level space on the
summit... .. .ln man'l of them there are springs of the finest water."
Thus a remarkable community of language, creed and life
was attained in Maharashtra in the 17th century, even before
political unity was conferred by Shivaji.
The bachbone of Shivaji's army was composed of the
peasanhy belonging to the Marat/ia and /(u11bf castes,-a
simple, frank, independent, manly and hardy race. With the
Mtts!im conquest of the Deccan and the extinction of the last
 CARI:LR OI SII<l.11)! BllONSLC 191

Hindu l~iniJdom
in Maharashtra in the 14th century, the
fo;~htin~ classes amon~ tbe natives gathered round their own
leaders in small bands and hired out their swords to the
new rulers of the land. Many Maratha families rose to wealth,
power and distinction as captains of mercenary troops in the
service of the Muslim States in their nci1ghbourhoocl.

4. Snan1i Blions/e : fiis career.

One such fomily, bearing the ni\me of Bhonsle, ori!ilinally
lived in the Palas sub-division of the Puna district, as the
headmen (patfi) of two villages. They followed a!i?riculture
and gained much local credit by their sober honest character
and religious bencfadions. Some buried treasure that they
discovered in their fields enabled them to buy arms and
horses and develop into captains of mercenaries under the
Ni2am-Shahi dynasty at the close of the 16lh century. Such
was Shahji Bhonsk, the eldest son of Maloji. Born in 1594,
he was married when a child to Jija Bai, the daughter of
the high-born Lakhji Yadav Rao, baron of SindhRheJ and
one of the i;Jrcatest fiindu nobles of Ahmadnagar. Sbahji
first saw service probably as the commander of the small
contingent of his family durinlfl the rule of Malil~ Ambar,
the l'es;!ent of Niz::am Shah. On the death of Malik Ambar
in May 1626, the Staie fell into rapid decay ; there were
frequent assassinations at Court. Durinq these troubled times,
Shahji first followed the Niz:am"Shahi Government, then
joined the Mughals, deserted them, fought against the
Bijapul'is, w12nt over to their side afterwards, and finall\7 set
up a puppet Ni;:am Shah (1633) in one of the hill-forts of
the Sah'fadri range. He seiz:ed all the Niz:am-Shahi dominion
from Puna and Chi1Ran to Balas;ihat and the neighbourhood
of Junnar, Ahmadnagar, San!fl"amner, Trimba~ and Nasil<,
and for three years (1633-36) cdnied on the government
in the Sultan's name. He made Junnar his capital. But in
192 St!ORT HISTORY OF AURANGZ!B [cH. X

1636 a 'l:rand campai\l'n was opened b1 the imperialists

against Shahji, in which he was completel1 defeateJ and had
to ~ive up eight of his forts, enter the service of Bijapur,
and leave Maharashtra.

5. Cfiildliood, education, and cliatac!er of Sfii17aji.

Shivaii, the ~econd son of Shahji and Jija Bai, was born
in the hill-fort of Shivner, which overloofas the town of
)unnar, on 10th April 1627. After enteri111,1 Bijapur service
towards the end of 1636, Shahji was sent awa1 to the
Tungabhadra re15ion and the Mysore plateau, and later on to
the Madras coast to conquer fresh territories for his new
master and jagirs for himself. But here his favourite wife
Tuka Bai and her son Vyanl;!aji accompanied him, while Jija
Bai and Shivaji were sent to li\7e at Pma, in charge of his
land-steward Dadaji Koncl-dev.
Her husband's neqlect drove the mind of Jija Bai iuwards
and deepened her natural religious spirit, which she imparted
to her son. Shivaji grew up in solitude, a mateless cl1ild.
without brother, sister or father. The isolation of their life
drew mother and son very close together and intensified his
love for her till it bec.:ime almost an adoration for a deity.
From a very early aqe, he was thrown on his own resources,
and learnt lo carry out his O\Vl1 ideus unaided and to taJ1e
the initiative without referring to any higher authortty. Such
education as he recei\7ed was eminentl1 practical ; he became
skilled in fighting, riding and other manly accomplishments ;
but he mastered the contents of the great tlindu epics by
listening to recitations and story-tellings and thus learnt their
political lessons and moral maxims. He loved to dish-action
religious readin15s and songs (tfidan) and sou~ht the society
of Hindu and Muslim saints wherever he went.
The Matmls or western belt of the Puna district, stretching
along the rug!jl"ed forest--dad side and foot of the Sahyadri
1647 l YOUNO SHIVA)! ASSERTS HIMSELF 193

range, were the homes of a sturdy, healthy, and brave race

of peasants called !lla11les. From them Shivaji drew his earlies!
comrades, his most devoted followers, and his best soldiers.
In the company of Made chieftains of his own age, young
Shivaji wandered over the hills and forests of the Sahyadri
range, and alon~ the mazes of the river valleys, thus hardening
himself to a life of privation an<l strenuous exertion. A stoical
earnestness mingled with religious fervour was very early
imparted to the character of Shivaji. lie began to love
independence and loathe a life of servile luxury in the pay of
some Muslim !<in~.
Dadaji Kond-dev died about the middle of 1647, and
Shivaji became his own master at the age of twenty. lie
had already been trained in marlial exercises and civil
.administration ; he had familiari<:ed himself with the troops of
his father's western jagir, and the people he would have to
govern. Initiative and power of command had been freely
developed in him.

6. Eatf:J conquests of Sliivaji.

The year I 646 marl~s a crisis in the history of Bijapur.

The l<ini;i fell seriously ill, and linget'ed on for ten years more,
but during thes& years no serious business could be attended
to by him. This was Shivaji's opportunity. lie occupied
Terna fort by trid<ing its Bijapuri commandant. Here be
seiied Government . treasure amounting to 2 laR!1s of fiun.
Five miles easl of it, on the crest of the same spur of hills, he
built a new fort named Rajgarh. Later he took Kondana
from a Bijapur agent. After the death of Dadaji, Shivaji
set himself to bring all pa,rts of Shahji's western jagir under
his own conlt'ol, so as to form one compact State ntled by
one authority.
On 25th July 1648 Shahji was' arrested and all his property
15
 194 SHORT l!ISTORY OF AURANGZJll {Cti. X

and contingent attached by the Bijapuri cornmander-in~chief,

Mustafa Khan, then investin!,;l Jinji in the South Arcot district.
Shahji was brought in chains to Bijapur, and l<ept under
guard until he submitted to his sovereign.
Shivaji was in a terrible dilemma: he appealed to Prince
Murad Bal<hsh, the Mm;ihal viceroy of the Deccan, entreating
him to secure tl1e Emperor's pardon for Shahji's past conduct
and protection for him and his sons in fu!urc, and offering
to come and join the Mui;:hal service. Shah Iahan, however,
did not put any pressure on Adil Shah to release Shahji.
Shahji was set at liberty, through the mediation of the
Bijapuri noble Ahmad Khan and in return for the surrender
of three forts (Banl1?alore, Kondana and Kandarpi) to the
Sultan, (at the end of 1649). As the release of Shahji
had been conditional, Shivaji kept comparatively quiet clurini;r
the six years from 1649 to 1655, instead of givin!J the Bijapur
Government any new provocation. His chief acquisition at
this time was the hill-fort of Purandar, !Jained by treachery
to its Maratba Brahman owners.
At the extreme north-western corner of the Satara dislricl
lies the vrillage of Javli, ~vhich was then the centre of a fairly
lan5e principality, includin;;: nearly the whole of that disttict,
owned by a Maratha family named More, the head of which
bore the hereditary title of Chandra Rao. They l<ept 12,000
infantry, mostly sturdy hillmen of the same class as
the Ma'1les.
The State of Iavli, by its sihtatio'n, barred the path of
Shi\7aji's ambition in the south and south-~est. So be sent hi~
Brahman agent. Raghunath Ba!lal Korde to murdet Chandra
Rao, during pretended nei;totiations for a marria!Je between
Shi'9'aji and the late Chandra Rao's daus;rhter. Immediately on
hearing of the murder, Shi\7aji advanced and assaulled JavJi
(15 Jan. 1656). The leade\;,less garrison defended themselves
for six hours and were Hien overcome. The whole fain!ifdotnr
1657] SlllVAJI FIRST RAIDS MUOHAL DECCAN 195

of }avli now passed into Shivaji's possession. Two miles

west of Javli he built a new fort named Pratapgarh, and here he
set ttp an image of his patron goddess Bhavani. In the April
following he captured Rail5"arh, his future capital, from the
Mores.

7. inivaji's first wat witn tfie Mug.fials, 1657.

On the death of Muhammad Adil Shah (4 Nov. 1656),

Aurangzib began active preparations for the invasion ot Bijapur,
and tried to seduce as many Adll-Shahi nobles and vassals
as he could. Shivaji's envoy Sonaji reached the prince's
siegeNcamp Gefore Bidar (in March 1657) and was assured that
the Mughal Government would grant all the prayers of the
Maratha chief, namely (i) a formal recognition of his right to
all the Bijapuri forts and \7i!lages actually in his possession
and (ii) the annexation of the port of Dabhol and the territory
appertaining to it. A reply in ihese terms was also written
to Shivaji by Aurang;;ib on 23rd April, 1657. But Shi\7aji
had already decided on the different policy of fightini:J for
his own hand. The vague promises of the Mughal prince
could not satisfy him. He considered it more profitable to
mab.e a di\7ersion in fa'Vour of Bijapur by raiding the south~
western corner of Mughal Deccan.
Two Maratha captains, Minaji Bhonsle at the head of
3,000 h01'se and Kashi, crossed the Bhima and plundered the
Mtighal villages in the Chamargunda and Raisin sub~di\7isions
respeciively. They carried devastation and alarm to the \7ery
gates of Ahmadna5i1ar1 the chief d1'l of Mw;rhal Deccan, (end of
April 1657). A Maratha attempt to loot the city (petfi) which
nestled ut1der shelter of the fort of Ahmadnagar was defeated
by a timely sortie of the gar!'ison. At the same time, Shivaji
was busy looting the Junnar sub~di\7ision in the north. In the
dark ni~ht of ;30th April, he silently scaled the walls of Junnar
196 SHORT li!STORY Of AUilANOZIB (CH. X

city with rope~ladders and after slaughtering !he guards, carried

off 300,000 filln in cash, 200 horses, and much cost11 clothin~
and jeweller'{. Aurangiib, on hearin!6" of these disturbances,
poured reinforcements into the Ahmadna!il"ar district. Nasiri
Khan, Ira! Khan, and some other officers at the head of
3,000 ca\7alry- were ordered there. Meantime, Multafat Khan
had issued from the fort of Ahmadnaqar and relie\Ted the
beleaguered outpost at Chamar!iJ"ttnda b'l defeatin!6" Minaji,
(QSth April.)
But when the Mughal pressure in the north Puna region
became great Shivaji slipped away to the Ahmadna~ar district
and began to plunder it. By this time (end of May), however,
Nasiri Khan had reached the scene. By a forced march he
surpdscd ShiV'aji's arm1 and neady encircled it. Many of the
Marathas were slain, many wounded, and the rest put to flii6ht,
{4 June). Aurangzib ordered his officers to tna:Re reprisals
by enterin!J Shivaji's land from all sides, "wasting the \7i!las;)es,
slayiniJ the people without pity, and plundering them to the
extreme." Iiis new dispositions for guarding his souih-westcrn
frontier showed excellent combination and judgment. The rains
now set in with the foll violence of the monsoons, Md the
campai1;1n had to be suspended during lune, Jufy and August.
When in September his liege-lord, the kin.g of Bijapur, made
peace, Shivaji found it useless and even ruinous to hiruself to
continue the war with the Mughal empire single-hctnded. He sent
his envoy Raqhunath Pant to Autanqzib. The prince was just
then starting on his march to Northern India (25 Jan., 16,58)
and wrote to Shivaji in reply, "Though your offences do not
deserve pardon, f forgive you as you have repented." But
Aurangeib's mind was not really composed ; he felt con\7inced
that the younq Maratha chief was a raider whose daring was
only equalled by his cunning, and a11 ambitious adventurer who
would place self~interest above fidelity to his' pliqhted word.
In the last quarter of the year 1657, the norfhwat'd retreat
 1659] AfZA!. KHAN AGAINST SHIVA!l 197

of Prince Auran.gzib, the likelihood of a civil war for the throne

of Delhi, and the wrangles among the Bijapuri nobles about
responsibilitf for their ill-success in the recent war with the
Muqhals (w-hich culminated in the murder of the wail.it: I~han
Muhammad),-all combined to remo\1e the only checks on~
Shivaji's ambition. Crossing the Western Ghats he burst into
Konkan. The northern part of this coast~strip formed the
Kalian (modern, Thana) district and was then governed by an
Arab named Mul!a Ahmad of the Navai)?'at (emigrant) clan, one
of the leading nobles of Bijapur. Shivaji easily sei:ced the rich
towns of Kalian and Bhivandi (24 Oct. 1657), which were then
witho~it walls, and there took much wealth <1nd costly mer~
chandise. The fort of Mahuli, which had once been the last
refuge of Shahji, was next captured (8 Jan. 1658). His progress
southwards into the Kolaba district seems to have been assisted
by the petty local chiefs who were eager to throw off Muslim
1oke and wrote inviting him to come. Kalian and Bhivandi
were irpmedialely turned into naval bases and dockyards by
Shivaji.
1 By the year 1659 he had extended his dominions in the
uplands or DesE to the southern limit of the Satara district, and
in North Konkan from Mahuli to near Mahad.

8. rSEirraji s!a-gs Aft;tal K!ian of Bijapur, 1659.

Jn 1659, the Bijapur Government being freed for the time
being: from the constant menace of the Mughals on the frontier,
be.qan to call its refractory vassals to account. The command
of the expedition against Shivaji was given to Abdullah Bhatarl,
surnamed Afoa! Khan, a noble of the first rank, who had fought
with conspicuous bravery and skill in the Karnaiak expeditions
and the more recent war with the Mughals. But only 10,000
cavalry could be spared to accompany Afzal, while popular
report had raised lhe strength of Shi'Vaji's Mavle infantr'!r io
60,000 men. Afl:al Khan was therefore instructed bt lhe
198 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZlB [cr1. X

Dowager Queen to effect the capture or murder of Shivaji by

"pretending friendship" with him and offering to secure his
pardon from Adil Shah."- from his camp at Wai, Afaal sent
his land-steward Krishnaji Bhasl<ar to Shi\7aji with a \7ery allurin~
message, saying, "Your father has long been a great friend of
mine, and you are, therefore, no stranJler to me. Come and
see me, and I shall use my influeCTce to mal<e Adil Shah
confirm 'lour possession of Konkan and the forts you now
hold."
Shivaji treated Afa:al's etWO'f, Krishnaji Bhaskar with respect,
and at night met him in secrecy and solemnly appealed to him
as a Hindu and a priest to tell him of the Khan's real intentions.
It was well l<nown that when Af:oal vvas besieging the forl of
Sera. he had pttt to death Kashtri Ranga, the Rajah of the
place, who had come to his camp to make his submission,
Krishnaji yielded so far as to hint that the Khan seemed to
harbour some plan of mischief. Shivaji then sent the envoy
back with Pantaji Gopinath, his own agent, who learnt from
Afaal's officers by a liber":l use of bribes that "the Khan had
so arranged matters that Shivaji would be arrested at the inter~
view, as he was too cunning to be caught by open fight.''
The place chosen for the interview was the crest of an
eminence, below the fort of Pratapgarh, and overlooking the
valley of the Ko?na, where a richl? decorated tent had been
pitched for the purpose. On each side four men were present
within the tent,-the principal, two armed retainers and an
env-oy. But Shivaji was seeminqly unarmed, like a rebel who
had come to surrender, while the Khan had his sword al his
side. But concealed in Shi\7aji's left hand was a set of steel

~ "Against Shivaji the Qlleen this vear sent Ab<.lullah Khan \Vith an arm11 ot
10,o:JO horse and foot, and because she knew with !hat strength he was not able to
resist Shi'>'aii, she counselleq him to pre/encl friendsfiip with his encm11, wfiicli lie dld.
And the other [I'. e., Shi'>'ail], \'>'hether through intelligence or suspicion it is not lmow11.
dissembled his love lo\vard him &c." (Rc'>'lngton at Rajapur to Compaui;. 10 Dec.
165~. r-. R. Raiapur.]
 1659) KILLING OP APZAL KllAN 199

claws (bag!inaldi) fastened to the finJii'ers b? a pair of rings,

and up his right sleeve lay hidden a thin sharp da!Jger called
the scorpion (bicfi111a).
The attendants stood below. Shivaji mounted the raised
platform and bowed to Afzal. The Khan rose from his seat,
advanced a few steps, and opened his arms to receive him
ln his embrace. The short slim Maratha only came up to
the shoulders of h1s opponent. Suddenly Afaal lilJhtened h[s
clasp, and held Shivaji's neck in his left arm with an iron
grip, while with his riP,ht hand he drew his lon!i( straightwbladed
da@liler and struck at the side of Shivaji. The hidden armour
beneath Shivaji's coat rendered the blow harmless. He gro~ned
in agoni as he felt himself being stranflled. But in a moment
he recovered fron;i the surprise, passed hls left arm round the
Khan's waist and tore his bowels open with a blow of the
steel claws. Then with the right hand he drove the
bicnwa into Afaal's side. The wounded man relaxed his hold,
and Shi'7aji wrested himself free, fumped down from the
platform, and ran towards his own men outside.
The Khan c:ried out, "Treacher'i ! Murder ! I-Ielp ! Help !"
The attendants ran up from both sides. Sayyid Banda, an
expert swordsman attending on Afaal, faced Shivaji with his
lon~ strc1ii;1ht sword and cut his turban in twain, makin!l a
deep dint in the steel cap beneath. But Jiv Mahala hacked
off the 1ir,iht arm of the Sayyid, and then b.illed him. Shambhuli
Kavji cut off Afaal's head, which he carried in triumph to Shivaji.
Freed from da11!~er, Slfrvaji and his two comrades then
made their way to the summit of Pratapi;iath, and fired a
cannon. This was the siqnal for which his troops were
waitinq in !heir ambush in lhe valleys below. At once the
armies of Moro Trimbak and Ne1.aji Palhar and the thousands
of Mavles rushed on the Bijapuri camp from four sides.
Afaat's officers and soldiers alike were panlc#stricken at the
news of their chief's death and this unexpected attack in that
200 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZIB [en. X

unlmown regio11, where every bush seemed to be alive with

enemies. The carnage in the Bijapuri army was terrible.
The boot}' taken was immense : all the artillery, waggons,
ammunition, treasure, tents and equipage, transport cattle and
baggage of an entire army, fell into the victors' hands. Among
them were 65 elephants. 4,000 horses, 1200 camels, 2000
bundles of clothing, and 10 la/dis of Rupees in cash and
jewellery.
Flushed with their victory over Afaal Khan (10 November,
1659) and the destruction of his army, the Marnthas poured
into South Konkan and the Kolhapur district, capturing the fort
of Panhala, defeating another Bijapuri al'11iy, and making exten-
sive conquests (Dec., 1659-Feb., 1660).

9. .Sfii11aji besieged in Panfiala.

Early in 1660, Ali Adil Shah II sent his Abyssinian slave
Siddi Jauhar (created Salabat Khan) with an army to put clown
Shiva. Jauhar drove Shivaji into Panhala (2nd Match, 1660),
which he invested with a force of 15,000 men. But Sh1vaji
corrupted Jauhar, so that the siege was conducted for mere show.
Fa;:! Khan, the son of the slain Afa:al, howeve1 attacl~ed the
Marathas with relentless vigour and by seizing a neighboming
hillock threatened to ma~e Panhala untenable. So, one dad~
night (15th July) Shivaji slipped out of the fort with half his
forces, and thott~h pursued by a Bijapuri arnw, made his
escape to Vishalgarh, 27 miles to the west. His success was
due to the desperate resistance of his rear-guard, u11der Baii
Prabhu (who was slain with most of his men) at the pass of
Gajpur. The men he had left in Panhala surrendered it on
22nd September.

10. S!iaista Kliem occupies Puna and Cnafon.

Early in 1660, Shaista Khan, the new Mughal viceroy of
the Deccan, opened the campaign against Shivaji from the north,
1660] SHAISTA KHAN'S CAMPAIGNS IN DECCAN 201

after arranl1!inq for an attacR upon the Maratha dominions bv

the Bijapuris from the south at the same time. Leaving
Ahmadnagar with a vast army on 25th February, the Khan
marched southwards aloni:.i the eastern side of the Puna district,
methodically capturing and !Jarrisoning all the strongholds
that .guarded the approaches to Puna on the east and
south. The Marathas al first retreated before him without
risking a battle, till near Purandar. The Mughals were victorious
in fight and Shaisla Khan entered Puna on 9th May.
Leaving Puna on 19th June, the Khan arrived in the vicinity
of Chakan (18 miles northwards) on the 21st, reconnoitred
the fort and began to run trenches towards the fort~walls.
After 54 days of hard labour a mine was carried from his
own position in the north to under the tower at the north-
eastern corner, and it was exploded at 3 P. M. on 14th Au1,;ust,
1660. The worh and its defenders were blown away ; tbe
Mu.qhals rushed to the assault. Next day the citadel capitt1lated.
But the imperialists had to purchase their victory at a
heavy price, losing 26S killed and 600 wounded.
Shafsta Khan, on his return to Puna (end of August
1660) aftei- the capture of Chakan, spent the rainy season
there in enforced inactivity. He employed his time more use~
fully in inducing Ghalib, the Bijapt1ri commandant of Parendd,
to smrender that fort lo Amangzib for a high price, (20th
Novembed.
At the beginning of next year (1661), Shaista Khan turned
his attention to the Kalian district or North Konl~an. Here a
small Mughal force, only 3,000 strong, under Ismail, had been
operatinq since April last_ and had occupied a part of the
country, tho1.1sth the important cities and forts (lil~c Kalian)
remained unconqu~red. In January 1661, a siron~ Mughal
force ftotn Puna u11der Kar Talb Khan descended into Ko11~an.
At Umbarhhind (about 15 miles due east of Pen), Shivaji by
secret a:nd rapid marches came up with the:m and cut off theit
'202 SHORT li!STORY OP AURANGZIB [ctt. X

lines of ad\7ance and retreat aliRe. Kar Ta,lb's army seemed

doomed to perish from thirst, without the power to move. In
despair he gav-e up all the property in his camp and paid a
large ransom to Shiv-aji and thus bought a safe retreat for his
armr (3rd February, 166 l). The Kalian district ha\7ing been
thus freed from the new enemies, Shiv-aji left it alone, and
marched southwards, easily capturing city after city, till all the
coast-strip from Danda-Rajpuri to Kharepatan was commanded
bY" him. But these successes were chequered by a >Jreat defeat.
In M;;i,y 1661 the ~Mughals wrested Kalian from the Marathas and
kept hold of it for nine years more. The net result of the
operations of these two years was that the Mughals kept their
>Jrip on the extreme north of Konl<an, while Shivaji remained
master of the southern part. In March 1663, the Mughals gave
a long and vigorous chase to Netaji, the Master of ihe Iiorse
in Shiv-aji's army. Netaji got away, lhotts;!h not without the loss
of 300 horse and himself wounded.

11. 8fiitiaji's nig.fit~attac/( on 8fiaisfa /(fian.

But within a month of meeting with this reverse to his
arms, Shivaji dealt a masterly blow at the Mughals. He sur-
prised and wounded the Muqhal viceroy of the Deccan in the
hear! of his camp, in his very bed-chamber, within the inner ring
of his body-guards and slaves.
Shaista Khan was residing at Puna in the Lal Mahal or the
unpretentious home of Shivaji's childhood. His harem was with
him, and around his mansion lay the quarters of his i;Juards
and attendants, the band-room and offices. Further off, across
the road leading southwards to Singh-garb lay the camp of his
lieutenant, Maharajah Jaswant Singh, and his contingent of
10,000 men. To surprise him he1e was an enterprise that
required no less agilty and cunning than bravery and dash.
Shivaji directed two supporting divisions of one thousand each,
under Netaji Pall;iar and Moro Pant the Pesfiwa, to take post
1663] SHIVA WOUNDS S!lAISTA KHAN 203

on the two flanl<s of the vast MuiJhal encampment, at a mile's

distance from its outer side. After nli;;htfall (Sunday, 5th April,
1663), with 400 picl~ecl men he himself entered the limits of
Puna, replyinst to the challenqe of the Mw1hal quurds that the-q
were Dcccani soldiers of the imperial army going to tu.he up
their appointed posts. After resting for a few hours in some
obscure corner of the camp, the party arrived near the Khan's
quarters at midniqht. Shivaji ~mew the ins and outs of the city
and every nooh and corner of the house where he had passed
his boyhood and youth.
It was the sixth day of Ramwn, the month of fasting for
Muslims. The servants of the Nawab's household had mostly
fallen asleep after their day's abstinence followed by the heav'l
meal at niqht. Some cooks who had risen from bed to make
a fire and prepare i.he meal which is tal<en a little before
dawn in the month of Ram;;;an, were despatched bi
the Maraihas without ani noise. The wall dividing this outer
kitchen from the body-set\7ants' room within the harem once
hud a small door in it, but the opening had been closed with
bric!< and mud to complete the seclusion of the harem. The
Marathas tool< the brid<s out and made an opening there.
Shivaji, with his trusty lieutenant Chimnaji Bapuji, was the first
to enter the harem, and was followed by 200 of his men.
When he reached the bed~room of the Khan, the fril;?htened
women roused the Nawab, but before he could use his
weapons Shivaji was upon him and severed his thumb with
one stroke of his sword. 1t was evidently at this time that
the lamps in the room were put out b'l some wise woman.
In the darkness two of the Marathas tumbled into a cistern
of water ; and the confusion that followed was used by
Shaista Khan's slave~girls to carry him away to a place of
safety. The Marathas continued their work of slaughter in
the darkness for some time.
Meantime the other half ot Shhraji's force, (200 men), who
204 St!ORT HISTORY OF AURANGZJB [cu. X

had been left outside the harem, had rushed the main !Juard,
slaying the sleepers and the awake and crying in derision,
"Is it thus that you keep watch ?" They next entered the
bandwroom and ordered lhe bandsmen, as if from the Khan,
to play. The loud noise of the kettle-drums drowned all
voices, and the yells of the enemy swelled the confusion.
Abu! Fath, a son of Shaista Khan, had been the first to
hasten to his father's rescue without waitin!J for others ; but
the brave youth was slain after he had struck down two or
three Marathas.
Shivaji, finding his enemies fulli7 awakened and arming,
delayed no longer, but promptly left the harem, called his
men together, and withdrew from the camp by the direct
route, unmolested and unpursued. During the surprise the
Marathas lost only six men hilled and forty wounded, while
thei7 slew a son and a captain of Shaista Khan, forty of his
attendants and six of his Wi\7es and sla\7e-girls, besides
wounding two other sons, eight other women and Shaista
Khan himself. The public throu!i(hout the Deccan ascribed
Shivaji's exploit to the connivance of Jaswant Singh.
The daring and cunning of the Maratha hero were
rewarded by an immense increase of his prestige, He was
taken to be an incarnation of Satan ; no place was belie\7ed
to be proof against his entrance and no feat impossible for
him. The Emperor heard of the disaster and ascribed it to
the 'Viceroy's negligence and incapacily. As a mark of his
displeasure, he transferred Shaista l):han to the lJ0\7erntnent
of Bengal (1 Dec, 1663), which was then rei;rarded as a penal
province. The Khan left the Deccan about the middle of
January 1664, on being relieved by Prince Muaze-am.

JQ. .Sfiirmji's first sacK. of 8uwt.

While this change of governors was Ji!oing on at
Aura1111abad, Shi'1aji performed a feat of e'V'en greater audaeity
1664] rIRS1' Sii.CiC Of SURAT BY SH!VACI 205

than he had ever displayed before. From 6th to 10th Janua1y

he looted the cit')! of Surat, the richest port of the Muqhal
empire. H had, at that time, no wall to protect it. Its wealth
was boundless. The imperial customs alone yielded a revenue
of 1B lafis of Rup\;cs a year.
The city of Surdt covered nearly four square miles,
indudin~ garden!> and open spaces, and had a population
of 200,000 souls. The streets were narrow and crooi<ed ;
but the town was mainly composed of poor men's huts bullt
of wooden posts and bamboo walls and with floors plastered
with mud. "In the greater part of the town scarcely two or
three brick~houses wete to be seen in a street, and ill some
parts .....not one for many streets tol6ether."
Early in the morning of Tuesday, 5th January, 1664, Surat
was suddenly alarmed by the news that Shivaji had arl'i'led
wlth an arm'f at Gandavi, 28 miles southwards, and was
advancing to plunder the town. At once the people were
seized with a panic, and began to flee away with their wives
and children, mostly across the riV'er, to save theil' li\7es.
I<ich men found shelter in the fort by bribing its commandant.
Inayet Khan, the i;iovernor of the town~who was quite
distinct from the commandant of the fort,-himse!f fled to
the fo.d, lea'Ving the town at the e11em)?'s mercy. I-le used
to draw from foe Treasury the pay of 500 soldiers, but had
so long appropriated the money without maintaining a proper
force. His cowardice also prevenled him from or~unizinsti a defence
or even from dyinf;1 at his post. The English and Dutch
merchants resolved to defend their own factories at all costs,
thow;!h these were open houses, not built to stand an attack
At 11 o'clocb in the morning of Wedne5day, 6th Jant.taty,
1664, Shivc:tli arrived at Surat and pitched his tent in a garden
a quarter of a mile outside the Burhanpur or eastern gate.
The Maratha horsemen itnmediately afterwards entered tl1e
defenceless and almost deserted city, and atter sacltinlif the
206 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZ!D (CH. XI

houses began to set tire to them. Throughout Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday, and Satmday, this worl~ of devastation was
continued, every daf new fires being raised, so that thousands
of houses were consumed to ashes and two~thirds of the town
destroyed. Near the Dutch factory- stood the ~rand mansion
of Baharji Borah, then "reputed the richest merchant in the
world," his property having been estimated at 80 lakfis of
Rupees. The Marathas plundered it at leisure day and nigh{
till Friday evening, when havinit ransacRed it and duit up its
floor, they set fire to it. Close to the Enitlish factory were
the lofty residence and extensive warehouses of another very
rich merchant, Haji Said Beg, who, too, had fled away to lhe
fort, leaving hls property without a defender. All the afternoon
and night of Wednesday a~d till past the noon of Thursday,
the Marathas continued to break open his doors and chests and
carry off as much money as they could. But in tbe afternoon
of Thursday the brigands left it in a hurry-, on being scared
by a sortie which the English had made into the street. The
English merchants next clay put a guard of their own in the
house of Said Beg and thus he suffered no further loss. The
plunder of Surat yielded above a frote of rupees.
The cowardly governor Inayet Khan, who had run into the
fort on Tt1esday nhiht, formed an infamous plot from his safe
refuge. On Thursday he sent a young follower of his to
Shivaji with pretended terms of peace but really to murder
him at the interview. A Maratha body-guard that stood
before the Rajah witb a drawn sword, struck off the assassin's
hand with one blow. But so great \'Vas the force of the"
desperado's rush that he did not stop but dro\7e the bloody
stump of his arm on Shivaji's person and the two rolled
on the grnund together. At ten o'clod~ in the morning of
Sunday the 1oth, Shivaji suddenly departed from Surat with
his army, on hearing that a Mttghal force was coming to the
relief of the town.
 1
1665] )Al SINGH S CAREE.R AND CHARACTER 207

The Emperor showed his sympathy with the afflicted cifo::ens

by excusing the custom duties for one year in the case of
all the merchants of Surat, and he rewarded the \7alour of the
English and the Dutch traders by grantinli( them a reduction
of one per cent from the normal impoft duties on their
merchandise in future.
The year 1664 that lay between the departure of Shaista
Khan and the arrival of Jai Singh, was not marked by any
Mu~hal success. The new viceroy, Prince Muaz:z:am, lived
al Amangabad, ci'.lring only for pleasure and hunting.

13. Jai Singfi against Stiivaji, Capture of Putandac.

The failure of Shaista Khan and the sac!< of Surat caused
bitter mortification to Aurang;;'.ib and his Court, and he decided
to send his ablest Hindu and Muhammadan generals, fai Singh
and Dilir Khan, to pt1t clown Shivaji.
Jai Sins;ih had fought under the imperial banner in every
part of the empire,-from Ball~h in Central Asia to Bijapur in
the Deccan, from Qandahar in the west to Mungir in the east.
Hardly a yeat' had passed during the long reign of Shah
Jaha11 when this Rajput chieftain had not seen active service
somewhere and received some promotion for conspicuous
merit. In diplomacy he had attained to a success surpassing
even his victories in the field. Where\7er there was a difficult
or delicate work to be clone, the Emperor had only to turn to
Jal Sinqh. A man of infinite tact and patience, an adept In the
ceremonious courtesy of the Muslims, a master of Tueki and
Persian, besides Urdu and the Rajput dialect, he was an ideal
leader of the composite army of Af!i(hans and Turks, Rajputs
and liindustanis, that followed the crescent banne1' of the
sovereili(n of Delhi. His foresight and political cunning, his
smoothness of tongue and cool calculating polict, were i11
stril~ing conirast with the impulsive generosif'[, 1'eckless dat'inlif,
208 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZ!B [cu. X

blunt sfralghtforwardness, and impolilic chi'Valry which we are

apt to associate with the Rajput charade!".
Jai Sin~b played sl<Hfully upon the hopes and fears of the
Sultan of Bijapllr, holding forth the chance of reduction of
tribute and removal of the Emperor's displeasure, if Adil Shah
aided the Mughals and thus clearly proved his want of connec-
tion with Shivaji. He also arranged to combine against Shivaji
all his enemies and distract his attention by attacks from all
possible quarters. Money and promises of hi!$h ranR. in the
Mughal service were lavishly employed on Shivaji's officers to
corrupt their loyalty, and with some success. Above all, Tai
Singh concentrated all authoritf in his own bands, as an
Indispensable condition of success in war. He rightlr"
insisted that in war there should be only one head, and that
the 'man on the spot' should be !Ji'i7el1 full authority, or else
the work would suffer. The Emperor yielded to the an;iutnent
and Jai Sinqh gained absolute civil and militaty authority alike.
Jai Sins;th, with a true !';Ienetal's eye for the gmund, made
Saswad his base. Puna was strongly garrisoned. An outpost
was established opposite Lohgarh to observe and blocR.ade il
and guard the rnad leading north to the Mughal frontier near
Junnar. A flying column was organised to ravage the Maratha
villages embosomed among the hllls to the west and south~west
of Saswad.
On 31st March, Jai Sin!Jh took up a permanent base,
between Saswad and Purandar, only 4 miles from the latter
place. Then he laid siege to the fort of Purandar.
Six miles south of Saswad rises the stupendous mountain
mass of Purandar, fue highest point of which towers 4,564
feet abo\1e sea-level and more than 2,500 feet above the plain at
its foot. It is really a double fort, with an independent and very
strong sister enclosure, named Vajragarh, on a rldge runnin~
out east of it. Purandar consi~ts of an upper fort 01 citadel with
precipitous sides all around, and a lower fort or macfi{, 300
 1665] TAI SINGH BES!ElGES PURANDAR 209

feet or more below it. The latter is a ledge runnin!G round

the waist of the hill with man)! a winding, the entire circuit
being four miles. On the north side the ledge widens out
into a broad terrace, containing the barracks and offices of
the garrison. This terrace is bounded on the east b)?' the high
spur named Bhairav Khind, which starts from the base of the
steep overhanging north-eastern tower (called f{fiad-kala or the
Sk)?'-scraper) of the upper fort, and runs for about a mile
eastwards in u narrow ridge, ending in a small table-land
(3,618 feet above sea-level), crowned with the fort of
Rudramal (now called Vajragarh). This Vajragarh commands
the maclti or lower fort of Purandar on its northern and most
important face, as the garrison has to live here. Jai Singh,
like a true gent'ral, decided to attack Vajragarh first.
The incessant bombardment of the Mughals demolished the
bases of the tower in front of Vajragarh. At midnight, 13th
April, Dilir Khan's division stormed the fower and drove the
enemy into an enclosure behind it. Next <la)!, the victorious
Mughals pushed on to the inner enclosure and the garrison,
oppressed b)?' their fire, capitulated in the evening (14th April).
The possession of Vajraqarh was the stepping-stone to the
capture of Purnndar. Dili1 Khan now turned to the latter
fort, while Jai Singh organiEed mids into the Maratha countr)?',
in order, as he wrote to !he Emperor, to con\7lnce Shivaii
and the Sultan of Bijapur that the Mtt15'hal army was large
enough to be able to spare troops from the siege, and also
to prevent any concentrntion of forces round Shivaji by
creating constant terror and disturbance in various parts of
' his l<inr;:idom. There was also a secret reason fo1 thus sendinq
away some Ji!enerals from the siege~camp. He had some
disloyal officers under him, whose presence was worse than
useless. Dau<l Khan Qureshi was posted to watch the pastern
gate (fdifrf(i) of the fort ; but after a few, dats it became
known that a party of Marathas had entered the fort b)?' that
.j A
210 SHORT JllSTORY OF Al!RANGZIB fct1. x
gate, without being opposed by him. "Subh-Karn Bundela did
not at all !Jive his heart to the worl<, but preferred above
everything else to favour Shiva !"
The Maratha efforts to raise the siege were many, buf. on
the whole they failed to shal<e Jai Singh.
After the capture of Vajragarh Dilir Khan advancecl along
the connedini;i ridge and laid siege to f.he mac/ii or lowee forf.
of Purandar. His trenches approached the tower of Khad-
l<ala at the north-eastern angle of the fort.
When, in the course of May, the Mugbal trenches reached
the foot of the two White Towers, which had been dismaniled
bi bombardment, the garrison began to throw down lighted
naphtha oil, leather ba~s full of gunpowder, bombs and hea\7y
stones which effectually stopped the further ad\7ance of tile
Mughals. Jai Singh ordered a hi;;rh wooden platform of logs
and planks to be made, on which guns were lo be mounted
and parties of gunners and musketeers placed, lo command
the enemy's position. On 30th May, with only two hours or
daylight remaining, some Ruhela soldiers, without informing
Dilir Khan, stormed the White Tower. After an obstinate
struggle at close quarters, the Marathas lost hea\7ily and retreat~
ed to behind the Blacli Tower, which lher were forced to
evacuate after two days. Thus five towers and one slociwde
of the lower fort fell into the hands of the Mu.ghals. Purandar,,
now seemed doomed.
Earl'' in the siege, the Silallant qiladar Murar Baji P1abhu,
with seven hundred seled men had made a sortie on Dilir Khan,
who was tryln.g to climb the hill with 5,000 Af.!6hans and some ,
more troops of other races. Mutar Baii with his Mavles slew
500 Pathans besides man}?' BafJ!ia infanlrimen, and at the head
of sixty desperate followers cui his way lo Dilir Khan. The
Khan, in admiration of his matchless courage, called upon
him to yield and promised him his life and a high post
under him. Murar indi~nantly refused, and was going to
1665) 'fflrnS Of TREATY OP PUR.l\ND.l\R 211

stril<e at Dilir when the latter shot him down with an arrow.
Three hundred Mavles fell with him, and the rest retreated
to the for!.
The Muqhal victory of 2nd June, and the impending fall
of the lower Fort decided Shivaji. The families of the Maratha
officers were sheltered in Purandar, and its capture would
mean their captivity and dishonour. He resolved to inter11iew
Jai Singh and mal<e peace with the imperialists.

14. Treaty of Putandm~ 1665.

On 11th June at 9 o'clock in the morning, while Jai Singh
was hokling court in bis tent at the foot of Purandar, Shi\7aji
came to him and was \Velcomed with e\7ery honour.
Up to midnight the two sides higgled for the terms of a
permunent peace. "Gradually, after much Jiscussion, we
came to this agrccment :-(a) That 23 of his forts," the lands
of which yielded 4 fa/dis of fiun as annual revenue should be
annexed to the Empire ; and (b) that 1~ of his fo1ts, includini;r
Rajgarh, wilh an annual re11enue of 1 !afdi of fiun, should
be left to Shiva, on condition of service and loyally to the
imperial throne." Shi11aji, however, begged to be excused from
attendinq the Emperor's Court like other nobles and Rajahs,
and 'proposed to send his son, as his representative, with a
conHngent of 5,000 horse, (to be paid by means of a
jagir), for reiJular attendance and service under the Emperor
or the Mughal fJ0\7ernor of the Deccan.
In addition to the abo11e terms, Shivaji made another and
a conditional engagement with the Mugbals : "If lands
yielding 4 lalcfis of fiun a year in the lowlands of KonR.an
---------~------~--------
Tbe Mara!ha fo!'fs sumlnderec( Lo the Emperor by the heart ot Purnndar
(A. N, 005) were : in Ifie Deccan ' 1, Rudran1ala or Vairai;i;arh, (2) Pui-andar, (3)
I<ondanil, (4) Rahim, (5) Lohgrh, (G) !sa11arh, (7) Tanlli, (SJ TJho11a, (9) Khad~faa!,1
neai Ko11dan.1 1 in Konfi:an: (JO) Mahuli, (11) Mura11jan, (12) Khirdurg, (13) BftaJJdar.
durg, (14) Tulsil:ihul, (15) Nardu111, (rn) Khaigarh or Anhola, (17) l>forg.garlJ oi; Atra,
(ls) Kohai, (19) Bnsanl, (20) Nang, (21) Karnala, (2~) Son)Jarh, and (SW) Man11a1'h.
212 SHORT HISTORY OF AURANGZIB fen. X
and 5 lakEs of liun a yrear in the uplands (Balaghat Bijapuri)
are i:Jranted to me by the Emperor and I am assured by an
imperial far:nzan that the possession of these lands will be
confirmed in me after tbe expected Mughal conquest of
Bijapur, then I agree to pay to the Emperor 40 lakns of nun
in 13 yearly instalments." He was expected to wrest these
lands from the Bijapuri officers byr means of his own troops.
Here we detect lhe shrewdness of Jai Singh's policy in throw~
ing a bone of perpetual contention between Shivaji and the
Sultan of Bijapur. Next day (12th June), according to the
agreement, 7,000 men and women, (of whom 4,000 were
combatants), left Purandar, and the Mughals entered into
possession of it ; all the stores, weapons, artiller'l, and other
property found within were attached by the Government
Mugha\ officers were sent with Shivaji's men to tal~e charge
of five other forts to be surrendered by the Marathas.

15, 8fii11aji 11isits Aurang.J:ib at Agta, 1666.

Jai Singh at the end of the Bijapur campal!itn, had under~
taben to send Shivaji to the imperial Court. He plied Shivaji
with hopes of high reward and "used a thousand
devices" to induce him to go to A!itra. fn spite of these
temptations, ShiV'aii hesitated long. Both he and his
friends were as much alarmed at the idea of his
going to the Mughal Court as at the prospect of his
interview with Afzal Khan. But Jai Singh rooR. the most solemn
oaths possible for a Hindu that Shiva)i would not be harmed
duriw,t his \"isit. Shivaji's arran!Jemcnts fot the administration
of his l<ingdom durin\f his expected absence i11 Northern India,
were a masterpiece of forethoui;)'ht and organization. His plan
was to ma'2e his local representatives absolutely independent
of any need for his orders or guidance duri11iG his absence.
His mother fiia Bai was left as Re~ent. He be.gan his fourne'l
to Northem India on the 5th of March, 1666, with his eldest
 1666] 1
SHJVAJI AT AllRANGZlB S COURT 213

son Shambhuji, seven trusty chief officers, and 4,000 troops.

On 9th May he arrived in the ouisl<irts of Agra, where the
Emperor was then holding Court.
The 12th of the month was appointed as the day of his
audience. It was the 50th lunar birthday of the Emperot. The
f-lall of Public Audience in Agra Fort was splendidly decorated
for the occasion. Into this Dhran-i-am, Kumar Ram Singh
ushered Shivaji with his son Shambhuji and ten of his officers.
On behalf of lhe Maratha chief, 1,500 gold pieces were laid
before the Emperor as present (nali:at) and Rs. 6,000 as offerff
ins;: (nisad. Aurangzib graciously cried out, "Come up, Sbivaji
Rajah !" Shi'Vaji was led to the foot of the throne and made
three salams. Then, at a signal from the Emperor, he was
conducted back to the place reserved for him among the
third-grade nobles, the worl~ of the darbac proceeded, and
Shivaji seemed to have been forgotten.
This was not lbc kind of reception be had so long been
picturing to himself and expedlnl$ as almost a certainty from
his many conversalions with Jai Singh. Iie learnt from Ram
Singh that he was among the commanders of 5,000. ''What !"
he exclaimed, "my little son of se\7en years was created a
5-hazari without havinlJ had fo come to the Emperor's presence.
My servant Netaii is a 5-hazad. And am I, after rendering all
these services and coming all the way to the Court, to iget the
same low rank ?" Then he asked, who the noble standing in
front of him was. Ram Singh replied that it was Maharajah
Jaswant Sins;ih. At this Shivaji ct'ied out, "Iaswant, whose back
my soldiers have seen l I to stand behind him ? What does
it mean ?" Stun,g to fury by what he considered a public
humiliation, Shi\7aji expostulated with Ram Sin~h in a high tone,
and e\7en wanted to commit suicide rather than outlive such a
shame. Ram Sini;ih Med his best to pacify him, but in \7ain.
Swellinq with suppressed an~er and frettin%t wit!Jrn himself in
bitterness of mortiflcaUon, Spivaji fell down in a swoon, There
214 SHORl' HISTO!~Y OF AURL\NGZ!D [en. X

was a stir among the courtiers. The Emperor asRed what the
matter was. Ram Singh diplomaticully replied, "The ti~er is u
wild beast of the forest. He feels oppressed by heat in a plucc
liRe this and has been taben ill." He ulso apologized for the
Rajah's rude conduct by saying 1.lwt he was a Deccani un-
familiar with Courts and polished manners. Aurang:;oib i;Jraciously
ordered the sic!< Rajah to be remo\7ed to an ante-room and
sprinbled with rose-water, and, on his restoralion to his senses,
ga\7e him kave to go to his quarters without waiting for the
close of the dat:bm.
On returning from the Court, Shi-vaji openl)?' taxed the
Emperor with breach of faith towards him, and asl<ed to be
put to death as a lesser evil ; it only increilsed the Emperor's
disli1:1.e and distrust of the Maratha chief. I~am Singh was
ordered to lodge him in the Jaipur House outside the city-walls,
and be responsible for his custody. Shiv<:J.ji was forbidden the
Court, and he found himself a prisoner in fa.ct. I-Iis appeals
to the Emperor and the prime minister for release only met
with evasive replies, lil;~e "Wait a Httle and I shall do what you
asl~ for." At the same time his position becatne worse thun
before. Fulad Khan, the police chief of Agra, by imperial
order placed a ian5e guard with artiller'i' round Shi\7aji's mansion
and he now became a prisoner in appearance as well as
in reality.
Jai Singh was placed in a dilemma by this unexpected
result of Shivaji's visit to the Court. IIe continued to wdtc
to his Court agent, Ram Singh, to see to it that Shivaji's life
was safe and tne solemn assurances of the Rajput father and
son remained it1vio!ate.

16. Sfiivaji's escape ft0m Agta.

Shivaji turned to his own inner resources to effect his
liberation. He succeeded in getting petmission for his Maratha
escoti to return to the Deccan. Being thus freed from anxiet\?'
1666] SHIVAII ESCAPES PROM AGRA 215

about his followers, Shivaji set about devising plans for his
own escape. He feigned illness and began to send out of his
house C\7ery evening sweetmeats for Brahmans, religious
mendicants an<l coudiers. These were carried in huge baskets
slung from a pole which was borne by two men on theit
shoulders. The guards searched the basl~ets for some da'ls and
then allowed them to pass out unchallenged. This w.:ts the
opportunity for which Shivaji had been waitins;i. In the after-
noon of 19th August, he sent word to his guards that he was
very ill and had tal<en to his bed and that they should not
disturb him. [fa half-brother Hiraji Farz:and, who looked
somewhat lil:~e him, lay down on his cot, with a quilt cov-ering
all his body except the outstretched riP,ht arm adorned with
Shivaji's gold wristlef,-whlle Shlvaji and his son crouched
clown in hvo basl<ets, which were safely sent out shortl)! aftet
sunset through the line of tmsuspedin~ guards, being preceded
and followed by basl<els of real sweets.
The baskets were deposited at a lonel)! spot outside the
city ; the potters were dismissed ; and then Shivaji and bis
son issued forth and made their way to a village six miles
from Agra, where the trusty Niraji Ravji (his Chief Justice) was
waitini;t for them wHh horses. Afte1 a hurried consultation in
a jungle the party divided ; Shivaji with his son and three
officers, Niraji Raoji, Datta Trimbal< and Raghu~rnitra, a low
caste Maratha, smeared themselves with ashes llt<e f-Iindu
ascetics, and hastened towards Mathura, while the others took
their own way homewards.
Meanwhile, at Agra, Hiraji lay in bed all that night and
well into the afternoon of the next day. The quards who
peeped in in the morning were satisfied when they saw Shivaji's
gold bracelet on the sleeper's wl"ist, and a servant sittinP, on
the floor massali!inlif the patient's feet. Abou{ 3 P. M. Hiraji
quietly walked out of the house with the servant, warning the
sentdes at the gate, "Make less noise ; Shivaji is ill and 1,1nder
 216 SHORT HISTORY OF Al!RANGZIB [cu. X

treatment." Gradually the guards' suspicion was aroused ; the

house seemed strange!)? ueser!ed ; no crowd of visitors came
to see Shivaji as usual ; and thete was no sound, no stir in
the house. They entered his room and found that the bird
had flown away ! They at once ran with the astounding news to
their chief Fulad Khan, who reported it to the Emperor,
ascribing Shivajl's fli~ht to wi.tchcraH and savinS?; himself from
all blame. But by this time Shi\7aji had had twenty-four hours'
clear start over his pursuers. The Emperor suspected that Shiva)i
had tled with the connivance of Ram Singh. The I<ajput
prince was punished, first by being forbidden the Court and
then bf being deprived of his rank and pay.
With consummate cunning Shivaji threw his pursuers off
the scent, by following a route exactly opposite to that which
leads to Maharashtra. Instead of moving due south-west from
Agra, through Malwa and Khandesh or Gujrat, he tra\7clled
east-watds to Mathura, Allahabad, Benares, and Gaya, and
then south-westwards through Gondwana and Goll<onda.
After going through many romantic adventures and mal~ing
many hairbreadth escapes, Shivaji reached Rajgarh on 20th
November, 1666.
On returning home from Agra Shi\7aJi found the political
situation in the Deccan entirely changed. The Mughal vicerny,
Jai Singh, was no longer in a position to repeat his former
success over the Marathas. Worn out by age, toil, disappoint-
ment and domestic anxieties, discredited in his master's eyes
by the failure of his invasion of Bijapur, Mirra Rajah Jai Singh
died at Burhanpur on 2nd July 1667, after havinq been
relie\7ed of the viceroyalt)! by Prince Muaz:2am in the
preceding May.
The return of the weaR and indolent Muaszam and the
friendly Jaswant to power in the Deccan (May 1667) relieved
Shiv~ii of all fear from the Mu15'bal side. Ii is true that
Dillr ~ban returned to the side of Prince Muazam in October
 1667] SHIVA)J MAKES PEACE WlT!I MUGHALS 217

1667, but the cominli! of this famous warrior brought no

accession of strength to the imperialists. Tht: prince was
jealous of Dilir's influence and prestige at his father's Court,
resented his insubordinate spirit, and regarded him as a spy
on behalf of the Emperor. The proud Ruhela general, on
his part, publicly slighted Maharajah Jaswant Singh, the
right"hand man and trusted confidant of the prince, so that
for some time to come a civil war raged in the Mughal
camp in the Deccan, and no step could be taken against
Shivaji. But even if the viceroy of the Deccan had been a
man of greater spirit and enterprise, it would have been
impossible for him for some years from this time to i;iet
adequote men and money for an attempt to crush Shivaji.
The resources of the empire had to be concentrated elsewhere
to meet more pressing damiers: in March 1667, the Yusufaai
risins;J in Peshawar broke out, which taxed the imperial stretHJfh
for more than a year afte1-wards.
The Maratha chief, on his part, was not ea~er for a war
with the imperialists. For three years after his return home
from A~ra, he li-ved very quietly, and avoided P,ivini;i any
fresh provocation to the M11ghals. He wanted peace for a
time to onJanfa:e his iJovernment, repair <tnd provision his
forts, and consolidate and extend his power on the western
coast at the expense of Bijapur and the Slddis of Janjira. He
entreated Jaswant Singh to be his intermediat"i in mal<ing peace
with the empire. He wrote to the Maharaju h1 "Mirza Rajah, my
patron 1 is deaJ. If throwih your intetcession 1 am pardoned, I
shall send Shambhu to wait on the pdnce and serve as a
mansabdar: at the head of my followers wherever ordered."
Jaswant Singh and Prince" Muaz::am jumped at the offer
and recommended ShiV'aji to Aurang;;ib, who accepted the
proposal. The Emperor recognized Shivaji's title of Rajah
(early in 1668), but did not restore an'g' of his forts ex<Jc;;pf
Chakan. Thus a peace was made which !q.sted for two year$,
 CHAPTER XI
SfUV AJI, 1670-1680.

1. $fiivaji' s wptw:e H7itn tfie Magfials and

tecovery of fotls.

In terms of his new agreement with the Mughals, Shi\7aji

sent a Maratha contingent to Aurangabad under Pratap Rao
and Niraji Raoji (Aug. 1668). Sharnbhuji was created a
Commander of Fi\7e Thousand again and presented with an
elephant and a jewelled
,, sword. Jagirs were assigned to him in
Berar. DL1rinq 1667, 1668 and 1669, ShiV"aji l'emained very t
quiet, as a \7assal of the Mu1&hal Go\7ernment. His relations with '
Bijapur also were pacific. In fod, dttrin!'J' these three years
(1667-69), he was busy framing a set of \7ety wise regulations,
which laid the foundations of his Go\7ernm~nt broad and deep.
But the peace was essential!'{ a hollow truce on both sides.
Attrangz;ib, ever suspicious of his sons, looked upon Muazzam's
friendship with Shhraji as a possible menace to his throne, and
he secret!'{ planned to entrap Shi\7aji a second time, or al least
to seb:e his son and general as hostages. Another ill-judged
measure of imperial parsimony was lo attach a pad of Shi\7aji's
new jagir in Berar in order to reco\7er the la/di of Rupees
advanced to him in 1666 for his journey to the Court. The
news of it reached Shi\7aji and he brol~e with the Mulilhals at
the end of the year 1669.
../ Shi7aji opened his offenshre with great vigom and immediate ;
success. ms ro\7ing bands looted Mughal territory, and he
recovered se\7eral of the forts which he had ceded to
Aurang=:ib by the Treaty of Purandar. ,, His most conspicuous
success was the captu1e of Kondana from UdaiHbhan, its
1670] 5111VA)I RENEWS WAR WITH MUGHALS 219

Rajput qifadat, (4th Feb. 1670). Assisted by some Koli

!Jtticies who !<new the place well, one darl< niqht Tanaji
Malusare, with 300 plcl<ed Mavle infantrymen, scaled th~
less abrupt hill-side near the Kalian \_.late by means of rope-
ladders. The lllarrison foui;iht desperately, but the Mavles
with their war cry of Ham ! flam ! lY!afiade11 ! carried hav-oc
into their ranRs. The two chiefs challern;{ed each other and
both fell down dead, after a sini;ile combat. Twelve hundred
Rajputs were slain, and many others perished in tryinq to
escape down !he hill-side. Shivaji named the fort $ingfi-f]ath
after the lion-heart that had won it.
Ludi Khan, the faujdat of Konl<an, was wounded in a
battle with the Maratha forces, defeated in a second encounter
and expelled from his dish'id. The Mughal faujdat: of Nander
fled away, desertin!J his post. The only officer who made
an attempt to uphold the imperial prestige in the Deccan
was Daud Khan Qureshi, who successfully held Parnir and
Junnar.
By the end of April 1670 Shlvajl had looted 51 villaqe,;
near Ahmadna\;lar, Junnar and Patenda.

2. Quan-el between Maa~;;am and Di/fr.

The Mus;ihal administration of' the Deccan was during

half of the year 1670 passing through a civil war between
lhc viceroy Shah Alam and his Ji!eneral Dilir Khan. The lattet
refused to wait on the prince, fearlnJi! that he miiitht be
treacbe1ously killed or imprisoned by his chief l At this act
of insuboldination, the prince and his favourite lieutenant
Jaswant wrote to the Emperor accusing Dilir Khan of rebellion.
The Khan had already denounced the prince to the Emperor,
saying that he was in collusion with Shivaji. Aurangaib was
at this time filled with serious anxiety at Mua;;zam's wlllul
conduct, neglect of the imperial business, and failure to carry
 220 SHORT flJSTORY OF AURANGZIB [CH. XI

out orders. Popular 'Voice in the Deccan could account for

the open audacity and easy success of Shi'V'aji's raids and
the prince's inactivily, only by ascribin~ to Muazzam a
treasonable design to attempt his father's throne in alliance
with the Marathas.
So, at the, end of March 1670 the Emperor had sent his
Chomberlain (l(nan~i-saman), Iftil<hor Khan, to Aurangabad
to in\7esfo;iate how matters really stood,-ll'hether Muanam
was really bent on treason and what his relations with
Shivaji \vere. This officer was now instructed to inquire into
the prince's charges al5ainst Dilir Khan.
Dilir, finding his position in the Deccan intolerable, wanted
to go back to the iniperial Court without waiting for Shah
Alam's permission ; but the prince ascribed this course to a
wicked desire of creafin!il disorder in Northern India. Imperial
orders reached him to force Dilir Khan bacl~ 1o the path of
obedience. Though it was the height of ihe rainy season
(August), the rivers swollen and the roads miry, Dilir burnt his
tents and stores <1nd tree! northwards to Ujjain with his army.
As soon as he sturted from the south, Prince Mum~zam and
Jaswant ~ave him chase with all the available Mughal troops.
But on the frontier of Khundesh a letter came from the
Emperor ordering Muazz:am bad~ to Aurani;iabacl (September).
For1 in the meantime, Bahadur Khan, the govemor of Gujrat,
had taken Dilir Khan undet his protection and w1Hten lo the
Emperor praising D!lit's loyalty and past services, and
recommending that Di!ir might be permitted to serve under
him as faujdar of Kathiawad. The Emperor agreed. Mttatzam
promptly obeyed his father's order and returned to Aurangabad
at the end of September, 1670.
These internal troubles paralysed the Mus;thal arms, and
Shivaji tnade the most of this Sjjolden opportunity, In March
the English factors at Surat wrote, "Shivaji marches now not
as before as a thief, but in s,tross with an army of 30,000
1670) SECOND PLUNDER OP SURAT 2~1

men conqucrinli( as he !,Soes, and is not disturbed though the

prince (Shah Alam) lies near him." On 3rd October he
plundered Surat for the second time.

3. Second loot pf 8umt.

On 2nd October came successive reports of Shivaji's

arri\7al wilh 15,000 horse and foot within 20 miles of Surat.
All the Indian merchants of the city, and e\7en the officers of
Government had fled away in the course of the precedin!iJ
day and night. On the 3rd, Shivaji attacked the city, which
had recently been walled round by order of Auran!llzib. After
a slis;iht resistance the defenders fled to the fort, and the
Maral.has possessed themselves of the whole town except onlv
the English, Dutch and French factories, the large New 8etai
of the Persian and Turl<ish merchants, and the Tcrdar: &rai
midway between the English and French houses, which was
occupied by Abdullah Khan, ex~l<ing of Kashghar, just returned
from a pilgrimage to Mecca. The French bought off the
raiders by means of "valuable presents." The English factory,
though it was an open house, wus defended by Streynsham
Maste1 with 50 sailors.
The Tartars made a stout resistance all the day, but :findin!ll
the post untenable they fled with their l:.>ini;r to the fort at
night, giving up to plundet their house with its valuable pro
perty. The Turfas in the New Semi successfoll? defended
themsel\Tes, inflicting some loss on the raiders. The Marathas
plunde(ed the lar!6e houses of the city at leisure, and burnt
down nearly half the town, retreating on the 5th.
An official inquiry ascertained f?at Shivaji had carded off
66 lak.fis of l~upees' worth of booty from Surat. But the
real loss of Surat was not to be estimated b'l the plunder
which the Marathas carried off. The trade of this, the richest
port of India, was practically destroved. For several -rears
 Sf!ORT JilSfORY OF AURANGZin [co. XI

after Shivaji's withdrawal from it, the town used to throb

with panic every now and then, whenever any Maralha force
came within a few clays' march of it, or even at false alarms
of thelr comin!J. On every such occasion the merchants
would quicl<ly remove their i,;oocls to ships, !he citizens would
flee to the villaf,lcs, and the Curopeans would hasten to Swaily.
Business was effectually scared away from Surat.

4. SfiiJ7aji defeats Daud /(fia11 al Dindoti, 17tfi Octobec

1670; mids !Jerat:

After this second sad~ of Surat, Shivaji entered BaP.lana

and plundered the villages al lbe foot of Mulhir fort. Daud
Khan, who had been called away from Burlwnpur to go
a~ainst the Maratha raiders, reached the town of Chander,
where the road from Ba~lana to NasH~ crosses the hill ta!l!Je.
At the midnight following 16th October, bis spies reported
that Shivaji had already issued from the pass and was rapidly
following the road to Nasil< with half !fr; forces, while the other
half of his army was hoklin15 the pass to pie!< up stragglers.
Daud Khan at once resumed his march. Il<hlas Khan Miana,
!en.ding the Mughal vanguard, si!il"htcd the enemy in the early
morning, and without waiting for his lroops to come up,
recR.lessly charged the enemy. The Maratha rear-i;:uard,
which had faced about, was 10,000 stronP, and commanded
by distinguished generals lil<e Pratap Rao Gujar, the Master
of the Horse, Vyanhaji Datto, and Mal~aji Anand Rao (a
natural son of Shahji Bhonsle). Ikhlas Khan was \7ery soon
wounded and unhorsed. After a time Daud arl'i\7ed and
reinforced his van. Foe hours together an obstinate and
bloody battle raged. The Matathds, "lil<e the Ban;:is of the
Deccan, fought hovering round the imperialists.'' But the
Bundela infantry of the Mughal army with their abundant
fire-arms hept the enemy bad<. There was a lull in the fight
1670] JU\IIJ INTO l\llANDESli AND BERAR

at noon. In the e\l'ening the Marathas charged again, but

were driYen bad~, evident!\! b\! the artillery. At ni>;l"ht the
Mughals bivouacbed tmder the autumn sby, their camp was
entrenched, and they ens;laged in burying the dead and
tending the wounded. The Marathas retreated to Konl~an
wHhout further opposition. About a week later the Peshwa
captured the fort of Trimbal~ (Nasik district). This battle
neutraliied the Mughal power for more than a month
afterwards. The day after the fight, Daud Khan marched
with the broken remnant of his army to Nasik, and halted
there for one month, evidently to recoup his strength. Late
in November, he removed to Ahrm1dnagar. Early in December
a Maratha force under Pratap Rao made a raid into Khandesh,
after capturing Ahivant and three other forts in Baglana on
the way. Advancin\; by rapid marches, he plundered
Bahadurpura, a 'Village two miles from Burhanpur. Passing
into Berar, he fell, when least expected, upon the rich and
flourishins;l city of Karinja, .and looted it completelf. four
thousand oxen and donfaeys were loaded. \\7ith the booty-.
consistins;l of fine doth, silver and gold, to the value of a
frote of I~upees, captured here. All the rich men of !he
place wel'e tarried off for ransom. The other towns also
yielded vast smns of money. That rich pro\7 ince, with its
accurillllatecl wealth of more than half a century of peace
and prosperity, afforded a virgin' soil to .the phrnderers in this,
their .first raid.
While Pratap Rao had .been sacking Ko.rinja in Berar,
another Matatha band under Moro TrimbaR Plngle had been
looting West Khandesh and Bai;nana, and now these tw~
divisions united in the , nefghboud1ood of Salhir, and la.id
siege to that fort. . Daud Khan arrived .. ne;ar Mulhir .at about
8 P. M.1 bLtt could advance. no forther as most of bi~ camp
and army were 1al6ging behin.d. And so he cou}d Jl;Of .c.ome to
foe .relief of Salhir promptly.
 224 SHORT UISTORY OF /\llRANGZm [rn. XI

Sbivaji bad invested Sulhir with a force of 20,000 horse

and foot, and one day findin'il the garrison oft their guard he
scaled the wall by means of rope-ladders. The qiladat
Fathullah Khan fell fi!,lhtin@, and his wife's brother then ~ave
up the fort to the enemy (c. 5th Jan. 1671). The success of the
Marathas continued. Their roving bands cut off the grain
supply of Nelmam Khan, the faujdar of Ba~lana.

5. Campaigns of M11g.nal 9e11emL1~ 1671~7!:?.

These reverses roused Aurangzib to a sense of the l;(ravity-

of the situation. I-Ie appointed Mahabat Khan 1.o the supreme
command in the Deccan. Reinforcements in men, money and
provisions were poured into Baglana (Jan. 1671 ).
Late in January 1671, Mahabdt Khan joined Daud Khan
near Chandor a11d the hvo laid siege to Ahi'7ant, which Shivaji
had recently taken. After a month the !Jarrison cu.pitt1laied.
Leaving a force to hold Ahivant, Mahabat spenl three months
at Nasil< and then went to Parnir (20 miles west of Ahmad-
nagar) to pass the rainy season (June to September) there.
The Emperor was dissatisfied wHh Mahabat Khan for the
poor result of his campaign and his loniJ spell of inactivity
afterwards, and suspected him of having formed a secret
understanding with Shivaji. S0, he sent Bahadur Khan and
Dilir Khan to the Deccan next wint~r. They marched from
Gujrat into Baglana, laid sies;ic to Salhir (now in Mmatha
hands), and leaving Il<hlas Khan Miana, Rao Amar Singh
Chandawat and some other officers to continue the sie>Je,
proceeded towards Ahmadnagar. Dilir Khan with a tlyinlJ
column recovered Puna, massacring all 1he inhabitants abo\7e
the age of 9 years, (end of December 1671). But lhe
di\7ision left to besiege Salhit' was attacked by a lC\r;Je force
of Ma1athas under Pratap Rao, Anand Rao and the Peshwa.
After an obstiMte battle, Ikhlas Khan and Muhakatn Singh
1672] MA!~AT!IA VlCTOR!E:S IN BAOLANC\ AND KOLV!-\:-1 225
(the son of Rao Amar Singh Chandawat) were wounded
and captured, with 30 of their principal officers, while Rao
Amar Singh and many other commanders as well as several
thousand common soldiers were slain, and the entire sic.qe.
camp was taRen by t!1e enemy. Shortly aftenvards Moro
Pant cupturecl Mulhir. This tool~ place dl the end of January
and the first wee!~ of February, 1672. ShivaJi's presti~e and
confidence in his own power were immensel\7 increased by
these successes.
About the middle of 1672, Mahabat and Shah Alam were
recalled to Hindustan, and Bahadur Khan \Vas appointed
commandcr-inchief and acting vicero);" of the Deccan, in the
place of these two, becoming substantive subandar in January
l673 and holdinlif that office till August 1677.

6. Matcdlia occupL7tion of the /{off cou11fl';x and

deawnd of cfiautfi !tom .Stu:at, 1672.
On 5th June, a large Maratha army under Moro Trimbal<
Pirn~le capture<l Jawhar from its Koll Rajah, Vil<ram Shah,
and seiz:ccl there treasure amounlinq to 17 /al'dis of Rupees.
Ad\ anci!l!J fudher north, he took the other Koll State of
7

I<amnal;iar in the first wee!< of July.

The annexation of Tawhar and Ramnagar ga\7e the
Marnthas a shod, safe and eas'Y' route from Kalian up
Northern Konl<an to Surat, and laid that port helplessly open
lo invasion from the south. The city became subject to
chwnic alarm from the Marathas.
From the nehJhbourhood of Ramnagar, Moro Trb1baR
Pingle sent three successi-ve letters on behalf of his master
1o the .\I0\1crnor and leaclln.g traders of Surat demandin~
four lak/is of Rupees as blackmail, and threatening a visit to
the city in the event of their refusal.
ft-0111 iheir base in the Koll countr'Y', a Maratha force under
Moro TtimbaR. easily crossed the \Vestern Ghats into the Nasili
15
 SMOln l!ISTORY Of AURANG7.IB !rn. XI
district (middle of July 1672) and plundered it, defeating Jadav
Rao and Sicldi Halal, the Mugbal tnanafidats in charlil"e of the
southern and northern sub-divisions of the district. For this
failure, these two officers were sharply censured by Baha<lur
Kha1 and they went over to !be Marathas in anger !

7. Marat/la acti11ities dating. 1673.

Jn November next Shivaji sent his cavalry to mal~c a
li!i!hlning raid into Berar and Telinii!ana. The Mu!;'!hal general
was baffled in his attempt to come up with them. The Marathas
from Ramgit divided into two bodies, one escaping south into
the GoUwnda State and the other turning northwards to Chu.nda
and thence westwards into Berar. The first division was
headed off into Bijapur territory by Dilir Khan who captured
much of their boot)!. The second band was opposed by
Bahadur Khan near Antur (38 miles north of AuramJabad) and
much plunder was recovered from them and restored to the
owners. Another battle was fou!;!ht six miles from Autanl;/abacl,
in which the Marathas were repulsed, with a loss of 400 dead,
by the Bundelas under Subh-Karn (Dec.).
This Maralha raid into Khanclesh and Berar, unlil'e their
first incursion in December 1670, was completely foiled by the
commendable actlvit\! of the Mugbals.
In 1673 Bahadur Khan encamped at Pedgaon, on the north
bani< of the Bhima, ehJht miles due south of Chamar!i(ltncla.
This rlace became the residence of his army for many years
afterwnrcls, and here a fort and town !6rew up from their
cantonment, which lhe I;mperor permitted him 1o name
Bahadur-garh.
Pedgaon occnpies a pos.ition of s;!reat strate~ic importance.
Il stands on ihe plain just clear of the long n;ounlain spur
nmnin~ eastwards from Puna. From this place the Mughal
general could at will mo'\7e westwards aloni;i the nodh of the
range to protect the valleys of the Mula and the Bhima (the
 Sll!V.\Jl S GAINS H~OM B[)APUR
1
1G73) 227

North Puna district), or along lhe south of it to guard the

valleys of the Nira and the Baramati (the southern portion of
the district). Northwards he could communicate with his great
depot of arms and provisions at Ahmadnagar, without havini;r
to cross any river (except at the foot of that fort); and south-
wards he could easily invade Bijapur through the Sholapur
district.
This year Shivaji's attempt to gain Shivner (the fort of
Junnar) by bribery was foiled by Abdul A::i:: Khan, the Mui;fhal
i;rovernor of the fort, who was a Brahman convert to 1slam
and one of the most faithful and valued servants of Auranq;;;ib.
He received Shivaji's bribe, but at the same time secretly
informed Bahaclur Khan of the plot ; the Maratha army fell into
an ambuscade planned. by the Mu<Jhals, and retired in dis-
appointment with heavy loss.
Ali Adil Shuh II died on 24th Nov., 1672, and in a few
months the qovernment of Bifapur (with a boy of four on the
lhrone) fell into disorder and wcalwess. This was Shivaji's
opportunity. On 6th March 1673, he qot possession of Panhala
a second time, by briberf, nnd on 27th Julf he secured the
hlll-fort of Satara by the same nwans. In May his men under
Pr a tar J<ao Gujar burst into the inland. parts of Bijapuri Kanara,
looting Hubli and many other rich cities. But they received a
li(reat checl< from the Bijapuri general Bahia! Khan.
On Dasafiara day (10th Oct. 1673), an arm).? 25,000 stro1115,
led by Shivajl in person, burst into Bljapuri territory, plundering
mcny rich towns, and then passed into Ka11ara for more
plunder. Here they remained bus).? till the middle of
December.
Late in }anuarf 1674, a Mughal army fried to descend
into Konl<an and cause a diversion in that quarter
simultaneotlsl).7 with the Bijap11ri i1wasion of the Panhala
re,\!ion. But Shivaji stopped the paths by breakinlt the roads
and mountain passes and l<eepin~ a constant li!Uarcl at varf.ous
228 SHORT lllSTOR'l OF ~URANOZll> [err. X!

points where the route was most difficult ; and the Mui;,?hals
had to return baffled.
Soon afterwards, the Mu~hal power in the Deccc1tl
was crippled. The risill!J of the Khaibar Afghans became
so serious that Auranq:::ib had to kw1c Delhi (7th April) for
Hasan Abdal, in order to direct the war from the reur, and
next month Dilir Khan was called to the north-western frontier.
Bahadur Khan was left alone in the Deccan with a greatly
weakened force. This lull in the war was utilized by Shivaji
to crown himself with the greatest pomp and ceremony, on
6th June, 1674, at Raigarh.

8. Loot of Baiiadat Kfian' s camp and extensh1e con fest witfi

tiie MugJia!s, 1674.

The coronation exhausted Shivaji's treasur11 and he was in

need of monev to p0y his troops. Towards the middle of
July, a body of 2,000 Maratha light cavalry, made a false
demonstration and lured Ba.hadur Khan some 50 miles away
from his cantonments i.lt Pedgaon, wh~n Slllvaji himself with
another division, 7,000 sh'on!j, swooped down by another
route on his defenceless camp, carried awdy a /(race of
Rupees in booty and '300 fine horses. Late in October, a
large army commanded by Sbivajl in person crossed the
Ghats into the Deccan plateau, sMrted Bahadur Khan's
camp, whkh was '"hotly alatmed," looted se\"'eral towns near
Aurangabad, and then burst into Baglana and Khandesh,
where they continued for more than a month (Nov. to
middle of Dec.). Among other places they pilla1Ged and burnt
Dharangaon, 10 miles north of Erandol, and its English factory.
SbilTaji next opened delusive peace negotiations with
Bahadur Khan, and for nearly three months (March-Ma1)
kept the Mughals in play, by feeding false hopes of a peace.
But by the time (Jul'l 1675) that Phonda was captured,
 1677) SHIVAJl'S TRUCE W!Hl MUGlll\LS 229

Shi\7aji threw olJ 1h c mash and dismissed the Mu~hal cnvors

with taunts.
In January 1676 Shi\7aji was tal~en se\7erely ill, and passed the
next three months on the sich-becl at Satara. The ci\7il war
lhat had brohen out between the Deccani and Afghan parties
at Bijapur on the usurpation of the regency by Bahlol Khan
(end of 1675) was Shivaji's opportunity. "fie ranged up and
down, plundered and robbed without any hindrance or
clani;;E'r." On 31st Mar Bahadur Khan opened a \7i15orous
and long campaign against Bijapur, the consequence of which
was to drive the new regent Bahlol Khan into the arms of
Shivaji.

9. .!:Jnirmji's diplomatic preparations for fiis Jfomatak

expedition.
Jn )anuar~ next (1677), the Maratha hing set out on the
greatest expedition of his life, the invasion of the Karnatah.
The political situation in the neighbouring countries was
eminently favourable to Shi\7ajl's design. The Emperor's best
1roops were still el1!Ja~ed in controlling the revohed hillmen of
the Afghan frontier. At Bijapur the Mughal viceroy openly
took the side of the Deccan! party and on 31st Mw opened
u. campailJn against Bijapm which was to continue for
more than a year. Shivaji's clever diplomacy won a
complete triumph 0\7 er Bahadur Khan, who had already
coquetted with the Maratha l<inii for a friendlh: understanding.
And now, on the eve of opening the Mughal campaign
against Bijapllt', (May, 1676), it was as much his interest to
make friends wilh the Maratbas on his ri!il"bt flank as it Wi.'\S
Shivail's to secure Mughal neutrality in his rear durjng his
invasion of the Karnatah. Shivaji sent his Chief Jttstice, Niraji
Raoji, to Bahadur Khan, with costly presents and induced him
to promise neutrality dtufoq his projected absence in the
Karna!al<, the conquest of which was expected lo take one year.
230 SHORT H!Sl'Of~Y or AllRil.NGZm [rn. X[

With GoUwnda close friendship and co-operation were

secured. Madanna Pandit, the all-powerful wazir of Abu! li<lsdn
Qutb Shah, had already made a subsidiary alliuncc with
,Shivaji, promising him an annual tribute of one fa/di of liun
for the defence of the realm. Prahlad Niraji, a shrewd
diplomatist, had been posted at Ilaidarabad as MaraUrn envoy.
Shivaji decided to !Jet from Gollwnda the expenses of the
campaiqn and the assistance of an auxiliary force, by promisini<l
to Qutb Shah cl share of his conquests.

10. rSfiitTaji's alliance nlitfi Go!ko11da and conquest of tfie

f(amatak.
Shivaji started from Raigarh at the beginnirnJ of January
1677, and advanced due east by re!Jular marches, at the head
of 50,000 armed men, arrivin!J at Haidarabad early in February.
On entering the Qutb-Shahi territory he had issued strict
orders to his men not to rob or molest any inhabitant o[ the
country, and had enforced obedience by severe punishment.
The city of Haidarabad was qaily decorated by the people
to give a royal welcome to the !Jreat ft\end and protector of
their l<ing. The Maratha army marched through the streets in
perfect order and halted before the Dad Mahal palace, while
Shivaji with five of his officers went upstairs and had a frienJly
conversation with the Sultan for three hours. Abul Hasan,
being very favourably impressed by Shivaji's personcll charm,
character and ability, and the strength and discipline of his
army, bade his wa:;;ir grant him whatever he wa11ted. After
some discussion a secret compact was made 1egardi11g the
coming campaign. The Sultan was to pay Shivaji a subsid)!' of
3,000 nun a day, or four and a half lak:&s of Rupees a month,
and send an arm'f of 5,000 men in chat'ge of one or h1s
ljfenerals (sar.-i-lasfikat), Mirea Muhammad Amin, to co~operate
in the conquest of the Karnatal;?. In tetul'n for this aid,
Shivaji promised his ally such parts of his conquests in the
 1677] SH!VAJI CONQUERS M.l\.DRi\S KiUmATAK 231

KarnataR as had not belornzed to his father Shahji. The

defensive alliance against the Mughals was streniJthcned anew
with solemn oaths. Qutb Shah promised to pay his annual
subsidy of one /a/di of flun regularly and to keep a Maratha
ambassador at bis Court, as the price of his proledion afilainst
the Mughals.
The dominions of the vassals of the fallen Vijayna!i!ar
empire had been mostly seized by Adil Shah and Qutb Shah.
Bijapur now possessed northern and eastern Mysme and the
Madras plain (m KarnataR lowlands) from the Palar river
southwards to the Kolerun (branch of the Kaveri), i. e., the
country from Vellore to near Tanjore, while Golkonda had
annexed the region north of the Palar, namely from Chicacole
to Saclras. In the Kamatak plain the local governors of
Bijapur were Nasir Muhammad Khan (a son of the ex~waEir
Khan Muhammad) with his seat at Jinjf, and south of him
Sher Khan Lodi (an Afghan pwfeg:e of Bahlol Khan) wit\) his
capital at Vali-kanda-pttram (in the north of the Trichinopoly
district). Further south were the I-Iindu kingdoms of Tanjore
(conque1cd by ShiV'aji's half~brother Vyankaji in 1675) and
Madura, All these powers were ever bent on ftl,l"l1tinq with
and annexin>J one another's territories. Takin!J advantage of
these internal dissensions, the Qutb-Shahi minister Madanna
planned to reconquer Bijapuri KamataR with the help of
Shivaji and restore Hindu rule there.
Lea\7in!il liaidarabad after a month, Shivaji hastened south-
wards by way of Kamul, Shri Shailam, Anantpur, Tirupati,
Kalahastri and Peddapolam (seven miles wesl of Madras, first
week of May). He then took the stronq fort of Jinji b1 treaty
with its owner and laid siege to Vellore, whose qovemor
ultimately yielded it for a price after a heroic defence of fourteen
months; on Q1 Aug. 1678.
The flood of Maratha invasion swept over the KarnataR
plains. Only a few fortified places offered resistance, the rich
232 SHORT HISTOf~Y OF AURANGZIB [en. XI

men fleeing to the shelter of the woods or the European forts

on the coast at the news of their approach. Sher Khan Lodi
was defeated at Tiruvadi (13 miles west of Cuddalore) on 26th
June and forced to ~ive up all his territories. Then marching
io Tirumala-vadi, on the north bani< of the Kolerun river,
Shivaji inviter\ V'ianl<aji to meet him and tried to wrest from
him three-fourths of what their father had left at his death.
But V'ianl~aji cleverly escaped (23rd Jul'i) to Tanjore, and
Shivaji set out on his return, visiting many holy places on ihc
way. The whole of the Karnatah was "peeled to the bones"
by his system of organized plunder and exaction.
The territory annexed by Shivaji in the Karnatal< in the
course of 1677 and 1678 was sixty leai,:iues by forty and
estimated to yield 20 lal<hs of nun a year, and it included a
hundred forts.
Shivaji left the Madras plains early in November 1677 and
entered the Mysore plateau, conquering its eastern and central
parts. From Sera in lhe heart of the Mysore kingdom, he
marched home by way of Kopal, Gaclag, Banlwpur, Belvacli
(in ihc Belgaum dish'ict) and Turgal, and returned to his own
stronghold of Panhala in the first weefa of April, 1678.

11. Ttie Magfia!s, Bijaput, and S/iir;aji, 1678-79.

In May 1678 the Marathas made a second attempt lo l,{et
possession of Shivncr. They invested the village (of Junnar)
~t its foot, and at night tried to scale the fort. "Th1ee
hundred Marathas climbed the fort-walls al night by means
of nooses and rope~laddets. But Abdul Aziz Khan was an
expert qi!adat; he slew all the infantry of Shivaji who had
entered the fort, and sent a message to Shivaji io the effect,
1
So Jon~ as I am qiladac; you will never tafae this fort.'
A rupture now took place between Sbivaji and Qutb
Shah, and the diplomatic system so patiently built up by
Madanna Pandit fell to the ground. Qutb Shah's indignation
 1679] CONFUSED S'fATEREL<\TlONS JN DECC,~N 233
had been rising as he found himself made a mere cat's paw
of Shiv<1ji in the Karnatak adventure. lie had borne all the
cxp(:'llSes of the expedition and supplied artillery and an
auxilia1y force for it. But not one of the conquered forts
was given to him, not one pice of his contribution was repaid
ol!t of the fabulous booty carried away by Shivaji frotn that
land of !JOld. So, Abu! Ilasan ar-ran~ed for a peace between
the new Bijapuri reqent, Siddi Masaud, and his rivals
(especially Sharza Khan), helped him with money to pacffy
the unpaid mulinous soldiery, and bound him to wa~e war
a<Jainst Shivaji dnd "confine him to Konl<an." But Di!ir Khan
spoiled the whole plan by an atlad~ on Bijapur.
Shivaji's eldest son Shambhuji was the curse of his old age.
This youth of twenty-one was violent, capricious, unstead)?,
thoughtless and notoriously depraved in his morals. For his
outra'iie on a married Brahman woman he had been confined
in Panhala fort, but escaped with his wife Yesu Bai and a
Jew comrades to join Dilir Khan (13 Dec. 1678). The Khan
with his valuable new ally halted at Al:!luj (50 miles sot1th
of BahadunJarh) for some time to prepare for the in\l'asion
of Bijapur.
Jn this dan@er Siddi Masaud immediately asked for help
from Shivaji1 as agreed upon. The Rajah sent six to seven
thousand well-artnecj cavalry to guard Bijapur. Masaud
could not fully trust his ally._ Then Shivaji threw off the
masR. He began to plunder and devastate Adil-Shahi territory
alijain. Masaud now made peace with Dillr Khan. A Mu~hal
force was invited to Bifapttr and royally welcomed.
Dilir Khan next marched to the fort of Bhupalgarh,
(QO rniles n. w. of Jath and 45 miles s. w. of Pandharpttr),
which Shivaji had built as a storehouse of his property and
the refoge of the families of his subjects in the neighbourhood
durinit his wars with the Mughals. The assault was launched
about 9 A. M., 2nd April, 1679, and the Mughals fought
234 SHORT WSTOR'i OF AURANOZm [cu. Xl

\Vith vigour till noon, when they captured the fort, after
heavy slau!,!hter on both sides. Vast quantities ,of grain and
other property and large numbers of "people were capturc>d
by the victors. Seven hundred survivors of the gilrrison wete
deprived of one hand and then set free ; the other captives
\Vere evidently sold into sluvery. The fall of Bhupal55arh
was followed by a period of pmzling intrigue and counter"
intrigue between the Mughal viceroy and the Bijapur nobility,
and also quarrels between Masaud and Sharza Khan,
Masaud and Dilir, and Masaud and his fa\7ourite Venl~atadri
Murari. About the middle of this year Shivaji sent to
Auran!;]zib a well-reasoned and spirited letter of protest
against the jaitiya, which was drufted by Nila Prabhu in
eloquent Persian. (Hist. of Amwzg::<:ib, iii. ch. 34 Appendix.)

12. Last campaign of Sfil11aj1.

On 18th August, Dilir crossed the Bhima at Dhulb.hecl,
40 m. due north of Bijapur, and opened a new campaign
against Masaud. That helpless regent belif\l"ed aid from
Shivaji, who undertool< the defence of Bijapur with great
promptitude. Shambhuji, who had fled from Dilir, returned
to Panhala about the 4th <:?f December.
On 4th No\7ember, 1679 Shi\7aji matched out of Selgur
(55 m. w. of Bijapur). His cavalry, 18,000 strong, rapidly
moved northwards in two parallel di\7isions under ShiV'aji
and Anand Rao, and poured lUae a flood through the
districts of Mughal Deccan, plunderin!J and burning all the
places in their trad< and laRing an immense booty
in cash and Rind. In the middle of the month, Jalna,
a populous trading town, 40 miles east of Auranitabad,
was captured and plundered. He1e the godly saint,
Sanid fan Muhammad, hac\ his hermitage in a garden
in the suburbs. Most of tl1e wealthy men of Jalna
had taRen refuge in this hermitage with theit' money and
 1679] LAST CAMP.L\lON OF SHIVA.JI 235

jewels. The raiders, finding very liltle bootf in the town

and learning of the concealment of the wealth in the saint's
abode, entered it and robbed the refugees, wounding ma1w
of them. The holy man appealed to them to desist, but they
only abused and threatened him for his pains. Then the
man of God, "who hud tnar\7dlous efiicacf of prayee,"
cursed Shivaji, and popular belief ascribed the Rajah's death
fi'Ve months afterwaeds to these curses.
After havin!,J thoroughly plundered and devastated Jalna
for four clay-s, as the Marathas, loaded with booty consisting
of "countless gold, silver, jewels, cloths, horses, elephants,
and camels," were retreating, an enterprisin~ Mughal officer
Ranmast Khan, attached their rear-guard. Shidhoji Nimbalkar
with 5,000 men held him in check for three days, but was at
last slain with many of his men. In the mectntime, very
large reinforcemen\s were hastening up to the Mur;lhals from
Attrangabad under Kesal'i Singh and Sardar Khan. When
these came to a halt six miles from the fighters, Kesari Singh
at night sent a secret mcssa~e to Shivaji as a brother Hindu,
aclvisit1'11 him to run aw_ay at once before the Mugbals could
complete thcit circle and cut him off. Shivaji trusted to his chief
spy, Bahirji, Ul1det whose skilful guidance the Maratha army
escaped br an obscute path afier three days and nights of
anxious and ceaseless marching. But they had to sacriticie
much of their booty, besides losing 4,000 horsemen killed
and Hambir Rao wounded. Frnm this disastrous expeditiol1,
'Shivajl returned to Patta~garh (about 22nd No\7embel') and
rested his exhausted and stricken army for some days, and
then, at the beginning of December, went to Raigarh.
A Maratha &vision raided Khandesh, in the last week of
November, burning and plundering Dhatangaon, Chopra, and
many other considerable towns adjacent to it.
The character of his eldest son filled Shl\l'aji with the
~foomiest anticipations of the future. A p1ofligate, capricious
236 SliOR'f HISTORY OF AURANGZIB [CH. XI

and cruel youth, devoid of every spark of honour,

patriotism or religious tervour, could not be lefl sole
master of Maharashtra. Shivaji tried hard to conciliate
and reason with Shambhuji. But a born jttd!lle of character
like Shivaji must have soon perceived that his sermons
\\7ere falling on deaf ears, and hence his last days were
clouded by despair. On 23rd March, 1680, the Rajah was
seized with fever and blood dysentery. The illness continued
for twelve days, and finally the mal<er of the Maratha nation
passed away at noon on Sunday, 4th April, 1680, the
full moon of the month of Chaitra. He had not yet
completed the 53rcl year of his age.

13. Sfiivaji's kingdom, army and teve11ue.

At the lime of his death Shivaji's Mngdom included all
the country (except the Portuguese possessions) stretching
from Ramna!i(ar (modern Dharampur State in lhe Surat
Agency) in the north, to Karwar or the Gangavati t'iver in
the Bombay district of Kanara, in the south. Its custern
boundary embraced Baglana in the north, then ran
southwards along an irregular shlfting line through the
middle of the Nasili and Puna districts, and encircled the
whole of !he Satara and much of !he Kolhapur districts. A
recent but permanent acquisition Wds the western Karnatal<
or the Kanarese-speaJ<inq country extending from Belgaum
to fhe bank of the Tunli)abhadra opposite !he Bellarr
district of the Madras Presidency.
Shivaji's latest annexation was the countr'l extendinl!! from
the Tunqabhadra opposite Kopal to Vellore and Jinji, i. e.,
ihe northern, central and eastern parts of the present
kingdom of Mysore and porlions of !he Madras districts of
Bellary1 Chittur and Arcot. This province was reallr held
by an army of occupation and remained unsettled in 1680.
 SH!VAfl'S SYSTEM OF Cl!Al!Tfi 37

Outside these settled or half-settled parts of his kin~dom,

there was a wide and 'Very tiuctuatini; belt of land, subject
to his power but not owning his soverei!il'nty. In
these he le\7ied blackmail (idiandani, i. e., ransom, in Marathi),
as rel5l1larly as his arm'{ could repeat its annual visit to them.
The mone'! paid was popularly called cliautfi, because it
amounted to one-fow:tfi of the standard assessment of the
land revenue of a place. The pa)1rnent of the cnautfi merely
saved a place from !he unwelcome presence of the Maratha
soldiers and civil underlin!i(s, but did not impose on Shivaji any
corrcspondinsi obligation to ~uard the district from foreign
invasion or internal disorder. liis re'Venue is put by his courtier
Sabha.sad at the round figLtre of one krore of nun, while the
cfiaut!i when collected in full brour;:ht in another 80 lakfis.
It was Slii'Vaji's settled polic? to use his army to draw
st1pplies from foreir;;n dominions every: rear. "The troops were
to go into cantonments ln the home terdtory during the rain
sedson (June-September). On the day of Dasafiara (early in
October) the army should set out from the camp for the
country seleded by the Rajah. The troops were to
sl1bsist in forel!Jn parts for eight months and also lell"l
contributlons. No woman, female slave or dancirn,Hiirl
was to be allowed to a~company the army. A soldier
h.eepin!J any of these was to be beheaded. No woman
or child was to be tahen captive, but men only. Brahmans
were not to be molested, nor tal~en as hostages for ransom.
On 1etl1rn home the booty of every soldier was to be handed
m7el' lo the State.

14. .Sfiirmji's centml administtation.

Shi\7aji fJ0\7erned by the ad\7ice and assistance of a council
of ei1;1;ht ministers (As.fita Pcadfian), composed of (1) the Pesfiwa
or JY!afdiya Pradfian, i. e., the prime minister, (2) the JY!ajmuadar
(Sanshrit title Amaiya) or a.ccountant-general, (3) the Wagiana11fs
238 SHORT !-IIS'IORY Or i\LIRr'\NGZIB [Cll. XI

(Sans!<. Manfri) who compiled a daily record of the Rini;:'s

doings and Court inciden!s, (4) the Samis (SansR. SacfiiJJ) or
superintendent of correspondence, (5) the Dabfr (SansR. Sumant)
or toreign secretary Jnd head of the intelli~ence department,
(6) the Sac-i-naabat (Sansl<. &napati) or commander-in-chief,
(7) the Pandit Rao (corresponding lo the Persian Sadt and
J>iu/itasib in one), whose duty it was to decide theological questirnis
and caste disputes, to punish heresy and impiety, and to
reward learned Brahmans out of the royal alms fund, and (8)
the Nyayadfiisfi or chief justice. All these ministers with the
exception of the Senapati were of the Brahman caste, and all
the first six of them had to tal<e command of armies when
necessary. The actual worl< of State correspondence was
conducted by members of the Prabhu (Kayastha) caste, most of
whom l:mew Persian welL The pay-accounts of the a1 my were
flept by a class of officers called sabnl1es (Persiun Baldisfii).
But this Council of Eight Ministers was is no sense a Cabinet.
They merely- acted as the l<in~'s secl'elaries ; tl1ey had nf/
initiative, no power to dictate any policy to him by the threat
of rcsi!5nation. Their function was purely adviso1y when the
l<ing was in a mood to listen to advice, and at other times
the'l merely carried out his ~eneral instructions and superviseLl
!he details of their respective departments. The Peshwa was
more honomed than the other seven Ptadfians, bllt they were
in no sense subordinate to him. The solidarity of the Briti~h
Cabinet, as well as lls power, was wanting in the Maratha
Council of Eight. Shivaji l~ept all the strings of the aclministra
Hon in his own hands, liRc Louis XIV or Fedeiicl< the
GreaL

15. .S!iilmji's cfiatacter and place in fiistory.

But whatever miiJht be the moral qualih? of the means he
employed, his success was a dasz:Ung reality. This jagirdar's
son proved himself the irrepressible opponent of the Mughal
 5l/l1" \]J'S CllrW!\CTr:T~ \ND TRUE Gf<E-\Ti-iESS 3\?

c'11pil e and all its resources. AurarnJ2ib wcts in despair as to

how he could subdue Shivaji, after seeing that nearl-y all his
Ji!reat generals had failed in lhe Deccan.
To the Hindu world i11 that a!le of renewed persecution,
Shivaji appeared as the stur of a new hope, the prolecto1 of
their religion.
S Shivaji's pri\7ate life was marl<ed b-y a hi15h standard of
moralit-y. J-Jc was a devoted son, a loving father and an
aitenti\7 e husband. Intensely reliit:ious trorn his ver-y bo-yhood,
b-y instinct and training alil~e, he remained throu!5hout life
abstemious, free from vice, and respectful to holy men. The
liberalit1 of his faith is proved by bis impartial respect for
the holy men of all sects (Muslim as much as Hindu) and
kileration of all creeds. His chi\7alry to women and strict
enforcement of morality in his camp was a wonder in that
a>Je and has extorted 1.he admiration of hostile critics like
Khafi Khan.
S He had the born leader's personal ma!lnetism and threw
a spell o\7er all who !~new him, drawini;r the best elements of
the country to his side and winning the most de\7otecl ser11ice
from his officers, while his dazilinSJ \oictories and e\7er read1
smile made him the idol of bis soldiery. His ro-yal 111ift of
jud!Jirnif character was one of the main causes of his succe:s,
a-; his selection of !Jencrals and fJ0\7ernors, diplomatists <1nd
S\:c:retaries was ne\7er at fault. His army organization was a
model of efficiency ; e\7erything was pro11ided beforchnnd and
1Jept in its proper place under a proper care-tal~er ; an
excellent spy s-ystem supplied him in ad\7ance with the most
minute information about the theatre of his intended campaign ;
di'Visions of his army were combined or dispersed at will o\7er
loni;t distances without failure ; the enemy's pursuit or obstruc-
tion was successfully met, and yet the booty was rapidly and
!:iafel\'. conveyed home without an\; loss. His inborn mllitary
!Je-nius is proved bf his instinc!ivelv adopfing that system of
240 St!ORT H!STOR\:." Ol0 ,\Ur~ANQZ[f3 [cu. X[

warfare which was most suited to the racial chdracter of his

soldiers, the nature of the country, the weapons of the a!Jt\ and
the internal condition of his enemies. I !is light cavalry,
stiffened with swift-footed infantry, was irresistible in the a!,le
of Auran!'.,fz;ib
Shivaji's real !i]reatness lay in his character and practical
allility, rather than in oriisinality of conception or len!i]lh of
political vision. Unfailin!J insight into !he char<1cter of others,
efficiency of arrangements, and instinctive perception of what
was practicable and most profitable under the circumstances
(tact des clioses possibles),-lhese were the causes of his
success in life. (]he imperishable achievement of his life was
the weldin!J of tl~e scattered Marathas into a nation, and his
most precious le!Jaq was the spirit that he breathed into his
people. JAnd he achieved this in the teeth of the opposiilon
of four mi15htv Powers Iil~e the Mughal empire, 13ijapur,
Poduguese India, and the Abyssinians of Janjira.
No other Hindu has shown such constructive genius in
modern times. He has proved by his example that the Hindu
race can build a nation, found a Stale, defeat enemies ; they
can conduct their own defence ; they can protect and promote
literature and arl, commerce and industry ; the cv.n
maintain navies and ocean-trading fleets of their own, and
conduct naval battles on equal terms with foreigners. He
tau~ht the modern Hindus to rise to the full stl1ture of their
gwwth.
 CHAPTE R XII

DECLINE AND FALL OF B!fAPUR ,,

L Jai .3ingli's invasion of Bijaput, 1665-1666.

Aurangzib had reason to be displeased with the Sultan of

Bijapur. Adil Shah had tal<en ad\7'antage of the war of Mm~hcil
succession to e\7'ade the fulfilment of the promises made by
him in the treaty of August 1657. Durinii( Jai Sini;:h's campaign
against Shi\7'aji he found out that the Bijapur Go\7'emment had
made a secret alliance with the Maratha chief and helped him
with lands, money and other requisites. Abo\7e all, the war
with Shi\7aji being over in June 1665, the \7'ast army assembled
in the Deccan t111cler Jai Si11i;:h's command was standing idly,
and profitable employme nt had to be found for it. An
invasion of Bijapur offered the best means of doing lt.
In the freaty of Purandar, Jai Singh's cle\7'er diplomacy had
detached Shi\7'aji from Bijapur and, indeed, thrown a bone of
perpetual contention between the two. The Marathtt chief had
promised to assist the Mui:Jhals in their intended Invasion of
Bijapur by furnishing 2,000 cavaky of his son Shambhuji's
contingent as a mansabdar and 7,000 expc1i infantr')! under his
personal command.
Jai Singh also intrigued with many of the eudatories of
Bijapur and sent them letters offering the.m ser\7'ice unUer the
Delhi empire. The old Mughal polic')! of seducing the ministers
and generals of Bijapur was pursued vigorously and with a
k1vlsh disregard of expencl!ture. The most cminen't of these
deserters was Mulla Ahmad, an Arab of the Navaiyat clan
settled in Ko111<an, who held the second place amon![ the
Biiapur nobility. He joined lai Singh on 29th September, 1665,
16
 SHORT tIIS'fORY 01' AllRi\NGZlB [c11. XII

and was at once created a 6-fia:wti in the Mughal pceralJe ;

b11t he fell ill on the way to Delhi and died about 18th
December.
Before opening the campaign Jai Singh employed diplomatic
irid~ery, of which he was a past master, to throw Adil Shah
i:ilo a sense of false security by pretending !hut he had recci\'ed
no order to in\7ade Bijapur. I-Ie also made conciliatory over-
lures to Qutb Shah to induce him to stand aloof from Bijapur
in the coming war.
(At last, all his preparations being complete, Jai Singh set
out on 19th No\7ember 1665 from the foot of fort Purandar,
at the head of 40,0::JO imperial troopers, besides 2,000 Maratha
cavalry and 7,000 infantry under Netaji Pall<ar.) During the
first month of the campai1t1n, Jai Singh's march was an
uninterrupted triumph. The Bijapuri forts on the \Vay,--Phaltan,
Thatlwada, Khata\7, and finally Manii!alvide (only 52 miles north
of BijapLtr)-were either evacuated or surrende1:ed ut call. The
first battle with the enemy tool:? place on 25th December. That
day a detachment under Dihr Khan and Shi\7aji marched ten miles
from the imperial camp and fought a Bijapuri army of 12,000
men under the famous !Jenerals Sharza Khan and Khawas
Khan and their Maratha allies, Jadav- Rao of Kaliani and
Vyankaji the half-brother of Shiv-aji. The Deccanis evaded
the charges of !he heavy cavalry of Delhi, but harassed
them by their "cossacl?'' tactics, forming four divisions and
fi~hting loosely. After a long contest, Dilit Khan's tireless
energy and courage brofae the enemy by repeated charges,
and they retired in the evening. But as soon as the \7idors
began their return march, the elusive enenw reappeared and
'i)alled them severely from the two wings and rear. At dawn,
24th December, Shar;oa Khan with 61000 cavalry came to
the fort of Mangal\l'ide by forced marches, The Mughal faujdar
Sarfara::: Khan, disobeying Jai Singh's instructions, sallied out
1665) J.'.\l SJNG!!'S Mr\RCH ON IHJAPUR 243

io fight him and was slain. The remnant of bis force fled
bad~ to the fort.
After a two days' stay, Jai Singh resumed his march and
on 28th December, fotight anolht'!r battle. The Deccani
horsemen, as usual, tried to e1welop the Muqhals, breaRin.g
into several loose bodies, each of which attad~ec! its
immediate opponent at the first sign of any weaRness or
disorder in the ranRs of the latter. Finally the Mughals.
charged and the Deccanis gave way, but they l~ept up a
Parthian fight for the six miles they were chased. Next day,
29th December, Jai Singh arri\7ed within 12 miles of Bijapur.
This was destined to be the furthest point of his advance,
because by this time Ali Adil Shah II.'s military preparations
had been completed, and his capital and its en\7irons had
been rendered impregnable to ait.:.id1. ; its regular Silarrison
was stren!ilthened by 30,000 Karnatar<i infantry,-renowned
for their fighting quality. In addition to this, the cot111hy
round, Jor a radius of six miles, had been remorselessly laid
waste; the two la1ge tanlis of Nauraspur and Shahpur had
been drained dry; all the wells in the en\7irons had
been filled up with earth ; every building had been
ra;;ed to the i,;rouncl and every tree cttt down, so that "not
a green branch or shade-givin!i{ wall was left standing" io
afford shelter to the invaders. At the same time a picRed
force under the noted generals Shan::a Khan and Siddi
Masaud had been sent off to invade the imperial
dominions and create a di\7ersion in Jai Singh's rear, while
the main Bijapuri annv hovered rotmd that general's
camp.
Jai Singh, in his eali!erness to grasp the golden chance of
attackinq Bijapur while undefended and torn by domestic
factions had not summoned bi!il artiller'{ and siege material
from Pai:enda fort but had ard\7ed near Mangalvk!e by t'apid
marches. And now his position was critical. A large army
 244 Sl!OfH HISTORY OF AURr\NOZIB [ctt. Xt!

was coming from GoHwnda to the help oi Adil Shah. AnJ

the invaders were faced with starvation.

2. jai c:Sing.fi forced to cefreat from Bijapw~ 1666.

So, the Mw;fhal '6enera1 be.gan his retreat on 5th January,

1666, !he Bijapmis hanging on his rear. He reached Sultanpur
(on the Sina), 16 miles south of Parencla on the 27th and
halted there for 2-i days.
In this month of January, four !ilt"eat misfortunes befell
the Mughals. First, about the 12th, a brave Afghan captain
named Sil<andar ( the brother of Fath Jang Khan) when
convoying prov1s1011s, material and munitions to the army-
of Jal Singh, was surprised by- a superior Bijapuri force
under Shar;::a Khan eight miles south of Parenda ; he was cut
down, and all his rich convoy was plundered.
Then, on the 16th, Shiva who had at his own request
been detached to mal<e a diversion in the west by
attacl<ins;i Panhala, met with a dismal failure in assaulting
that fort, and lost a thousand men. About ihe 20th came
ihe evil news that Netaji, Shivaji's chief officer, who was
dissatisfied with his master probably at the inadequate
recol5nition of his valuable services and gallant feats of arms,
had deserted to Bifapur for a bribe of four !akfis of fiwz
and led raidinlif parties into Mughal tert'itory-. Jai Singh lured
him bacl< (20th March) with many- persuasive letters and the
acceptance of all his high demands. The fomth misfortune
of the Mughals was the sendinlif of 12,000 cavalr'l and 40,000
infantry by the Sttltan of Goll<onda io assist Adil Shah.
In his retreat from the environs of Bijapur Jai Singh had
i:o fight two severe battles (on 11th and 22nd January) besides
almost daily sl<itmishes by his foraging parties. The redding
parties of Bijapur, under Bahlol Khan and Nelaji, in the lately
annexed Bidar-Kaliani districts could no longer be ignored.
1666] ]AI SINGH'S RE'J'RI:AT FRON INVASION Q45

And, therefore, on QO!h Feb. Jai Sin!flh issued from his camp
at Sultanpur and marched clue east into the disturbed areil.
The third stage of the war now began, which was to
encl with his retreat to Bhum, 18 m. n. e. of Parenda, early
in lune next. During these three months and a half Jai
Singh moved about in the smull quadrilateral formed by the
Bhinrn on the west and the Manjira on the east, the cities
of Dharur in the north and Tuljapur in the south. In the
course of this campaign, he fought four more bloody but
fruitless battles like those described before; each lime the
Bijapuris were repulsed in the field and driven some distance
off, but they were not crushed, and continued as before to
hover round the Mu15hal camp, cut off strast!f(lers and \Veal<
foraging pa.rties, and stop the arrival of supplies.
Mangalvide was too far from the Mughal frontier and too
isolated a post to be held easily ; Jai Sin!'.,l"h, therefore, detached
(24th Ma\7) Dilir Khan to remove the guns and material from
the forl, distribute the i;irain and other properly, burn whatever
could no{ be carried away, and dismantle the fortifications.
This was done. Phaltan hnd been deemed untenable and
its Mttl!!hal garrison withdrawn as early as February last
So, not a sin!i(le place remained to the Mughals out of the
gains of the first campaign.
Jai Sinsgh's return march northwards bel!!an on 31st May.
Reachin;J Bhum (about 10lh June), he halted there for 3 1'2
months, and then, on 28th September, started for the en\7irons
of Bir (37 m. n. of Blmm) where he stayed till 17th November,
finally reaching Aurangabad on the 26th of that month.
Both the combatants were sick of the war, and longed for
peace ; and 11C!ilOtiations were reopened. The Bljapul'is retired
within theit own frontiers when the Musghals did the same.
3. jai 8i11g.fi's failure and deatfi.
f Iai Singh's invasion of Bijapur was a military failure.
N~ an fnch of territory, not a stone of a fortress,
246 SttOl~T HISI'OiiY Or Alll~ANGZHI [ctt. XU

not a pice of indemnity was i;lained by it. As a financiul

speculation it \Vas even more disastrnus.J In addition to
thirty la/dis of Rupees from lhe imperial treasury, Jai Sin-Jh
had spent more than a fctore out of his own pocl<et.
Profuse as Jai Sin!i!h's payments were, they were exceeded by
the eni;iagements he made on behalf of his master. Every
petty Muslim captain or Maratha chieftain, who offered to
desert from Bijapur, was promised a title and a hi~h mamab
in the Muqhul ser'Vice, besides a !E1r~e cash bounty for
equipping his retainers.
The Emperor was highly displeased with Jai Singh for the
military failure and money losses of the iiwasion of Bijapur.
The unhappy general receiv~ed (Oct. 1666) orders to return
to Aurangabad, and on the 23rd March following (1667) he
was recalled to Court and the 'Viceroyalty of the Deccan was
given to Prince Muar:r:am, assisted by Jaswant Sin15"b. The
Rajput veteran of a hundred fighls made oV'er charge to his
successor at Aurangabad in May 1667, and bent his wa'{
towards Northern fndia in humiliation and disappointment.
Not a pice of the krote of Rupee:, of his own money that
he had spent in the Bijapur war would be repaid by his
master. Brol~enhearted from disgrace and disappointment
and labourfn~ under disease and old age, Jai Sin15h sanl~ in
death on reaching Burhanpur, on 2nd July, 1667.
But thC' Rajah had ne"Vcr a fair chance in this war. His
army was' hopeless!}'" inadequate for the conquest of so
large and rich a l<inqclom ; his war material and food supply
were sufficient for a month or two only, and he had no
sie!i(e~guns. At the same time the power of the Bijapur
State was unimpaired in contrast with its exhausted condition
when Auran~r:ib himself captured its capital 20 years later.
Small as Jal Singh's amw was relatively to the tasl< laid upon
it, he was badly served by his subordinates. Many of !fr;
officers weee unreliable. and refused or delayed in canying
 FEUDAL DISINTEGRATION OF BIJ.i\PUR 247

out his orders. And the imperial officers at the base did
not keep his army regularly supplied with grain. Success
under these conditions was not humanly possible.

4. Military aristocracy g.ot7eming. Bijaput

prorlinces, tfieir c/5aracte1:

Military revolt wus the curse of the Bijapur sultanate,

and the decline of its royal power was attended by the
dismemberment of the l<inqdom into a number of military
fiefs. The government Weis a pure military occupation, and
its power was upheld by a number of mercenary generals
among whom all offices of power and trust \V'ere divided.
The chief races who formed the dominant aristocracy were
the Afghan!ii (with their fiefs in the western parts, frorn
Kapa! to Bankapur), the Abissinians (ruling over the eastern
province, 17f:;;., the Karnu\ district and a part of the Raichur
Doab), the Sayyids who headed the Mahdavi sect, and the
Arab Mullas of the Navaiyat clan of Konl<an. The Hindus,
both public servants and vassal Ra}ahs, were a depressed
class. The official body that had rnade the Stale its own
wus alien in ori!llin ; but it had settled in the soil with no
idea of returning to its original homes, and it had pradicalli
converted itself into a hereditary feudal baronage, each race
of whkh married within its own tribe and thus could not
become assimilated to the native population. This alien
aristocracy of office naturally formed no ,inle!i!ral part of lhe
State. Its aim was pure!'{ personal gain, and so long as the
pay and pension of its members were secure they did not
care who was the soverehtn of the country of which they
were nominally a part ; they had no patrio1lsm because thei
had no paftia; they were trul)? political Bedouins, "orphans
of the heart," nomads who lived ill India but were not
of it.
248 SHORT J-JJSTORY 0F AlHIP.NGZIB [cu. XII

The State founded on the loyalty of such public ser'Vants

is an edifice built on sand. At each foreif6n conquest the
people merely changed masters. Their life was untouched
by the political charnJe, and they, therefore, could not be
expected to rally round the crown in its hour of need, as
ibl: citi2ens of a nation;'!! Stale are sure to do. The decline
of the Adil-Shahi monarchy merely illustrates this well-lmown
principle.

5. Decline of tne J-Idi!-SfiaJ5i kings ;

struggles for !!le regency.

Under Muhammad Adil Shah the l~ingclom of Bijapur

reached its greatest expansion, and stretched from the Arabian
Sea to the Bay of Ben~al, across the entire Indian peninsula.
His realm had an annual re\7enue of 7 iwr:es an'd 84 la/dis
of Rupees, besides 51/.1 kr:or:es of tribute clue from vassal
Rajahs and :amindars. The sirenli_?th of .the army establishment
was 80,000 cavalry and 250,000 infantrl.7, besides 530 war
elephants.
The storm of Mughal invasion (1657) ha\7ing blown over,
the Bijapur State next showed a revival of power for some
iime. Ali Adil Shah II. developed great capacity and
enterprising spirit fro!ll 1661 to 1666. lie took the field in
person, curbed ihe li(rowing power of Shi\7aji, forced the
relradorl.7 Ab'i!ssinian officers of the N. E. pro\7ince (Karnul)
bad~ into submission, humbled the rebel Rajah of Bednur, and
finally rolled back the flood of Mughal in'Vasion under Jai
Singh. Thereafter the Sultan gave himself up to the pleawres
.......----.
of the harem and the wine-cup, for the rest of his life ; but
his able wa~it, Abdul Muhammad, continued to carry on the
administration with great success. Wiih the death of Ali Adil
Shah II. on 24th Nov. '1672, the glory of Bijapur departed.
Hls son Sil<andar, a bo7 of four, was placed on the throne,
 SIKANDAR ADIL SIIAH's rl!NORlTY 249

and the reign of selfis[1 regents commenced which finally

ruined the monarchy.
The history of Bijapur from 1672 to the extinction of the
dynasty in 1686 is really the history of its 1va;<.frs. It \'?as a
period marl~ed by chronic civil war among {he factious
nobles, independence of the provincial governors, paralysis
of the central administration in the capital itself, occasional but
indecisive Mughal invasions, and a secrd alliance but pretended
hostility with the Marathas.
Ali Adil Shah IL died on 24th Nov. 1672, and immediately
afterwards Khawas Khan, the Abyssinian leader of the Deccani
Musalman party, seized the supreme power and crowned the
boy Sikandar, the last of the Adil-Shahis. The new prime
minister broke his wotd to the other nobles and refused to
yield to them ihe forts he had promised. At this, the able
and experienced ex-111a.tfr Abdul Muhammad left the Court
in clisl[(ust. ("The infancy of the Mng and the incapacity of the
refJent threw the monarchy into a decline. Disturbances broke
out on all sides."l ,
''The Emperor began to send Bahadttr Khan repeated
orders for itwadin, Bijapur." But the task was obviously
impossible for Bahadur Khan with the ordinary conlinSJent of
a provincial qovernot. What the Khan did was to advance
from the seat of his go\7ernmeni to Pedqaon (afterwards.
named by him Bafiaduz~gatn), a strategic point on the Bhirna
ri\rer 55 miles due east of Puna and nearly midway between
Aurangabad and Bijapur. His aim was to direct his main
forces against Shivaji and win territoty from Bijapur by
corrupting its nobles and threatening war, rather than by
actual invasion.
The Afghans formed "more than half the Bijapul"i army."
Their leader was Abdul Karim, surnamed Bahlol Khan II.,
whose fief lay u.t Banl~apur. Their harsh demand for arrears
of pay and ope11 opposition to his administration had driven
250 SHORT tHSTOl~Y OF AlWANGZill [CH. Xll

the re15ent to secretly bell" the aid of the Mughal viceroy in

"pacifying the Afghans or exlirpatin15 them." So, the latter
advanced to the banR of t~;;;-;.iver, met Khawas KIMn
(19th October), and arrani;red terms for suppressing the Af15han
faction at Bijapur and mal~ing war on Shiva.

6. Regency of Ba/5/o! J(/ian, 1675- 1677.

Sure of Mu15hal support, the regent formed plans for over-
throwing Bahlol Khan, who was commander-in-chief and "used
often to disobey and oppose Kbawas Khan." Tbe Afghan
chief, 15"ettin!,1 scent of the matter, forestalled the blow. Inviting
Khawas to a dinner, he plied him with wine, seiz:ed him,
(11th November), and sent him off as a prisoner to Banl<apur.
I-le then entered the citadel of Bijapur and made himsalf 1f!a:<it
without c:i blow. "Kha\vas Khan had been prime minister and
vi'rh1al Ring for three years, during which, owing to the Khan's
indolence and Incompetence, affairs went from bad to worse.
But bad as this Abyssinian's regency had been, the rule of
Bahlol Khan and bis Afghans was even worse. After seizing
the reli(ency he began to place his Afghan followet's and
relatives in power and removed the Deccanis from office, one
by one, and even expelled them from the cil-y. Great disorder
broke out throughout the l<ingdom. The Deccani party was
up in arms against Bahlol.
Bahlol Khan's administration rested on i.he ability and
vigour of 6ne man, his chief counsellor Khizr Khan Pani.
On 12th Ianuar-y 1676, this man was stabbed to death b-y a
Decl!.:ani. Bahlol immediately murdered the helpless captive
Khawas Khan (18th Jan.), and then set out from Bijapur to
punish Minhaj and other Deccanis. On 21st March a bloody
battle was fought between the men of Sharza Khan and the
army of the regent near Mokah, in which the Afghans trium-
phed. Sharea took refuge with Babadur Khan at Sholapur,
1676] BAflADUf~ KllA \I JNVADCS B[J.\PUR 251

who now sided with the Deccani party and denounced Af<Jhan
rule at Bijapur. He marched southwards from Sholapur, cros:.,in!J
the Bhirna near Halsangi on 31st May; his Cd\ alry be11an7

to ravage the environs of Bijapur city. On 13th June, on a

plain between Aliabad nnd Indi (30 miles north-east of Bijapur),
Bahlol Klwn offered him battle. The brunt of the Deccani atlacl~
fell on tbe Mu.gbal right win!,! under Islam Khan (i;?ovei 1101
of Malwa) and his Turks, who repelled two onsets. But his
clcphcint stampeded into the enemy's ranfas during a isun-
powder explosion and Islam Khan and his son were slain.
The Mugbal base camp on the other side of the Bhima was
looted by the Afghans and its i;luards put to the sword, while
the flooded rt\7er prevented Bahadur Khan from sc-ndin:;:
SllCCOllr to ii.
Bahadur Khan's position was furthel" endangered by th~
arri\7al of a \7ast Golkonda army, .under !he premier Madannv
Pandit, to reinforce the Bijapmis. But the new-comers \Ver~
bribed by the Mughal general, and had also (as I suspect}
some difference with Bablol Khan, and therefore retreated
without cloin!if anything. Bahadm Khan marched on to
Ha!sarn;ii, where he assembled a vast force. This huge demon-
stration of strernJth cowed Bahlol Khan, \'7ho then secured
~afety for himself by a!ifreeing not to hinder the Mu~bul
conquest of certain Bijapuri districts. Bahadur Khan now tool~
easy possession of Naldt.trg (14th May 1677) and Klllbarga
(7th July) by bribery. But the viceroy's position was rendered
untenable by a conflict of policy between him and his second
in command, Dilir Khan, (arrived in June 1676), who as an
Af!OJhan became the bosom Jriend of Ba.hlol Khan and the
patron of the Af!5han faction at Bijapur. Dilir and Bahlol
wrote to the Emperor accusing Bahadur Khan of having
formed a secret understandin15 with the three Dec:cani Powers
and of bein~ really hoslilc to the success of lhe imperial
enterprises there.
 SHORT HJSTORY OP AURANGZJB [err. XII

7. Di/it Knan and Bafilol i11110de 60/fwnda, 1677.

Aurarn;:zoib recalled Bahadur, who left the province early

in September 1677, and Dilir continued to officiate as viceroy
of the Deccan till October 1678. Looking collectively at the
Mughal gains in the Deccan during the first twenty years of
Aurang2ib's rei~n, we find that he had in 1657 annexed
Kaliani and Bidar in the north-eastern corner of the Rinli:!dom
of Bijapur ; the fort and district of Parenda in the extreme
north had been gained by bribery in November 1660; Sholapur
had been acquired by treaty in July 1668 ; and now Naldurg
and Kulbarga were annexed. Thus, the vast tract of land
enclosed by the Bhima and the Manjira eastwards up to an
imaginary llne joining Kulbarga to Bidar (77 E. longihtde)
passed into Mughal hands, and the imperial boundary on the
south reached the north banh of the Bhima, opposite f-Ialsangi,
within strihin!J distance of Bijapur dty,-while south-eastwards
it touched Mallihcd, the fortress of the western border of the
!~ingdom of Goll<onda.
After the Mughals had effected their conquests in this
corner of Bijapur, they turned to settle accounts with Golkoncla.
They threatened (middle of August) Qutb Shah with invasion
unless he seized and delivered up to them Shivaji and
Shaikh Minhaj,-tbe last of whom had taken much money from
the Mughal viceroy by promising to join him, but had ended
b')? going av-er to Gollmnda. Dilir and Bahlol invaded Goll<onda
in September. From Kulbarga, the last Mughal outpost, they
advanced to Malkhed, 24 miles eastwards, the first fort on the
Goll<onda frontier, which they took in one day. But near
Mall<hed, 80 miles from the Qutb-Shahi capital, the tide of ,
invasion was arrested by vast enemy fotces. The Qutb-
Shahis were posted at Mangalgi, 7 m. north of Mall<hed, the
Mughal encampment (Ocfobet). For two months there was
constant but indecisive fighting. The Qutb-Shahis penetrated
 1
16771 DIL!R S INVA':>ION or- GOLKOND/\ 253

far within Bijapuri and Mughal territories and cut off grain
convoys coming lo the invaders. The Afghans and Raiputs
in the allied army suffered terrible hardships from e>.cess of
rain ancl the scarcity of ~rain caused by the enemy hoverinll
around. Bahlol Khan was strucR. down by a mortc1! illness,
and his re!aincrs dispersed to sa\7e themscl\"'es from starvation.
Then Dilir mu<le a disastrous retreat to Kulbarga, the enemy
hemmin15 him round and mal<ill\l daily dttad.:s. His bag!;!a@e
was looted, an<l the famished imperialists had lo eat the seeds
of the toddy-palm and the date-palm.
At Kulbar@a Masaud met Dilir Khan and made peace with
the MuiJhals : he was to act as wa~it at Bijapur, but must obey
the orders of Auran15;:ib 1 mal<e no alliance with Shivaji, and
always help the Mughals in wresting the Maratha chief's
usurped tenitory ; Adil Shah's sister, Shahar Banu Begam
(popularly called Padishah Bibi) wcts to be sent to the Mughal
Court i.o incmy a son of the EmperQ!'. Dilir then tetired
northwards.

8. Masaud becomes teg_ent ; A{f;.tian mutin'S;

Rebeflio11s in protlinces of Bijaput.
Bahlol died on 23rd Dec. 1677. Masaud, escorted by a
Gollwnda army, was installed as reqeni. in Februaty next. But
the treasury was empty. He failed to pay up the anears of the
A1'ghan mercenaries, and then the exasperated Afs;ihans brol<e
out in lawless fmy. They seiied !he houses of Bahlol Khan's
orphans, widows and other relatives, publicly insulting them to
compel paymenl of their dues. All citi>!ens believed to be rich
were cattiijht , and tortured by them. "Cbintu Chimna, a
Brahman robber, oppressed the people of the city, while the
Afi;tbans oppressed those ontside the fort-walls ..... All the time
Masdud sat down in helplessrtess, shutting the doors of his own
house......Many people emigrated to the Karnatal< in fear."
N6r was the new reli(ent better obeyed il1 the provh1ces.
Q54 SHO!tr HISTORY OF ,\URANGZIII [c11. Xll

To crown his misfortunes, he provol<ed lhe wrath of the

Mu;;;hals b-q hying to strengthen himself by a secret alliance
\\~i!h Shivaji. This breach of faith on lbe part of Masaud
absolved Dilir Khan from the treat)7 of Kulban5a, "respect
for which alone had so lon!il" hept him bad~ from the invasion
of Bijapur." At the end of the rainy season (October 1678)
Dilir Khan moved out of Peclgaon and halted at Al~luj.
Meantime, Shivaji, according to treaty, sent six thousand
sleel-clad troopers to guard Bijapur and reinforce Masaud.
But heart)7 co-operation between the two allies was impossible :
Shh-a tried to sei:::e Bijapur by treachery. The ill-feeling
between them daily increased and finally broke ou! in open
quarrel. Then Shivaji resumed plundering the Bijapur territory.
The Maratha troops approached the city, and looted the
suburbs of Daulatpur (i. e., Khawaspur), Khusraupur, and
Zubrapm. Masau<l, in greater fear of his pretended ally
than of his open enemy, sought the protection of Dilir Khan
and welcomed' a Mughal force at Bijapur.
Dilir Khan made a successful diversion in favour of
Bijapur by capturin!J and destroying Shivaji's stronghold of
Bhupah:iarh (2 April 1679) and defeating the relieving army of
16,000 Marathas with heavv slaughter. But Masaud's dL1plicity
at last wore out his patience, and he crossed the Bhima at
Dhull<hed and marched to Halsangi, only 35 miles north of
Bijapur. The Adil-Shahi Government had been dissolved
and there was utter anarchy in the country and capital in
consequence of the feud between Masaud and Shan:a Khan.
The Mughal '7iceroy of the Deccan had how become the sole
arbiter among the warrin!;I factions of Bijapur. "About
J0,000 troopers of Adil Shah, consisting of Deccani Muslims,
Afghans and Marathas, entered the Mughal service a,nd
gathered rottnd Dfllr, \Vhile only three or four thousand
slarving men remained with Masaud in Bijapur, and even
ihese hankered for Mu~hal pay.11
1679] Dll.m's I AST IN\'ASJ0:-1 OF lllf1\PllR

Auran15::ib demanded that the Sultan's sister Shahar Ba nu,

5urnamed Padishah Bibi, should be sent to the Mughal harem.
This princess was the beloved idol of the royal family and the
dti::ens alil~e. On 1st July 1679 she left the city of her birth,
amidst the tears and wailings of the Court and the populace,
lo enter a bigoted Sunni's house for the rest of her life.

~ 9. Dflir Kfian im1ades Bijapur ; Sfiirraji assists

Adil Sfiafi, 1679.
But the sacrifice of the royal maiden was of no avail to
the doomed dynasty. Mughal greed was insatiable ; Dilir
Khan now demanded that Masaud should resign the regenq
and retire to his own fief, while the Bijapur government
would be carried on by a creature of the Mughals. Masaud
wisely rejected the proposal. The Mughal general, being
thus openly defied, at once declared war a!;lainst Bifapur.
But his own position was really weaR ; his treasure-chest was
empty, while his soldiers' pay was in arrears. Secondly, the
new viceroy of the Deccan, Prince Shah Alam, was his
sworn enemy, and tried his best to foil his undertakinqs and
cover him with discredit Dilir Khan was thus brou~ht to a
halt at the very outset of the campaign, and wrote entreating
the prince for money. Masaud utiU;;ed the delay in
strengthening the defences of Bi)apur ; he sent an envoy to
Shivaji appealing to him lo come to the rescue of Adil Shah
in his supreme need. Sbivaji's response was prompt. He
told off 10,000 Maratha ca\7alry to aid Masaud, and despatched
2,000 ox~Ioads of provisions to Bijapur.
The Muqbals took possession of Manqalvi<le (52 miles
north of Bijapur) and the country between the Bhima and the
former fdrt, in September 1679. They also raided Salotgi,
Kasii;iaon, and Almala, and besieged AMuj, btit without success.
Dilir Khan reached Bal'atgi (6 m. n. e. of the c.;ipital) 011 7th
Octobe1-. But distracted by the opposition of Shah
256 Sl!ORT ll!STORY OF ALWANGZ[[I bi. XH
Alam, the censure of the Emperor for his delay in effectin~
the conquest, and quarrels among his counsellors and allies,
he saw failure staring him in the face. Shivaji bad arrived
at Sel~ur (midway bdween Panhala and Bijapur) with a new
division 10,000 stromJ, and had been joined by his advanced
division, of the same si.ren~th, under Anand Rao, (31 OcL
1679). On 4th November he divided his army into two
bodies ; one, S,500 strong, under his own command, marched
north-east by way of Muslah and Alrnala, while the second,
10,000 men led by Anand Rao, entered Mughal territory by
the Sangula route (north-westwards.)
With an army swollen to 30,000 horse, he spread a fan
of freebooters and raided the imperial dominions in all
directions from the Bhima northwards to the Narmada,
plunderin.@, burninFJ, and sla}?'ing.

10. Di/it rar;ages tfie counfty cound Bijapttt and

attad:s tfie capital.

Stung by the Emperor's reproaches, Di!ir Khan resumed the

campaign, Despairing of taking Bijapur by siege or coup de
main, and afraid of being attacl<ed by Shivaji in the rear if
he opened siege-trenches, the Muqhal !Jenera! left the environs
of the city on 14th November and marched westwards, intend-
iniJ to invade the Miraj"Pauhala region. His first worl~ was
to ravage the Bijapuri territory with insane cruelt}?'. The
villages in his path were utterlf sacl<ed; all tl1eir men, both
Hindu:; and Muslims, were tal<en prisoner for being sold into
slavery; and the women committed suicide by jumping down
into the wells with their children. On 20th November,
Shambhuji fled away from Dilir's camp to Bijapur, and
thence arrived at Panhala about the 4th of December.
From Ainapur Dilir Khan had faced round. Making a
wide detour round the south side of Bijapur city, he raided
1680) D!L!R RAVAGES BIJAPUR DISTRICT 257

the fertile and flourishing 'Valleys of lhe Don and the

Krishna,-the former of which was Rnown as the granary
of Bljapur,-laid \vaste all the 15ardens, fields, and \7illages
on the way, tool< all their inhabitants prisoner, and then
reached Aliabad (6 miles 11. e. of the city) on 4th December.
Prom this place he used to march out dai/>y~ with his guns
and men and exhaust his umrnLmition soldiers and horses by
wildly firing at lhe impregnable fort-walls from one point
<?,r ano ther every day.
The quarrel between Shah Alam and Dilir Khan daily
grew bitterer ; the Emperor wrote a strong letter of censure
lo the 15eneral. Dilir's position before Bijapur was no Ioniser
tenable. His army refused to obey him. So, on 29th fo.nuary
1680, he brol<e up his camp at Begam Haur: and began his
retreat, after ha\7ing wasted 56 days before the fort of Bijapur.
fie next roamed about lil<e a mad dog, slaying and looting
with fiendish cruelty, needlessly int1icting unspeaRable miser'{
on the innocent peasants, and turning into a barren wilderness
the region from Bijapur cily southwards to tbe Krishna and
eastwards to the fort< between the Kt"ishna and the Bhima.
Pradisini,r his usual brigandage all the way, Dilir Khan next
Invaded the Beracl country whose capital was Sagar, then
ruled over by Pam Nayal~, and reached Gogi (20th Feb., 1680).
He met with a crushing defeat when he tried to assault Sagar
(8 miles south of Gogi). The Berad infantry, sheltered behind
the parnpet of the fort, hillocfas and even boulders, plied
1hcir matchlocl<s with deadly effect on the Mughal troops
densely crowded in the \Tillage.
The imperial cavalry fi!alloped away in a panic, assailed
in their bacl~s by the fleet-footed Berads and piteously crying
for mercy. The Mughal casualties mounted up to 1,700 men
on that day. The spirit of his soldiers was utterly broken and
they even declined his offer of Rs. 5,000 as bounty for facing
the enemy again.
17
058 SlfOR'r JllSTORY OF AURl\~GZJB [c!i. XIJ

11. Di/fr J(fian is disgcaced and recalled, 1680.

At last utterly disgraced he set out on his return journey,
on 23rd Feb., moving northwards along the east side of
Bijapur, burning the villas;ies on the ruute and seir.inlil the population
for ransom. His officiatin!J viceroyalty of the Deccan had
ended in October 1678, when Shah Alam had arrived at
Aura111;iabad to fill that office for the fourth time. The prince
continued in the Deccan till May, 1680. His supine
administration was rendered more than usually barren of
success. The Emperor was displeased and recalled both Shah
Alam and Dilir, appointing Khan-Hahan (Bahadur Khan) as.
subahdar of the Deccan for the second time. This general tool?
over charge from Shah Alam at Auram6abad in May, 1680.

12. Aurang;db's policy tol!7ards Bijapur

from 1680 to 1684.

For four years after Dilir Khan's failure and retreat

(February 1680), nothini:J decisive was done by the
Mughals against Bijapur, as they were harried and dislraded
by- lhe fertile audacity of Shambhuji. Aurangzib wrote a
friendl't" letter to Shar;:a Khan, ihe leadins;l general
of Bijapur, (13th July, 1681), pressing him to co-operate
with the Mughal generals in crushing Shambhuji and
recoverin!;I the Bijapur territory he had usurped ; Sbahar
Banu, the Bijapuri princess recently manied to Aiam, also sent
a personal appeal to Sharr.a (18th July) to the same effect.
But no response came from any Adil-Shahi officer to the
Emperor's appeal for co-operation. The Emperor received
repeated and clear proofs of the help that the Marathas used
to get from the Bijapuri Government. So, Auranq;;ib decided
to increase the pressure on Shambhuji by mal<ing a diversion
against the Bijapuris and compelling them to concentra,fe thei1
1esources on the defence of their own realm. In April 1682,
1683] liOPELJ:SS CONDITION OF BIJAPllf~ Gon:RNMENT 259

a lari;ie force was sent under Prince Ar:am to enter Bijapur

territory. Ile ravaged the frontier, tool< the fort of Dharur
(about 140 miles north of Bijapur). The campaign Jan~uished
for many months, and the prince had not advanced further
south than the Nira river when he was recalled to Court
(June 1683). A few months later these desulto1y attacks on
Bijapur ceased for a lime.
The condition of Bijapur was now hopeless. five years'
ma~fr-ship at the decadent Court of Adil Shah had thorou!iihlf
disgusted Siddi Masaud. "With all bis efforts he faiied to
reform the government or restore order in the administration.
No man from peasant ~o chieftain ate his bread in peace of
mind for a single day ; none from king to beggar slept in
happiness for a single night." Despairin!J of improvin~ the
administration, he left the Court on 21st November 1683, and
formally resiqned his post on reaching his fort of Adoni. Aqa
Khusrau was in\7ested with the robe of wa~it on 19th March
1684, but died in six months (11th October). At lhls time
\7igorous steps were tab.en for the defence of the realm :
Sil<andar entrusted this task (3rd March 1684) to his bravest
general Sayyid Mal<hdum, surnamed Sharia Khan; his \7assal
Pam Nayah of Wagingera was in\7ited to come to the capital
with his 13erad clansmen, who were the best shots in the
countrf.
On 30th March, a letter was received from Aurang:eib,
calllng upon Adil Shah as a \7assal, to suppl'f pro\7islons to
the imperial army promptly, allow the Mughal troops a free
passage through his territory, supply a continqent of 5 or 6
thousand c:a\7alry for the Emperor's war with the Marathas,
abstain from helping or harbouring Shambhuji, and expel
Sharr:a Khan from his cot1nfry ! In the meantime the Mughals
continued to appropriate bits of the Adil~Shabi l<ingdom and
establish their own outposts in it. At the end of Ma1, Khan~i~
Jahan took possession of Mangal\7ide and San!i!ola and their
 262 SHORT lirSTORY Of' AllRc\NGZ!ll [CH. X.

a Goll~onda force, and finall'l on 10th Decemb er a second

army from Shambhu ji under Hambir Rao.\
Ptince Az:am had arri\7ed close to the fort of 13ijapur on
'.:9th June, 1685, but in less than a month he had to fight three
se\7ere battles with the enemy. On 1st July his trenches were
assailed by Abdur Rauf and Sharia Khan, and se\7cral Mughal
officers were wounde d and slain. Next da\! the Deccanis
fell on the supplies coming to the siege-c.:tmp and e\7identl\!
cut them off.

14. Prince Jfaam in danger, is ce!ier;ed b'J! Fil'u:i Jang..

A famine broke out in his camp ; the ofl-ra\7a~ed
neiiJhbo urhood of Bijapur could yield no food supply, the
roads from the north were closed by the acti\7il)? of the
Maratha s and the flooded streams, as the rainy season had
now set in. "Grain sold at Rs. 15 a seer, and thal loo in
small quantitie s."
for lad! of men the Mughal outpost at Indi, midwai
between Sholapu r ai1d Bijapur, had been withdrawll, and thus
the road from the imperial base to the s!c1;;e~camp was
now closed. Aura.ngzib saw no other means of sa\7in!J
his son than by orderin! l him to rdire from Bijapur with
his army. The prince held a council of war ; they all voted
for a retreat. Bui the prince's spirit liad been roused ; he
would not reduce hitnself to the level of his ri\7al Shah Alam,
who had recently come back from Konl<an covered with
dismal failure. Turnin~ to his officers, Auun exclaime d, "You
have spohen for yourselv es. Now listen io me. Muhatnm ad
Azam with his two sons and Regam will not refreal from
this post of danger so long as he has life. Aftet my death,
His Majesty may come and order IU'l cotpse to be removed
for burial. You, my followers, may stay or ~o away as
you like." Then the cout1cil of war cried out with one \70icc,
"Out opinion is the same as your Highness's !"
1685! AZAM AT Bl)i\PUR REINPORCl:!D 263
When this Spartan resolution of his son was reported to
Aurani;Jz;ib, he at once tooh steps to send relief. 5,000 pad~
oxen were despatched to convey food, with treasure loaded
on many hundred spare remounts, and much munition lo the
prince. A stroni;J escort under Gbazi-ud-din Khan Bahadur
Firm; Jang left the imperial camp with the party on 4th
October, 1685, and fou~ht its way to the famished army,
after repulsini,r Shar;;:a Khan at IndL The arrival of Firm:
Jan!J "turned scarcity into plenty in the Mu!Jhal camp, and
the famished soldiers revived." Ilis 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 smtl!J!J]e into the fort at night. Early in October,
Haidarabad, the capital of Qutb Shah, was entered by Shah
Alam unopposed, its ruler ha"Vin!i( shut himself up in Golkonda.
Many of his officers deserted to Shah Alam. The Mughal
control over the Qutb-Shahi State was confirmed in March,
1686, when the prime minister Madatma Pandit-who had
pursued a policy of alliance with Bijapur and the Marathas,-
was murdered.

15. Juffetings and difficulties of Mugfia!s

at siege of Bijapat.
By this time (June 1686) the sicqe of Bijapm had dragged
on for 15 months with no decisive result.
Discord and mutual jealousy had broken out amonq
the Mu!i(bal co111ma11ders. The Emperor realized that unless
he took the command in person, the fort would not full. On
14th June 1686 he left Sholapur and on 3rd July reached
lhe Rasulpur suburb west of the fort. Orders were at once
issued lo press the siege \7l!i(orously. The city was completely
beleaguered. Prince Shah Alam, now the eldest li-;rins;l', com
mandecl the sector opposite the north-western or Shahpur
'1ate and wanted to steal a march over his brother Ac-am,
 264 SHORT llJSTOR'l OF AURANGZIB [elf. XII

lhe general in charge of the siege. Ile opened a correspon-

dence with Sil<andar Adil Shah and his officers to effect the
peaceful surrender of the fort and thus rob A<:am of the
credit of being called the captor of Bijapur. One of his con-
fidential officers, Shah Quli, e'Ven used to enter the fort in
secret to negotiate with the garrison. The matter became the
!all< of the camp and reachi:d the ears of Muhammad A::am
Shah and of the Emperor. Shah Alam was censured ; some
of the officers incriminated were thrown into prison and the
others \Vere expelled from the camp. The sufferings of !he
besiei,rers were aggravated by a scarcit'i'. which was raginq in
lhe Deccan on account of the failure of rain that year. But
lhe sufferings of the besieged were ten times worse.
"Countless men and horses died within the fort," and from
lad! of horses the Deccanis could not follow their favourite
, tactics of hovering round their enemy and cuHini,1 off sh"<1'i6~&lers
and transport. In the extremity of the siege, a deputation of
Ml1slim theologians issued from the city and waited upon
Aurangzib in his camp, pleading, i "Yott are an orthodox
belie'Ver, \7ersed in Canon Law, and doing nothing without the
warrant of the Quran and the decrees of theologians. Tell
us, how ':lOU justify this unholy war a!,l"ainst brother Muslims
like us." Aurani;:e:ib \\7as ready wllh his reply. "Every word
't'OU have spohen is true. I do not C0\7et your territor'i'
But the infidel son of the infernal infidel (meaning Shambhuji)
stands al 'i'Ottr elbow and has found refuge with you. He
is troubling Muslims from here to the !,l"ates of Delhi, and their
complaints reach me day and night. Surrender him to me
and the next moment l shall raise the siege." The scholars
were then reduced to silence.
Shorily after A\trangzib's ani'Val the sap had been carried
io the edge of the moat, bui. the filling up of the dilch seemed
an impossible tcisk. "From the fort walls the artillery strucl<.
down whosoe\7er reached the edge of the ditch. None dttrst
1686] BIJAPUI~ PORT C l\P!TULATES 265

show his head." For three months the broad and deep moat
remained unfilled.
AuramJEib on 4th September ad\7anced his tent from two
miles in the rear to a place immediate!'? behind' the trenches.
Thither he rode full>t armed, b>t a co17ered kme, and received
the salute of the invcstinlJ officers. Next he rode to the
ccl>.ie of the moat to inspect the batter'? raised to command
the fort bastion and to learn for himself why the conquest
was delayed.

16. Tlie fall of tlie last ting. of Bijapur.

Bijapur fell a weel~ after this date, but not to assault.
The garrison now lost heart. (Ebe cause of the Adil-Shahi
monarchy was hopeless : the l<inl;i was a playthini.1 in the
hands of selfish nobles ; all hope of help from outside was
gone, The future was absolutely dark) The .qarrison had
by this time shrunt< to 2,000 men. In the ni!jlht of 9th
September the secretaries of the two Bijapuri leaders, Nawab
Abdur Rauf and Shar;;a Khan, waited on Firm:: Jang and
opened negotiations for surrender. Aurangs:ib received them
with favour.
(2unday, 12th Sepiember, 1686, saw the downfall of the
Bijapur monarch'f. Amidst the tears and lamentations of his
subjects who lined the streets, Sil<andar, the last of the
Adil-Shabi St11tans, gave up his ancestors' throne )and issued
from the capital of his house, at one o'clocl< in the afternoon,
in chan;ic of Rao Dalpat Bundela and went to Auranl,1:::ib's
camp in Rasulpu!'.
Meant'ime the large tent which served as the Hall of
Public Audience in Aurang;::ib's camp, had been richly
decorated for this historic scene. When Sil<andar arrived, a
h'ain of bigh officers welcomed him and ushered him into
the Presence. The fallen monarch made his bow at the foot
of the conqueror's throne. His extreme beauty and combined
266 SHORT msroRY OF 1\URANGZIB [rn. Xll

grace of youth and royalty excited universal admiration and

pity for his fate. E11en AurarnJzib was touched : he spol<e
soothingly to Sil<andar. The deposed Sultan was enrolled
among the Mughal peers with the title of Kfian Oard), and
a pension of one !akfi of Rupees a year was settled on
him. All the Bijapuri officers were taken 011er into Mughal
service. On 19th September, the 11ictor, seated on a portable
throne, rode into the fort by wa1 of the trenches of Saf
Shil<an Khan and the southern or Mangali !Jule, which had
once been chosen for the assault. Along the roads of the
city he marched, scattering handfuls of gold and sil11er coins
ri!E!ht and left. and viewed the fort walls and bastions and the
palaces within the citadel. Then he went to the Jama Masjid
and rendered two-fold prayers to God for His favours. In
SiRandar's palace he rested for some hours and received
congratulatory offerings from his courtiers. AH paintings on
the walls drawn in violation of the Quru.11ic law that man
shottld not presumptuous!)?' vie with his Creator by depicting
living bein!i(s, were ordered to be erased, and an inscription
recording Aurangzib's victory was plu.ced on the famous
cannon Malik-i-maidan.
Complete <iesolatfon settled on the city of Biju.pur
after the fall of ils independent dynasty. Two years
after its conquest, a terrible plague swept away more
than half its populatlon. A few years later, Bhimsen noticed
how the citv and its equally lar15e suburb Nauraspur loofaed
deserted and ruined ; the populatlon wu.s scattered, and
even the abundilnt water-supply in the city wells had suddenly
i;/rown scanty ! Bijapttr henceforth continued as a dismal
example of departed ~reatness, -a vast city co-vered with
"long lines of fallen houses, ruined mansions and lonely
patches of jungle."
The last Adil,Shahi Sultan was for sometime lodged in the
State-prison of Daulatabad. Ltlter. he was again carried abou1
1700] DEMH OF LAST ADIL SHAil 267

with the camp of Aurangzib, as a captive. In this condition

he died outside Satara fort on 3rd April 1700 ; he had not
yet completed 32 years of age. According to his last wishes,
his mortal remains were carried to Bijapur and there burfed
at the foot of the sepulchre of his spiritual guide Shail~h
Fahimullah, in a roofless enclosure.
 CHAPTER XIII
THE DECLINE AND f ALL OF TIIE QUTB SI-!AHS.

1. Accession of Abu! Hasan Qutb Sfiafi, 167:2.

Abdullah Quib Shah, the 6th l~ing of Gollwnda, : had

succeeded his father in 1626, at the age of twelv~, and
reil5ned for 46 years, during the whole of which he was a
mere puppet on the throne. The actual administration was
conducted for more !!Jan 40 years by his molher, Hayat
Bal<hsh Begam, a lady of strong character, and after her
death (1667) b'i' Abdullah's eldest son-in-law Sayyid Ahmad.
Abdullah was, throughout his life, indolent and almost imbecile ;
he never appeared in public to give audience and administer
justice according to the custom of the countr)', nor did he
\7enture outside the walls of the fortress Goll<onda. Confusion
and misrule were the natural and unavoidable consequences
of this state of things.
Abdullah had no son, but three dau!6"hters, the second of
whom had been married to AuramJ?ib's son Muhammad
Sultan, and the first to Sayy-id Ahmad, who claimed descent
from one of the noblest families of Mecca and who rose
by his ability to the position of prime minister and de facto
ruler of the State. It was proposed 'to marry the third
princess to Sayyid Sultan ; but on the day fixed for the
marriage, Sayyid Ahmad iold Abdullah that if he f,fa\7e his
daughter to Sayyid Sultan, he would at once lea\l'e the faingdom.
A hurried search was made for another match for the princess.
The choice of the palace agents fell on Abul Iiasan, a youth
descended on his father's side from the Qutb~Shahi family,
who had spent the last 16 years in the lazy pampered life
of a monR by enterin!iJ himself ns a disciple of the saint
1673] Nl\DANNA, FAVOURlTE OP QUTB SliAtf 269

Sayyid Raju Qattal. This man was led to the palace and
forthwith married to the princess.
On 21st April, 1672, Abdullah died, and at once there
arose a dispute for the succession. After some confusion
and fiJ6hting, Sayyid Muzaffar, a leading ~eneral of hi~h
Persian orilt!in, supported by Musa Khan mafia/dar and several
other ol1iccrs of the harem, overpowered Sayyid Ahn1Ll.d anJ
furced him into prison. Abnl Hasan was c1 owned l<ing,
Mmrnffar becomins;: his prime minister. But within a few
months, Abu! Hasan bought over Madanna, the Brahman
factotum of Mm:a.ffar, and through him corrupted mos\ of the
captains of his personal followers, so that one day Mm::affar
was quietly depri\7ed of his waz:it-ship, which was conferred
on Madanna, with the title bf Surya Prakash Rao. This
change of ministers took place about 1673 and Madanna's
rule continued till his own assassination in 1686, on the
e\7e of the fall of the l<in!Jdom. His brother Akkanna became
commander-in-chief and his nephew, the gallant and learned
Yengana surnamed Rustam Rao, was lJi\7en a high command.
Muhammud Ibrahim, a creature of Madanna, was at first created
premier peer.
During the twel\7e years of Madanna's ministr'l the internal
administration of the counfr'l was marked by the su.me
disorder and tyranny as in the 1eign of Abdullah, and matters
nalurally decHned from bad to worse, "and nolhin!J is thought
of bLtt peeling and squeeains;r the people." Madanna continued
the same foreign policy as before, but with u. necessaty
variation, There was no estrangement from the Adil-Shahi
Go\7ern111ent1 but that Court was now the scene of chaos,
faction-fil;;!hts and chanf;)"es of res;fenc'z'". Madanna, therefore,
built his hopes of national defence chiet1y on a close alliance
with the ever\71dol'ious Maratha klng, and promised him a
re>,:ular subsidy of one lakfi of fiun for the defence of
Golkonda.
270 SliORT HISTO!<Y OF AlmANGZJB [cir. xnr

2. Magna! policy towards tne Golfonda !2ing.

1~0 long as Bijapur stood, Gollwnda was safe. Aurangzrib
knew it, and therefore did not try to annex the latter first.
Nor was it necessary for him to do so, as he found it more
profitable and cheaper to fleece and terrorizoe the Qutb-Sbabi
Government than to extinguish it.) The Mui;ihal "Resident" at
Haidarabad domineered o\7er the king and the people, insulted
and taxed them, but without provoking armed protest.
Resi!i!ning his royal functions to his waz:ir Madanna, Sultan
Abu! Hasan shut himself up in his palace with a host of
concubines and dandmJ-girls. Under his predecessor, Haidarabad
had become the Indian Babylon, with its twenty thousand
public women (who had to dance before the king in the
public square e\7e1-y Friday) and its countless taverns, close to
these women's quarters, where 1,200 large leather bottles of
fermented palm~iuice were consumed daily. But he also
promoted several fine arts contributory to luxury ; he settled
in his capital and supported by his bounty skilled craftsmen of
various liinds whose exquisite manufactures were famous
throughout India. The l:;dng's own skill in music was of no
mean order. He was rightly called Tana Shah or "the dainty
l~ing."
The enormous wealth of the country was derived from its
well~watered fields which at once arrest the eye by their
greenness and abundance of tropical fruits as the traveller
enters the State from the arid and sterile region round Bijapur~
its rich mines of diamond and iron, and its prosperous ports
on the east coast from Chicacole southwards to St. Thome.
The king had a secure income of 2 3'4 ktotes of Rupees. For
nearly thirty years after Attrangz::ib's accession io the throne,
the kingdom of Golkonda had enjoyed respite from Mughal
attack; the preMoccupa!ion of the Mughals with Shivaji and
his patron Adil Shah had prevented them from turning to
 .\URllNGZlll'S RUPTURE \V!Tli QUTB Sil \ll 271

Golko11Ja. Qutb Shah had also paid tribute to the imperial

Government more reqularly than the Sultan of Bijapur.
During the Mugha! in\Tasions of Bijapur under Jai Singh in
1665-66, ttnder Dilir Khan in 1679 and under Prince Muhammad
Azam in 1685, the Sultan of Golkonda had openly sent his
troops to assist his brother in distress. The first two of these
ads had been condoned, or atoned for by the payment of
tribute. The lust brought ruin 011 him. But, in the eyes of
Aurangzib his worst offence was his fraterniz:ing with infidels.
He had effectively helped Shivaji with the sinews of war after
his flight from Ai;sra in 1666 and thus enabled him to recover
his forts from the Mughals. Again Qutb Shah had rapturously
welcomed Shivaji on his visit to Haidarabad in 1677 and
behaved lil<e a humble \1assal of the Maratha king, placing a
necklace of gems round his horse's neck and promtsmg him
an annual subsidy of one /a/(fi of nan for the defence of his
territory. Above all, he had lTiade the Brahmans Madanna and
Al<l~anna, his chief ministers, and thus allowed Hindu influence
to predominate in his administration.''

3. War wifli Ifie Mugfials and capture of

Haidarabad, 1685.

(Auran!il;;ib had begun his attack on Bijapur (in March

1685) b warning Abu] Hasan not to assist Sikandar' Adil
Shah in a1w way. ')But at the end of June, a letter from Abu!

" As the Emperor wrote to his envO\i' at the Gollwnda Court, '"This h1cl>less
wretch (mcanin\l Abut Hasan Qulb Shah) has ~iven the supreme powel' in his
State lo ii kafir and made Sa\?"tids, Shaihhs and scholars subject to that man. He
has publicly allowed (in his realm) all l>inds of sin and vice (171~.. taverns, brothels,
and ~umblin~ houses). Ile himself is da\!' and niqht sunk ih the dead!\!' sins, through
the intoxic11tio11 of hin11ship, and fails to dblin~ulsh between Islam a11d infiddily,
justice ond oppression, sin and piel\!'. B\i' relusin~ 1Q 1cspect God's commands
and prohibitions, by sendln~ aid to infidel Powers, , . and b'l recenlll? pa'{inl( one
Jalih of fiufl to the liafir Shambht1, he has made himself accqrsed before God and
m~n." (K K., ii, 32S).
 SlfORT ll!STORY Ol i\URANGZIB [rn. Xlll

f lasan to his a~ents was intercepted, in which he had written,

"The Emperor is u. !5reat rnan, and hu.s acted magnanimously
up to this time, but now, finding Silwndar a. helpless orpha.n,
he has laid sie~e to Bijapur and pressed him hard. It is,
therefore, necessary lhal while the Bijapur army and Shambhu,
with his countless hordes, are oi1erins;( resistance from one
side, I should, tram this side, semi 40,000 men under Khalilullah
Khan to enter into the war. We shall then see on which
front the Emperor can meet and repel his enemies."
At this Amam~r;:ib at once detached Prince Shah Alam with
a vast army to march on Haidarabad. But when the imperial
vanguard approached Serum, 8 miles east nf Mall<hed, it found
its path barred by a Golkonda army ; the Mu1Jhal advance
was stopped and the troops fell bacl< on Mall<hed. Every day
there were sl<irmishes with the enemy. Khan+Jahan ran up
walls round his camp at Mall<hed and practically stood a
siege there.
After .:i time the prince arrived with reinforcements and the
Mughals, depositing their baggage at Mall~hecl, sent their
vanguard aqain under Khan-i-Jahan to hacl~ a way towards
Haidarabad. The Dcccanis outnumbered this force as three
to one, and ihere were frequent fights. Each such encounter
was followed by a halt of three or four days on the Mu!Jhal
side. It was already Au!;IUSt, and the heavy rain caused great
hardship to the Mu!il hal troops and impeded their advance.
Their daily losses at last tool,~ the heart out of the Mugbal
soldiery. So, the imperial generals halted and wasted two
months in the neighbourhood of Mall<hed without fo;;ihting.
Then a stinginlij rebuke from the Emperor and an unusually
audacious ad of sniping on the pdnce's camp, roused him to
seek battle a!i[ain. After a very bloody contest the Deccanis
were pushed bacl< to their camp. Next mornin}J it was learnt
that the had fled towards IIaidarabad. The cause of this
sudden breal;?down of the Deccani resistance was dissension
1685] Sr:COND CJ\PTUf.!E OF liAIDJ\R4BAD 273

beiween the commander-in-chief Mir Muhammad Ibrahim,

dnd his second in command Shail<b Minhaj, and the seduction
of Jhe former by the Mughals. The prince, being now
unopposed, rapidly marched towards I-Jaidarabad.
The fli~ht of the commander-in-chief paralysed tbe defence
of Haidarabad. Qutb Shah did not !mow whom to trust ; he
fled lo Gollmnda fort. The kin~'s flight to GoHwnda was so
precipitate that all his property was left behind. When the
people of Haidarabad learnt that the city had been abandoned
by the Gol7ernment and that the enemy were at hand, there was
a mad scramble to flee to the fort. The confusion was
a!i1~ravated by the indiscriminate looting which bel!(an
immediately. The city presented the spectacle of a sadz
after assault by an enemy. In every ward, street, and market-
place, thet'e were Jal~hs of Rupees worth in cash, proped\7,
Chimi-ware of the nobles and lradesm~n, and carpets of the
bin~ and the aristocracy, besides horses and elephants. These
were looted in the midst of a tertible uproar. Many Hindu
and Muslim wives and child1en were kidnapped and some of
them outraged.
Next day Shah Alam sent a party of his soldiers to protect
the cifrcens, but these men themselves joined in the plunder !
After two days the prince appointed Khan-Hahan to police
the city, and he succeeded in restorln1r order to some extent.
The Mughal army made ihis its second entry into Haidarabad
about 8th October 1685. QLttb Shah continued to send agents
to the prince, helplessly appealing to him to make peace. At
the prince's recommendation, which reached the Court on
18th October, the Emperor consented to pardon Abu! Hasan
on the followlni,t conditions : (1) He must pay one K.tore and
20 la/dis of I~upees in settlement of all past dues, and in
addition a tribute of 2 la/dis of fiun every year. (2) He mu$1
dismiss Madanna and Aklmnna. (3) He must give up all claim to
Mall?hed and Serum, which the imperialists had already occupied,
18
274 SHORT lilSTORY ot' AlWJ\NGZJll !rn. XIII

4. Murder of Madanna, 1686.

Shah Alam stayed fol" some months, first close lo

Goltmnda, and afterwards at Qutb Shah's request he withdrew to
Kuhir, (48 miles n. w. of it), waiting for the collcciion of the
war-indemnity. Abu! Hasan put off the dismissal of Maclanna
as long as he could. At this his discontented nobks lost all
patience. They rei;?arded Maclanna as the cause of all thci1
sufferings at the hands of the Mt11i1bals. A plot was formed
against Madanna by the discontented Muslim nobles, whose
leader was Shaikh Minhaj, and by Sarurna and Ja11i Sahiba,
!he widows of Abdullah Qutb Shah, who now ruled over the
kinli('s harem with despotic powers. One night, ~arly in M21rch 1
1686, just after Madanna had left his master's presence, be
was set upon and murdered in the stt'cets of Goll<onda by
Jamshid and other slaves. Al<l<anna shared his brother's fate
on the spot. Their br~we and accomplished nephew, Rttsfam
I~ao, was pursued to his house and there slabbed to death.
The minister's family residences were plundered. Next, a
general attacl~ was made by the mob on the Jiindu quarter
of the fort and "many other Brahmans lost their liv-e,and
propert't' in that niljl"ht." The Dowager Sultana now se,~t the
heads of the obnoxious ministers to Aurangi::ib as the test of
peace-offerin~s. The Emperor recalled Shah Alam to ,~is ::;icle
at Sholapur, \\7here the prince arrived on 7th Jun~ 1686.
Golkonda territmy was now completely evac1.1ated ' o..ig the
Mu!llhals. Bijapur fell on the 12th September of that ~e<1r,,
and its fall set the Mughal forces free lo deal finally with the
Qutb-Sbabi Government.

5. Aur:ang~ib besieges Go!fonda, J6S7.

On the 28th of January, 1687, the Emperor urrivcd wi!bin

two miles of Golhonda. Meantime, Abi.il Hasan had alifaln
1687] COOLKONDll. l'O!J'J' DESCRmrn 275

fled from his capital lo this fort, and the citf of Haidarabad
was occupied for the third and last time bf the Mughals.
Two miles due west of the stone bridge over the Musi
riv-er which connects the two pads of the city of Haidarab.:1d,
lies the fort of Goll<onda. It is un irregular rhombus, with
a rowJh pentagon (the Haya Qi/a) annexed to its north-eastern
face. A strong crenellated wall of granite, over four miles in
kngth and of great thidmess, surrounds the fort, which is
furlber defended bf 87 semi-circular bastions, each from 50
tu 60 teet hii;th and built of solid blocl<s of granite cemented
together, some of them weiqhin15 more than a ton. The eight
massive gates could have safelf defied any u.rtillery l<nown to
the 17th centu1y. Outside is a deep ditch, 50 feet broad,
with stone retaining \\7alls. But Goll<onda reallf consists of
four "-Hstinct forts joined to each other and indt\ded within
the same lines of circumvalla!ion. The lowest of these is the
outermost enclosl1re into which we enter bf the Fath Darwaza
near the soulh-easlern corner ; it is a vast tract covered with
mansions of the nobles, bazars, temples, mosques, soldiers'
barrachs, powder magazines, stables and even cultivated fields.
Here the whole popl1lation of Haidarabad used to live in
times of danger. Proceeding inside along !he grand main
road for some 1,250 fards from the Path Darwa:oa, and
Jeavin~ a set of rathe1 taler palaces, harems and offices on
<'I low site on the right, we arriV'e at the Bala Hisar gate,
which leads us, over a flight of steps, to a higher area with
exceedingly lofty and strong walls and containin!il a capacious
three-storied armoury, ma!ila<::ines, stables, mosques, audience
chambers, harems, gardens, large wells with steps, and e~en
two serais and a temple of the monkey-god ! Further west,
some 200 steps cul in the solid roe!< lead the traveller up to
the very apex of the fortress, the Bala f!isar (or Upper
fort), standing on a bed of solid granite, its walls being
formed bv huge boulders with here and lher~ connecting
 276 SHORT IIISTORY ot ;\UPANc,zrn [cri. Xlll

curtains and parapets that tower far overheud. This is the

dtadd of the citadel, the l<ernel o~ the whole fort.
At the north-eastern corner of the fort stands a mound
commanding parts of GoHwnda ; but it was enclosed by a
wall and added to the f~1:l,-unde1:-- the name of the Nasa Qi/a
1r New Fort, by l<inll Abdullah as a Jefensi\7e precaution after
Attrangzib's first siege in 1656. North, south and even west
of this last area are large tanl<s, <1nd the water-supply of
the fort was unfailin\l. North of the fort at a distance of a
mile and a quarter, runs a low range of bare fantastically
piled up hills sbirted by the great old road from Sholapur and
the west. Here AurangEib is said ~91ave established his own
quarters at the last siege.
The Mullhal attacR was directed on the south-eastern and
southern faces of the fort, their soldiers m0\7in!J a.long both the
north and south banbs of the Musi, while the n. w. gate was
bombarded only as a feint.
Arrived within \7iew of ~.!honcla, Aurc1ngiib at once
ordered his !Jenerals to assail and drive awc;iy the enemy's
troops who had assembled in the dry ditch under
shelter of the fort walls. One charge of the imperialists
swept them away, or as the Mu!ilhal official hislory-
puts it, "the wind came and the gnats fled away ;" and
their property, wi\7es and children were captured.
Qalich Khan (the grandfather of the first Niiam) tried
to enter the fort pell-mell with the ftti$itives <thd capture
lt by one stroRe. But he was hit on the shoulder-blade by a
wmburak bullet from the fort walls, and in spite of all the
rernedfes tried by the doctors, he died after three days. Regular
sie~e operations were therefore begun, on 7th February.

6. 8/iafi Alam imptfsoned.

But at the very outset the Emperor's arms were paral'i?'sed
by bitter personal jealousies in his camp. Prince Shah Alam
1687] SHAH ALAM AI<RESTED BY Al\RANGZJI\ 277

was of a soft pleasure-loving nature, and constitutionally ayerse

lo strenuous exertion and heroic enterprise. He did not wish
lo see a brother so\7ereign lil~e Abul Hasan utterly ruined.
This generous impulse was mingled with .:i more sordid feeling :
if he could induce Abu! Hasan to sue for peace throu~h his
mediation, then he himself would be proclaimed in the official
reports as the captor of Gollwnda. Abu! Ilasan's agents
secretly \-risited Shah Alam with costly presents, beg.gin it him
to use his influence with the Emperor to sa\7e Abu! Hasan's
throne and dynasty. The prince ga\7e encoura,ging replies.
fn thus negotiating behind the Emperor's back and with an
enemy beyond hopt' of the Emperor's pardon, Shah Alam
was pla't'in.g a dangerous game. And he had enemies in the
camp e\7e1" on the !ooh out for a chance to ruin him. llis
ri\7al Az:um's partisans revealed to the Emperor the secret
of the communications passing between Shah Alam and Abu!
Hasan. An order of Shah Alam to bring his women's tents
closer to his headquarters, reall'i as a precaution against
surprise by the enenw, strenl,'!thened Aurangr:ib's suspicion that
the prince was meditating flight to the enemy's fort with his
famil't'. All doubts were set at rest when Firuz: Janli! intercepted
and showed to the Emperor one night some letters which the
prince had been trying to send lo the fort.
Aurang:db acted promptly : imperial troops \\1ere at once
posted as guards round the prince's camp. Next morning
(21st February), Shah Alam with his four sons was invited to
the Emperor's tent for consultation. After a few minutes'
talk wiih him, they were asl<ed by the wa~il' to step into a
side-room (the chapel) with him to heai- some secret instruc-
tions of the Emperor. Tbere thel[ were politely asked to
consider themsel\7es as prisoners and surrender their swords.
The prince's entire family was imprisoned, his pl'operly attached,
his troops distributed among other commands, and his h'usted
eunuchs tortured lo make them di\7ulge ihelr master's
278 SHOR I' HISTORY Of AllRANOZlB [cir. XIII

treasonable plots. The more the prince protested his innocence,

the more did the Emperor's an15er flame up; he increased the
rif;lottrs of Shah Alam's captivity and ordered that he should
not be allowed to cut his hair or rare his nails, nor be
supplied with delicate food, coo\in!;l drinl~s or his customary
dress. It was seven years before Shah Alam recovered his
liberty. After the arrest of the prince, the f-3mperor hurricdl\.-
brol~e up his Comt, ran to his wife Aurarn;:abacli Mahal, anc!
Rcpt slapping his l<nees and moaning, "Alas I Alas ! I have
rased to the ground what I 11ad been rearing up for the last
forty years."

7. Autang.:tib's difficulties at 60/k.onda sieFJe.

But Shah Alam was not the only discordant element in the
sic~e-camp. The many Shias i11 the imperial service hca.rlUy
dislifaed the prospecl of the extinction of the last Shia l~in(Jdorn
in India. Aparl tram the Shias, this war of extermination
al{,ainst Abul Hasan \Vas condemned by many orthodox Sunnis
even, as an unprovoh.ed "war between Muslims" and therefor.:
sinful. The upright and saintlr Chief Justice, Shail~h-ul-Islam,
had counselled the Emperor not to invade the two Decanni
sul!anatcs, and on his ad\7ice bein\;l rejected he had resi15ned
his high post and retired to Mecca. His successor in officl>,
Qaz:i Abdullah, tendered the same unpalatable dtMce and was
pacl~ed off io the Base camp !
This natural distrust of Shias hindered the Emperor's
business. At first the only hil;lh and distinguished officer at
U1e sie~e was Firuz Jan~. Saf Shilrnn Khan, the Chief of
Artillery, was a Persian and jealot1s of the superior position
and fa\7our enjoyed by Firm; Jan@, a Turk. After working
strenuously for some time, he resigned "in order to spite
flrnz: Jan!il." Salabat Khan sl\cceeded him, but falled to do his
work well, and resiSJned in a shoet time. The next Chief of
Artillery was Ghairat Khun, who was surprised b'i the enemy
1687) MUGHAL FA:ILURES ;rr GOLKONDA 279
in a state of gross carelessness and carried off as a prisoner.
Then the post went abeg!i(ing for some time to the ruin of the
sie~e operations. Then at last, Saf Shil<an Khan was taR.en
out of prison and restored to this office (22 June ! 687). But
bt7 that time the fieldworl~s constructed after five months of
toil, had been demolished by the enemy, and the investment had
to be begun anew. The siege had been stal'ted on 7th Februaiy.
But the 'fort had an inexhaustible supply of munitions and iis
walls bristled with guns of large calibre. Day and night the
garrison kep~ up an incessant fire on the approaching Mugbals.
Every day some men were slain or wounded on the Mughal
side. But !he dauntless courage and tireless perseverance of
the troops under Saf Shikan carried the sap to the edge of
the ditch in about six weeks. The next step was to fill the
ditch and mal<e a path for t~e assaultinsJ column.
While these slow operations for breachin!J and assault were
i;JOing on, the commander-in-chief, Firuz Jan151 r11ade an attempt
to laRl' the fort by an escalade, on 16th May. I-le stole out
of his camp at 9 P.M., and 011 reaching a bastion where the
enemy's sentries were asleep, he planted a ladder aqainsl the
Wdll and sent two men up to the rampart. The two other
ladders he had tal<en with him pr~\7ed too short, and so a
rore-ladclet was fastened to the top of the gate. By chance
a pariah do!5 was standing on the wall, seekini? a path for
descenditW to. the moat and feeding on the corpses lying there.
Alarmed by the appearance of stran56ers1 lt set up a loud barl~, \\7hicb
roosed the garrison, and thc-r clro\7e away the Mughals. To
the, Muslims the dog is an unclean animal. But this dog had
sa'7ed the capital. Abul Hasan rewarded his canine deliverer
by !Jiving it a ~old chain, a collar set with jewels, and a 121old
1
embroidered coat, and styling it rSetitabqa or ' Peer of three
de!;!rees,"~in mocRery of Firuz Jan~'s three titles of Kfian,
Bd!iadw:, and Jang,-and remmRinij! wittily "This creature has
done no less a deed (than Firuz: Jang) 1"
 ~80 St!ORT HISTORY or AURANGZIB lCH. XIII
The garrison promptly retaliated for the surprise that had failed,
by making a sortie on the raised battery and slayini,I the arlillerr-
men. The sie~e operations had ceased to make any pro~tess
for some time past, on account of the confusion in the al'tillery
branch. The enemy's fire was still unsubdued, and the Jitch
far from filled up. The Mughals also now fell into the grip
of famine. The Deccanis and their Maratha allies infested
1he roads and prevented the transport of grain to theii MwJhal
camp. Then, in June, the rain descended in torrents, the
swollen water-courses and rivers became impassable, !he
roads \Vere turned into quagmires. No provisions could
reach the bcsiei;iers. The incessant rain of !he middle of
June completely spoiled the siege-works. The raised 1,llln
platforms collapsed into mud-heaps ; the walls of the trenches
fell down and blod~ed lhe passai;ies ; the camp became a
sheet of water out of which the white tents stood up lil<e
bubbles of foam.
8. 8otfies of tfie g_acti.son ; fieai1y Mugfial losses.
The enemy seized th<> opportunity. In the nif,tht of 15th
June, amidst a deluge of rain, they raided the Mughal
advanced batteries and -trenches, slew the careless artillerymen,
drove nails into the port-holes of the !i(uns, destroyed the
stores of sappin!i( and gun material, then fell on the officers, tind
carried off into captivity Gbail'at Khan (the Chief of Artillcrf),
Sarbarah Khan (a trusty old servant of the Emperor)
and twel11e other hit;th officers. It was only ufter three
days of struggle and with the assistance of a fresh
division that the enemy could be expelled and , !he
ruined battery re-occupied by the Mughals. Abu} Hasan
treated the capti11e Mui;ihal officers very h.indly, gave them
rich presents and sent them bacfa to the Empetol'. Vi@orous
measures were taken to retrieve the late disaster and
press the attack home. Three mines had been carried
from the slege~trenches to under the bastions, and they were
16S7] ASSJ\l!LT ON GOLl\oNDA FATLS 281

ready by 19th June, t'ach chamber stored with 500 maunds

of gunpowder and the fuses laid.
The next day was fixed for the explosion of tbe mine5
dnd the delivery of the assault, which the Emperor went to
supervise in person from Piru:;: Jan15 s trenches. The Mu15hal
1

lroops, as ordered, rushed out of their trenches and made a

noisy feint against the undermined bastion in order to induce
the enemy to crowd at this point and then to kill vast
numbers of them by the explosion ! Early at dawn the first
mine was fired, but the force of the explosion was directed
outwards ; a vast mass of rod~ and earth from the !J]acis
was hurled upon the MU\:?hal ranks crowded below : "In a
twinl;!le of the et"e" the flyin~ splinters killed 1, 100; imperialists,
while the fort walls remained intact."
The enemy seised the opportunity by making a sally and
attacl~ing the confounded Mughals, and then sei:;:ed the
trenches and outposts which it bad taRen the Mughals four
months to mal<e and occupy. A force sent by the Emperor
dt'ove them out and reco"Vered the position after a lonfi?
contest and heuvy loss. This had been hardly effected when I

the second mine was tired with the same disastrous conse-
quences. Again the splinters of the blown-up tower !'ell 011
lhe Mughals, and hilled more than a thousand of them.
The enemy then made a second sortie and took possession
of the Mll!ilhal fidd-worl<s and shelters. A severe strnggle
for them now took place ; Pirus )ani;l was wounded with
two other fi?'enerals, Rustam Khan and Dalpat Rao Bunde!a,
while vast numbers of his men were slain.
At the news of this serious checl<, Aurang;oib himsdf, ~it't
round by his staff, advanced from h!s station in Pirus Janl5'5
ienl to aid his hard-pressed troops. Cannon~balls began to
falI near his pqrtable throne (fakfd~t-rawa n), and one of ihem
carried away an a1111 of his bodyffservant (kfiawas). But he
Ct,.101ly l<ept his position and cheered his soldiers by his example.
282 SHORT HISTORY OF AURi\NGl!B [rn. XU!

While the battle was raging, a tropical storm burst

on the plain with all the \7tolence of wind rain and
thunder. The rain continued to descend in torrents ;
the dry nalafis and even low paths became rushing
streams. The Mu!J'hals, assailed by men and the !Sods, !Jave
way ; and then the Deccanis made their third sortie of the
day. They sei::::cd the trenches further off and the elevated
gun~platforms, carried off as many guns as they could and
destroyed the others. The big planks, beams and thousands
of bags filled with earth which the Mughals had thrown into
the ditch were quid~ly rerno\7ed into the fort and used in
repairing the breach caused by the explosion l By this time
the plain of battle had been turned into u lal~e of mud. At
sunset the defeated Mughals retired to their qw.uters ; the
Emperor s0ent the night in Firm: Jarn;(s camp.

9. Ma~7fial failuce ; famine and pest(lence.

Next mornin15 (21st June) he issued forth again to fire

the third mine and try his fortune by another assault under
his own eyes. The mine did not explode at all. It was then
learnt that the enemy had disco\7ered it and flooded lhe chamber
with water. The baffled Emperor stole bad~ to his own
tent "without ceremony." "Various other plans were tried,
immense wealth wa.s spent, but the siel,)c draqgecl on." The
morale of lhe imperial army was utterly gone. The famine
grew worse than before, and pestilence appeared as its in-
separable companion. The city of Ilaidarabad was utterly
depopulated ; houses, ri\7er, and plc1in were all filled with
corpses. The same condition pte\7ailed in the Mughal camp.
At night piles of the dead used to accumulate. After some
months, \Vhen the rains ceased, the white piles of sl<eletons
looked from a dista11ce lil<e hillocl<s of snow. '
Aurang2lb with !ilrlm tenacity sat down to starve the fort
into surrender. "The Emperor decided to build a wall of
 1687] f!OW MllOH,\LS C1\PTLWED GOI.KONDA 5285

wood and earth round the fort of Goll<onda. In a short

time it was completed and J;ruards were placed at its doors.
in~ress and C!Jress being forbidden except on the production
of passports." At the same time, to pre\rent the !i!arrison
from getting fresh supplies, Aurarn<(z:ib issued a proclamation
drmexin!il the kingdom of J-Iaiclarabad. [[e appointed his own
ma~istrates and revenue-collectors for all ple\ces in it.
The kfwtba \Vas read in the Emperor's name and a
Censor of Public Morals (mul5tasib) was posted by him
at Haidarabad.

10. Golkonda s11aendered by lteacner:;.

On 21st September, after the siege had lasted nearl1
dght months, Gollmnda was captured by bribery. An Af~han
soldier of fortune, named Abdullah Pani, surnamed Sardar
Khan, who had deserted Bijapur ser\1ke for !he Mughal and
then left the Muqhals to iom Abu! Hasan, now sold
his muster to the enemy. f-Ie left the K.fiil'fd or pastern qate
of the fort open, and at his in\7itaUon a party of Mu~hal
soldiers under Ruhullah Khan entered the fort unchallenged,
at about 3 o'clock in the morning of 21st September, 1687.
They posted some men within to hold the ground and then
opened the main gate through which the flood of Mughal
invasion now poured into the fort Prince A;:am with the
supports advanced from the rivet' to the toot of the wall.
One last feat of the pt1rest heroism cast its radiance on
the fall of Golhonda and redeemed its infam)I. When the
exultant Muiihals were swarming into the fort an~ mal~in!il
thefr \\1ay to the palace, a single rider who had had no time to
~ird his belt on or put saddle on his horse's back, fell like a
hmatic on that myriad of enemies. It wa.s Abuue Ra;:z:aq
Lari, surnamed Mustafa Khan, the one faithful man among
that faithless crew of Gol!~onda. Throur.ihou.l the siege he
had teiected with scorn all the bribes of Auranf;lz:ib, induding
284 SHORT JIISTORY OF J\URANGZin [elf. \Ill

c1 command of Six Thousand Cavalry in the Mughal army,

sayinli) that "he would rather be ranked among the 72 fatthtul
companions who perished with the Iman llusain al Karbala
than with the 22,000 traitors who overcame him." Alone
he rushed aqainst the flood ot invaders, shouting, "W!u!e I
live, !here will be at least one life sacrificed in defenc~ ol
Abul liasan." But covered with 70 distinct wounds, one
eye badly damaged, and bis horse reeling from wounds and
loss of blood,-Abclnr Rar:;;aq no longer saw !he path bcrorc
him, but did his best merely to l<eep his seat and SJu~'<:: his
horse the loose rein. The animal escaped from the pi ~ss
and dropped him near an old cocoa-nut tree in the Nai,:ina
Ba!lh !larden near the citadel. Thence he was remo\7ed to
the Mughal camp .md nursed bacl< to life by order ot the
r:mperor.

11. /.Ibul Hasan made capfir7e,

In the meantime, when the ro<1r of the adnmdnJ6 Mu~llals.
reached the cars of Abul Hasan, he came out lo !he cmdk~nce
chamber and sat down on the throne calmly- waitin55 for his
unbidden guests. When at last Rulmllah Khan and his party
entered, Abul Iiasan greeted them l<indly, and beba'v~ed with
royal dignity thrott!Jhout the painful scene. Then, a.ltet
biddinl6 his caplms to breakfast with him, he finished hi$
meal and left the palace. In the e\7eninlil he was presented
by Aiam to the Emperor. After a tiln<:> he was sent to
Daulatabad, and there sighed out his capti\7c life on a pension
of Rs. 50,000 a year. At the moment of lea\7ing his flmn1e
and passing into the ri>iours of capti'1ity under a sworn enemy,
Abu! Hasan showed a self~control and a dignity which surpt'ised
bis captors. To their cries of adtni1'in15 surptise be l'eplied
lhat though born of royalty he had been trained in youth in
the school of poverty, and !<new how to take pleasure and
pain with equal indifference as gifts of God, "who had tnade
 1687] AEIUL lli\Si\N ,\S CAPTIVE 285

me a bei:J!ilar, and then a Rini;1, crnd now a beggar aiJain, and

\~h0 never withdraws fiis gracious care from rlis slaves, but
sends to each man his allotted share of food."'
'l he spoils taRen at Goltwnda amounted to nearly se\'en
krores of Rupees in cash, besides gold and silver plate, jewels
and jewelled ware. The revenue of the conquered t~1n<Jdorn
\Vo~ ~ frores and 87 fa/dis of Rupees.

-----------
, 1C !(. ii. 363-36>. But Dr. Careri (in Churchill's Va;i:ages, i'l. 219) and Manucci
(ii. 306-'S) speaR of his being insulted and beaten when lanen lo A11tan11zib. lslnvarda"
tell> ih<' chai-aderis!ic story that al the time of his capture Ahul !fosan was mcrry-
makin,,; with his dandn\l\litls and musicians and, when the ~irls stopped their <lane~
in a1"rill at !he entrance of the cnem'l, he cried out to them, "Go on dandnll us
bdure. E'let'11 minute that I can spend in pleasure is a great gain." Firu~ Jan~
rahil'C him frotn his thrnne and led him, mounted on ,\ horse, to the Emperor's
!)l't"en,~c. Abut Ilasan, \Vithout making fwmisfi or salam wall<ed in erect. The
Emneror asl~ed, "How ure you~,, IIc replied, i'I neither reioice ....... nor grieve. Bui
l am deli\lhted to !Jne at 1\"'hat has made itself visible from behind the scteen 0
!he ino.:rntablc." (9.3 a and b.)
The report entered in the fort St. Geor11e Diarl! on 1l!th Nov. !687 is more rcliabk
th"n Manucci's account. It runs thus: " .. N'cws from the French, Dutch and other
nation; !hat the Mu11hal bud taken Oolkonda fort b'l treachef'l on the 2nd of last
month [Ne1\"' St11f.ej about midni1i1ht. ..... Upon the Rin>i of Golkonda':; prosfration
the Mll\1hal had made a !ar\IC discourse to him for his corrupt go'<'ernmcnl, 1'0'herei11
he h.1d been 11er11 unfoithful, in the charge he had commitfod to him, in cttcoura~inl!'
the nrahmans und discourulting the Moors, to the dishonout of their religion and
emmir't, whereb11 he had ius!li; brought these troubles upon himself : a11d ordered
hltn to be put in chains, of which it is reported he was next day 1eleai!ed."
 CHAPTER XIV

W'.:IGN OF SrJAMBlillJI, 1680-1689.

I. T!ie dispu!t!d succession ; c.'l'fiambfiuji

makes liimself king.

The death of Shivaji left the newly created Maratha

hinl1(dom utterly di\,ided and distracted, while the future lool~cd
\"ery uncertain. liis eldest son Shambhuji's licentious character
promised an unhappy rei~n to his subjects, while his recent
desertion to the mortal enemy of his faith <1nd fatherland
rk1d discredited him in the eyes of all right-thinRing men.
Indeed, his wise father in his last days, after vainly tryin\l to
reform Shambhuji, had been constrained to Reep him under
surveillance in the fort of Panhala. Therefore, after Shiva.j['s
funeral, Raja.ram (his youn~er son, a boy of ten) was
proclaimed as !~in~ by the ministers present in Rai!iJarh, on
the lead of Annaji Datto.
This chamge in the natural order of succession was effected
by a party only at the capitc11. The people in !1leneral and
the troops outside had not been consulted, Md tl1ey naturally
murmured.
The crownin!J of Rajaram !E1a\7e the si15nal for a division
among the Marathas. A faction for Shambhl1ji was soon
formed. The. army, !ilorged with plunder in Shi\7aji's tlrnc,
seems to have received no bounty at this chan!i)e of masters
and was eager to transfer ils venal sword to Shambhuji,
whose helpless condition mude him recRless in his promises
for \ilainin~ adherents. The council of regenc'i? as constituted
at Raigarh meant Brahman rllle, and the commander-in-chief
1680] SIT.:\i'rnllllll (1c\ll\S TUE Tl!RONE 287

(a Maratha by caste) was not prepared to tabe his orders

from a priestly Mayor of the Palace.
The result was that within a weeR of Shivaji's death.
parties of soldiers began to floe!~ daily to Sharnbhuii at
Panhala, and he openly assumed royal powers, iisnori1115 the
(=Jmrernrnent at Raigarh.
Shambhuji's first measures displayed a degree of sa\,'?acit-,_
and timely eneri;iy which \Vas quite unexpected from a man
of his character. J:-le first made himself master of Panhala
and then consolidated his possession of the South Maratha
country and South Konhan before venturing on a contest
with the forces of his ri\7al at the capital in the north.
In the meantime, Annaji Datto had placed Rajararn on the
throne at Raigarh, on 21st April, and shortly afterwC\rds
starteu for Panhala with the Peshwa, ostensibly for the
purpose of recovering that fort and imprisoning Shambhuji.
But the news of the successful coups of Shambhuji dis-
heartened them and they hesitated to attacR him. Soon, the
hands of the selfish double-dealing ministers were forced by
the army. At the end of May the commander-in-chief,
llambir Rao Mohit~, arrested Annaji and Moro Pant and tooR
them as captiYes to Sbambhuji at Panhala. There all the
army chiefs assembled and recogni,.,ed Shambhuji as their hing.
Annaji was cast into prison, loaded with chains ; the
Pesbwa made a timely recantation and thus gained Shambhuji's
favour without his trust. The new Ring then set out for
Raigarh, hls army swellin!J to 20,000 men during the march.
The capital opened its i;iates to him (18th June). Rajai-am
made no opposition, because he was incapable of mal<ing anf.
Though deposed, he was treated "with all kindness,"
because he had been a mere tool in the hands of more
designing men.
Shambhuji first sat on the throne on 20th July, The
formal coronation was pedormed with fulI ceremony and
288 SHORT rnsro1n Ol' AUfnNGZltl [cu. Xl\7

splendour on 16th Januar):- 1681. A son and heir was born

to him on 18th May 1682, who was destined to revive the
Maratha l<ingship about 30 years later. It was Shivaji II.,
popularly known as Raja Shahu.

2. Sfiambfwii ceneivs 1vac wifli Ifie Muy.!ic1ls.

The new monurch gaineJ u lon55 respite from foreign

attacks. All the militurf resources of the Mughal empire
were then concenfrated for the war with the Rajputs under
the Emperor's own eyes. At the end of October the Maratha
armies were out, as usual, after Dasnafiam. One division,
both horse and foot, was desi55ned to mMch towards Surat
and another towards Burhanpur, while a third kept Bahadur
Khan (recently created Khan-i-Jahan) in check b'!7 forming a
screen before his encampment near AuramJabad. The news
of the raids, however, quickly drew the Mughal general into
Khandesh (about 25th Nov.) and the Marathas retreated from
th<'.' province, bL1t it was for a time only.
At the encl of January next (J 681) the raiders were back
a!i!ain, evidently emboldened by lhe news of Prince Akbar's
rebellion, which rumour had exaggernied into the downfall
of Aurangzib. One band under Ifombir Rao sad!ed
Dharangaon, and other towns in North Khandesh, and,
passing fmther east, fell on the Bahadul'pura suburb of
Burhanpur, (30th Jan.) before their approach was even
known, an<l there gathered an immense quantity of booty
from the numerous shops and houses in it. Seventeen other
wards (pucas) outside ihe city~walls were similarlr- plundered.
The surprise was so complete that none could conceal or
remove a penny worth of property, or save his wife and
children. The smol<e of the burnin~ houses first informed
the governor of the enemy's presence, but he was powerless
J681] MARAT!IA RAIDS IN Dl.CC.\N 289

to do anythin~ and merely shut himself up in the fort.

Lal;d1s of Rupees worth of booty was tal~en in every .urn.
Many respectab le men slew their wives and dau!;l'hter::; and
then fell desperate ly fis;(hting the brigands, rather !hon sec
their family honour outraged.
For lhree days the Marathas looted the suburbs to their
hearts' content. without the least interruption, and du.ii? up the
floor of every house, thus discovering the buried treasure of
many !5enerations past. Khan-Ha han was too slow in coming
up and misjudged the route of the raiders, so that they escared
with all their prisoners and booty. Popular voice in the
Deccan chan~ed the Mughal viceroy with hewing been bribed
by Sha111bhu to follow this wroniz strakgy. '!'be dti;oens of
f:Jurhanpur complain ed to the Emperor to this effect and the
Muslims threatene d to stop their Fridai! prayers unless they
were assured of the safety of their life and honour in future.
At Babulgaon, some 26 miles west of the city, Khan-Ha han
learnt that another Marutha band was coming up from the
south, by way of Ahmadna gar and Munqi-Pattan to loot
Aurnngab ad. I-le tool~ horse immediu.tely an<l set off with his
cavalry at 3 o'clocl~ in the morning, arriving near the dty at
noon, jusl in time to save ii. The city was in the wildest
terror. All houses were closed, the men sitting armed and
trembling and the women weeping within doors. As soon as
the Khan artived, the enemy fled without fighting.
As usual, after the Dasfiafiara day in October 1681, the
Maratha light horse set out to rove in different directions. An
<1ttacR. on Ahmadnas;\<11' was actually altempted, as two Maratha
princesses (a wife and c1 sister of Shambhuji) captured by
Dilir Khan were lodged in that fort and the Marathas wished
to tescue them. Some Maratha' soldiers who had secretly
entered the fort in disguise were detected and killed by the
qiladar and the rest dt"iven away .::i.fter a fig ht, (end of
October) .
19
290 SHOPT ITISTOJ~Y OF AURANGZlB [cJI. XIV

3. Prince Akbar seeks tefiJfJe tvitfi cSiiambfiuji.

Prince Muhammad Al~bar, the rebel son of Aurarn;p:ib,
crossed the Narmada near Al~barpur (9th May} under the
guidance of the faithful Durgadas Rather and made his way to
Maharashtra. On crossini;;: the Mui;ihal frontier he was
welcomed by several high officers of Shambhuji and conducted
wilh honour to Pali (1st June).
The prince was accompanied b'l 400 cavalry, a small body
of infantry (mostl'l Rajputs with a few Muhammadans) and 50
camels for transport.
Three hundred Maratha foot soldiers were told off to form
his body-guard, and Sharnbhuji's subafidats (collectors) near
about waited on him to pa}' their respects. Nctaji Pall~al' was
left in attendance upon him as Shambhuji's representative.

4. Conspimc:; against .Sliambfiuji; f(cwixalasfi

becomes liis fauour:ite.
After i;;:aining Raigarh (18 June 1680), Shambhuji imprisoned
his chief enemies, including their leaders, Annaji Datto and
Nm~anth Moreshwar Pins;tle (the son of the Peshwa Moreshwar
TrimbaR). Early in October Moreshw-ar died, and Shambhuji
sel his son Nilkanth free and bestowed the vacant prime
ministership on him. He also released the arch-traito1' Annu.ji
Datto from prison and appointed him to the post of
Accountant-General (Majnwadat:).
But in Aus;iust 1681, Annaji Daito formed a conspirac?
with Soyra Bai, Hiraji Farzand, and some other leading men
to murder Shambhuji and give the throne to Rajaram, under
the protection of Prince Afabar. The)! intended to !<ill
Shambhuji by putlinq poison in his food.
But the plot was revealed, and Shambhuji ,immediate!?
sefo:ed the traitors, flung them into prison, and put them to
torh.tre. Annaji Datto his brother Somaji, Hiraji Far;oand,.
1682] KAVIKALASJI, SJL:\~11\tlU/l'S FA VOllRlTE 291

Balaji A\'ji Prablm, and Mahadev Anant, with three others

were l;>illed by being flung in chains under the feet of
elephants. Twenty more culprits were sentenced to death
later. Rajaram's mother, Soyra Bai, was charged with having
poisoned her husband (a year and a half earlier), and was
put by Shambhuji to a painful death, tbrow;i h poison or by
starvation. All this happened in October 1681. Her father's
family, the Shirl:zes, fell under Shambhuji's persecution ; ma1w
of their members were l<illed, and the rest fled to the Mughals.
Shambhuji's character and conduct made it impossible for
any of the old servants of the State to regard him with that
love and devotion which Shivaji had inspired. On his part, he
could never forget that practically all the notable ministers
and generals had at first given ihcir assent to removing him
from the line of succession. He, therefore, felt that he stood
absolutely alone and friendless in his native country ; and his
whole reign was in fact disturbed b)?' frequent conspiracies and
desertions amon15 his officers and rebellions among his vassals.
In this forlorn situation he seemed to have gained a truly
devoted servant. A Kanauji Brahman, who had been the
hereditary priest of the Bhonsle family at Allahabad, arrived
at Raigarh shortly before Shambhuji's grand coronation. He
soon made his way into th Rajah's heart, and monopolized
his trust and the supreme control of the administration, with
the title of Kavi-fo!asfi or Pinnacle of Poets, while Shambhuji
rapidly became a faineqnt l;>ini;i, blind!? following the minister's
advice, and de\7oting all his time to wine and women, with
fitiul outbursts of martial vii;iour.
In his obscure village refu\'(e Prince Al<bar l<ept up the
pal!(eant of an Emperor as far as his reduced means allowed.
Mercenar)?' horsemen were constant!'' foining him, and by the
month of Auqust he had collected about 2,000 cavalry ln his
pay. On 13th No\7ember, 1681, Shambhuji interviewed Prince
Al<,bar ell Padishahpur ( 0=Pali), laking the entire arm'i and
292 SI/ORT tHSTor~Y Of' .\URANGZm [err. Xl\1

retinue with him. Durgadas was with Al~bar. l'iut Al<bar's

sole chance of success by invadin15 the Mu~hal cmpirl'
was now gone. The crisis of the Rajput war had ended
in June. when the Maharana made a definite peace with
the Emperor. The Mu<;ihal forces were now free to hunt
Al<bar down, and the Emperor himse-lf at-ri\7ed at I3urhanpur on
13th November. Tints, by the middle of Ntwembcr
.:ill the military rcsomces of the empire were concentrated
in the Deccan under the Emperor himself, three of his sons
and all his best qencrals. At first he contented himself with
following a watchful u.nd waitinq policy.

S :).
'8 - Aumng:db's strategic dt'.5positwns, 168'2.

Shambhuji was busy duri11g the whole month of fcrnuarv

1682 in mal<in'll a furious attacR on Janjira under his own
eyes. This was Aurang;,:ib's opportunity. Sayyid fiasan Ali
Khaf) descended from Junnar into North Konl;!an dt the head
of 14,000 horse c1nd tool~ possession of Kalian (about 30 Jan.
1682) burnin!=J all the Maratha \7illal,les on the wu.y.
In May next he withdrew from tht.' rrcwincc, in order to save
his horses from the effect of the heavT rninfall of the west
coast.
Aurani,?zib art"ived at Aurangabad on 22nd March 1682
and sent off A:::am Shah and Dilir Khan to Ahmadnagar in
the sot1th. while Shihab-ud-din Khan with Dalpat l~ao \Vas
sent to Nasik on the western frontier. The latter general
tooli some small forts in thb rcqion and then (in April)
laid siege to Ramsej, 7 miles notih of Nasik But it was
defended b? a 'i(allant Maratha s;rarrison under an expert
qiladat, and the Mus;1hals could mal<e no impression on it.
The Emperor sent Khan-Hahan to reinforce the siege. But
even this great general could achie\le Ho better success ; two
assaults foiled with heavy losses.
 1682] DOINGS OF MUGflAL GENER;\LS 293

Aurans;\;::ib's spirit was now up.I-le decided on extensive

or erations agains1 Shambbuii. As the English at Karw,1r
1

write, 'lie is so inveterate a!ilainst the Rajah that he hath

thrown off his pagl'i and sworn never to pL1! it on agn.in,
till he hath either l<illed, tab.en, or routed him out of his
country." (30th July 1682). lie sent Ruhullah Khan (23rd
May) and later Mui22-ud-din (28th Sep.) to defend the
Ahmadnagar district, while Prince A:r:am was sent towards
Bijapur (14th June) to overawe that State and prevent it from
aiding or shelterini.; Maratha bands. From Nasil< Shihab-ud-din
Khan was transferred to Junnar (June), while Ranmast Khan,
the able lieutenant of Khan-i-Jahan, was promoted to the
command of an independent army corps (Sep.) and ordered
to invade Konl~an.
Kban+Jahan continued the siege of Ramsej for some
months more, delivered another assault which failed, and then
!Jave up the siege, (October 1682).
Ranmast Khan entered Konl<an and occupied Kalian, late
in Nov. 1682. Rupaji Bhonsle and the Peshwa opposed him
io no effed, thou"1'h they foui;Jht many battles with heavy
slaughter.
Khan+Jahan united with the prince's force at Ramdoo, on
the Godavari, 25 rniles s. of Aurangabad, and pushed on
eastwards to Nander. Thence the division went to Bidar, 86
m, due south. Next he pursued the raiders in a lonli( running
'fil;ibt, which carried him to the frontiers of Chanda and
Golfaonda. It was a highly creditable feat. During this cam-
pdign his troops had to bear great hardship.
Pl'ince Azam in June 1682 marched out of Ahmadnagar to
invade Adil-Shahi territory. In the course of this campaign
he tool~ Dharur. Then he entered Shambhuji's territory and
leaving his \Vife Jahameb Banu (popularly called Jani Beqam)
behind in his camp, with Rao Anurudh Sinl,l'h Hada and his
Rajp\tts to !JUard her, he advanced with his army further into
!94 SllORT fi!STORY OF f\Uf~ANOZlll [err. XIV

the enemy's country. Th.e Marathas, sending off one division

to keep Azam engaged, suddenly threatened the Begarn's
camp in overwhelming force. The heroic daughter of Oard
Shulmh mounted her co11ered Jitter on an elephant, and advanced
two miles from her camp to oppose the enemy.
Calling Anurudh Singh near her elephant she spol~e to
him in lier own rToice, ''The honour of the Chaghtais is to
the Rajputs the same as their own honour. I call you my
son. If God gives us victory with this small force, well.
Otherwise, you may rest assured about me ; I shall sit clown
after doin!i( my worl< (i.e., committing suicide, in order to
avoid capture)." Then a great battle was fouqht. Nine
hundred Rajputs fell on Anuruclh's side, and many of the
Marathas too. At last Anurudh gained the victory, though he
was wounded. Aftet some time spent on the bani< of the Nira,
Azam was recalled to Court in June 1683.

t:i. Failure of Mug.lial etfods ; J;"'mperor's

distrnction and suspicions.

In March 1683, all the Mughal divisions operating against

ARbar were recalled to the Emperor's side. Ruhullah and
Ranmast Khan evacuated Kalian on 23rd March, after burning
and razing the grnund the fortifications they had built
round the city. The retreat was opposed by a Maratha
army under Rupaji Bbonsle, \Vho attacl~ed the Mui,;hal real'
at Titvala (seven miles n. e. of Kalian), l~illing many men and
carrying off a large number of horses.
Tl1us we see that fol" more than a year aftet his arrival
in the Deccan, from November 1681 to April 168'.5, the
Ernpero1 accomplished nothing notable, in spite of his immense
resou1ces. In truth, he was at this time passing through <)
domestic and mental crisis ; his faith in his family had been
totalty shal<.en and he did not !<.now whom to trust or where
1683) MARATtlA NAVAL POWER 295

he would be safe. Hence his rolicy for some time after

was hesitating, suspicious, watchful and seemingly capricious
or self-contradictory. On 2nd October 1683, the Surat
fadors write, "liow the king's mind may alter we cannot tell.
It is continually wavering and he is extraordinaril'f peevish
and uneasy because of Sultan Ahbar. Sultan Ai:am, Begam
(i. e., Jahanzeb Banul and Di\ir Khan degraded for even
nothing bu! only suspected, without any grounds, of being
l<ind to ARbar, that all persons of quality stand on tichlish
terms, are mightf careful."

7. Tne Mataffia naf7'$ and lf7Gl's witfi tfie

Jiddis, 1680-82.

There could be no amily between the English and

Shambhuji, because the Siddi fleet, as well as occasional
Mughal squadrons from Surat, used to pass the stormy
monsoon months (May to October) in the safe shelter of
Bomba? harbour every year, and the Siddis settled in the
Mm::agaon quarter of the island, from which they frequently
rava!j!ed the Kadas or rich low-lyin@ tracts of Maratha
territory on the mainland east of Bombay. Shambhuji b'l
turns threatened the En!i.!lish and offered them his alliance
if they would only exclude the Siddis from their harbour ;
but the President and Council of Surat instructed Bombay,
"You rnusl use aU contrivances to keep fair with them ; as
we would bf no means quarrel with Shambhuji Rajah, so
upon no account can we with prudence foll out with the
Siddi at present, it bein!G a vet'l unfit time."
The Maratha \7esse1s beinlil smaller it1 sii:e and armament
than the Siddl's, lay sheltered up the Nagothna creel~ and
in Khanderi harbour during the monsoons, without venlurin!J
on pitched battles. But occasional sRirmisbes took place
between the ri11al gallivats (jalbas) in which the Siddis had
 ~96 StlORT HJS'!ORY 01 AURL\NGZ!ll [rn. XIV

the ad\7anla~e, and these seas were often closed to the

Maratha trading vessels.
On 7th December, 1681, the Siddis burnt the town ot
Apta, on the Patalganl;la, ten miles south of PanveL (They
had first sacl<ed it in 1673). "On this pro\7ocalion Shambhuji,
accompanied by Sultan Akbar, came down from Raigarh, with
20,000 men and a vast train of cannon, to Danda, [ 18 Dec. J...
and from the h!ll opposite to Janjira" bombarded tbut island
incessantly for 30 days. But the Mu~hal in\7asio11 of N.
Konlwn and capture of Kulian (c. 30 Jan.) forced him to
hasten bad~ to Raigarh.
Jn July 1682, the Marathas gettiIHJ some boats to~etber
deli\7ered an assault on Janjira, but they could gain no footing
on the storm-beaten rocl<y coast and had to retire with heu\7)'
loss. On 4th October, Siddi Misri (in Maratha service) with
30 gal!Ivats ga\7c battle to Sidell Qasim's squadron of 16
\7essels, crowded with his best men, off Kal!i(aon, 8 miles south
of Kolaba Point. But he was defeated aftct' a brief., filt(ht, his
other vessels fled away, and he was canicd a pl"isoncr,
mor!all'l wounded, with se\7en of his v~ssels to Bombay.

8. Sliambliuji's war witfi Ifie Potfug.uese, 1683.

Shambhu's wrath fell on the Portuguese. They had ~ivcn
him provocation by sehdng and fortif'i?imJ Anjidiv, an island
just south of Karwar, which the Matatha Ring had intended
to mal~e his naval base, to counteract. the Siddi stronghold
of Janiira (Apr. 1682). In December 1682, the vlceroy of
Goa had allowed the Muqhal ships to pass under the
Portuguese fort of Thana up the creel< to Kalian, with pro'Vi-
sions for the Mui;ihal arnw under Ranmast Khan, then ral7aging
that district. Ile had also allowed the Mughal army a free
passage through the Por!U!i?Uese prc"Vince of Daman
("the North") to the Maratha district of NorLh Konkan.
1683] SliAMMIUJI ATTACKS PORTUGUESE 297

For these breaches of neutralih? Shambhuji vowed vens;reance

on the Portuguese. On 5th April 1683, he launched his attacR
on them. With 1,000 horse and 2,000 foot he raided the
open town of Tarapur and burnt it and all other towns from
Daman to Basein. On 31st July, his Peshwa, with 6,000 infantry
and 2,000 ca\7alry, laid siei;\e to Chau!. Early in the morninfJ
of 8th August the Marathas made an assault on the city,
but were repulsed with heavy loss. At midnight following
29th Au\Just, the Portuguese Viceroy sent a large body of
the Indians of Goa across the river to the mainland of Savant-
vadi, with a !,leneral licence to plunder and burn the villages
of Shambhuji. This attempt to imitate the Maratha policy of
mufkgid was a failme. But Chau! remained unconquered
by the Marathas ,after a siege of many months.
The Viceroy of Goa planned to mahe a di\ersion by
laring siege to Phonda ; with 800 white troops and 8,000
Kanarese, and five pieces of heavy artillery, he arrived (on
2nd Oct.) in the vicinity of Phonda and opened fire on !hat
fort immediately.
The 30th of October had been fixed for scaling the
breach of the inner wall. But that very day a reliedn!ll force
under Shambhuji was sii;ibted, the Portu!lluese army was com-
pletely outflanhed and lost heart, and decided to raise the
sie~e. Next day they began to rdreat. and on the 1st of
No\7ember reached Durbata, where they were fo embark for
return to Ooa.
The retreat from Durbata was disastrous for the Portuguese.
The Maralha ca\7alry attacl<ed the Goa infantry with great
determination. "The Kanarese [i.e., the native troops of
Goa] ... threw down their musk~ets and fled. Finally, nearly
all the Portw;iuesc did the same, but in vain, for the blacks
rode over them, tramplin!J most of our men. All our men
tled iri titler disorder, each one trying to ~ave himself ... or
ihe Portuguese infanfi'i! nearly a whole company of seamen
298 SllOIH f1[S'l'OflY OF AUI~ANGZ(J) [ell. XIV

were hilled, the dead and wounded amountin15 to two

hundred."

9. 8nambfiuii im?ades Goa.

From the walis of Phonda Sbamblluji marched with 7,000
ca-;alry and 15,000 infantry against Goa city. At 10 o'dod1 in the
nii:Jht of 14th No\7ember, forly Marathas e11tered the island of
Santo Este-;ao, two miles north-east of Goa, by crossing a
channel which is fordable at low tide. Then they scaled the
fort on the top of the hill, and were soon reinforced by
follr thousand men from their ma.in arrny from the other
side of the river.
Next morning at 7 o'clod~. the Vlcero'l with 400 men
disembatfo:cl at the island of Santo Estevao, and
\7igorous1y attacl~ed the Maratha infantry. But three hundred
ca\.,.alry reinforcing them, "they fell upon our men with great
fury... Our men beiJan a headlong flight down the hilLBesides
the dead, who \Vere said to be more than 150,-there was
not one who was not .wounded by a ball, sword or stone.
The Viceroy had his arm pierced b\? a balLAt two o'doch
in the afternoon he embarl<ed ...The rest of the men,-aboLtt
rno,-tled into the ri\7er ... Some stud~ in the mud, and some
swam off. All those who were in the mud died. Bnt next
day (16th No\7,) the Marathas left the island in great
haste."
On 1st December one thousand Maratha horse and 3,000
foot entered the disfrids of Salsette and P1ardes lying immediately
south and north respectively of the island of Goa and
separated from the latter by a creel~ only. They. plundered
everythinig that they could find, tool< the men prisoner, ravished
the women and roamed o\7et the counit"l? for a month.. Shortly
afterwards a deli'7erer came to terl'orstricl<en Goa in . the
person of Shah Alam, who occupied Bich9Hm: (an .importarit
1683] LllSO-MAl~ATllA WAR 299

town belonging to Shambhuji) on 5 Jan. 1684, and three days

later a veri pO\verful Mughal fleet reached the harbour of Goct.
At the news of the prince's approach Shambhuji fled (23rd
December) to Raigarh, lea\7ing Kavi-l<alash with Al<bar to
negotiate with the Portuguese for a peace.
In the northern theatre of this war, Le, Daman district, the
Portw,iuese were se\7ereli beaten. Many of their tO\rns \Vere
taRen and burnt by the Marathas ; on 22nd December Shambhu
occupied the island of Karinja, only 10 miles south-east of
Bombay-. After Shambhuji had hurriedly fled north\'7ards to his
capital, leaving Ka\7i-l<alash as his plenipotentiary for concluding
a peace with the Portuguese through the mediation ot
Alibar, these two at first took refuge from the Mu~hats
in the forest of Bhimgarh (27 m. east of God) and
then at Phoncla, and made peace with the Portuguese
envoy, Manuel S. de Albuquerque (about 20 Januar'l) on
:!he basis of the mutual restitution of conquests and prfa:e~ and
neutrality in future.
But this treaty was a hollow truce. The Marath<l bing soon
prepared for a second encounter with the Portuguese. On 19th
September the Portuguese attacked and recovered Karinla
island. Languid ho~tilities with !he Portuguese c:onflnued till
fhe end of Slrnmbhuji's reign.

10. Ptlnce AR:bar's designs and disappointments

at Ifie Maratfia Court.
Shambhuji was frittering away- his strength in small predatory
lnc:ursions here and there, or engaging in fruitless wars with
the Siddis and the Portuguese, ha\7ing "too many irons in the
fire" to do anything effective, as the Surat factors rightly
remarked in December 1683.
Akbar's one thought was, how to !i(ain the throne of Delhi.
He valued Shatnbhuii only as an instrument of this de~ign.
300 SIJOR'J' l!ISTORY OF AURANGZIB [cu. XIV

!=:\7ery day that he spent in Maharashtra was a day more of

hope deferred. It was also a day more of unwonted sufferin~
to him. Only by lea\7inq Maharashtra could he gd bad< to
ci\7iliz:ation.
But Sbambhuji's interests did not exactly coincide with Alzbar's.
Why should he go out of the sJfdy of the Deccan hills and
jungles into the broad plains of North India where his troops
would lose their natural ad\7antaqe '? Why- should he denude
his countrf of its defenders by accompanying A~bar in the
wild project of invading J-lindustan, and thus give Aurang:::ib
an opportunity of conquerinq Maharashtrn in his absence ?
At last after 18 months of heart-sic!< waitin~, h9pe
Cleferred, and evasion of promises, J\l~b<ll' saw through
Sharnbhuj\'s character and policy and despaired of ever being
effectually helped by him. I-le, therefore, decided to ic,a\e
Maharashtra. He issued from his asylum at Pali {Dec. 1682)
with his Rathor contingent, and toof.! up his residence al
nanda in Savant-vacli, which though lying within the Maratha
l~ingdom, is onl'i twenty-five miles north of Goa. from this
place ARbar (January 1683) sent an agenl to the Viceroy of
Goa, presenting him with bis own jewelled r..iagiJer and
be!ll!i[ing his permission to sell some j~,).vels in Goa and his
influence with the P0rtuguese factor at Man!Jalorc (in the
Ringdom of Kanara) lo assist ARbar in charterinq a ship
there to cany him to A1abia. But by ordel of the Emperor,
during March and April the Sicldi Jay with his fleet in the
f<ajapur creel<, on the watch to intercept Al<bar, if he tool~
ship at Goa.
In September, Al<bar removed from Banda lo Bkholim,
a town in Shambhuji's territory, less than ten miles nol'lh of
Goa. Utterlr disgusted with Sh<1mbhuji, the poor deluded
Muqhal prince, at last (about 8th Nov.) bought a ship and
embarked at Vingurla, wishin.g to go to Persia, But
Kavi-lwlash hurried!? arrived from Rajapur and with Durl,fadas
1083-851 l~EBJ:LLTO'<S AG L\l/;ST SH L\MIH!UJ[ 301

visited Al~bar on board, and persuaded him to come back

to land with fresh promises of Sham bhuji's armed support in
India. Then the Luso-Maratha war brol~e out, in which Al~bar
uded as the mediator of the Marathas.
ARbar spent a whole year from rebruary 1684 in the
RatnafJiri district (at SaRharp~n and Mall,apur), inviting
Kavi-l~alash repeatedly to meet him and decide nn future
plans of action.

11. Rebellions against 8fiambfiuji ; Mug.fiat

operntions from ju!J: 1683.
From July 1683 the prosrieds of the imperialists in the
Deccan be>Jan to brighten. Akbar was estranged from
Shambhuji and meclitatinq flight from India. The Marathas
became plunged into a lon!t( war with the Portuguese. The
Mughals pl'Oftted by these circumstances. The Emperor's
indecision anc.l cautious inactivity ended, and a vigorous
offensive was opened in many directions.
Shamblmji's protliJE:acy, capriciousness and \7 iolence created a
general discontent among his officers and vassals. Aurang?:ib's
bribes as;rnravated the evil, and there were frequent desertions
from the Maratha service. On 26th July 1683, Qazi Haidar,
Shi\Taji's muns/ii, came over to Auran~ioib and was created
a '2-hazari and a Khan, and later on (1706) rose to be Chief
Qa;;:i of the empire.
Khem Savant (ruler of Kudal and a vassal of Shambhuji)
rebelled <tSJainst him and, reinforced by the Pmtu~uese,
rnamed over Savant-vadi, burninl6 and robbini.t many places
in the Marntha l~inf;{dom north of Goa, (feb. 1685). rle with
two other rebels, named Dulva Nayak (of Phonda) and Ram
Dalvi, toofa refuge in Pot"tuquese territory, made it a safe
base for their operations, and kept South Konlian and Kanara
in iurmoil. The contagion spread. The whole coast region
was soon up in arms aJE:ainst Shambhuji.
302 SHORT Ji!STORY or AllRANOZlB [cir. XIV

The Mughal offe11si\7e was opened at the end of the rainl[

season, about the middle of September, 1683. A few days
after 15th September, Shah Alam marched out of Auran'.l'abad
with a grand army' to penetrate into Su\7irnt-vadi and South
Konl:i.an by the Ramghat pass, while Shihab-L1d-din was sent
to Puna (Oct.), from which he made u raid on Niz:ampur in
the Kok1ba district across the Ghats (27 Dec.) Prince A:;;arn,
who had been sent against Bijapuri territory (on 2oth Aus;::ust),
returned to Court in October and was transferred to Nasll~
(Nov.), to 15uard the northward rnad to Baqlana and
Khandesh ; the Siddi cruised off Viru;(urla watchins;! Al~bar's
movements (Oct.) ; the Empewr himself marched further south
to Ahmadnagar (N0\7.) ; and another army corps (under Khan
i-Jahan) was ddvanced from Bidar to Alwllwl to watch the
Goll~onda and Bijapur frontiers and pre\7ent those Powers
from making ~ny di\7ersion in uid of the Marathas.

12. 8fiaf1 Alam immdes 8outfi Konk.an.

From Auran!i)'abad Shah Alam marched (Sep. 1683} due
soulh thrnll~h Bijapuri territory, entered the Bcl!Jattm
district, and captured the fort of Shahpur, SampGaon
(18 m. s. e. of Bel!i)aum) and some other Janie
cities and a few forts of !hat region and much bootf. Then
he turned sharply to the west, cl'Ossed the I~am!ilhat pass
(26 m. due west of Bel!Janrn and 30 miles north-east of Go.:1
as the crow flies) and descended into the plains of Savant-\7aclL
Shah Alam teached Bicholim on 5th January, 1684, and
there demolished the spacious mansions and p!easure-!;fatclet1s
of Shambhuji und Alzbar. Three days afterwards a large
Mu!',lhal fleet rode into Goa harbour with pro\7isions for tht;!
prince's army.
On arrivinli( near Goa, he demanded a huge fee from
the Portuguese for having saved them from beinq plundered
by- Shambhu l He also plotted lo sei:=:e Goa br treacher'( ..
1684] S!JAll ALAM's FAILU[cl: IN l~AMG!IAT EXPEDITION 303

This rupture with the Portuguese was the worst mi:;talie that
the prince could ha\7e committed, because it ultimately caused
the annihilation of his army through faminL'.
From the nei!?,hbourhood of Goa Shah 1-\lam marched
northwards to Mah;-an and there blew up witll gunpowder
the famous white temple and other edifices belonisin';! to the
Maratha Ring. Kuclal and Banda (in Sa\7ant-\7adi) were burnt
and Vingurla sad<ecl by him during this expedition. Turnirn,;
south again, he returned to the bani< of the Chapora river,
(north of Goa), either to establish touch with his provision-
vessels or to make a second attempt on the Portuguese
capital.
In february the further pro!Jress of the Mughal army was
stopped by famine. Portuguese suspicion prevented the Mu!Jhal
pro\7ision fleet from sailing up the creel< of Goa to the prince's
camp ; no corn could be secured local!}", and famine \\7as raging
in Goa. The prince's only worl< in KonRan had been, as the
English merchants remill'I~, "to range to and fro, as he pleases,
with little resistance. He hath tat~en no stronghold but ruins
the country, lays all waste, and burns all towns he comes
near." The scarcit'l in his camp reached an extreme point.
The soldiers through fastinq retained only the last breath of
their li\7es. So, the baffled prince returned to the gfiat on 20th
February.
His difficulties only thickened. In the narrow r~arnghat
pass, the air bred a pestilence of such virulence that in a weeR
one-third of his men died, none escaping who was atfaclwd.
The horses, elephants and camels perished in an e\7en larger
proportion and their carcases poisoned ihe alr. This failure of
transport led to a second famine. Many of his men also died
of the great heat and thirst the'\7 underwent.
Shah Alatn crossed the pass and descended into the
Kanara plains. The enemy hovered round, cut off stragglers
and plundered the baggage and convoys "in all directions,"
304 [c11. XIV

The miserable remn<lnt ol his army rea._:hcd Al11nad11a>Jar 01\

18th Mar, without having Jone anylhinlJ except burmnQ i1 fe,v
villaii[cs and robbing a few towns.

1::;. .S/icwzbfiuji's doings aficl" 161'::5.

The mi11or operations of the yci11s 168385 need not
be described here. The Mu~hal campaign in the first halt
of 168...J. was hi!Jhlv successful ; l!k1ny Maratha forts
were tal~en, thdr field armies repeatedly defeated, and much
territory annexed. The crownin1;; feat was the capture oi
hvo wi\7es, one daughter and three sla\7c-girls of Shambbuji,
who were confined in the fort of Bahadur!Jarh in July. One
wife and one sister of the Maratb.a l~ini;r had been c,1phire<l
before by Dilr Khan and lod~ecl in Ahmadna~ar fort.
Where wc1s Shambhuji .:tll this time '? After the lailme 0 1
his attacl~ on Goa at the end of 1683, he entirely 15 017 e
himself up to pleasure, spend11115 his time with women, amuse
rncnt, and wine, instead of taliitu~ the field and iornulatinl5 the
exumple of valour and untirin';I exertion bequeathi.::d to him bi
his father.
About the middle of January 1685, Shil1C1b-L1d-din Khan
made a fresh dash [nto KonRan by the Rhorghat .:tnd set fire
to the villas;re (Pachad) at the.' ioot of Raigarh fort, "slew many
of the infldel chiefs, plundered !heir wealtl: and property,
made many cap1.ives and !Jdined a great victory." For his
brilliant success be was created Khan B<ihadttr Pitu;; fong.
Matr17 Marnlha captains were induced by Firu.: Jan!i( to desert
to the itnpericll side. Ead-y in December Kondana wi:H
captured by Abdul Qadit. While e\i'erv MMalha soldier \Vas
sorely needed for home defence, they ma.de the mista!~e of
blindly following thek policv of mafk,..,~Jiti and !'aiding
Khandesh. But .1t the end of March 1685 the siege of
Bijapur began, the Mui;;hal forces were concentrated there,
a11d the pressure upon the Marathas ceased for a time.
 1687] MUG!l/1.1. CONQUESTS IN OEC'CAN 305

Captai11 I<ichard Keigwin, who had sei:::ed the fort of

Bombay from the East India Company's governor, adopted
a vii:Jorous policy and, in April 16841 forced Sicldi Qasim,
the Mughal admiral, to respect the neutrality of Bombay b'i
ceasini;! to rnal<e that island the base of his operations against
the Maralha villages. At the end of April he sent two
ambassadors (Captain Iienrr Garf and Lt. Thomas Will~ins)
with Ram Shenvi as interpreter, to Shambhuji, to settle the
lon~~standing differences about the indemnity claimed by the
English for Shivaji's sad~ of their Rajapur factory in Marcb
1661 and other matters and to make a friendly alliance \Vith
the Maratha Rajah. The mission was a complete success.
Shambhuji granted all the demands of i.he English and signed
two agreements with them containing 30 and 11 articles.

14. Mugfial conquest of Ifie /Jt01Jinces of Bifapul'.

After the surrender' of Bijapur (12th Sep. 1686), Auran~zib
sent his generals to the different parts of the newly-annexed
cotmfry to mabe a re\7enue settlement, maintain peace, and
taRc charqe of the forts. But from next February to September
!he Mugbal forces were concentrated ill the siege of Gol!wnda,
and it was only aftel th~ fall of that fort (21st Sep. 1687)
that the imperialists could renew their actiV'ity in the provinces
of the old Adil-Shahi kingdom.
Their first campaign was directed against the Berad clan,
vvho rt\ led 0\7er the land situated in the forh between the
Krishna and the Bhima, with thelr capital at Sagar.
The terror of Mughal atms inspired by the fall of Bijapur
and Gollwnda within one ?ear, did the work. Pam Nayal~, the
Berad chieftain submitted, ~ave up his fort (28th November),
and paid a visit to the Emperor on 27th Decembet 1687, but
suddenly died after fiY'e days, His country was annexed.
Mughal enterprise was next directed towards the east and
the south of the two newlvJconquered Deccani Sultirnates,
20
306 SIKWI HISfORY 01 AURANGLl!l [c11. XIV

firm: ]anli\ in\7aded the district of Karnul and the tort

of Adoni, south of the 'l\mgabhadra, where Sic!cli Ma::iuud
was now reignin!;;l in independence. On 6th i\u!Jusl 1688,
Siddi Masaud wa~ induced to capitulate ; his fort was occupied
and renamed Imtiaz-garh, and he was enrolled in the Mu~hal
peerage as a 7-fia:<:ari.
Prince A.zam captured the stron~ forl of \'\el~aum aHer
a siege (about March). In other directions, too, innurnerable
forts were captured by the imperialists.
The Emperor lefl Haidarabad on 25th January 1688, and
arri\7ed at Bijapur on 15th March. Iiere his attention was
taken up by the necessity of s;riving relief to the people who
had fallen into want throw;ih the ruin of the city and its
en\7irons. The chief want of the citizens was \he lad~ of
drinking-water, because the aqueducts were dam<11-.ied during
the siege and the water sttddenly dried up (probably from
this cause). Mul'lhlis Khan, the Mir Atish, was ordered to
cut a canal for conveying the water of the Krishna to the city_
A terrible epidemic broke out in the city of Bijapur and
the imperial camp, at the bc>;{inninlJ of November, 1688. "First
a bubo appeared in the arm-pit and the corner of the tbigb,
then high fever and unconsciousness supervened ; medical
treatment produced no effect ; few men lived beyond two
days, but most died in less. Amoni,l' the victims were the
Emperor's old wife Auran>;{abadi Mahal, Maharajah Jaswant's
alleged son Muhammadi-Raj a>;led 13, Pazll Khan the ,adat,
and many other grandees. The middle class and poor people,
both Hindu and Muhammadan, who died, cannot be counted,
but are conjectured to have been not less thar1 a lal~h. Piruz
)ang's eyes were lost."
The Emperor firmly set out on his campailJn on 14th
December, 1688, and a week afterwnrc!s the fury of the
epidemic abated. lie marched on to Akluj, 85 miles north
of Bijapur and halted.
16871 PJ<INCE AKllAR IXAn:s INDIA 307

15. Last efforts of .4kbar in India.

Abbar made a dash into Mu!i)hal territory in June 1686,

after the Emperor had left Sholapur to join the siege of
Bijapur and Mt1ghal Deccan was denuded of his forces. The
attempt, however, failed, because the Emperor with his usual
foresight had left Murhamat Khan with a division to guard
AhmadnaiJar, who fought a severe battle with Akbar near
Chakan, and defeated and repulsed bim. The prince went
back to Shambhuii's dominions and made some futile attempts
to brcali northwards to Surat through Malrnli and Jawhar.
At last, with Zia-ud"din Muhammad (a former follower of
Shuja) and 45 retainers, Akbar embarked in a ship hired at
I~ajapur (commanded by Benda!, an Englishman), and sailed
for Persia (in Peb. 1687), but was driven by stress of weather
to the port of Masqat After some months' detention
here he reached the Persian Court at Isfahan on 24th
January, 1688. After thus safely sending him out of India,
Durgadas returned to his home in Marwat.

16. Jntemaf condition of tne JY!aratfia kingdom and

SfiamMufi's doings, 1685-1687.

While Aurangsib was directing the full strength of his empire

a{Jainst Bijapur und Goll<onda, Shambhuji made no adequate
effort to meet the danger that threatened all the Deccani
Powers alike. His soldiers plundered places in the Mw;ihal
lerritor)1 as a matter of routine, bul these raids did not
influence the military situation. Aurangz:ib disre!ifarded such
pin-pricks. The Maratha king was not wise enough to follow
any large and weJlwthought~out plan for di\7erting the Mughals
from 'the sieges of Bijapur and Golkonda ,and averting their
fall ; his Government was also hopelessly weakened by
rebellions among his vassals and plots amonq his courtiers.
308 SliORf HlS'IOl~Y 01 \URANGZill [cu. XI\-

Within a few years of the accession of Shambhuji, ne.:irly- all

the ministers and generals who had contributed to the
glory of his father's rei!iln disappeared. !-!is affairs in
the outlyin~ parts of his dominions suffered from the lack
of competent a.gents on the spot The evil was aggravated
by fresh conspiracies aqainst the l<inQ, which were ine11itabl1
followed by the execution or at l~ast imprisonment ot
more Maratha ~enerals and ministers of leading positiono..
The Madras Kurncltal<, a l<ingdotn in itself, hud practicully
passed out of Shambhuji's control and was ruled b~- his
brotherin-law Marji Mahadil< with the title of Maharajah in
semi-independence.
The economic decay of the Maralha l<ingdom through
Shambhujl's sLtpine rule, the conuption of his officers, anJ
the disorder caused bi the rebels, Is li(raphically described in
the En'llish fndoty records. "ln former '{ears there was a
quantity of repper, about 1,500 ldiandi, it grew in and near
about Rajapur ; but now (Jrows not the tenth part since that
place hath been in Shi11aji's hands ; it is a miserable poor
Lown [now.l"
The causes of this ruin of trade and industri were misrule
and the universal lmngcr for bribes and presents among the
Maratha State officials. "\Vith the Rajah down to the Plowman
the infection of pesfikasfiinfJ is so prevalent ihal nothing cun
be well clone without it, or withstand it." The wea11ers that
used to come from Thanah cll1d Chau! to Bombay were
about 600 families. But within a year of the Mara!ha sic(Je of
Chau! (1683), 400 of these families for want of encouragement
forsool~ Bombay, 150 of the remainder were dead ; so that
onl'l 50 families were left in 1685.
Near Kurwar the ways were molested bt Shambhuji's
revolted vassals. "In his dominions there is little or no safety,
and at best a great deal of hazard : trade in ~eneral
obstmcted."
 1688] Sl!Ar!BHUJJ's L.:\ST ,\CTS 309

17. Capture and execution of <!Jnambfiuji.

After the conspiracies a~ainst Sharnbhuji in June 1680

and October 1681 had been crushed, there was a fresh plot
in October 1684, in consequence of which he threw several
leadin!J men into prison, where they remained confined till
his death. Things then continued quiet at his Court for four
years. But in October 1688, the Shirl~e family again rose
against him ; they attacked Kavi-kalash and drove him
into Khelna for refuge. Shambhuji marched from Raigal'h
to the rescue of bis favourite, defeated and routed the
rebels at Sangameshwar, and then went to Khelna. He
arrested Prahlad Niraji and . many other ministers and leadin!J
people on suspicion of complicity in the late rising, and after
pro\7lsioning Khclna fort, started with Kavi-l<alash for return-
ing to his capital. On the way he arrived at Sangameshwar,
22 miles n. e. of Ratnagiri city, and the sacred junction of
the Alah-rianda and Varnna rivers, whet'e Kavi-Ralash had
laid out fine gardens and built nicely-decorated mansions for
his master. Here, after sending his army anJ family back
to Rai!Jal'h, Shambhuji plunged into drinking and merry
maRin!J, with c1 small escort and in utter carelessness. All
vigilance was abandoned, as he believed the place to be
impenetrable to MuJi!hal arms.
Shaikh Nizam, "chief among the servants of Qutb Shah,"
had been induced to desert to the Mughals during the siege
of GoHwnda (28th May, 1687) and created a 6-fiad!ari with
lhe title of Muqarrab Khan. This able and active general
b~cl been detached to lay siege to Panhala (1688).
On hearing from his spies of Shambhuji's unguarded life
of debauchery at Sangameshwar, he lost no time. TakinJil
with himself only 2,000 pid~ed troopers and 1,000 infantry,
he made a forced march from his camp at Kolhapur. Very
great hardship was undergone in crossln!l? the jungles, broken
310 SrlOJ:;>T l!JSTORY OF AURANG%!1" (cu. XIV

qround and lofty passes of the Western Ghats, al such a

rapid pace. With only :iOO troopers he arrived at Sangamesh-
war "with the speed of lii;ihtninq and wind," covet"ing the
intervening 90 miles in two or three days.
When the invaders entered the town, Kavi-kalash offered
them battle. He was wounded by an arrow in his rhJht
hand, and bein!J unable to fiqht, dismounted. The Maratlld
force that had been hurriedly armed and assembled, beini,i
now without a leader, brol~e and tlcd. Shambhuji and his
minister then hid themselves in a hole in the floor of the
latter's house, but were clrag~ed out by their long hair, and
talzen to 1.he general on his elephant outside. Twenty
five of Shambhuji's chief followers with their wives and
daughters were captured at this place, (1st February 1689).
The news of the capture soon reached the imperial camp
at Ahluj and caused a wild outburst of rejoicinl6 in all parts
of the imperial dominions.
On 15th February the imperial camp reached Bahadurga1h,
when the captives were broug'ht there. By the Empet"Ot"s
order, the oppressor of the Deccan was made a mark of
public ridicule. Fottr miles outside the encampment, Sham-
bhuji and Kavi~halash were dressed as buffoons with lon},l
fool's caps and bells placed on their heads, mounted on
camels, and brouqht to Bahadurgarh with dn1ms beating and
trumpets pealin!J. !-lundreds of thousands of sped:itors lined
the roads, to gaze at Shambhuji as at a new l~ind of wild
beast or demon. Thus de~Taded, the captives were slowly
paraded throuli{h the entire camp and finally brought to the
Emperor who was sittinq in full darbal' for the occasion.
At the siqht of the prisoner, Aurangaib descended from
his throne and Rtieelin!il down on the carpet bowed his head
to the f;l'round in double thankfulness to the Giver of this
crownin11 victory."' The Emperor's counsellors wanted io spare
* K. K. {3SSl narrates " lradilion that when l\mang~ib was tllltS 111aving, Ka'<'i-
1689] SHAMBHU)l AND KAVIKALASH KILLED 3!1

Shambhuji's life and thus induce him to order his officers to

surrender all his forts peacefoll'l. Ruhullah Khan was sent by
Aurani;iz:ib to learn from Shambhuji where he l<ept his treasures
hidden and which of the imperial officers used to correspond
with him. Freltinll( with bitterness of soul at being publicly
insulted and now driven to despair, Shambhuji spurn<'d at the
offer of life, loosened his tongue in abuse of the Emperor and
bis Prophet, and scurrilously asl<ed for one of Aurani;ilib's
daughters to be given to him as the price of his friendship.
The Maratha Rajah had sinned beyond hope of rardon.
That vety night his e'l?es were blinded and next day the tongue
of Kavi"J;wlash was cut out. The Muhammadan theologians
pronounced a decree that Shambhuji should be put to death
on account of his having "slain, captured and dishonoured
Mtlsli111s and plundered the cities of Islam." The Emperor
consented to his death. After unden~oin~ a fortnight of torture
and insult, the captives were removed with the imperial camp
to Kore\!aon, on the bank of the Bhima, 12 m. n. e. of Puna,
(on 3rd March), and there they were put to, a cruel and
painful death on 11th March, their limbs being had~ed off one
by one, and their llesh thrown to the dol;ls. Their severed
heads were stuffed with sh-aw and exhibited in all the chief
cities of the Deccan to the accompaniment of drum and
trumpet.
18. Tiie umc tn 1689 ; captme of J<.aifl.adi and Snambtiu/i's
entire family.

After the downfall of Shambhuji his 'l?Ottnger brother

Rajaratn was tal<en out of prison and crowned (8th Feb.) by
the Maratha ministers in Raigarb, as Shambhuji's son Sbahu
R.akish addressed impl'ompftt lllndi '<'"er>e to Shambh11i! saying, "0 Rajah I even
Auraiig:tib dare not sit 00 the throne in thy ptesence, but must kneel to , do thee
homa~e !" lshwardas (15Sb) StWS that Shanibhuii teiused lo bow to the Emperor,
thou11l1 urned lo do so.
.312 SliOl~T !llS'lORY OF Al!RANGZJB !Cl!. Xl\7

was loo )70L111!J to be the head of a State eni;las;!ed in a life

and death strtt5J@le with an enemy lil<c Aurang:ib. Soon
afterwards an imperial cU"tn'Y under ltiqad Khan laid sie!Je to
the Maratha capital, but I~ajaram escaped from il (5th April)
in the guise of a yogi. Sayyid Abdullah Khan (of Barba),
the new subahclar of Bijapur, tried to intercept the fugitiV'es,
and came up with them in three days "near the forts of
Subha1warh and fara on the ban}~ of the Tun55abhadra." The
Marathas who bad lal<en refuge in an island, wel'e atlacl<ed
at niiJht and ' a hundred of their chiefs were made prisoner.
But l~ajaram contrived to escape with his bare life while his
comrades were carrying on the fii;!ht.
for some time he hid himself in the territory of the Rani
of Bednur (now the Shimoga district of Mysore). But at last
she Jet him escape to Jinji (where he arrived on 1st No\7 .),
and then made her peace with the Emperor by paying a
small fine. The Maratha captiV'es tal~en on the island were
confined in the citadel of Bijapur, but in a short time Hindu
Rao, Baharji, and some twenty other chiefs escaped from llie
stronghold,-- -a feat "which was impossible except with the
connivance of their guards." At this lbe Emperor put the
remaining 80 prisoners to death.
ltiqad Khan (a son of the prime minister Asad Khan) after
a lon15 struggle captured the fort of l<aiga1h on 19th October
1689, and seized in it Shivaji's surviV'in15 widows, and Sham-
bhuji's and Rajaram's Wi\7es, dau!Jhfers and sons, including
Shahu, a boy of seveu. The ladies were lod!Jed in separate
tents with every respect and privacy. Shahu was J;Il"Yen the
ran!< of a 7-fia~ati and the title of Rajah, but J~ept a pl'isoner
near the imperial tent.
Thus, by the end of the year 1689, Aurang;;;ib was the
unrivalled lord paramount of Northem India and the Deccan
alike. Adil Shah, Qtttb Shah, and Rafah Shambhuji had all
fallen and their dominions had been annexed to his empire.
 1689] Bl:GJNNING Of' AURANozrn's END 313

( "All seemed to ha'le been !i]ained by AuranrJ:::ib now ;

but in reality all was lost. It was the beginning of his end.
The Mughal empire had become too large to be ruled bf one
mdn or from one centre .... His enemies rose on all sides ;
he could defeat but not crush them for e\7er. Lawlessness
refr,~ned in marw parts of Northern and Central India. The
administration grew slack and corrupt. The endless war in
the Deccan exhausted his treasury. Napoleon I. used lo say,
'It was the Spanish ulcer which ruined me.' The Deccan ulce1
ruined Aurangzib." (My 8tudie,1 in Mugfial India, 50).)
 BOOK V.

CHAPTER XV

STRUGGLE WITH THE MARATHAS UP TO 1700.

1. Aucang:stib's mor;ements durin11 tfie second fialf

of fits teig:n.

Leaving Rajputana on 8th September 1681, Aura1wzib

reached Aurarn;iabad on the 22nd March followin~ and
occupied this strategic centre, diredin<;J the operations of his
columns Jn all directions, till 13th November 1683, when he
proceeded further south to Ahmadnagar. From this place he
arrived at Sholapur on 24th May 168:5 so as to be still closer
to Bijapur, which his troops had besieged. IIe went to tl1e
Rasu!pur suburb of Bijapur on 3rd July 1686 in order lo press
the sie!ile to a conclusion. Leav"ing the newly conquered
Adil~Shahi capital on 30th October, he visited Kulbarga and
Bidar and then sat down before Goll<onda 011 28th Januaty
1687. llerc he lay encamped for a year, and then arri\red
at Bijapur (on his second visiO on 15th March 1688. [n this
city he lived for the next nine mot1ths, till driven out (on 14th
December) by a terrible outbreak of the pla~ue. By way of
Akluj and BahadttrSJarh (on the Bhima) he reached KoresJaon
in the Puna district, where he encamped from 3rd March to
18th December 1689, and then returned to Bijapur (on 11th
Jan. 1690). But he soon left it, and after spendin~ Februar'i-,
March and April at different places south of that city, near
the bani< of the Krishna, he finally encamped at Galqala, on
1690-17061 AURANGZrn's p[Q\-EMENTS 315

the southern side of thdt river and 34 miles south-west of

Bijapur, about 21st Ma'i' 1690. The rest of this year and the
first two months of the next '?ear were passed by him here ;
and then he went back to the environs of Bijapur fOl' fourteen
months (March 1691-Ma'i' 1692). Thereafter, Gal,ala was
again his residence, for nearly three fears (May 1692-
March 1695).
Finally, after a fifth and last \7\sit to Bijapur for fi11e weel<s
(April-May 1695), he settled at Brahmapuri on the southern
bani< of the Bhima, which he renamed fslampuri. Here he
lived for four years and a half (21 May 1695-19 Oct. 1699).
At Islampuri his encampment was walled round, and here
he left his family in chan5e of his wa:::ir when he set out on
19th October, 1699, on that endless campaign against the
Maratha forts which was to wear out the last years of his life,
and from which he returned to Ahmadna!;?ar (20 Jan. 1706),
only to die a year lai:er (20 Feb. 1707).

2. Tlie .IY!ataffia reco1Jer:~1 1690~95.

The '{ears 1688 and 1689 were a period of

unbroken triumph to the Emperor. liis armies tool~ possession
of the forts and provinces of the annexed kingdoms of Bijapur
and Gollmnda, e.fJ., Sagar (the Bcrad capital), Raichur and
Adoni (in the east), Sera and Bangalore (in MY'sore), Wandi-
wash and Conjeveram (in the Madras Karnatah), Banhapur
and BeJ~aurn (in the extreme south-west), besides Raigarh (the
capital) and man'{ other Maratha forts. In Northern India,
too, signal success attended his arms : the Jat risini:J under
Rajaram was put down and that leader was slain (on 4th
July, l688).
But at the end of 1689 the new Maratha Rim;i RaJaram
was lmown to ha\Te reached the fort of Jinji, which henceforth
became a centre of Maratha enterprise in the East Coast,
316 StJOIYr JllSTORY OF 1\UR,\NGZJB [err. XV

while their ministers left at home on;~ani=ed resistance to

the Mu~hdls in the west. The difficulties of Aurarnjlzib were
only multiplied by the disappearance of a common head and
a central Government among the Maralhas, as every Maratha
captain with his own retainers fou~ht dlld raided in a different
quarter and on his own account. It now became a people's
war, and Aurc1n!5=ib could not end it, because there was no
]v!aratha Government or State-army for him to attad< and
destrov. The imperial forces could not be present every-
where in full strength ; hence, thef suffered reverses here
and there. The enemy forts which the Mughals hc1cl capllll"ed
cir bou~ht during the first panic followin9n Shatnbhuji's down-
fall, now began to be recovered by the Marathas. The tide
first turned against Auran>,f:=ib in May 1690, when his general
Rustam Khan was captured and his whole camp looted by
the Marathas.
Thrnuqhout 1690 and 1691 the Emperor's chief concern
still was to tal~e possession of the almost boundless expanse
of fertile territory in the south and the east, which had legally
fallen to him as the heir-at-law of Adil Shah and Qutb
Shah. At this stage, he evidently underrated the Maratha
danli(er, as he felt that the ;:.'/tate of the Marathas had been
practically annihilated. I le had yet to tal<e a prnper measure
of the Maratha people.
In the autumn of 1691 the Mughal position before Jinji
became so danli(erous that the Emperor had to di'7ert
large force:; to that quarter. In 1692 notbinr;r was
achiev-ed by the imperialists in the western theatre, while
in the east coast the year ended with crushing dlsasters to
their arms,-the capture of two hiqh Mughal generals, the
abandonment of the siege lines before )iJ1ji, and lhe arrest
of Prince Kam Bal<hsh by his colleagues (Dec. 1692-Jan.
1693). So, the first thing to be done in 1693 was to save
the situation by pouring reinfon;;ements and supplies into the
16951 REAL PlK'JilLEi'! llHor~E AlW.\l\GZrn 317

Eastern Karnatal{. In the western theatre, Prince Mui:=:iMtd-din,

who had laiJ siege to Punhala in October 1692, toiled
ttnsuccessfully throughout the next year. and was finallr
expelled by the Marathas in March 1694. [n addition
to this, there were the incessant raids of the f.'laratha
partisun leaclers,---Santa Ghorpare. Ohan a Jadav, Nima Sindhia,
r-Ianumant Rao and othets.
Meantime, over the broad and strategically important trnd
from Bidar lo Bijapur and from Raichur to MalRhed, the
activities of the hardy aboriginal tribe of Berads led by their
enterprisinq chief Pidia Nayak, had become so serious that
a large army under a fasf..rate general had to be posted at
Sagur from lune 1691 to December 1692. Then the Berad
chieftain made bis submission, but he renewed his hostility
three years later. when another large army had to be sent
against him (1696). During 1694 the war in Western Deccan
continued to be of !be same fndedsi\7e and sha.ggling character.
Only in the Madras Kamatal:! the reinforced Mughal ~eneral
made many conquests and levied contribution from Tanjore,
bui Jinji remained uncaptured.
At last, by April 1695 Aurangzib came to realize that he
had really !iJ'ained nothing by the conquest of the Aclil-Shahi
and Qutb-Shaht capitals and the extinction of their royal
lines. He now perceived that the Maratha problem was 110
longer what it had been in Shivaji's time, or even in
ShambhLtii's, They were no longer a tribe of banditti or local
rebels, bLtl the one dominating factor of Deccan politics, the
only enemy left to the empire, and yet an enemy all-pervasive
from Bombay to Madras across the Indian Peninsula, elusive as
lhe wind, without any headman or strons;ihold whose capture
would natmally result in the extinction of their power. They
had now assumed the alarming character of bein!;I the alhz
and rallyini;! point of all the enemies of the empire and all
clistttt'bers of public peace and regular adminlslration throughout
318 s11ortr lllSTORY Ol MU< \NCi%1B [cu. XV

the Deccan and e17'Cll in Malwa, the Central Provinces

<1nd BundeU~hand.
for Auran15z-ib, then, there was no i;ioing bad~ to Delhi ; his
worl~ in the Deccan was still unfinished ; indeed, it was onlf
ju~t be!Jinning.

3. Tfie emperor's stay at ls!ampul'i, 1695~1699.

Therefore, in Ma1 1695 he sent his eldest stuvi\7ilHJ son
Shah Alam to govern the north-western portion of the empire
(the Panjab, Sindh, and afterwards Afghanistan) dnci to guard
the western gatewaf of India, while he himself settled at
lslampuri for the next 4 1/2 fears, and thereafter made it the
b<lse (bung.ali) at the bad;~ of his campaigns. During the
lslampuri period (1695~1699), the Maratha danger came nearer
home and dr0\7 e the Mughals into lhe defensive in the Marathi
and Kanarese districts of the present 13om bay Presidency.
The movements of their roving bands were bewilderin~lf rapid
and unexpected. The Mughals could not defend ever'f place 1
their pursuing columns panted helplessly behind the "robbers"
and woee themselves out in \7ain. Local representatives of the
Emperor were driven to make u nauthoriz-ed terms with the
Marathas by promising them an annual blad~mail of one-fourth
of the re\7enue (ciiautfi). Worse than these, many imperialists
made a concel'! with the enemy and enriched them~
selves b'l robbinf.r the Emperor's own subjects and innocent
traders, as these officers had been starving at lj?eHing no rent
from lheir devastated fiefs. The Mughal administration lldd
reallr dissolved, and onl)? the presence of the Emperor with
all his troops in the country held it together, but it was now
a delusi\7e phantom.
The chief incidents of this Islampuri period were Santa'&
destruction of two great Muqhal generals, Qasim Khan (No\7.
1695) and Hinnnat Khan (Jan. 1696), the murder of Santa in
a domestic feud (June 1697), the Mu~hal caphtre of Jinji (7
 319

Jan. 1698), and the consequent return of l.:?ajaram to

Maharashtra.
4. Aurang.~ib's last campaigns, 1699-1705.

This last event forced a chani;le on AuranlJEib's polic'!. Safe

in the undisputed possession of the east coast, he could now
concentrate all his resources in the western theatre of war.
Now, therefore, began the last stalJe of Aurang;:ib's career,-
the sic!Jes of successive Maratha forts b'! the Emperor in
person. The rest of his life ( 1699-1707) is a repefiUon of the
same sid~ening tale : a hill-fort captured by him after a vast
expenditure of time men and money, the fort recovered by
the Ma1athas from the weal~ Mu!Jhal !Jarrison after a few
months, and its siege begun again by the Mughals a year or
lwo later J His soldiers and camp-followers suffered unspeak-
able hardships in marching over tlooded rivers, muddy roads,
and brol<en hilly tracl~s ; porters disappeared ; transport beasts
died of huni:Jer and overwork ; scarcity of grain was e1Cer
present in his camp. His officers wearied of this labour of
Sisyphus; but Auranl;!zib would burst into wrath at any
suggestion of return to Northern lndia and taunt tJ1e unlucky
counsellor with cowardice and love of ease, The mutual
jealousies of his generals ruined his affairs as completely as
the Prench cause in the Peninsular War was ruined b? the
jealousies of Napoleon'5 marshals. Therefore, the Emperor
must conduct ever)" operatilm in person, or nothing would
be clone. The sie>.ie of eight forts-~Satara, Parli, Panhala,
Khelna, Kondana, Raigarh, Totna and Wa~ingera,-occupied
him for five years and a half (1699~ 1705).
The siege of Waginl6era (8 Peb,-27 April 1705) was the
last campaign of the old campaiqner of ei'i)'hty-eight. At
De\7apur, where he halted (May-Oct. 1705) after the capture
of this fort. a severe illness seized hlm. The whole camp
was thrown into despair and confusion. At lenglh Aurangz:ib
 390 SllORJ' IllSTClR\'" OF J\lH~/\NCiZ!ll

yielded to theit' entreaty and the warnini,: ot c1pproachin~

death, and retreated to Ahrnadn.:l!;:ar (20 fanuary 1706), to
die there a year afterwards

5 cSortow and miSt!lJ! of liis last ):Cat1.

The lasf few years of his life werl' inE'Xpressibly sad. On

ib public side there was the consciousne<;s that his Ion~
rei!611 of half a century had been a colossal failure. The end-
less war in the Deccan exhausted his treasury ; the Govern-
ment turned banl<rupt ; the soldiers starving from arrears
of pay (usually lhree years o\7erdue) mutinied ; and durin~
the closing years of his rei15n the re\7cnue of Bengal, re~ulatly
sen[ by the honest and able dfomn Murshid Quli Khan, was
the sole support of the Ernpel'Or's household and army, and
its arrival wns eagerly [oo[~ed forward lo. While in the
Deccan tbc Marathas remained supreme to the end, lawlessness
t'eiGned in many places of Northern and Central India also.
The old Emperor in the far South lost control over his
officers in mndttstan, and !he administration iJrew slacl< and
corrupt ; chiefs and 2arnindats defied tbe local Authorities and
asserted themselves, filling the country with tumult, and the
great anarchy in the empire of Dclh! be15an even before
Auran!J<:ib had closed his C?es.
In the Deccan, the Maratha capbins, each actln!J' OH his
own account, incessantly raided Mttl,l"hal territori and did' the
i;lreaiest possible injttry to the imperialists b? their guerilla
warfare. They seemed lo be ubiqttitou~ and elusive lil<e the
wind. The movable columns frequentlr sent out from !he
imperial headquarters to "chastise the rnbbers,' 1 only marched
and counter-marched, without bein~ able to crush lhe enemy.
When the Mughal forces had !;lone badz, the scattered Marathas~
lil~e water parted by the oar, dosed again and resumed their
attacl~ as before. There was an exultant and menacing
1689) LEADERS OF KJNOLESS ~1~R.~TH.i\ PEOPLE 321

1-foratha army always hanging three or four miles behind the

Emperor's camp wherever it marched or halted.
The wastage ol the Deccan war, which raged intensely
for nearly 20 years, was one hundred thousand soldiers and
followers and three times that number of horses, elephants,
camels and oxen on the Mughal side every year. In the
imperial camp pesHlence was always present and the daily
mortality was heavy. The economic exhaustion of the Deccan
was complete ; "the fields were left devoid of trees and bare
of crops, their places being taken by the bones of men and
beasts. The country was so entirely desolated and depopula~
tcd that neither fire nor light could be found in the course
of a three or fom days' journey." (Manucci).

6. Tfie leading. lYiaratna ministers and generals

at tfie accession of Rajarnm.
In the tenible national crisis when Shambhuji's sons were
captured and his successor Rajaram was driven into hopeless
flight by the Mughals, the genit1s of the Maratha people saved
them and secured their liberty. It is, therefore, necessary to
study the leaders of this almost kin!i!less State during the
period. At i.his time (end of 1689), thi;: leadinl6 persons in
the Maratba State. were four : Nill<antha Moreshwar Pingle
the Pesfi.itJa, Ramchanclra NHR.antha Bavdel<ar the Amalya,
ShanR.araJi Malhar the Sacfi.ii1, and Prahlacl, the son of the
late Chief Justice Niraji Ra vji. This Prahlad hafi been
Maratha ambassador at Gol!wnda. Three other men, who
had hitherto filled only subordinate posts, now forced their
way by their genius and entetprise to the first rank of State
servants and popular leaders in this <;:risis of Maratha history.
They were Dhana Singh Jadav and Santaji Ghorpare (the
two l'i'11als for the office of Senapati), and Parashuram
'Trirnbatl, who finally rose lo the post of Prafi11idfii or Reqent
in 1701.
21
 SllORT HISTORY OF AURANGZIJ3 (ctt. XV

The able i;i'eneral Zulfiqar Khan in\7ested the Maratha

capital of Raigu.rh in February 1689. But before its fall
(on 19th October) Rajaratn, the newly enthroned successor
of the murdered Sharnbhuji, slipped ou\ of the fort in the
disguise of a Hindu, reli,Jious begs;iar (yogi) on 5th April and
went to Panbala. l=2arnchandra advised him that it would be a
wise strategy to divide the enemy's forces by transferring a
part of the Maratha activities to the far off Eastern KarnataR,
while the Mughals were Rep! in play 011 the western
side of the peninsula by his other officers.
The plc;in of operations for the future was thus arranged :
Rajaram was to be escorted lo Jinji to mal~e a stand in bis
eastern province. The supreme control of affairs in the
homeland was \7estecl in Ramchandra_ N. Bavdel<ar, the
Amatya, who was given the . new title of Iiak.amcrtHpanafi or
Diclator, with bis headquarters first in V1shalgarh and latterly
in Parli, assisted by Shanlwraji Malhar (the c'>acliM and
certain other officers. All officials and captains in the
homeland were to lal~e their orders from Ramchandra and
obey him lil~e the l;fo~ himself. Ramchandra had an inborn
genius for command and or~anisation. I le gathered round
himself the ablest lieuknanls, and managed to rnal~e the
mutua!ly jealous and contentious Maralha guerilkt leaders
act ln concert.
Arriving at Jinji on 1st Novembc1 1689, Rajaram tool< over
the ~ove,rnment from the unwillir1g hands of Harji Mahadil~'s
widow and son, fol'rnecl a full Court and beg"an to t'eign 11l<e a
l~ing, thoui;1h in extreme poverty. The Peshwa Nilbantha M.
Pinqle accompanied bis ma.stet' to Jinji, but there fell completely
into the second place ; the king's leading counsellor and the
supreme ai..1thot'ity in the administration was Prahlad Nil'aji, 011
whom the high title of Regent (Pratitzidfii) was confened and
who thus stood outside and above the cabinet of eight
ministers (Asnta~Pmdfian).
1689) I'IRST MUGH,\L TRIU'lPliS

7. Aurang.:db's successes and policy dudng 1689.

When Rajaram fled from Maharashtra, Aurang:;;ib had

already won many pf the Maratha forts and was rapidly
winning others by money or force. In the extreme north,
Salhir (21 Feb. 1687) and Trimbak (8 Jan. 1689) had been
captured, and 111 the centre Singhgarh (Nov. 1684) and Rajgarh
(May 1689); Raigarh and Panhala were to fall befor,e the year
was over, while in North Konkan his able agent Matabar Khan
i;iained many places. The inland parts of Central and Southern
Konkan remained in Maratha possession, but the coast was
I
mostly subject to Mughal sway, as the Marathas were forced
to lose the port of Chau!, evacuate the island-depot of Underi,
and transfer their naval heiJ,dquarters further south to Gheria
or Vijaydurg.
In the ye<tr 1689 many Maratha fods fell easily into
Aurangzib's hands. His one aim now was to occupy the
rich and boundless dominions of the fallen Adil-Shahi and
Qutb-Shahi l~ingdoms. Therefore, during 1689, 1690 and
1691 Aurangzib \Vas too busy in the plains of the south
and the east to divert his resources to the barren hill-forts
of the west.

8. l}1aratfia L'eco17ery : captme of Rustam Kfian,

Ma;; 1690; siege of Panfiala.

But, in 1690, the Marathas began to show si~ns of reco\"ety

from the effects of the disastrous fall of their late l~ing. On
25th May 1690 they gained their first signal victory. The
Mughal general Rustam Khan was roving in the neighbour~
hood of Satara with his family and troops, planning how
to capture that fort for the Emperor. The Maratha leaders,-
Ramchandra, Shanl<araji, Santa, and Dhana,-fell upon him
in concert. Rustam himself, after recei'\l'ing many wounds,
fell clown from his elephant and was carded off into
324 SllORT ll!STOl~Y OF AURANGZ!ll lc11. XV

capti\7it)?. fifteen hundred of the Mu15hals fell on the field.

The Maratha li(elleral in Satara fort now sallied out ,and
carried off the family of Rustarn Khan into the fort. fn
addition, the Marathas made prh::e of 4,000 horses, eight
elephants and 1he entire camp and bagga!Je of Rustam's
army. After sixteen days, Rustam Khan ransomed
himself by promisin!il to pay one lal~h of Rupees. Next
Ramchandt'a and Shanl~araji reco\7ered the fJl'eat forts of
Pratapgarh, Rohira, Rajgarh and Torna, in the course of the
same year ( 1690). After the fall of Raigarh, the Maratha
garrison of Panhala lost heart and sold the fort to the
imperialists (about December). But the Mughal garrison held
it so negligently that the Marathas under Parashuram
afterwards easily reco1Jered it by surprise (about the middle
of 1692).
Prince Muiz:z::-ud-din laid siege to Panhala in October
1692 and sat down before it till 1694 without success. In
Oct. 1693, Dhana Jadav arrived there and effecti\7ely spoiled
the work clone by Muiz:;:-ud-clin in a year outside Panbala,
reprovlsioned {he fort, and destro'led {he siege-worfas. There-
after the siege was practically abandoned ; the rrince carded
on his operations languidly, merely to decei\7e the Emperor.
In March 1694 the prince, availing himself of the Emperor's
permission, began to march away from Panhala, while Lutfullah
Khan and many other officers, who had positive orders to
stay below the fort, joined him in the, retreat. Then Bidar
BaRht (the eldest son of Prince Md. A::am) was lJiven this
task and set out from the Court at Galgala on 5th April.
A desultory siege was continued by him till the end of
January 1696, when the disasters to Qasim Khcin and Himmat
Khan further south induced the Emperot to send the prince
to Basa-vapatan, and to enirust the sies;ie of Panhala to Firm:
}anlif, who, too, coukl effect nothin!il. ln fact, the capture of
Panhala was quite beyond the power of any di\7isional army.
 1692] DHANA AND SANTA'S ACTIVITIES 325

After the disaster to Rustam Khan (May 1690), the Emperor

found it necessary to occupf the North Satara district in force.
Lutfullah Khan was detached from Court as thanadar of
Khatau (25 m. e. of Satara). On 6th fuly, towards the
end of one niqht, Santa Ghorpare at the head of ten thousand
horse and numberless infantr)T surprised him ; the camp was
sa\7ecl from plunder by firing from a distance. But the Marathas
were only baffled and not crushed. Thel[ rallied their forces
and reappeared in the East Satara region in superior force.
Lutfullah was altac!1ed, but beat the enemy bacl<, though
with loss.
There was nothing further to note till the end of 1690,
when some Maratha auxiliaries of the Mughals,-namely Nima
Sindhia, Mankofi Pandhre and Nagoji Mane.-went 07er to
Rajaram at Jinji with their contingents.
The year 1692 witnessed a renewal of Maratha activity and
their conspicuous success in many quarters, one of these bein<g
their recovery of Panhala from MujJhal hands. Santai[ Ghor-
pare's base was the Mahade\7 hill to the north-east of Satara,
and from this reful[!e he used to mal1e rapid raids far to the
east, over the rolling plains of Bijapur. At the same time the
Marathas were disturbin.q the Belgaon and Dbarwar districts of
the Western Kanara. On 8th October, Dhana and Santa
with 7,000 men were reported to have seized some forts near
Belgaon and invested the latter town itself, and to be feedin15
their horses on the growin!J crops. The Emperor stiffened the
defence of Kanara, by sending [iatnid-ud-din Khan to Belgaon
and Matlab Khan to Dha1wai-, while Qasim Khan ~he faujdar of
Bi]apuri Karnatak or north-west Mysore, was reinforced and
ordered to guard Bankapur and other places near if. In Decem~
ber both Santa and Dhana went to Madras \Vith larf,l'e
armies to relieve Jinji, and therefore Maharashtra was for d
time denuded of the best national leaders and troops, and the
Mughals in the western theatre enjoyed peace for a time.
326 SllORT l!ISTORY or AURANGZm [c11. XV

9. Stwgg_/e witfi Santaji 6fiorpare and Dfiana Jada17,

1693~9!J..

Late in 1693 Maratha activities revived in the wes\. Amrit

Rao Nimball~ar crossed the Bhima to raid Mu~hal territory.
I Iimmat Khan set out in pursuit of him, but could nol catch the
elusive Maratha horsemen. At the same time Dhana, Shanharaji
and other leaders were attachinfJ the Mughal force before Pan-
hala. Santa C1horpare had come bad~ from Jinji, and in Oclober
1693 he 1esumed his raids in the homeland. Ilimmat Khan
went out in pursuit and gained a sh;lnal victory over Santa and
his Berad a!Hes (about 14th Nov.) at the villu>Se of Vi!~ramha!li.
Then the Mughal ~enerals qudrrelled ; Hamicl-ud-din and Khwaja
Khan !i(ave up the pursuit and returned towards Kulbar!cru, leav-
ing flimmat alone to follow the cncm'f'. Santa now safely
divided his force, detaching 4,000 troopers under Amrit Rao to
raid Berar, while he himself marched with 6,000 horsemen to-
wards Malkhed, collecting cfiautfi. Desullo1y fi1;1hUng with
many fruitless marches followed for man'f' month:, ancl the
Mughals could achic'Ve nothing substantial.
Throughout 1694 .:111cl 1695, though the Maratha bands were
adi'Ve and the Berads troublesome all over the Western Deccan,
nothin.g decisive or noteworthy was done on either side tlll
ihe end of 1695, when Santa defeated and hilled two first-rate
Mu~hal igenerals, Qasim Khan and Himmat Khan.
Such was the chequered history of the contest with the
Marathas in Western India tiU near the end of the year 1695.
It was no Ionli(er a simple military problem, but had become a
trial of endurance and resources beiween the Mughal empire
and the indigenous people of the Deccan.

10. Tfie Eastern Kamatak, ifs diflislo11s and fiistory.

The Eastem or Madtas Karnatak, which nmst be distinguished
from the Western Karnatak or the Kanarese-speahing di-'i'ision
1687] E.4STERN KARNATAK, ITS ttrSTORi! 327

of the Bombay Presidency (called Kanara in this book ),-ex-

tends from near the 15th degree of north latitude to the Ka,-eri
river in the south. In the late 17th century it was &vided in -
lo two halves by the Palar river, or an imaginary line trom
Vellore to Saclras. These two parts were called Hai<larabadl
KarnataR and Bijapuri Karnatak respedively, and each of them
was futiher sub-divided it1to uplands ( ba!agfiat, in Persian )
and plains (payinf)hat). The upland of Haidarabadi Karnatak
lnclucled Sidhout, Gandil~ota, Guti, Garamkonda and Kadapa;
Bijapuri Ba\a!:Jhat included the Sera and Bangalore districts
of Mysore and their dependent ::::amindaris. In the lowlands,
f-laidarabadi Karnatak embraced the sea-coast from Gantur to
Sadrus ; Bijapuri Payinljlhat extended south from Sadras (12'30
dcf6rce of north latitude) to Tanjore. Bui the conquests had
not been consolid ated ; much of the country was still in the
hands of unsubdued polig.m1; or pelt? local chieftains, anJ
Adil Shah only held certain forts and their environs ; but
e\7en in these his authori~y was exercised by his nobles, who
were independent in all but the name. 'fhis situation was
further complicated b')" Shfo'a[i's invasion and conquest of the
collntry (1677-78), as the result of which p new Maratha
Government was created in the South Arcot district (capital,
Jinji). Shlvaji had placed Ras;lhunath Narayan Hanumante as
vicewy over this new conquest. Shambhttjf, soon after bis
accession, dismissed and imprisoned Ra"1hunath (early in
January 1681), and sent his own sister's husband Harji Mahadik
io go\7ern Jinji. But the Maratha l~ing's absorption in 'dee,
and the increasing Mu.ghal pressure on Mahatashtra under
lhe personal direction of Aurans~f;::ib, tended to extinguish
Shambhuji's authority in the for off pro\7ince of Jinli and to
make the local viceroy his own master. Hi!rji assumed the
title of Maharajah, and neglected to send lhe surplus revenue
fo his sovereign at Rai!Jarh.
In. October 1686 Shambhuji sent Kesho Trlmbak Pingle
 328 SHORT HISTORY or AURANGZ!B (C!i. XV

with 12,000 horse, outwardly to s{rengthen his \l'arrisons in

the Karnatak, but with secret instructions to seize c1nd depost:"
the refractory l-Iatji I~ajah and assume the go\7ernment of Jinji
in the Ring's name. Kesha Trimbal< urri\7ed near Jinji
on 11th February 1687. But his hopes were doomed
to disappointment. Harji had effectually secured Jinji fort
in his own hands and made the local artnl' absolutelf
devoted to himself. Kesha, finding the game lost, marched
into Mysore at the head of 18,000 horse. B~tt hete he could
effect nothin~, and soon returned to the neighbourhood of
Jinji.

11. Mugnal penctmtion into tlie Eastern

[(amatak, 1687.
After the conquesl of Gollmnda Attrangzib wisely retainc:d
the former Qutb-Shahi officers at their respective posts for
some time. Muhatnmad Ibrahim (created by him Mahabat
Khan), the hi!ilhest Golkonda noble to desert to him, was
appointed subahdar of I Iaidarabad, and the Khdn's confidant
Muhammad Ali Beg (now entitled Ali Asl~ar Khan) was
nominated faujdar of the Qutb-Shahi Karna ta!~,
with subordinate qiladdl"s and mali(istrates at Chinglepnt,
Conjeveram and Punamali. These officers submissi\7ely
proclaimed Amang;:ib as tl1ei1 S0\7ereign, (October t687)."
Bul the Emperot changed his mind soon afterward~ ;
Mahabat Khan was 1eplaced by Ruhullah Khan in the
subahdari of I-Iaidarabad : Qasim Khan supplanted Ali Asl<ar
and was directed to march to the KarnataR and conduct a
Y'igorous war against the Maratha forces there (January, 1688).
Harf i sent out a detachment of his army to plunder
and conque1 on his own account the late territory of
-
"'!'be governor of Punamali buicl !hut ,1s the wmld ltmwd round Ufa<: a
wheel, he had bealeti his drums, and fired his ~uns, for the '>"lcto 1y which the
ml~hl't' Al1:un1Jit h,1d ~ained ovel' his ~ild master." (01 me's J't'af!., 157.)
 1687-881 RIVAL ARM!t:S IN [. KARNATAK 329

Gofhonda north of the Palar river, which had recentl!:

submitted lo Mughal ownership without having as ye;
received adequate Mughal garrisons. Marching with 2,000
horse, 5,000 foot, and great numbers of pioneers and scalin\i!
ladders, he tooh easy possession of several forts
and a hund1ed towns in this re!5ion. On 24th December
Arcot was captured by assault. The Marathas spread over
the cm1nhy plundering and torturing without regard for sex
or creed. Several great Brahmans of Conjeveram with their
wives and children took refuge in Madras (27th. Dec.
1687-1oth Jan. 1688), to save their persons and propertl:
from Maratha outrage, On 11th Jan. the Marathas burst into
Conjeveram plunderin!',l the city, l~illing about 500 men,
destroying the houses, and putting the terror-strid~en inhabitants
to flil:lht. Kesho Trirnbah tooli to the same profitable business
with his own contingent: after capturing Chitpat and KaveripaR,
be established his camp at Conjeveram, (January 1688).
But the Maratha occupation \vas sbortlived. Aurang:=ib
had ordered four high generals of the late Golhonda
Government~Ismail Khan Make1, Yacbapa Nayafa, Rus!am
Khan, and Mtthamrnad Sadiq,--lo hasten to the Karnatal~
plains and succour the Emperor's partisans there. These
officers arrived at Conjeve1am on g5th February 1688. The
Marathas evacuated that town; the Mughal vanguard pursued
and fought them, sei:ced Wandiwash and made it their camp,
while the Marathas encamped at Chitpat, a, day's march
southwards. The main armies on the two sides remained
in this position for a year, merely watchin~ each other,
but they daily sent out detachments and fora~ing parties
who plundered the country indiscriminately. The hapless
people, who had not yet recovered from the effects of the
desolatinq famine of 1686, had now to enduee two sets of
robbers instead of one. The trade of the dlsfrid was ruined,
industt'y ceased, grain and oil seeds became very scarce,
330 SIIORT !IJSTORY or c\URl\NGZI!\ [c11. XV

and multitudes flocl=1ed to the fortified European settlements on

the coast as their only refuge.
The yeor 1689 continued to be us bad for the Karnatal~
as the year before. The roads were unsafe ; Mu~ha! and
Maratha armies daily plundered the counhy. Country-made
cotton and other goods could not be brouQht to the Enrtlish
factory at Kunimedu for export, by reason of the constant
\'?arfarc and robbery in the re~ion. Jlarji died about 19th
Sept. Ilis wife Ambil~a Bai (Shivaii's dau!;]'hter) continued to
~011ern the fort and pro'Vince on behalf of her minor sons.

J e. J.2afacam at jinji.
But the arri'Val of Rajarc1m ot finji (1 Nov. 1689) was
followed by a peaceful re'Volution. lfarji's widow and he1
L"irahman ad-visers were reluctant to part with the usurped
authmitf and local independence they had enjoyed for ov~'t"
ehiht years. [Memoirs of P. Martin]. But I:Zajaram's right
could not be disputed : the !JOVernment of linji passed into
his hands. Harji's son was placed under confinement, and
money was squee2ed out of the late 11iceroy's widow by
callin~ upon her to render <'lccotmls for her husband's lonq
fears of administration of the pro11ince. She had to mal~e
her peace b'i' payin!,;[ three lakhs of nun, and Santaji Bhonsle
one Ial<h. for Prahlad Niraji, the l~in!;?'S supreme agent, a
new post, that of Pmtinidfif or Regent, wus created, while
Nllo Moreshwar Pinqle continued to hold the titlc of Pes!iwa
or nominal prime minister. The l~egent, Prahlad Niraji, "threw
Rajaram into a life of debauchery" and kept ''the youn!J R.inq
constantly intoxicated by the habitual use of aaaja and opium."
Then "seiz:inl,J the reality of power, he- caused the Btahmans
who had emiched themselves under f-lal'ji to disgor!;l"e thelr
money and li)oods by the stroke of confiscation."
But this squec;;;in~ of its former officials could not fill the
 ZULFIQ.i.R ARRIVCS IN l\ARNATAK 331

jf!aping void of the Maratha Government's financial distress.

The ministers ai finji Iool<ed round to raise money from the
European settlements on the East Coast ; the richer merchants
were urged to lend 5,000 or even 1,000 fmn each. After
Rajaram's coming, the French and Dutch agents continued
to intrigue agu.inst each other among the Maratha ministers.-
the Dutch offering a large bribe for a proclamation expelling
the new!'[ founded French factory at Pondicheny. The Jinji
mmistcrs encouraged the game, "thinking only how to get the
maximum amount of money out of the one or the other."
In January 1690, the Mughal cause suffered c1 temporary eclipse
from the rebellion of the old Haidarabadi local officers lately
ta!:?en 011er into the Emperor's service, 11iJ:., Muhammad Sadiq,
Yachapa Nayal;> and Ismail Mal~a. Findinq themse[17es lik>elf to
be replaced by former servants of the Emperor and doomed
to unemployment or humbler offices, they deserted theil new
master, made an alliance with Rajaram, and began to tisurp
lhc country and collect the revenue. The imperial represen
tati11es, from Madras io Kunimedu, were hopelessly outnum
bered and defeated and forced to flee to Jhe European
s.:ltlements on !he coast (April). The rebellion was extmQ'uished
only at lhc approach of Zult1qar Khan as the supreme Mughal
commander, who reached Conjeveram Jn August and the
environs of Jinji at the be.ginning of September.
The militarf situation was now re\7ersed ; the Maratha
raiding bands were driven back by the Muqhals and "i1wasio11
threatened the dominions of Rajaram.'' In conslemalion, tha1
king left Jinji and went to some safer refuge furthet south in
the Karnatal~, nearer his ally the Rajah of Tanjore. The
miserable country from Jinji to the sea-coa<>t continued to be
pilla~ed by the camp-followers and "couriers" of both sides.
The local people fled with their families for safety far to the
south in Tanjore territo1y, or to the Eurnpean fadories on
ihe c:oust.
332 SllORT !J!STORY Of i\LWANOZ[[) [c11. XV

13. 8ie'fle of Jinji begins.

The rocl~fortress of Jinji consists not of one fort, but of
three fortified hillocl<s, Ralgiri, Krish11<1!Jiri, and Chandrayan
dur~ 1 -connected to~ether by strong lines of circumvallatinn,
and formin~ a rou!Jh trian1Gle nearly three miles in circum
ference. "These hills <'Ire steep, rocl<!y and co11ered with such
enormous boulders that they are olmost unclimbable. Each
of the three is fortified on all sides with line above line of
stone walls, tlanlied \vith bastions, filled with embrasures for
!Juns, loopholed for musl;?ctry and pierced only by narrow
and stronis Silateways; and from each to the next, connected
with these defences, runs ~1 ~reat stone-faced rampart nearly
60 feet thick \vith c1 ditch over SO fed wide outside it. On
the !hree hi11s are the citadels.
The gates are three: one in lhe northern waJJ, now called
the Vel!orc or <Arcot ~ate, but l~nown in the 171lh centttr'l as
the ~ate towards Trino111ali' ; a second in the eastern face,
now called the Pondicherry !Jatc, which was lhc principal
entrance into the fort in the [7th century ; and due west of
this second gate, stands a small postern 1.Ntt;) (in the wall
connectin15 Chondratran with RajJJil'l), c,11lcd by the Indians
Sfiaitan~dad (or Pott dll Diable in French).
Zulfiqo.1 Khe1n had reached Jinji early in Septernbe1 1690,
but he mel'dy sat down before it. The in'Ycstment of such
a vast ~roup of forts wilh the forces under him was out of
the question, and he hdd no heavv lil'Uns nor enoui;;h
munitions for a bombardment. Ile could not prevent the
vicluallinJii! of lhe place, as a complete blochallt was beyond
his powel' ; and "the Marathas rec(weeing from their first
consternation be~an to ha1ass him incessant!\?." In the
February followirn;r, Rajaram returned to Jinji.
The military superioritf of the Mughals W<~s rapiJly lost
after Apl'll, whl!e the activity of the Maraiha bands ro'Yilll'.J
1692) MllGllALS l~ENE\V SIEGJ': OF JIN)! 333

around stopped the supply of grain to Zu!fiqar's camp. !-le

therefore bei;iged urgent! y fot reinforcements. This general's
father Asad Khan, the wa:<ir, and Prince Kam Bahhsh, from
WaginSJera, were sent \vith a lari;(e force and reached linii on
16th December, 1691.
In the meantime, Zulfiqar had abandoned bis fotilc attachs
on Jinji and turned to the more profitable worl< of levyins.;;
contributions from the zamindars of South Karnatal<, Tanjore
and Trichinopoly. Thus the year 1691 passed without any
decisive success for the imperialists.
The next year was equally barren of results for them, in
spite of the li!teat accession to their armed strength brought
by- the prince and the wazir. Ismail Khan Mal<a was induced
to re-enter the Emperor's service and joined Zulfiqar's camp
with his contingent. W'ith these additions to his forces.
Zttlfiqar le9ewed the siege of Jinji in 1692. After some
charnies he selected Chandrayan-dur.q as his objective and
ran trenches towards ii. Then he began a bombardment of
this hill as well as of the Pondicherry l,!ate. But all his
exertions were a mere show, us the country around knew
well.
The condition of the Mtt~hal camp in the rainy season
of 1692 is thus described by an eye-witness : "The rain fell
with excessive severity-. Grain was dear. The soldiers, ha\7ing
to spend days and nights together in the trenches, suffered
~reat hardship ; lhe entire tract loohed like one lal<e.''

14. Santa 6liorpme and DEana jadat7 capture Ali

J!/!ardan and Ismail Kfi:an, 1692.

The Mu~hal position became absolutely untenable in

winter. Early in December, a \1asl Maratba force of more
lhan 30,000 horse, raised in Western India by Ramchandra
(the chief ugent of l<aiaram) arrived in the Eastern Karnatal<
 334 SIIORT HISTORY OF AL\RANGZm [cu. X\7

under the celebrated generals Dhana Sin!Jh Jadav and Sant,;.

Ghorpare.
The deluge of the newly arrived Maratha cavalry first
burst 011 the Conje\7erarn dis!ricl. The terror inspired bl[
these brigands cuLtsed il panic flh;,~ht of the inhabitants far und
near into Madras for refuge. When the division under Santa
arrived near l<a\7eripab, Ali Mardan Khan, the Mughal faujdar
of Conjeveram, went out tu encounter it, without J;mowini;? ib
vast numbers. But his small force was hemmed round and
he was captured with 1,500 horses and six elephants. All the
prorerty and materidls of his army were looted (13th Dec.).
The Khan was ta!~en to Jinji and secured his release by paying
the huge ransom of one lal<?h of fiun.
The other division of the Maratha reinforcements, led by
Dhana Jada>', attacl<ed the siege-camps round Jinji. Zulfiqar
saw himself hopelessly outnumbered, and wisely ordered his
outposts to fall in on his main army. But lsmdil Khan, posted
west of the fort, had a lonJ6er distance to cross : the ;\foratb,1s
helped by their brethren in the fort intercepted him. The Khan
offered a brave opposition to tenfold odds, but was wounded
and captured with 500 horses and two elephants, and carried
off as prisoner to Jinji. The victorious Marathas immediately
proclaimed their authority over the Haidarabadi Kc1rnatah.

15. Prince /(am !JakfisfJ infrigues

1l7itfi JV!acatnas ; is acrested.
The revi'Val of MatLttha activity and predominance in the
surroumling country pul a stop to the free and plentiful
supply of grain in the Mughal camp. It also stopped the
coming of letters from the Emperor's Court. The Mughal
arm)? outside Jinji was now besieged in its turn, and its
condition became exfremel'i' dan~erol!s by reason of
internal disputes. Prince Kam Bal<hsh was a foolish young
man, the spoilt child of his father's old age, untau!j!ht to
 l693] l\i\M t3AK!ISll'S 1:-ITRlGllt~S BLFO!~E J[KJ! 335

bridle his passions, and ever swayed by his caprices and the
counsels of young and worthless favourites. He contrived
io offend his guardian, the aged and influential wa~ir Asad
Khan. Through the medium of "some red~less and macl men"
he opened a secret correspondence with Raiaram. The
Marathas flattered the prince's humour and mischievously
instil6ated him in new l'Vil projects. Zulfiqar Khan soon learnt
the prince's secret. and secured the Emperor's permission to
l<eep him under careful surveillance. As the result of the
arrival of Santa and Dhana in December 1692, for some
wce!~s communication with the Emperor's Court and the
Mughal base ceased alto!Jelher. Alarming rumours arose
immediately. It was said that Attrangzib was dead and thal
Shah Alam bacl succeeded to the throne. Kam Bafahsh
consideted himself in a most perilous position. Asad and
Zulfiqar were his enemies ; they would naturally try to win
the favour of the new Emperor by sending Kam Bal<hsh in
chains to him. His only hope of safety, so his ser11u.nts
assured him, lay in his making terms with Rajaram, escaping
to the iort with his family on a darl< night, and then trying
with Maratha aid to win the thrnne of Delhi.
This project u.lso was reported to Asad Khan by his
spies. The wazir and his son consulted the, leading officers
of the imperial army ; they un~c:d with one voice that the
prince should be strictly guarded, -the trenches abandoned, and
the entire army concentrated in the rear lines.
The withdrawal from the siege Hnes was effected on!<y after
severe fighting. Zulfiqar burst his biq guns by firing excessive
charges of powder and abandoned them where they stood.
The baseci;imp was four miles in his rear; the garrison
made a sortie, joined their brethren outside unde1 Dhana
Jadav, and hemmed the Mughal atmy on all sides. The
imperialists Jost 400 troopers, 400 horses and 8 elephants,
and at lhe close of the day the'l reached Asad Khan's camp.
336 SllORT JllSTORY OF .\Ul<ANGZIB lc11. xv
Here the prince had plotted with his silly courtiers to arrest
these two generals at their next \7isit to him and then grasp
lhe sttpreme power. But this plot, li!;>e all others, had leaRecl
out. Zulfiqar Khan, worn out with his day-!onl!I fi~htin!,5 and
anxieties, reached his father's side at ni!;lht, learnt of the new
plot, and then the two leaders quicbly decided that the safelf
of the entire army and the preseNation of the Emperor's
prestige alil<e demanded that the prince should be depri\7ed
of the power of creating mischief. They immediately rode to
Kam BaRhsh's quarters for arrestin!J him.
The wa;;ir was in a towering rage. lie se\7erely rebubed
the prince, calling him a clancini;1-girl's son, unworthy to rule
over men or to command in war. Then he continued,
"What is this that you ha\7e done '? You ha\7e diss;lraced
yourself, and covered my grey hairs with disSilrnce.'' The
prisoner was tahcn to Asad Khan's own tent and treated
with e\7cry courtesy. Thus the Ml1ghal army was sa\7ed by
establishing unit')! of control.
Santaji Ghorpare, flushed with his signal \7ictor1 over
Ali Mardan Khan and the uni-esisted plw1der of the Conjevel'arn
district, now arrived at ]inji and htrned his great talents and
1
energy against Zulfiqar. Fighting tool< place daily ; ' The
enemy exceeded 20,000 men, whlle the imperialists were a
small force and mu.ny of the111 were engaged in guardin!j)' the
prince and the camp. Kam Bal<hsh's contingent was tmfriendl?
and never left their tents to co-operate in the defence. The
whole brnnt of the fighting fell on Ztt!fiqar Khan and a few
other mansabdars with only 2,000 horsemen."

16. ramine in ,l,u/liqar's atm-g, fi1:'i tefrecrt ft:om

Jinji to Wandiwasfi.
But the Mughal army wus now 1n a state of sie.ge and
fomine was its worst enemy. Jn a few da'i'S scarcit\; deepened
into an absolute want of food. "Zulfiqar then marched out
1693] ZULF!QAR i\:BANDONS JINJ! SIEGE 337

yvith his own division lo brini,; in \i:l'ain from \Vandiwash, 24

miles north-east of Jinji. When he set out on his return
(5 Jan. 1693), Santa with 20,000 men barred his path ai
Desur, 10 miles soulhwards, and then e1weioped his army.
The Mughals, after a hard fight, reached the shelter of the
fort of Desur at night. When the-y resumed their march
next morning, the Marathas brought a large force into the
field and made a most determined attack. But Dalpat, fighting
with desperate bravery, forced the Marathas to withdraw. The
Bundelas thus saved Zulfiqar's division and thereby sa\'ed
also the camp before Jinjl.
But the food brought by Zultiqar at such a heavy cost was
all too !Hile for that huge multitude of soldiers and camp-
followers. The condition of the starving imperialists became
worse. "Every day from dawn to sunset the Marathas assem-
bled round our camp and made demonstrations. All the ilrln'f,
high and low alil::le, were distracted and depressed."
Asad Khan now made secret overtures of peace to
Rajaram, offering a heavy bribe if he was allowed to retreat
to Wandiwash unmolested. Rajaram ugreed. On the other
side, Dalpat l<ao urged Zulflqar not to withdraw, as it would
only bring disgrace on him in the end. But while Zulfiqar
was hcsitaHng, his 'hands were forced by hls artillerymen who
loaded their effects, left the camp and sent word to their
general that, as ibey were dying of hunger there, they were
going away to Wancliwash. Zulfiqar had no help but to
start with the prince at noon. Owlni,1 to long continued
starvation, most of the horses, camels and other transpmt
animals of the army had perished. Mot men set fire to
their belongings. Many stores of the Emperor and nobles
were left behind there. When !he Mughal army marched out
of the camp, about a thousand Maratha horse came after them
like a rear-guard, and plundered the men of the army of
their properly. The irrtpet'ialists reached Wandiwash in three
22
338 SIIORT HISTORY 01' AURANGZIB (ell. XV

days, on 22nd or 23rd January 1693. Ten days later.

Qasim Khan, the newly appointed faujdar of Conje\7eram
(vice Ali Mardan Khan), was reported to be coming from
Kadapa wiih abundant supplies and a strong force. Santa
Ghorpctre tried to intercept him ; he attach.eel Qasim und
pressed him so hard that he had to shul himself up in the
great temple enclosure of Conjeveram. Next day Zul!lqar
arri\7ed to his aid, dro\7e away the Marathas and escorted
Qasim Khan lo Wandiwash (7th February). Food aqain
became abundant in the Mughal camp, and the troops were
further reassured by getting the latest news and letters from
the imperial Court telling them that the Emperor was ali\7c
and well. Zulfiqar made his camp at Wandiwash for fom
months (February-May, 1693), abandoninli,\ the attacl~ on
Jinji for the present. He had to wait for the Emperor's orders
about Kam Ba1~bsh. Escorted by Asad Khan, that pl"ince
arrived at the imperial camp at Gal~dla on 11 June, and
was presented to his father in the harem throu1Jh the
intercession of his sister ZinalL11H1isa.

17. Operatio11s in Kamataf: dating 1695~94.

The Eastern Karnatal< from the latitude of Madrcts to that
of Porto No\70, was at this lime occupied by lhree sets of
authorities, often in conflict with one anothcr,--narnely, the
representatives of the old Hindu local chieftains and Vijayna!ifar
'Viceroys, whom ihe conquerin!l armies of ihe Bijapur and
Gollwnda Sultans had i1Uperfeclly subdued ; the officers of
the lately subverted Bijapur and Gollionda Governments, wbo
were loath to recogni:;;e their new Mugbal inaster ; and the
Maratha inlruder$ representing the houses of Shivaji and
Vvankaji. To the first of these classes belonqed Yachapa
Nayak, whose ancestors had obtained the fort of Satgarh
(Q6 miles west of Vellore) from the ministers of Rajah Prntap
Rudra of Watans;i:al, and who once comma11ded the local
1694] ZULFIQAR's CONQUESTS FRON TANJOru: 339

le\7ies (sefibandi) of Gol!wncla. When Rajaram reached Jinji.

Yachapa joined him. In March 1693 he left Rajaram, reco-
vered Satgarh, and began to extend his territory eastwards.
At the close of the 'lear Zulfiqar Khan won him 0\7er, bf
securing for him a mansab of 6-ha:zari.
Ismail Khan MaRa, an ex-general of Golhonda and a local
:=amindar, joined the Mughals whole-heartedly. Santaji Ghor-
pare besieged Trichinopoly in March ; I<aiaram hin1self anived
there soon afterwards, and then went fo visit bis first cousin
and friend Shahji II at Tanjore (May 1693). But a quarrel
now broRe out in the Maratha ranks ; Santaji's temper was
found intolerable and he left for Maharashfri1 in anger,
Dhanaji being appointed Senapati in his place.
Zulfiqar set out in February 1694 to conquer the South
Arcot district. The fort of Pem-mul~kal, 18 miles north of
Pondicherrf, was stormed for him by Dalpat Rao's Bundelas.
Then he marched down the East Coast, tO\vards Tanjore, by
way of Pondicherr)? and other European factot'ies, capturing
many forts in the South Arcot district, and skirting Cuddalore
at the end of Pebruar)?. When (in March 1694) the Mughal
general with his army arrived near Tanjore, Maharajah Shahji
II found resistance vain, especially as his ever-hostile
neighbour, the Nayal< of Trichinopoly, joined the Mughals.
So, Shahji had to )?iekl ; on 22nd May he signed a letter of
submission, promising to obe)? the Emperor's orders like a
faithful vassal in future, to cease from assisting Rajarnm in
any way, to pa)? the Muqhal Government a iribute of 30
laRhs of Rupees annually, and to cede the forts of Palamkota,
Sittanur and Tttn!i)"anur with their dependent districts as well
as se\7etal other places.
But Rajaram, who had mortgaged Palamhota to Vyanlwji,
selied that fort for himself, so that Zulfiqar had to lay siege
to it. After six: days the garrison capitulated. Then the
Mu!i!hal army returned to its base at Wandiwash and made
i40 SHORT HISTORY OF Aur~ANGZifl [en. XV

mother atlad~ on Jinji in September. ln this month Zulfiqar

,uddenly arrested Yachapa at a clarbar and had him beheaded
rn the chanie of treason.''

18. :l.ulfiqar's mo17ements and difficulties, 1695.

Zulfiqar Khan renewed the siege of Jinji towards lhc close

1f the year 1694, but it was a mere show intended to deceive
1e Emperor. The fact of his !reasonable collusion with the
1arathas was notorious in the country. I le had, during the
ourse and particularly at the end, of the siege of ]inji, an
nderstanding with Rajaram, in expectation of the (lccith of the
ery old Aurangzib and the civil wars that would su1ely
)Ilow among his sons. "It is the practice of i;\cuetals to
rolong operations for their own profit and ease."
Nothing was achieved by the Muqhals during 1695, while
ie scarcity of grain which raged there for the entire year
1tensified their sufferings. Siel6e was laid to Vel!orc in
)ctober, but it held out for many years, (falling on 14 Aug.
702).

19. Operntio11s of :l.11/fiqar dadng 1696.

Dhana Jadav arri\"ecl near \lellore at ihc end of December.

u!Tiqar immediate!? raised the siege, sent off his camp
il;!!Jage and family to Arcot, and prepared for action. In
[arch 1696, Santa Ghorparc too arrived on the scene. The
iaratha bands spread lo severnl parts of ibe cotinil"y, the
1perialists with their depleted numbers could not defend so
any places. Zulfiqar wiselv concentrated his forces ; but
Manuccl (iii. 271-~) 11ivcs horrible dctai Is of the sukide of his \Vh'cs and chilc{rcn
d also <1sseds that ZulHqar folsely acct1scd Yach<lPa of treaoon <Ille! Mlkd him,
cause the Naval~ had wriilcn a teller lo the Emperor exposin11 Zulfiqar's treasonable
lluslon with the Marathas and deliberate prolonl(ation of the sie\le of Jinji, i!nd
erinq to caph1r~ the fort in ~i\lht duys by his <:>wn 1roops <1)on~. b\1t the lelter h<id
en interecpted by Asad Khan.
 1697] PINAL SIEGE OF JIN!l 341

throughout thb year 1696 he was hampered b'l his extreme

want of mone'l. !le therefore confined himself solely lo the
defensive in the fort of Arcot, as his stren!ilth was slill weal~.
The Marathas, as usual, hovered round him, there being a
secrel undcrstamliruJ between the two sides to spare
each other. In November and December Santu. entered
Central Mysore, and Zulfiqar, under orders of the Emperor,
pursued him thete and co-operated with Prince Bidar Bal:i.ht,
who had reached that province from the north-west for
expelling the Marathas from beyond the Tunli(abhadra. These
two Mughal forces united near Penu-lmnda (75 miles north
of Bangalore). The elusive Matathas disappeared without
offering battle, und Zulfiqa1 returned to Arcot in February
1697.

20. Sie1ie of Jiaji cene~11ed ; fall of Ifie fod.

He c:u;,iain left Arcot to collect tribute from Tanjore and

other places in the south. Then he eelurne<l to Wandiwush to
canton for the rainy scdson of 1.697. IIappil'l for him, the
Marnthas were now \7ery nlltch weaRenec! by a biHer and
final rupture between Dhana and Sanlaii. Rajarnm had sided
with Dhunu, an inlemednc war ra1;1ed amon!J the Mardtllds,
and finally Dhana had been defeated by his rival and
dri\7c!1 bud~ to Maharash!l'a (May 1696). Eady hi November
1697 Zultiqar renewed the sie!Je of Jinji in L'i\l'ht earnes!.
lie himself 'tool~ post opposite the no1thern gate, Ram
Sit~!i!h l"Iada ajJainst the Shaitandari, and Daud Khan Pani
befol'e Chikl~ali-durg, half a mile south of Jinii. Daud Khan
caplttrcd Chil<faalhlur\; in 011e day by a 1ecfaless assault at
close qt1arters1 cltHl then, coming to Jinji itself, enfrenched
opposite Chandrayangarh, the southern foti. If Zulfiqa1
had wished H, he could ha\7e tat.icn the entire fott the next
daf. But hi::; secret policy was to prolonig the sie~e in order
to l~eep his army together, enjoy his emoluments, and esc/lpe
342 SllOR1' llISTORY 01' AlWANGZIB [en. XV

!he hardships of active duiy on some new expedition.

lie let the Marathas !mow that his attacl::i:s ,were for show only,
and thus the siege dragged on for two months more.
At last it became necessary for Zulfiqar to capture the
fort if he wished to avoid disgrace and punishment by his
master. l~ajaram received timely warning, and escaped to
\7 ellore with his chief officers, but leavirn~ his fmnily behind.
Then Zulfiqar !Jave the order for the assault. Dalpat R.:io
scaled the northern walls of Krislrna-giri and cu.plured lhc
outer fort after a se\7ere struggle. The garrison relreated to
an inner fort called Ka!afot, which Dalpat's Bunclelas entered
pell-mell with them and occupied. The su1vi\7ing Murathas
took refuge in Rajgiri or the highest fort. Meantime Daud
Khan had made his wa}I into Chand!'a\7dtH~arh and ad\7anced
through lbe city or the low inner plain of )inji lowmds
Krishna-girl. The inhabitants fled to Hw lop of Krislma-giri,
but finding no safe!)! there, capitulated. A vu.st amount of
booty in horses, camels and thirws fell into lbe bands of thL'
imperialists (8th Januury, 1698). Rajaram's family was now
in\7ested in l~ajgiri, but their situation v1as hopeless. Ram
Singh Hada made his way to the smmnil of J~ajgiri by
crossing the chasm at its fool bf means of a wooden
i;:angwa)!. The Maratha royal family was promised snfety ;
four wives, three sons and hvo clau~hters of Rajaram now
came out of lhe citadel and were facpt 111 honourable
captl\7ity. Another wife of the Rajah avoided surrender
b)! death ; she flung herself down from the summit of the
fort into the sheer depths below. Neu.d1 4,000 men, women
and children were found in lhe fot'l, but \l'el')! few comb<1tants.
' Wilkes (i. 133).-"To p1cscrvc appearanceq ii was lH'ccs~at \? to 1'c'port (to tile
Empct 01) frequent ,1ttack' and 1cpulses. On th<' other $idc, Daud Khan, econd
in command of the Mu!Jhal .winy, dranfa for11clr of the be:,t r:iuopean liquoi:,, and
when fttll of the ~od woul<.l pcipclu,,lly voluntecl' the c:dirpo!ion of the infidel;.
Zul~q<1r necessarily assented to th~~e cnlef!Hlscs, bul always !6il\'e secrl't hi!<-llll(cncc
ta the enemy of the time utld p!n<:e of i:ltlacl~: and lhc hoops of Doud 1\ha11 w~1e
~5 often l ep\ll~e<l with sJ,1L11fhh1-."
 1695) QASIM KHAN DEJEA'II:D llY SANTA 343

From Jinji Zttlfiqar (now honoured with the title of Nusrat

Ja111;!) returned to his base at Wandiwush 1 and then pursued
Rajaram from Vcllore to Garaml~onda. But the Maratha Rini;;
had a good start of him and escaped to Vishal~arh in safety
(Feb.). Thus the entire worl~ of the Emperor's Ions;? siege
of Jinji was undone. The bird bad flown away.

2L Qasim /(fian defeated bJJ 8anla Gfiotpace, dies

al Dodderi, 1695.
The Maratha captains infested 'V'arious parts of Mughal
Deccan in the usual manner throm;rhout October and No'V'ember
!695. Earl? in No'V'ember, Santa, who had been looting the
Bijapur district, \7ainl'l pursued by an lm11erial detachment
under lllmmat Khan south of the Krishna, now turned south-
wMds to convey his rich store of plunder to his own estate
in N. W. Mysore.
Auran11iib, then encamped dt Islampuri, ordered Qasim
Khan to inkrcept the raiders. To reinforce Qasim Khan, he
scnl a detachment fro111 his own camp under some of his
hiqhcst ymmget' officers, including Khana;;ad Khan (afterwards
Lord l ligh Sleward). Thott~h 4,800 troopers in actual muster,
it was a very cholcc corps, bein~ composed of men
frorn lhc Empernr's l;ll1ards and personal retinue and the
contingents of the nobles who had to patrol rottnd his tent on
different dews of the week They joined Qasim Khan about
12 miles from the Marathas' expected track Santa, who had
been rovlng <it a distance, heard of his enenw's position and
mo\7ements, came up with them by swift marches, and sR!lfttli'l7
matured a plan for 1heir destruction, which the luxury and
thottli!htlcssncss of the Mu15hnl igenerals crowned with the mos!
complete success ima!ilinable. Qasim Khan rose to the hei!ilht
of hospltallty and ostentation in order Io t'lecei'V'e worthily the
noble fJUests coming to hlm from Court, and discatded the simple
and li~ht !<it of a !Jeneral who would wage war with the
344 StlORT lllSTol<Y Lll' 1\UIV\NGZ/ll [cu. XV

Marathas wisely. Santa Ghorpure showed the highest tactical

power in mal~inq his dispositions i1nd mo\7ing his three distinct
and scaltered di\7isions so as lo ensure the perfect timin<J ot
their movements and exact co-operation amonq them. lie
di\7ided his army into three bodies, of which one was sent
to plunder the Mw;:-hal camp, another lo fight lhc soldiers,
and the third was held in reser\7e ready Im action wherever
required. Barnwppa Nayah, the iamindar uf the Chiltaldur';!
district, now sided with the Murathas in lhc hope of a sbL1re
of the spoils, and thus the Mughals were ringed round b'{
enemies and cut off from all information.
An hour and a half after sunrise, (about 2oth November)
the first Maratha <li\7ision fell upon Qasim Khan's advanced knts
(six miles lo the front), slew and wounded the guards <lnd ser\7ants,
carried off e\7e1ything the-q could, and sd fire lo lhe heavy tcnls.
On the news of it reachin.q Qasim Khan, he hurried towdrds
the point of <1Uack. Before he had qone two miles, the second
body of the enemy appeared in front and the battle- bei;ian.
The enemy's numbers were Ol7L'rwhclming, and they had a
very lar!Je body of f(afa-piada musl<etccrs,-thc best marl<smen
and bra17csl infantry of the Deccan, '.-in addition to their
numberless mobile light cavalry. A IJteat battle was fouqhi.
and many we1e slain on both sides. Then the tcset"Vl;! di\7ision
of Santa fell upon the camp and baq!il"ai&e left behind by the
Mughals and looted e17erylhinq. This news reached Qasim and
Khanazad in lhe heat of the battle and shool< their firmness.
They tool~ counsel together and fell back on Doclderi.* The
fort of Dodderi was small and the food-store in it limited. So
its imperial SJanison shut its gates iipon their newly arri'i"ed
comrades. The two Khans had lo encamp outside. As the
night closed, the enemv completely encircled them; for fheee
Doddeti, 14 20' N., 75 46' H., In the Chittnldur(I dll'lslon <lf M\!sOre, 22 milt:>
east of Chitlaldur11, and 96 miles !11 a sh"<ll~ht line south of Adon[. S()uth of It ~t.:ind>
il Jar11c reservoir of wate1.
 1695] DfSASTROUS DFATH Of' Qil.S[M KIL\N 345

days the Maralhas only appeared in sight without fii;ihtini;),

till some thousamls of llltantry sent by Barmappa Nayal;-,
joined them. Then they 'ieii!ed ti 1c opportunity and made dn
atl,1clz on the fourth da1. The imperial artilleri munilioib
had been pluadered in their camp and whilt litlle was carried
will! the soldiel's was now exhiluskd ; so uflcr \7ain exertions
for some hours, they sat down in despair, a helpless tanJel
for the Kanarese musl~etcers. Fully one-third of the Mughal
army had been slain at the two camps, durin~ the retreat,
and on the banl~s of the lanh of Dodderi.
Then the chiefs saved their own li\7es by snealzln!,{ into the
fort, abandoning their soldiers. The Muslim soldie1 y now
foced utlc1 starvation. Qasim Khan was a great eater of
opium, and the lad~ of the dru~ caused his death on the third
day. [But many people suspected that he committed suicide
to escape disl,lrace at lhe hands of the cnem-y and censttre
by the Bmperor.]
When i.he food supply was ilbsolutely exhausted and lhe
water in the fort becamL: scanty and unwholesome, Khana;;:a.d
Khan, in despuir of relief, sent his diwan and a. Deccani
capt<tin of the imperial drmy to Santa to be~ for terms of
capitulation ; the ransom was fixed at QO la!zhs of rupees i
and all the cash, articles, jewels, horses and elephants of the
doomed a.miy were to be gi'i7en up. The lean woe-be!i)one
.and bed1a~Jgled remnunl of the imperial army filed out of the
fot'l 13 days aftel entering it. The enemy ga\7e them bread
from one side and water from the other. Alter resting fo1
lwo days, Khanazad s!arted for the Court with a Maratha
escort. Ile had lost everytbin!J.
2~. 8anta sla";;H Himrnat Kfian at Ba.vauapatan
Jn les~ than
a rrtonth from this sfrolie, Santa achieved
another and equally famous victor\?' by Mllin!;l Himmat Khan
Bahadu1', who had been deputed to co-operate with Qas!m
!
3-!6 !>llORf IIIS10RY OF Alll~J\NGZJI\ [cu. X\7
Khan and hdd taken refu!Je in Basavapatan (40 miles west
of Dodderi) on account of the smallness of his force. On
20th January 1696, Santa appeared belore flimmat [(ban's
position at the head of ten thousand cavalry and nearly the
same number of rnfantry. lits Karnatc1t~i foot-muslwtcers-the
best marllsmen in the Deccan, tool< post on a hill. llirnmat
Khan, with a 1Jery small force, dcivat1ced to lhe attacl< and
dislodged them from 1t, but as he Wc1s drivin!J his elephant
towards the place where Santa was standin~, he was sucldenlf
shot by a bullet in the forehead. After somC' dais the
Marnthas withdrew with the captured bc:u;:gage of the Khan.
On the 28th of January the Emperor learnt nl llimmat
Khan's death and the blockade of his troops in the fort of
!3asa\7apatan by Santa ; and a great effort was nlt'1.de to tiather
troops and retriel7'e the position in N. W. Mysore. [fomid-ud-
din Khan started on 1st February for the relief of B<1sa'Vapalan.
Some twenty miles before his destination he wc1s altad~N.i by
Santa (26th February). But the Mar.:tthas were defeated t1nd
driven oui. of thal rei;?ion, and Basavapatan was relieved.

JY!ilitaty arrnngements of !lie imper:folists

dul'ing I 696.
Prince Bidar l3al~ht had been ordered (end of Jum1aq~') to
march from Panhala to lJasavapatan. Arri\?in!J lll this place in
a few weeb.s, he stayed lhere for some time, sendinQ oul
detachments to punish the rebel zamindars of the district.
Barmappa Nayafa~ of Chittalduri,; made a lmmble submission
and promise of loyalty, on 16th May. Prince Muhammad
Azam had been sent from the Empewt"s camp M lslampuri
io Peclgaon (I)ahad1m11arh) 90 miles nodh of it in February
1696, and this place remained his headquarters till he w<1s
recalled to the Emperor's side at Miraj three years laler.
In March 1697, Santa Ghorpare returned from the Bast
oast to the Satara district, and Piruzs Jan!il was despuiched
1697] S1\N l'A GIIORPARF: l\JLLED 347

against hint. J-iut a ci\7il war amoni;i the Maratha s;iencrals

wcal<ened their power during the first half of the year 1697.

24. Ci17f/ 1vac bet111een 8anla Gliocpare and

Dt!ana Jadat7 ; deatfi of 8anta.

Flushed with his far-rcsoundin!l victories o\7er these two

first-rate Mughal generals in the west, Santa went to Jinji to
wait on f~ajaram (March 1696). He seems to have claimed
the office of Senapati, contrasting his own brilliant per-
formances with Dhana's poor record of \7ldories. But
his vanity, imperious temper and spirit of insubordination
ga\7e great offence to the Court at Jinji an<l the result was
an open ruptu1e near Conjeveram (May 1696). Rajaram
sided with Dhana and placing Amrit Rao Nimbaff<ar in the
\Tdll of his il1'111).7, attacked his refractory !JencraL But Santa's
~enius again triumphed ; Dhana was defeated and dri\7en
preciplt,1tcly to bis home in Western India ; Aml'it Rao fell
on the field.
After rmuJin15 throus;ib tbe Eastern Karnatal~ for many months
Strnta finally relurned lo the homeland In March 1697. Here an
internecine war now 1a!Jecl between him and Dharld, all the other
capt<iins befni;r ram;ied on the two sides. They fought together
in the Sutara district Jn March 1697. But fortune' now
deserted Santaji ; his sevetily and insolence had dis!Justcd his
officers, and most of them deserted lo Dhana, while the rest
were kill<.'d 01 wounded. So:mta, despoiled of all and
<.kse1ted by his army, fled from the field with only a few
followers to Mhaswad, lbe home of Na15oji Mane whose
wife's brnthcr Amrlt Rao he had hilled. Na~oii iJa\7e Santa
shelter imd food for sorne days, and then dismissed him in
safely. But his wife Radha Bai, with a woman's unquenchable
vindicl1\7encss, sent her su1\7i11ing brother after him, The pum1er
came upon Santaji when, exhausted by fast tra\7el, he was
 348 SllORT fllSTOllY OF J\LII~AN(iZ[I', [rn. XV

bathin~ in d nala near the Shambhu JYiahadcv hill, in the

Satara district. The party from Mhaswad surprised him in
this helpless situation and cul off his head, (June, 1697).
Santaji had u.n inborn <senius for handlin!J lar<.Jc bodies ot
troops spread over d wide arcu., chan'Jin\,l his tactics so as
to tabe rirompt advantage of every charnJc in the enemy's
plans and condilion, and l>r~anizin!J combined movcmC'n\s.
The success of his tactics depc11dld on tlw rapid movement
of his troops and on his subotclinutcs carryin<~ out his orders
punctually to the minute. Ile, therefore, insisted on implicit
obedience from his officers and enforced the strictest disciplirw
in his army by clraconic punishments ; and, hence naturally
"most of the JYiaratha nobles bccanw hb enemies."
The two lifelong rivdls, Santa and Dha11d, were both
army leaders and organiiers of the highest ability, courd!JC
and activity, bul with contrasted charuc\ers. Dhilnil made
war lihe a 1,1e11Ueman. lie was moderate in vidory,
i;icncrous to tlu.: vanquished, polite in his Llddtcss, prndised
in self-control, and capable o[ tahin!J lon!J \7lews and
rnuhing s!alcsmanly arri.1tHJemen!s. His inbotn courtesy to the
Mui;rhal i;renerals who !rnd the misfodune to encountc1 him, i$
noticed with prilise by lhe Mttslim historians. Moreov,~1-, he
se!"led his counhy's Go\7ernrnent unselfishly for many yc.:.lrs.
Santaji Ghorparc, on thC' other lk1nd, was ln comparison
with Dhana, a bcwbarian devoid of cullure or !i]'cncrosity,
unable to restrain his passions 01 to ta.l~e lhouiJht of the distant
future. Ile loved to hustle all whom he met wilh, not
exceplinl;l his binsg. He showrd no tnerc)? and expected none.
B'i his temperament, Santa was incapable of cooperdtin~
with others, and he hdd not the patriotism to subordinate his
own will to the needs of his nation. Ue exercised no
influence on the political histor)?' of the Marathas or even on
the genet'al effect of Aurang;;ib 1s campaiszns. Ile merely
flashed through the Deccan sl~? libe a 1 londy meteot.
 16991 349

25. Najaram's retum fJome and doi11i7s in t698H99.

Nothin~J rcmurRuble seems to have happened in the second

half of 1697, except a heavy flood of the I3hima ri\7er which
washed awa\7 the JvILtghal camps at Pedqaon and
!slatnpt!ri (19 July) and spread universal misery and ruin.
But in ]cmumy next, jinji fell to the Muf,l'hals. Raiaram fled
from it clnd reached Vishalgarh in Maharnshtra in the following
month. It is not probable !hat c.lll\7 unusual pctivlty was
shown by the Marathas immediately ufter I~ajaram's return
home. Ile seems to have tal~en time to recover from th<'
effects of the loss of Jinji, Some of his followers at this lime
deserted his service in despair and ioined the Mughals.
Early in 1699 Raiaram set out on a tom of inspection in
Konl<an, \7islting all his forts, and returned to Satara at the
end of June. Panning plans for an extensive raid through
Khandesh nncl Berar, he sallied out of Satara, about 26th
Octobe1.
EMdcn([y Auru.ng;:ib's intention to besiege this fort first
had leaf<.ed out, for, immediately after his starlinf5 from
Islampuri (19th Oct.), [<aial'arn removed his family from
Sataia to Kbelna an<l himself left it on 26th October in order
to escape fallinq inlo the Emperor's hands. Dhana fada\71
Rnmchnndta, Dado Malhar and other J;lenernls, with 7,000
ca\"alry escorted him to Chandan-Wandun, whence, after a
three dars' hall, he tool~ the route to Surat.
The bnperot immediately sent ur!Gent orders to Bidar
Bal<ht to pursue and defeat this hostile force. Four miles
beyond the fort of Parencla, Bidar Ba\{ht came upon the
Marathas. After ct bloody foJhl, they were broken and dri\7en
towMds Ahmadnagur, (13th or 14th November). On 26th
December, Rajaram was reported as havitu;r dismounted some
30 miles from the imperial camp below Satara fort and
infending to !i:O to Vishalqarh. The Maratha kfnsz's raid friio
 350 StlO[n' J[!STOf~t: 01 i\URANOZll'. [ell. xv
Berar had been nipped in the bud. l3L1t one division under
Krishna Savant plundered some places neM Dhanmni and
returned. This was the first time lbat a Maratha foref' crossed
the Narrna.da.
Meantime, batlles had been fou~ht with the othet Maratha
bands too. On 9th Ianuary i 700 Nusrat Tan~ (Zulfiqal") fought
Dhana, l<anuji Ghorpare, crnd !ianumant Rao beyond Masur, and
defeated them, Rillin!J 500 of their men. A few da)7s later
Dbana attacbed the outpost of Kh<:111apur and carried off its
Mu!;!hal officer, Avji Adhal.
In the meantime the Emperor's sie~Je of Sc1tara continued
and ba!tles toofa place in its environs belween the Mui;thal
invadets and the Maratha field armies.

26. Deaf/] of !~ajaccun; Tata !3ai's polic;r:.

On 2nd March 1700, I<ajal'dm died at Sin~IHJal'h, of a
fever \Vhich was mos! probably caused b)l' the hardships of
his raiJ and the \Tcherncnt pursuit by the Mu~lrnls. llis
family wus then in the fort of Vishalgarh. His favourite
natural son Iforna was immediately afterwards crowned as
Ring by his ministers, with the help of Dhani1 JaduY, but died
of small~pox in three wed?s, Then his k~~Jitimate son b'i' his
wife Tara Bai was pl&ccd on the throne as Shivaji HI, with
the support of l<amchandra, 'the l~eqcnt of the West.'
An internecine quarrel now brolie oul in the Maratha Court
between Rajaram's s1.trviving widows, Tar<1 Bai and I<ajas Bai
(the mothers of Shivaji III and Shambhuji II respectively), each
standing up for her own son and supported by a faction
o.moniJ the office1s and generals. Bul the ability dtKi eoerJilY
of Tara Bai, the elder wife, ~a\7e her the supreme power in
1he State.
Immediately after learning of her husband's death, Tara
Bai offered submission to the Emperor, ashin!J fat a 7~ha>::aL"i
mansab ahd the deshmtthhi rlqhts over the Deccan ,for
 IWNKAN, ITS GEOOl~APllY AND TMPORTANCt 351

I~ajaram's legitimate son, and proposing to supply a contingent

of 5,000 men for ser\7ice under the imperial viceroy of the
Deccan, and to cede se\7011 forts. Aurangz:ib refused this offer.
Towards the end of May, Rarnchandra's agent Ramaji Pandit
and Parashuram's agent Ambaji 'Visited Prince Aiam and
bc15ged him to inlercedc with the Emperor for sparing Rujaram's
yoLmlJ son in return for !he surrender of the Maratha forts.
These 0\7erturcs seem to have been insincere and cume to
nqthinlif.

27. Ifie war in Konk:an, 1689-1704.

GoinG" southwards from Surat, the tra\7eller meets

successively with the following divisions of the lons,t coast-
strip between the Western Ghat range and the Arabian Sea:-
first, f(o/11a11 01 the brol~cn country inhabited by the wlld
Koll tribe (formimJ the Jawbar and Dharampur Slates), then
Nol'ffi f(onfi:an (or the modem Thana and Kolaba districts,
parallel lo the Nasik and Pttna Jlstrids which lie east of the
Ghats), and lastlf Soutfi Konkan (ol' the modern Ratnaglri
district, which rnns parnllel to the Satara and Kolhapuc districts
of the Deccan plateau across the mount.:\in range). At the
southernmost point of Ratna1Jiri, the coast is broken, near
Vingurla, by the tenitory of the ancienl Matatha family of
.Savants of Vadi (popularly R.11ow11 as the 'Desais of Kudal' in
in the 17th century), and immediqtely south of it, by the
Pol'lw;ruese province of 600. Still further sot1th begins Kcmata,
with the Karwur district along the coast, and the States of
Sunda and Bcdnt1t' in the interior, far to the east, leadin~
into the Mysore plateau.
Throulj'!b a gap in the Western Ghats near the city of
Nandu1bar, some distance north of Dharampur, an invading
force from the coastal rei;rlon could easily enter the rich
provinces of Khandesh and Bera!', -while Kolvan afforded
a co1wenient base for the plundering either of Surat in !he
 352 SllORT HISTORY OF 1\llPJ\NGZlll k11. xv.
north or of Baglana in the cust, and from Baglana, south-
wards across the Cl1andor 1a1wc, for incursions into the Nusll~
district.
Shivaji had conquered Konl~an between 1657 <lnd 1662
and the Koli country in I670-1673. After his death the
Mughals had mu.de descents inlo N. Konl<an in 1682 and 1683
and temporarily occupied its capilal Kalian, but mo1'c to ravage
and burn the places than to hold them. In December 1683
the Maralhas reoccupied l\:ulian and remained in undisturbed
possession of KonRan for the next five years, though their
coast-villages lay subject to depredation by the Skldis. Mt11Jhal
progress in !his region beqan only in 1689 and under a
very able local officer.
Malabar Khan, a Sanid of the N.waiy<t1 clan of Al'abs
Jon~ settled in Kalian, when employed as thnnadar of lhc
Nasil~ district, first distinguished liimselt (1688) by his enterprisini;!
spirit and farsh;ihledness. He enlisted a stro11<J infon!ry forct>
of the local hill-men, won ovet many of the x:amlndars in the
nei~hbourhood and captmed many Marathi\ fods by force
or bribery, e.f)., Patta (Vishramgarh), Kttlung, Trimbah (011
8 January 1689), and se\7crnl smaller ones. The lriumphant
Mu11ihal general crossed the Ghats and descended into Konl<an
after the fall of Shambhuji. In this pro\7incc he tool~ Ka!ian
(27 March), Prabal, Karnafo, DthJud, Manihgarh, and finally
Mahuli (in August). Thus all North Kouban from the Koli
counll"l! southwards to the latitude of Bornbay passed into
imperial poss0ssio11. Most pat'ls of the district had been
ruined by twenty years of Maratha ptcdominance and frequent
warfare. He esfo.blishcd imperial rule 0\1cr them, testored
orcle1, and planted colonies of peasants so as to revi'7e theil"
culti\7ation and prosperity,
After these successful campai~ns Matabar Khan returned
lo Kalian (1690) and li\7ed there in comparative peace for
some years, beautifying that city with a go\7ernor's mansion,
 MATA[IAf~ l(!If\N OOVCRNOR Of KALll\N 353

a hall of public audience, a mosque, a TurRish bath, a portico,

a !Jarden and a terrace with a tanli and fountains, and other
structures. The magnificent tomb of his wife in Kaiian was
built at the cost of ont.' lahh of Rupees.
But early in 1693, the Matathas recovered their power
and lbe Mughdls lost their dominant position and were driven
to assume the defen~ivc. Roving Maratha bands began to
mid Mu>Jhal territort' and recover the forts recently acquired
b\7 the imperialists. Konkan served the Marathas as an
excellent base for organizing these operations, as the Western
Ghats formed a screen in their front, while the possessions
ot the friendly Pot'ltHJuese along the western coast afforded
a safe rcfuqc to !he wives and children of their fighters e'Ven
when Ute enetn\7 descended inlo the eastern belt of Konhan.
The local Portuguese lifov~erno1 was btibed by them to gi1Te
them shelter and to supp[\7 pro'lisions to their forts and vilku~es
in North Konl?an.
Malabar Khan, therefore, in\7acled the Portuguese lenitory
of "lhe North" (1'.e., Bassein and Daman), ma!<ing prisoners of
lhe enemy's subjects, und defeating their armies. The viceroy
of Goa at lust made peace by humble submission to the
Empernr and the offer of presents.
The news-let ters of Aurangi:ib's Court contain many
exam riles of Mat abar's vi~ilant care for his charge, his strict
maintmance of efficiency in the administration, and his
assistance to the Siddi chief of Janjira in the militarv operations
further south for upholdinq the impel'ial power. Death O'V'ertook
this nble and faithful servant at lhe end of Pebtuary 'I 704.
 CHAPTER XVI

TliE LAST PHASE OF Alll~ANGZIB'S CAI~EER.

, 1. Policy of tfie Nlarntlia 6orremmcnt, 1689~1699.

When Rajaram, the newlr crowned kin!J of !he Muruthus,

fled awa'l to the Madras coast (July, 1689), 11ffairs in the
Maharashtra country were left to his ministers. Ramchandra
Nilhanth was C!'eated Regent of the West, with the title of
Hakumat..,panafi, and he ~uided !he fortunes of this virtuull\7
!~in~less State with remarkable wisdom and tad. Ile checked
the progress of the Mttl6hals, orlijaniEcd ruids into imperial
territory, sent succour repeatedly to his maskr in Jinji, and
Rep! peace among the intractable and mutually jealous
Maraiha generals.
Rajaram, in addition to being plun(Jed into clebuuche1y
in the Karnatal~, was naturally weal<-ininded. llis position
made him powerless. lie was a hing- without an army or
treasury of his own, or subjects under his undisputed rule.
An'i Maratha captain who could !-Jct togelher a thousund or
e'"'en fi-ve hundred !llen of his own, could dictate the terms
of his obedience to his nominal l<in!i(. Ru.jaeam was, lherefote,
profuse in his !ilifts of titles and unconquered lands. AU !he
Maratha sardats went to the f?ing at )inji, and be ';'(a\7e them
lilies, army corn111ancls, and grants for the diITerent districts
where the'? were to go, loot the country, and impose the
cfiautfi. Rajaram's political impotence is best illuslratc:'cl b\,7
'his duplication of offices and titles at a time when his hini;[
dom was shrinhinlil" to nothinP,". Ire could not afford lo
disoblige an'l of his proud and selflR!t chiefs. The office of
&napati (commander-in-chief) was clw.nqed fl\7e times in
17001 CONDl1J()N or MARl\TllA LEAD[RS 355

Rajaram's short rei15n of cle\7en years ; and, in addition, fi\7e

officers at one lime enjoyed titles \7arying in terminology but
all meaninq "leader ol the army" and all being entitled to
lhe ranl< banner and o!her paraphernalia of the Senapati !
But this <lecenlraliz:ation of authority was exactly suited
lo the situation in Maharashtra. The Maratha captains, each
acting on his own account, carried on a guerilla warfare
and caused the greatest loss and disturbance to the Mughal
territories. The imperialists did not !mow what point to
defend, nor where to find a vital enem-r position for their
attack The extremely mobile Maratha bands covered long
distances and deli\7ered attacl<s at the most unexpected
quarters ; and such roving bands were countless. The result
was uni\7e1sal unrest throughout 1he Deccan. At this sta111e
the Marathas avoided pitched battles. Their encampments
during the rainy months were in obscure and inaccessible
places. Their bands dill not hold tOlsether all the year
round but dispersed to their several homes after the cam-
paiSJninlil season of six months (October to April) was 0\7er.
There was mutual jealousy a.mong the ministers left in
Maharashtra as well as at the Court of Jinji. Pardshmarn
Trirnbafa fo1med a faction of his own and drew Santaji
Ghorp<.~re into it. The natural consequence was thilf Dhana
Sin'i(h Jada\7 was badied by Ramchandra. Santa's insllbordi
nation proved unbearable ; he would not obey the Re~ent
of the West, nor coopernte in any national enterprise (like
!he relief of Panhala in 1693) planned by him, p1eferrin~ to
conquer an independent estate for himself. Ramchanclra had,
therefore, lo secure the bing's consent to Santa's dismissal,
1'hen anotl1er minister Shan!:~araji Malhar tool< Santa under
his winiJ. Another refractory and selfish !il"eneral of Jil'reat
power was Nima Sindhia. Ramchandra stmsti~led against
lhcse difficulties as best he could, and 011 the whole he
succeeded fairly well. The riV'alry betwt;:en Santa Ghorpare
356 Sl!OIH HISTORY or AllW\NOZfll !cu. XVI
and Dhana Jadav precipitated a ci'7i! war in t 696, dnd three
battles were fowJhl between them. The murdcl of Santa
(June 1697) created a blood-feud between hi"> son l~clnuji c111d
his brother Baharji (surn<lllled Hindu Rao) on the one hand
and Dha11a's party on the other, which took long to heal.
But this internal discord atnoni;i the Maratlrns SJavc the Mu<5hals
only a brief tespitc.
Ramchandra cle\7erly pwddcd shelters for the families of
the Maratha combatants in South Konl~a.11 and lhe PortllfJUesc
territoty of Daman, which had not 'i!et been penetrated by
Mughal armies, and also in the Beead country and the north-
western cornee of Mysore, wbicl1 the Emperor was not yet
free to invade.

Q. Tata JJai mies as queen~mo!fict ,. intemal

dissensions in tne Matatfia 8/ate.
When Rajaram died, on !2nd March 1700, and then his
natural son Karna after a thre1' wcel~s reign, Tara Bai
crowned her own (legitimate) son Shivaji, il boy under ten
'j!ears, and rl11ed with the help of Parushuram Triinbal~. Thus
a second regency ensued in the Maratha RirnJdom. Tht!
sttp1cme guiding force in MahatJ.shfra now was not any
minister but the dowager queen Tara f~ai Mobitc. Iler
administrati\7e genius und strength of character sa\7ed the
nation in the uwful crisis lhat {hreafcned if ln conseque11cc of
Raiaram's death, the disputed succession to his throne, and
Aurangzib's tmbrol~en victories from 1699 lo 1701. The
hostile Muslim historian Khafi Khan is constrained to call her
wise, enterprisirn;J, expert in administration and popular with
the army. "Under Tara Bat's guidance, Maratha acti\7ity
began to increase daily. She tooli into her own hands the
control of all affairs,~such as the appointment and chan~e of
.qenerals, the culti\7ation of the cotmh'y and the planning of
raids into :Mu~hal territory. She made such arran!iiements fot
 IN'rERNi\L QUARRELS OF MAR,\TIIA COURT 357

sending troops lo ravage lhe six subahs of the Deccan, nay

even up to Sironj and Manclcsor in Malwa,-and winning the
hcuds of her officers, that all the efforts of Aurangz:ib against
the Maralhas clown to the encl of bis rcl!Jn failed."
Immediately after the death of Rajararn, Parashuram
Trimba!<, out of jealousy for !he other ministers then in Sata1D,
came out of his own fort of Parli and offered to join the
Mughals. But Tarabai won this supremely able officer o\7er
to her interests by cre<:iting him Pmtinidfii and !Jiving him her
full trust. Bu! it was only after a hatd stmggle that Tara
Bai's supremacy was established. Some of the generals
obeyed Iler, some did not. Rnjas Bai, the junior wife of
Rajaram and the mother of Shambhuji II, whom she set up
as a rl\7al f~ing, began to quarl'el with Tara Bai and form her
own faction. There was a third party among the Mcwatha
lenders, who panted to secure national unil'f by placini;i
Shahu on the throne, as he represented the elder btanch of
Shivuji's descendants. These dynastic quarrels were complicated
lw the crosscLtrrents of personal rivall''Z amon!J the Maratha
i,;encrals, especially Dhana Jadav 0nd Santa Ghorpare and
their partisans.

3. ,j'fiafiu's captfr1e life, 1689-1707;

JY!acatfia pattisans of tfie Mug.fials.

Shahu, the eldest son of Shambhuji, had become a prisoner

of the Mughals at the age of seven, when Raii;!arh sm1endered
in October 1689, and he was l~ept under strict watch, though
hinclly frcated, close to lhe Empcrnr's tent and within the
circle of the red ca1was screen (g.ulal~bac) of the imperial
quarters. With him were his mother Yest1 Bai and his balf-
brothers Madan Sinqb and Madhu Singh.
In 1700 Sbabu had a severe attack of illness, which seems
io ha\7e left his body and mind shattered for th~ rest of hi?
358 SIIORT [[!STORY or AURANGZm [cu. XV!

life. The Court news-letter <;;i\7es the followin5J account of it :-

Rajah Shahu came to the audience on 26\ll August and made
his bow. The Emperor af!er loobin~ at him remarl~ed that
his colour had turned entirely yellow, and asl~ccl the reason
for it. Hafiz:: Ambar (eunuch) replied that the rajah did not
eat any cool~ed daf, brcnd or rice, but only sweets (pak11mn),
on the ground tl1dt Hindus must not cal coohC'd food in
prison, and he te5Jardccl himself as a nrlsoner.
As difficulties thid~ened round Aurani;;e.ib dnd tl1c Deccan
tangle seemed insoluble, he began to form plans for
settling the contest with the Maratba <;;enerals through Shahu.
Plrst, on 9th May 1703, he sent J-Iamid~ud-din Khan to
urge Shahu to become a Muslim, as the heirs to sonw other
1-Iindu thrones had already been kmpted to do in this
reifiln. But Shahu refused to apostatize. Next !he Emperor
tried to cl'eate a division among the Maralhas b\?' telcc1sing
Shahtt The terms of his telease were to be s~tiled b\?' treaty
with the leaditlf;l' Maratha qenc1als 1 throui;rh the mediation of
Prince Kam Bal?hsh. Por approaching the national leader~
and winning them over, Raibhan, the son of VNnl~aji
Bhonslc of Tanjore, was lalien into the Emperor's setvice,
aeated a 6~fia~ari, and sent to V''fsi! Shahu (10th fulf 1703).
Bl1t the mo\7e failed. As Bhimsen bluntly puts it ;-"The
prince rcpcatedl'Y se11t his men to Dhana. But, as the
Marathas had not been vanquished and the entire Deccan
had come into their possession like a deliciousl)" cool<ed
puddin% why should they mafae peace '? . .. The etl'Voys of
the prince returned in disappointment, and Rajah Shahu was
again placed under surveillance in the gulal~bat."
Aurang!!:ib felt himself uUerlv helpless. In the last yeat'
of his life (1707) he decided to mal~e anothct attempt at
peace with the Maeathas. Shahu was transfened from his
own camp io that of Nusrat Jang (25 Jan.). Raibhan, too, was
posted under him in the hope of hls beinl;I able to persuade
 MARATllA ALLIES OF MUGllALS 359

the Ma11tha iJenerals to mal'?.e terms with the Emperor as the

price of the release of Shahu. Nusrat Jang wrote conciliatory
Iette1s to the Maratha ~enerals and invited them to come and
join Rajah Shahtt. But it was to no effect. A civil war had
indeed brol~en oul among the Murathas, l~ajas Bai trying to
seize Tara Bai and lhwu.rting all her plans ; but the Emperor's
hope of taf~ing advantage of il and creating a further division
by brirnJing Shahu into it, failed. It was only after Aurangiib's
death that Pl'ince Ai.:1m, then matching towards Agra, conni\7ed
at the escape of Shahu to the Deccan.
It is not true !hat all the leadins;; Maratha families were on
the national side durinq the struggle \\7ith Aurang;:ib. Many of
them serveJ the Mughal Go\7ernment, and for various reasons.
The noble house of Jadav Rao of Sindhl~hed, in which the
!Jreat Shivaji's mothel' had been bot'n, entered the Mttghal arml!
early in Shah Jahan's reign (1630), after the murder of LaRhji
Jadav I~ao, and they remained on the imperial side for
several genera!ions. Kanhoji Shirl<!e and his sons, to whose
family Rajaram's mother belonged, had been persecuted b'i
Shdmbhuji dWJ had tree! for refuge to the MughaI Emperor,
who ga\7e them high posts. The Shitl<es ilS well a~ Nagoji1o
Mane (the thanadar of Mhas\?'ad and a Mu~hal partlsan from
1694) remained consistently loyal and tendered long and
mel'itol'ious ser17ice to the Mu1;1hals. Three other de17oled
Maratba ser'lants of the Empernt wet'e Avji Adhal (thanadar
of Khanapur) who was made captive by the Marathas on
23rd Jan. 1700, Ramchandra (ihanadar of Khatac1) who died
fighting ut his post on, 18th August 1700, and Babarii Pandbre,
sometimes thanadar of Kashi!J'aon.
Another Ma.ratha chief in Mughal pay was Satv-aji Daile,
who bad a rnore chequered career. This family had been
barons under the Adil-Shahi kirnts. On the fall of that
monarchy they took service with the Mughal conqueror. [Satva's
son, Baji Chavan Daile gave up his life most hel'Oically in
360 SHORT JllSTORY OF AURANGZm lc11. XVI

leading the storming pariy al the sies:;!c of Satara (13th April

1700). Satv'a himself had deserted the Mughals before
1695 and continued to raid the imperial krritory, but came
over to the Emperor in August 1701, when he was created a
5-fia:wri, and qiven the jagir of Jath in rew,1rd of his late
son's gallantry.
Several thousands of Mavlcs, or Maratha hill infantry,
served under J.\urang;;ib. But on the whole the presence of
hired Maratha auxiliaries on the Mu!Jhal side hnd merely the
effect of !:wepill!il them out of mischief, and did not add much
to the strength of the imperial arnw. For one thitu;i, their
equipment and armament were far inforior to those of the
regular Mughal troops. Then, the'l fought half-heartedly for
their paymaster, und theil caplains frequently chutHJcd sides.

4. 1-Iutat1g:r:ib's sier;e of 8alata.

On 19th October 1699, Aurang:oib slal'tcd from Islmnpuri on

ihat campaign against the grcc1t Maratha strongholds which wns lo
occupy the next six )?cars of his life. One by one the famous
~hill-forts' of Satara, Padi, Panbula, Visbal'i(mh (Khellrn), Kondana
(Sin!Jhgarh), Rajgarh, and Toma were captured by him, besides
five places of lesser note. But it should be remembered th~'t
with the sole exception of Toma, no11c of lhcsc was tafaen bf
assault ; all capitulated aftel' a lime und for a price ; their
garrisons were permiiicd to march out with their personal
effects, and their commandants were gh1en costly rewards for
ceasinli( resistance.
At lslampuri Ama11g2ib left his wife Udipmi and her son
Kam Bal<hsh, and his daughter Zinal-unnlsa, with c1ll the
surplus baggage and unnecessar)? officials, and the families of
his soldiers and camp-followe1s. The wazil' Asad Khan
remained in char!Je of them with a suitable force. Zt1lfiqat',
surnamed Nusrat Jang, was 15'iven a ro\7in!i"I commission for
 1700) AllRANG7Hl nr:srnor:s SATARi\ 361

fighting the Maratha field c:irmles that hovered round the siege
camp or threatened the Base at lslampuri.
Marching from lslampuri the Emperor reached Masttr (21
miles south of Satara) on 21st November. Basanlgarh, a fort
6 miles south-west of Masur, was e\7acu11ted bf its garrison
in terror, and the imperialists entered it on ihe 25th and named
it the "Key to Victory" (i(ifid~i~I'atn), as a happy omen of
their success in the ensuing campaign.
Marching thence, the imperialists arrived before Satara on
8th December. Amani,;tib tool< up his quarters at the \7illagc
of Karanja, a mile and a half to the north of the fort-walls.
The Mughal army with its foltowe1s and transport animals was
concentrated in one spot, five miles round, and this encamp-
ment was walled round to l~eep out the Maratha raiders. Sie!i(e
operations lw~nn on 9fh December, The rod?f soil made
di!JIJ'ing u \'!cry slow and difficult wot!~. The garrison tired
upon the Mughals dar and night without cessation with e\7e1y
);!ind of missile. But the lines of investment were not complete.
The enemy entered and issued from Satra almosl to the end
of the sif'l;Ze.
The garrison made frequent sorties, all of which were
repulsed with more or less loss. Bt1! the greatest danger to
the Mu!Jha!s came from the Marathn field forces, which practi
callf reduced the besieqers to the position of a beleilli(Lle!'ed
dty. Foraging parties could leave the Mughal camp onlr
under very sfron!J escorts, led br the foremost nobles. Dhana,
Shanl~ara, nnd othct enem? leaders spread through the Mugha!
possessions, raidin!J villa!;lcs, cultimJ off outposts and closinq
the t'oacls to the gra1n~dealet's (ban/ams).
Tal'biyat Khan by hard labour <lwJ a mine 84 fards 10111;1
an<l carried it under the fott~wall. But assault b't breaching
was dcc1rnd inadvisable. Then, a surprise escalado \vas
attempted by 2,000 Mavles in Mughal pay, on Q3rd Januar"t,
bu! the attempt failed. On 13th April iwo mines were fired.
362 s11orn rnsT01n OF /\UI~ANozrn [cu. XV[

The first Rilled man'{ of the 1Jarrison and bul'icd the havladar
Praljlji Prabhu under the debris of the wall, but he was du9
out alive. The second exrloded outwards ; a tower was
blown up and fell upon the Mu'l!hal lroops densely assembled
at the foot of lhe wu.ll for lhe assu.ult ; nearly two thousand
of them perished. This explosion made a breach in the wall.
20 'lards wide. Some braV"c: imperialists, notably Baji Clwza.n
Dafle, the son of Salva Daflc (the founder of the State of
Jath in the Bijapur district), ran up to ll~e lop of the wall,
shouting to their comrudes, "Come up ! there is no enemy
here!" But none followed them ; the men in the Mughal
trenches who survived were too dased and alarmed by the
catastl'ophe to stir outside. The garrison now recoveted from
their surprise, and rushing up to the brco.d1, slew the iJallanl
forlorn hope.
Meantime Rajaram had died (March) and his minister
Parashmatn proposed submission to the Mui;ihafs. Tmbiyat
Khan had demolished 70 'fem.is of the fort waits, 400 of the
garrison had been Rilled b'{ tlw mines. Considering nil these
fuels, Subhanji, the qiladar of Satara, lost heart c1nd made terms
with the Emperor throu!i.(h Prince Aiam. On 21st April
he hoisted the impcl'ial flag on his fort and vacated it with
the garrison the next day. The fod wus renamed .4.wmtam
in honour of Prince Md. Atam.

5. Parli fort captured.

The Mughals soon afterwards opened siel(tc trenches before
Parli, six miles west of Satarn. This fort had been the seat
of Shivajl's g.ttl'lt Ramdas Swami and it was serving as the
heaclqLwters of the Maratha Governtnent while Satara was
invested by the enemy. Parnshuram, the chief t'el7enue office1
of Ute Maratha Government, bein!il' disheartened b)! the deulh
of Rajaratn and the fall of Satara, escaped from Padi, but
that fort continued its resistance under his subot'dinates.
1700] SUI'rCf~lNGS OP MUOI!!\!. ARMY 363

The in\7aders suffrred terribly from excessive rain and the

scMcitr of grain dnd fodder. But AuranQcib held grimly on.
Terms were at last made with the qiladar of Parli, and he
evacuated the fort (on 9th June) for a bribe.
These two sieges had caused an enormous waste of men,
horses and h1nsport animals in the imperial a.rmy. The
treasurY' was empt", the soldiers were starvini;l at their pa)!
bein!i( in anears for three years. fleav1 and unprecedented
rain beqan to bl! earl? in Ma? and continued till the end of
July. On 21st June the return march towatds Blmshungarh
commenced, but the sufferings of the miserable soldiers were
only aggravated b'f the change. Most of the transport animals
had perished dming the siege. The few cad-oxen and
elephants tlwl sur17J17ed had nothln.g but their shins
and bones left. Only a small pad of the proper[f of the
Empe101 and the nobles could be carried away b\'. these weak
animals and porters. Much had lo be left in the forts or
burnt. Many persons of noble bh-th had lo wall'l on foot
through the mud for mile after mile. One march was followed
by two days' ho.It, in ordet to allow the sltagglers time to
come up. Only three miles were coveted by u day's march.
The Krishna was in such high flood that the opposite banR
could nol be seen from !his. Great difficulty was felt in
crossinq such a hu!!!e arnw over the swollen river. Onhz
seven halfbwken and clrnnsil)?Patcl1ed up boats were
available for fert'lin~ the men across, and the people often
fouJJht lo !Jet seats in lhein. Bbushangarh was reached on
25th Jttlf, the arnw ha\"i111i tahen 35 days to cover 45 miles !
Hcte a month's halt was made. Thon the impel'ial camp was
shifted (on 30\h A1.1gust 1700), to Khawaspttt, on tbe Man
river, 36 miles off. The impedalisls lay encamped on both
its bilnRs and even Its dri bed. But in the niSJht of 1st
October, while the 1nen were fast asleep, a high flood caused
by heavy and untimely rainfall on the hills1 came suddenl~
364 SHORT IIISTOI~Y OF J\URl\NGZJJ\ [c11. XVI

sweeping lhtough the river bed, overlapped its banbs and

spread over the plains befond. Many men and animals
perished ; many more, including e\7en the nobles, were left
absolutely poor and na[;?ed ; nearly all the tents and property
were damaged.
When the flood first struch the camp, a H\tlc before
midni~ht, a loud cry arose tl1roughoul the urmy. The Emperor,
imagining thn.t the Marathas had burst into the camp, rose in
alarm, bu! stumbled and dislocated his ri>Jht ];?nee. The doclor'>
failed to set it properly, and he remained a little lame for !ht:
rest of bis life. The Court Jlatterers used to console him by
saying that it was the hcrilal,lc of his unccs!Ol', the world-
conqueror Timur the Lame !
But \7ii;;orous efforts were made lo rcplenbh his army.
Orders were sent to the ~Jovernors of Northern fndia to
enlist strong men and buy !JOocl horses in CV(;1y province
and send them to the Deccun. Two thousand horses were
bOU!Jht in Kabul, and spoo mares locally, besides the
remounts purchased in other pro\7incC's.
The Maraihas put the misfortunes of ihc imp()!i,1lisls lo the
best c'\Ccount. In ,1ddilion to their normal raids, Ilonumanl
l'.2ao plundered lhe tna11a of Klwtm1 and l~illed its Mughal
officer Ramchandra (a Marallw.), 18 Augusl, 1700. The I3c1ud
chief, P idia Nayah, posted his infuntty all ovc1 lhc Hijaur
dish'id levyin~ cfiartffi, while the Marathas plundered up to
the \7ery tank of Shahpur, oLttside Bij,1pw cily, k. 15th No\7.).
Ranuji Ghorpare l~illed the Mughal thcmddar of 13a\;ehwal'i
(30 m. s. e. of Bijapur) and looted that outpost as well as Ind!
(north-east of BiJapur city}.

6. Siege of Pa11fia!1.1, 1701.

Panhala was the next point of attad~. The Emperor
arrI11ed there on 9th March 1701 and fo1med a complete circle
of investment, fourteen miles in length, rotmd Panhala and
1701 I AURANbZIB CAPTU!~LS l'ANII/\LA 365

its sisler fort of Pa\7all!Jarh.. A mobile force under Nust'al

Jan!J was sent ant to "chastise the robbers wherever they
should raise their heads." But in tbat stony rer,;lon the
progress of minim;: \WIS necessari11 very slow, and the
dreaded rainy season was approaching. In addition to the
notorious ri\7alry between the Emperor's two hii;rhest !Jenerals,-
Nusrat Jan!il <1nd Firm; Jan!,,(,--which made it impossible to employ
both al the same place, there now brnl~e out a bitter jealous'!:
between Tarbiyat Khun and Fathullah Khan and another
between the oldt'r ofticers in ~eneral and a very able upstart
from Gujral named Muhammad Murad. The mutual jealousies
of the s:Jenernls made true co-operalion among them impossible.
They secretly thwarted one another, and thus spolleu their
mastds business and prolonged the siege. When Tarbiyat
Khan was urged to deli11e1 an ilSSdult, he ironical!'{
replied, "The preparations for an assault are complete.
Please order Md. Murad, wbo has done such heroic deeds,
lo support 11s on the day of storming." With this spirit
animat\n!J Aurang:=ib's generals, it was onJi natural that all
his efforts came to nothinl6, and the siege dragged on for
two months, without success sec-ming to come any nearer.
To li)ain Panlm!a before the l'ains be!;1an, a fo.rge bribe was
paid to Tl"imbal<, the qiladar, and he delivered the fort on
28th May, 1701. The efforts of the Marathas to relieve {he
siege of Ponha!a were many. Their generals, Dhana fadav.
Ranuji Ghorpare, Ramchandrn and Krishna Malhar constantly
ho11ered round the siege camp, cutting off foraqlng parties
<:\ncl convoys of provisions. Nusrat Jang and Hamld-ud-din
with mo\7able columns toiled in \7ain after the fleet Mat'atha
1ovcrs and fot11Jht many a blood\7 battle without decisive
result.
After the fall of Panhala, Aurangzib (on 29th Ma\7, 1701)
retreated from it to encamp in the safer and more fertile
reqion of Khatau (95 miles east of Satara and on the left
366 Sf!OR'I IIISTORY OP J\URANGZlll [rn. XVI

bani~ of the Yerla ri\7er). Quid~ as his departure W<ls, il

had not been made soon enough. A cyclone passed 0\7er
the camp ''blowing away tents and sheds Jibe paper. Kin'ls
and beg~ars bad to sil down in the sun. Veiled ladies
became exposed to the public ?,ae."
Fathullah Khan, hh-Jhly r'H'omotecl and created a Bahadur,
was sent ahead to talw Wardbangarh (8 111. n. w. of Khatau)
and three other fods in the nch;thbourhood,-Chnndan,
Nandr;iir and Wandan.
7. Siege of J(fielna.
The Emperor next set oul fo1 the conquest of Khelna
(01 Vishah;rarh). This fort stands thidy miles west of Panhala,
on the crest of the Sahyadri hill, 3,350 feet abo\7e the sea
and o\7edool~infii the Konl~an plain lyin~ on its west. The
district is wet and cool, and the hills were thid~fv coV'crcd
with trees and dense tmderwood in the 17th ccnlmy. The
easiest means of t'cnchini;t the fort is by the Ambu 1x1ss, U\7C
miles north of it, and 'lame 255 miles n. w. of Kolhapur.
The eiqhl miles leadln!? to the defile we1e \7Cl''f di!Ticult
ground. There was in that age no rnad here for wheeled
iraffic, and the ups and downs wc1c so sharp and the path
so narrow that e\7'en horses could not use it with ease OJ'
safety.
Lea\7ing Wal'clhangarh on 7th No\7. 1701, the Emperor
arl'i\7ed near Malfaapur in 12 ma1cbes. Ilet'e he halted for
a weeb, while pioneers wel'e set to mal~c a rrn:1d ahead. Bttt
the Amba pass itself had yet to be made fit for lhc passag<.'? of
an army. This fotmidable tasl~ was accomplished b1
FaHrnllah Khan after one weelis incessant toil with a host
of pioneers and stone-cutters. Then Asad Khan was detached
on 26th December to . begin the sie~c. On 16th Janumy
1702, the Emperor's lent was pitched a mile from Khelna,
His followers suffered terrible hardship and loss 111 crossinJJ
1702 I MllGIIALS BrSJEGE Kllt:LNA 367

1hc pass and bringing his camp and equipalJe to the fool of
the fort.
The siel,'le dragged on for fi\7e months (January-June 1702).
During this year Nusrat JdnlJ with his mobile division marched
in pursui1 of the Maratha field forces nearly 6,000 miles in
Berar and TeiimJana and fou~hl 19 greal battles with them,
besides numberless shirmishes. The Mughal artillery beat in
vain a!;(ainst the solid roch of the walls of Khelna ; only a
few stones wel'e loosened from the tower, and success seemed
as far off .JtS ever. On the other hand, the catapults of the
garrison showered huij/e stones upon the ad\7andng sle1Je#
worl~s. They also raided the trenches al night. All the
\7aliant cxt.:'dions of Pathullah Khan Turani on the north side
were thrown away against that impregnable rod~. No better
success was achie\7ed at the Konl~ani (or western) gate of the
fort Ilerc Muhammad Amin Khan had stol'med the fortified
hillocl~ opposite this s;iate and commanding its fausse brafc
(raani) on 4th March. Bidat' Bakht, who l'l'f)laced the Khan,
delil7ercd an assault led b'\7 fai Singh, the young Rajah of
Amber, on 27th Apdl, and captured the rmmi, in spite of
hca17y losses, The nexl step was to drag biq guns up to the
position and batter down the Konfaf.lni gate with them.
Bul the terrible monsoon of the Bombay Coast now burst
on the heads of the de voted Mughal army. The qiladar
Parashuram accepted a latge bribe from Bidar Bat~bt and on 4th
June planted the prince's banner on the ramparts, and in the
night of the 7th the gardson e\-racuated the fort.
The sufferings of the Mughal armf during its return from
Khelna were terribl~. The Empernr beat a hast)? retreat from its
neigbboi1rhood, on 10th lune, only three days after the fall of
the fort. But the rain had alreadf be1;1un with tropical fury and
the Mughal army undel'went terrible hardships in crnssinl6 the
dreadful Amba pass again in this weather. "The c11mels
1ef used to sel foot on this path. The elephants sank i11to
368 S!101H' 111Sl'ORY Ol' /\ll!U\NOJ.:111 [cu. XVI

the mud hlw donkeys. The only goods carried wetc 011 the
beaus of porters." A i-.udden rise of a nala on lhe way,
"running lifac a race-horse," cut the imperial army into two,
and many were drowned. Na/a;, in a similc:ir condition
intersecled the path of rctredt at three pldCL'S. Grdin sold at
one Rupee a seer. "Fockler and firewood appedrcd in the
isok1ted camp only by mistal~c." Many men ulsn perished ot
cold amidst the incessant rain, from h<1vin1J no lcnl or chuns;rc
of clothing left to them. At some sla!Jes only .:i. small catwa>
cover was all that could be pitched for the Empci;or himself.
Jn this condition, after covcl'inlif 30 miles in 38 da'ls, the
miserable army arrived near Panhala ( 17 Jul Y. 1702).
The Mughals finally reached Babt1.clurjJarh or PNl!i(uon on the
northern banh of the Bhima, on 13th November, 1702.

8. Sieg.es of /(ondanct (c'li11g6~1ac6), J:!.aifJatfi and Toma.

After t1. stay of only 18 days, the Emperor set oul on

2nd December to capture Kondana (Slnghgt1.1h), which was
reached on the 27th. The imperial family, ofiiccs, and l1cavy
ba!Jga!Je were removed from the Base Ca111p at Islampttri to
Bahadttrgarh, and the former post was made Nusmt Jomi:.
cantonment. Bidar Bal<ht was sent to Aurarn;:abad dS viceroy
and later (Feb. 1703) iJiveu the subahduri of Khandesh in
addition. Tbe sieiJe began, but there was no life ln the work
of the besiegers, and tbree months were wasted in this wa);'.
The rainy season was now approachin!J, So 1 the Empe1or's
servants secured the fott on 8th April 1703, by hca vilr
bribing the qiladar.
Prom Ko11da11a the army- marched bad~ to Puna in a
week (1 May), in the nei~hbourhood of which it spent neurly
seven months. The excessive rn!nfall of 1702 had been
followed by a drou~ht in 1703-41 and there was famine
throu\jhout Maharashtra, with its natural companion, peslilence.
17041 IMJOJ.\Rll /\ND TOimA CAPTURED 369

Large numbers of the poorer classes perished, --two millions,

according to Mamtcci.
From the nei!Jhbourhood of Puna, the Mu!Jhal army reached
Rai!5arh in 18 days, and be!5an its siege on 2nd December,
1703. They bombarded it for two months, and then captured
!he first >.;ale by assaull on 6th Feb. 1704. The garrison
under their chiefs Firangji and' Hamanji retired lo the inner
citadel, .:1nd l~ept up the resistance for ten days more. At
last tile qiladar m.:ide terms, hoisted the imperial flag on his
tower, and !led away at niqht (16 Feb.).
Aurangzib next laid sieli}e to Torna, eight miles from
Rajgarh, on 23rd February. In the night of 10th March
Amanullah Khan wilh only 23 Ma\7le infantry silently scaled
the fortwll by means of ropeladders, blew his trumpets, and
charged. the enemy. Those of the garrison who resisted were
put to the sword, the rest fled to the citadel and cried for
mercy. This was the only Maralha fort that Aman!lz:ib
cnptured by force without resort to bribery.
From Toma the imperial camp arrived at Khed (7 miles
north of Chakan) and encamped there for six months, from
17 April to 21 October, 1704. From this place the Emperor
started on 22nd Octobc1 for Wagingera, the Berad capit<il,
which was reached after a slow march of three-and-a-half
months, on 8th February 1705, and immediately besieged.
This W'clS the last campaign of Aurarn:z;;ib.

9. Tfie Berad people and tfieit' counfl'y and cfiieftain.

The country extendinli! east of Bijapl1r city, and enclosed
by the .13hima and the Kris~na rivers, is the home of the
Berads, a race of aboriginal Kanarese, also called Dheds1 and
regarded as one of the lowest in the scale of Hindu castes.
They are a virile and hatdy people, not much advanced from
savagerr, but at the same time not toned down like the 0\7et
refined ttpper castes of Hindu society. The'{ eat mutton,
24
370 SllOR1' JllS'I'ORY OJ J\lll~AN07.In [c11. XVI

beef, porl~, domestic fowls, etc., and drink lo excess. Dadi,

musculat, and of middle hei~ht, with round focC's, Hal d1ccbs,
thin lips and lank or fris:ded hair, !he Bctads can be<1e fali!JttC
and hardship, but have no laste for sdtlccl industty or peaceful
arts. Their ttibal on;ianisation under the hc.:vls of families und
\he judicial authority of !heir heredita1y hcudmcn ensured
discipline and soliclari\y amon\; them, and they supplied lbe
most steady ancl accurulc muslwtcers ol Soulb India in the
seventeenth and ei~hteenth centuries. Their i;(allanfry 111 war
and contempt fol' wounds and deuth were as conspicuous as
their skill in rnal~inq nigbh1ttacl<s und surprises, - which we
rni~ht natu1ally expect from such expert caHle-slealers.
Contemporary- Persian historians call them Be-dac (fearless), by-
a play on their name.
The cradle-land of the Bcrads was My-sore, from which
they- advanced inlo the R,1ichut doab and then further north
into the country beyond the Krishna and even the l)hirna.
The Berad Nay-al~s or chieftain~ of Shorapur, lying in the
forl'l. between the Krishna and !he Bhirna, hod their earliest
capital at Sagar, some 72. miles cusl of Bijapur city. When
this was lost to the Mu!Jhals (1687), the Nayal< built a lll'W
capital at Wa~inJil"era, twelve miles south-west of Sa!Jur. Al
the close of Aurarn,{zib's rei!Jn even this forl was tal<en from
him, and the Nayal< 1ernoved his seat to Shornpt1r, on the
eastern face of the same hill-mass as Wa!ilinll!era and
four miles frotn it. I1avinl$ los\ !heir dominion lo tbc
Mughals at the SLtrrender of 1687, the Ben1<l chiefs had now
no resottrce left except to rebel, build new slroni,Jholds among
the bills, and rob the Mui;ihal territory- around in imitation
of the Marathas and aftcrwat'ds in concert wilh thL'm. The
Kulbarlila district was l~ept in constant disturbance and the roads
were closed to cara'V'i.'\ns by persistent but elusive baads of
Bera.cl horsemen for many years after the fall of Sagar,
Pidia Nayah, lhe nephew and adopted heir of Pam Nayali,
 BfRADS OJ SllORAPlU~--SAGAR 371

hc:tcl waited on Aurang;;ib as earl as 1685 and been i;iiven

a post in the imperic:tl nrmy. After the Mughal conquest of
Sagar and the death of his uncle, he busied himself in fortiff
inljl Wagirn;iera and raising an army. Ile collected twelve
lhou~.:.md excellent muske!eers of his tribesmen and steadily
increasC"d his artiller\7 and munitions of war.
Pi<lia'., robberies in the Ku1barga district became ioo serious
lo be nL"glected any longer. At last, on 27th May 1691 the
Emperor sent his son Kam P>al~hsh from Bijapur, in charge
of Bahramancl Khan, to attack Wa15ins;Jera. On 20th fuly lhe
prince was sent off to the Madras KarnataR, and the operations
as;iainst the Bcrads were entrnsted to Ruhullah Khan. The
latter could not achieve the task ; the Berads twice fell
on his entrenchment and destroyed il ; man'? on the Mughal
Ride were slain, includini;! the celebrated Ranmast Khan, So
J~uhullab Khan opened 11cl,lotiations with the enemy, who bribed
and lulled him into inacti\7itf. A;mm was sent to 1elieve I<uhullab
(18th December 1691). The prince stayed there for a year,
ravaginli! the country and checb.inSJ Beratl activities. Pidia then
submitted, appc-a!ed to the prince's mercy, presented him with
two Jalihs of Rupees and made peace with the Emperor by
payinQ an i11demnili of seven lal<hs. Bttt in December 1692
the Emperor remo\7ed A;;am from Sagar, and Pidia soon
aftcnvard9 resumed his old bdqanda~e and usurpation of land.
When F\rur. Ian~ was sent a~atnst him (April l696), he "pla1ed
the same jachal's trick on him" and escaped destruction by
promising a tribute of nine lafahs.

10. Aurangrdb captures Waf)'.inEJ.era, 1705.

Al last, towal'ds the close ofthe year 1704, after the greal
Maratha forts had all been captured, the En1Peror turned , to
Waglngera and began its siege on 8lh Februat~ 1705.
On the plain in the south, facinig the fort ~ate, there is a
"11llage called Talwatg.era, enclosed b'Y a mud wall and
372 SHORT l!JSTORY 01 J\lll~ANO/.lll [cu. XVI

containini; the rnad<ei for the supply of the 'i?arrison. Close

to it was Dfiedputa, a bamlel of !;(rass hub, wlwn' the famdie~
of the common Bcrnds li\7ed and from which they lilkd the
surround\nfi! lands. These three were the only inhabited places
there ; but close to ll1e fort in lhe ca~t <1nd north were a
numbet of billocl-?s which would be of ~real service to bcsies;iers.
One of these, called Lal Tikd from ils red soil, sliiJhlly
commanded a portion of Wagingera itself and b,1d a very
important bearing on the defence of that fort. The Bcrads had
not thou\:iht of protcctin!J a.ny of these outlyinSJ eminences by
redoubt or outpost.
The sfrcm;ith of Wa1Jin1Jera lat" not so much in its nalurctl
position or at'tificial defences, as in the coma~1e and number
of its i;1arrison, the deadly accutacy of their lllltsl~clly fire,
and its ample supply of i;!tins, rocfaets and arlillerf munilio11s.
Por mmw weel<s after the commencelllcnt of tltc sic!Jc,
the Mughals coul<l do nothing. Bver'\? day the enemy sallied
forth and attaclwd the imperialists. The bombardment from
the fort walls continued incessantly and made the ad\7ancc of
the Mughal trenches, or even their maintenance within ran!f]'e
of the fort guns, impossible.
One tnorning while the Mu~hal i.;enernls \\1ere out rcconnoi
tl'lng for weak points in !he defences, they suddenly chat'ge<l
up Lal Til<ri, drcwe away the Bet~d musl~etecrs 011 its top and
seized the position. But it was impossible for them to di\?
themselves in on that roclw height. 'J'he Bcrads immediately
sent there lar!i!C bodies of their infantr-t" who swarmed up
{he hillside "nurnberless m~e ants and locusls," and plied their
musl~ets and hurled stones with deadly <:1cc1.uacy on the
imperialists crowded helplessly on the top. The position had
at last to be abandoned after heavy losses.
'fhe Mujjj"hal trenches started from a spot between Lal
Tlkri and the hillock opposite Talwaiqera 1 while a.n outpost
was established under Muhammad Amin Khan between Lal
 17051 AUl~ANOZ!ll S SJCGE OP WAG!NGl:RA
0

373

Til~ri and these trenches, to guurcl against enemy allachs

from that hill. The hillod~ facing Talwargera was occupied
by Kam Bai<hsh's troops and another mound near by was
held by Buqar Khan.
Bui on Q6lh March a Maratha force of five to six
thousand hor~c under Dhana Jadav and Hindu Rao (brother
of San ta Ghorparc) arrived near the fort to support their
Berad allies, because the families of many Maratha P,enerals
had taken retu!(?e there. The first tas~~ of the Marathas was
to remove their families safeli from this fo1't. While the
main body of the new-comers kept the imperialists in play
by u noisy feint a!(?ainsl the sicl,Je lines in front of the fort
assisted by a beav1 fire from the walls, another body of
2,000 picl~ed troopers bl'Ought their women and children out
by the bacli-door of W01gin!6era1 mounted them on swift
mares, and escaped, their rear being 'i(uardcd by a body of
infantry th,'lt sallied out of the fort.
Pidia had promised the Marath,1s a daily subsidy of
se\7eral thousand Rupel:!s as \01115 as the'l would assist in the
defence of his capital. They halted ln the 11eighbourhood
and mad<;! frequent attacl~s on the Mu!;ihals. The Mughal
anny itself was now thrown into a state of sieli{e. Its
activities ceased and it was confined to its own lines. Grain
and fodder became extremely scarce in the camp. Tlic
Etnperor censured his gene1als, but it had no effect.
Pidia now made proposals of submission to tl1e Emperor,
but his real object was to J5ain tit11e and call up heavy
reinf orccments from for ctnd near.
Abdul Ghani, a iJlib~tonqued lying Kashmiti pedlar, one
day brouqht to Hedayetl~esh (the chief of the imperial
lntelligerlce Depadme11t) a lette1 frotn Pidia proposing peace.
Aurangzib gave a fo:vourable repl)? to the letter. Pidia next
sent bls brother Som Singh to ~he Mus;1hal camp, offerinl;I
to give up the fort and asMn~ that the ta1t1indal'i1 the
374 SI!Ol<T ll!STOI<Y or /\UlMNGZ(l\ [cu. XVI

headship of the clan, and a mansab rnllJht be grunted to his

brother. Sorn Singh stayed in the camp and sprt'ad the
tale that Pidia bad turned mad and th! with ihe Marathas.
The Kashmir[ next btomJht 'a messaqe trom the Picrc:u{ chid's
mother repeating this stor? and be!,l<Ji1Hl, th<1l Som Sin<Jh
mhJht now be allowed to t'elurn as lhc fort would be v<:1e,1ted
in se\7en days. The Emperor a<Jreed c1nd slopped lhc fo~hlin~.
And then the bubble burst. The whole thin!J WdS Ll fraud.
Pidia was alive and sane and still within tlw fOL'l ; he refused
lo surrender it and renewed his attacl~s. The Empd'or c1lmost
went mad with rage and sh,une.
Meanwhile, he bad summoned his ablest !JCnerals from ull
sides. Nusrat Ja111i arri\red on !7th M<1tch and tht~ next dc.w
he !Jalloped up to lhe hillocli of Lal 'fil~ri frc)m which the
Mughals had been dislodged in the early days of the siege.
He climbed the hill, dnd dro\7e out \he enemy, who ran inio
the '7ilku;re of Talwar;rera at its foot, and began to pl\1 thdr
musRels from behind ils mud wall. Many I~ajputs fell in the
altad~ on Lal TiRri and outside the village. But Nusral JcHl\t
directed Dalpat Bundcla lo a neiiJhbourimJ hillocl~ which was
still 111 the enem\l''S hands. The l3erads fled from the second
mound loo and hid in the \7illa~c of Dbedpur,~. On this
day twenty-one bullets and one rocl~cl hil Dalpat l~ao's
elephant. The banners of Nusrat Jan~; were pilled with shot
holes like a crocodile's hide, and two of his elephant drivers
wete wounded and one f<illcd. Simili1rly, lhere were heaV'l
casualties in the centre and rca1 of the Mu~hal !Jenernl'!;i
force, but Nusrat Jang lwpt hold of the position he had
gained wllh so much blood neur the wall. A few Jays later
the Khan captured some wells situated on the s!~il"l of the
11ill whence lhe enemy ttsect to draw their water. On 27th
April he delivered an assault on Talwarqera. The impc!'ialisls
entered the petfi (walled \l'illaqe), sl11ri11g all who resisted, and
the rest fled.
 rmJNOU5 EFbECTS OJ' Df;CCAN \VAl~S 375

The Bet-.ads now found that further sfrug!Jle was hopeless.

Pidiu rled out of the bacl~door at niqht, "with the Maratha
companions of bis tkW of ildvcrsil\?." When ni~~ht cume u.nd
the sound of musf~ctry from within died down, some Mu!-Jhal
soldiers enlercd the fort and found the place cntirel'[
descdcd. Then bc<Jan <l wild scene of confusion, rapine and
bmning. At the news of lhc fort being vacated, there WLIS
il wild rnsh t\f camp-followers, cotnmon soldiers and all the
ruffians of the camp, in the hope of plunder before the
GovcrnmC'nt agents should come and altach the prnperty.
The fire from the burning roofs spread to a powder maga;:i11e 1

and there was a terrible explosion, many people bein~

blown up. After two ot three davs, a second magazine
exploded. Wa~ingera was captllred, but its chieftain had
escaped nnd l1\7ed to qi\7c trouble to the victors. Thus, all
1
At1ra111J;.;ib s laboms for these three months wcte lost.

! 1. /Jesolatio11 of tfie cou11fry caused by: Atuanrt:l;ib's
tthrtS ; aaii1ec:ra/ dr:1ordec.

Al the end of the 17ih cenhuy !he gtcal empire founded

by Al<bar and raised lo world~famcd prosperity and splcndotu
by Shah fahan, was in a slate of hopeless decay ; administra
tion, cult111e, economic We, militaiy strength and soda!
ori;ianiz,1lion,-all seemed to be hasteninq to uttet ruin and
dissolution. The material waste caused to the empire by this
quartc:r century of wadaec was fdqhtfuL The desolation of
the Deccan was complete. As a contemporary Durorean
obser\7e1, Mam1cd, notes,-"Auran1?zib withckew to Ahmadnaga1
leaving behind him the fields' of these pro\7inces devoid of
lrees and bare of c1ops, their place bein~ tab.en by the bones
of men and beasts. It1stea.d of 11e1dure all is blank and
barren. There ha\7e died in his armies over a hundred
lllousand so1.1ls yearly, and of animals, pack-oxen, camels,
376 SJIOn'J' llJSTORY OJ f\ll!MN01.Il\ !cu. XVI
elephants, elc., over three hundred thousand ... In !be lkccan
provinces from 170~ to 1704 p Im,;ue [ and fomi nc I prcv<J.iled.
In these iwo years there expired o\7cr two millions of souls."
As he began his retreat norlhwards from the c1wirons of
Was.Jingera, the exultant Marathas in a \7l\Sl hnrdL' of 50 to
60 thousand men followed his <lrmy a few miles in the rear,
cutting off his grain supplies and slra(,'!>Jlers and cvt'll lhreatenin!J
to breal< into his camp.
The e\?e-wilness Bhimscn writes,--"Thc Mardtlrns became
completel\? dominant over the whole l~ituJdom and closed the
roads. B\? means of robbery they escaped from poverty
and gained great wealth. I have heard lhat every weeb
they gave away sweets and mone)1 in charily, prayimJ
for the lonP. life of the Emperor who haLl proved
ho them} the l~eedet' of the Universe ! Tlw price of 'i!r<J.in
grew higher and higher ; in the imperial camp in 1x1rlicular
vast numbet's perished (of hunger), and many l~inds of illegal
exactions and prnctices appeurcd. E'Ver sinco !Iis Majcst\' hacl
come to the throne he had not lived in a city but elected
all these wars a11d hard marchitu;r, so lhal the inmates of his
camp, sicli of Joni;) separalion, summoned lllL'ir families to
the camr and lived th<:>re. A new ~cncr<1tion wu.s Urns bNn
[under canvas! ; the)1 passed from infancy tn yo1tth, from
youth to old m;i-e, and passin~ befond old age girt up their
loins for the journey to the world of ll1e i.lrnJcls, and yet
ne'\7e1 once saw the loo!~ of a house, b1,.1{ only !mew that In
this world there is no other sbellel' than a l<'nt. .. When the
Marathas invade a province they take from every \l<lt'1Ja11a as
much money as the)1 desire .and make their hot'scs eat the
siandinJi! crops or tread them underfoot. The lmperi<il
al'my lhat comes in pltrsuit can subsist only wben the fields
are cLtltivted [anew]. All administration has disappeared, . , The
realm has been desolated. The ryots hav>e Ji!iv>en up culti'Va-
tion ; the jagirdars do not gel a penny from their fiefs. The
 El'PCCTS OF ADMINISTRAT!Vf'. BREJ\KDO\VN 377

syslern of the Maratha ('.Jovernmenl paying salaries to its

officials disuppeared. So, the MMalha State ser\7ants suppor-
ted themselves by plundering on ull sides, and payinq a
~mall part of their booty to the l~ing." The effect of the
enemy's robbery and stoppage of rent from the Mughal
officer's jaqirs was agi;itavated by u lonli(-contimted famine.
Hence, "the condition of the Mugha! u.rmy grew worse from
!he hi![!h price of grain and the dC\'.'astation of jagirs, while the
n::sourccs of lhc Marathas increased throu\(h robbeiy They e'Ven
attacfaecl walled cities lil~e Haidarabacl, Bijapur, Auranqabad,
and Burhanpur."
The b1cal~-clown of the administration and of public peace
cn:ated a 'Vidous circle aiJgra\7a1iJHJ the e\7il, as Bhimsen has
cle.:trly pointed oul: ''The mansabdars, on account of the
smull forces undet' them, cannot qain control over the
tcn-ilorics g1antecl lo lhem in jai;rir. The local ::amindars,
<;lrowin!J' strons;re1-, have joined the Marathas, le'7ied lroops,
and stretched the hand of opp1'cssion o\7er the realm ..... As
the imperial dominions have been !Jiven out in tm1k:fia (fief)
lo the ia!Jirdars, so too the Ma!'alhas ha\7c made a diskibution
of the whole empire amon~ their !Jencrals, and thlls one
kingdom has lo I)iaintain two sets of jai;iirdars L.The peasants
subjected to this double exaction have collccled arms anrl
horses and joined the Marathas." Many of the Mui;ihal
mansabdurs, goaded by po\7crt?, bes;;an to plunder the innocent
.:md loyal peusants to support themselves, and some went into
shares with the Maratba raiders.

1Q. Macatfia systems of spoliation and nmcface.

The l\'larathas had reduced spolialion i.o a sys1em. "Where~
ever these raiders arri'Ved they ern;iai;red in <'.\ re-venue collection
of the place and pussed months and ?ears thel"e with their
wi11es and cbi!d1en in peace of mind. They di\'.'Ided the parljli'.U1as
among themselves and in iniitation of the imperial Go'Vernment
378 SllOIH l!ISTl)J<Y Ol /\111~/\NOZll\ [rn. XV!

lhey appointed their own subalidatJ~ kamcwt'.l'h~dats (revenue

collectors) and mfidats (rou.d-fJuarcls). Their subahclar was a
leader of troops : whenever he heard of u lanJc caruvan
comin~, he ovcrtool~ il at the lwad of [some] seven thousand
cavalry and looted it. ~vcrywhcrc kama11isfi-dars \Wrc posted
for collcctin~ \he cfiautfi. Wbcn a l~c1muvislhldr WdS opposed
by a slro111i) ;;amindar or impefi,1! fdlljtfor and could 11ot lc\-y
the blacl<mail, the Mar,1tba subahdur cumc to his aid, besie~Jcd
and desolated the habitations there. The duty of tiK' Maratha
r:afidat was this,-whcn traders wanted to trn\'cl unmolested
by these people, the rnhdar tool~ d sum of money from cdch
cart or bullocfa (three or fottrfold lhc imperiu.I foujdc1r's transit
duty), and left the road open to them. In each subah the
Marathas built one or two small fods (f7ac!iM, which they
made their place of refulJe and from which they issued to
raid the countl''i around." (I(fiafi /(fian.)
After 1703 the Mar<:dbas were rnasti~1s of llw siluation all
over the Decco1n and even in parts of Northern India. The
Mugbal officers became helpless and rtduced to thL~ clcfonsie.
A change now came o\1cr the Marulha tactics with this growth
of theil' powl'r : they were no lonqcr, as in SbiV'tlji's and
Shambhuji's times, light forayel's who "cut ,1nd ran" or me1ely
looted defenceless trndcrs and \1illa~1cs and dispersed ell the
first report o( the Mttl;lhul army's approach. On lbc contrnry,
as Mam1cci noticed in H01, "These [Marntha] leaders anJ
their troops move in these days with much confidence, becuusc
they have cowed the Mughal commanders and inspired them
with fear. Al the present time lhey possess artillety, mtislzetry,
bows and anows, with elephants and camels fol' all their
baglJage and tents. In short, they al'e equipped and rnovre
about just lil~e the armies of the Mu~hal."
In the inlernal administration the breal~~clown of At11z111giib's
Government was equally conspicuous. The officials became
incorl'iqibl? cot'l'upt and inefficient, all the fo1b\clden exactions
 AlllMNOZrn's LONt:LJNESS i\ND somww 379
(abwabs) were revived by the local governors in violation ot
his orders, the Emperor in his old ct~e was disobeyed
by his dislant ottlcials, and the administration lost its efficiency.

13. Auta1tt):~ib tefteats lo Afimadnagaz; 1705.

lmmedictlely after the capture of W agingcra (27th April,

1705), the Emperor removed his camp to De\7apur, a quiet
gre('n vil!al,)e neal' the Krishna, eight miles south of the fort.
Here he fell very ill on account of his age (nine!'>? lunar yeats)
and incessant labour.
Despair seized all men in his camp. Al first he bad
coura1Jcouslv stru!,Jg!cd with disease, and had throt:1gh sheer
sttength of mind continued for some cla)?s to transact business
as usual and 1.1ven to peep oLtl of his bedroom window to
reassure the public !hat he was a.li11c. BLtt the strain of this
wort~ only increased his malad)?, fill he was seized with ~real
paitt, whkb at tlmts made him senseless. The wildest rumours
spread about his death nncl wars amonSJ his sons.
Ile la)? in this stale fo1 len en lwcl11e days, and then he
bel.Jan to rally, but slowly, und still feelin15 11er')! weak, At this
time, one dav in extreme afilony he muttered tlwse 17erses of
Shail~h Ganja ;
1
' !3;'l tfie lime :;ou fia11e ceucfied yout sotfi
ot 90/fi ,'i[eat,
'f!oa must fim;e met witfi nian;; a fiatd blom
from ffie fiand of Tlmc;
And wfien from tlia f point ioa u:acli Ifie
,r
stcmc of fitt11dced,
Daatfi 111ifl put on ffie garb of .vo111 life."

Amit Khan, who was in attendance by the sidi~bed, Med to

console the sufferer bl? saying, ''Peace be on rour Majest~l
Shail~h (fonja composed those verses merel1 as introductor1
to the following couplet :
380 $HORT IllSTORY Ol' ;\llfV\NOZlll [rn. X\71

Tficn, it t'.~ betfct' for you to be cfieer/ul,

Became, being cficcrful Y.011 can 1cmc111bc1 (iod !"

On 23rd October, 1705, Auran1J2ib brolw llP lhe encamp~

ment at De\7apur and set out northwr11ds in a palfd.
Tra\7elling slowly by cosy stages, he renched l\hmaclnagar,
on 20th Jam1c1ry 1706, after an interval of 23 years since the
day when he had started from it to begin his Deccan
conquests. This place he declu1ed to be his 'jou111cy'~ end.'

14. Sottow and despair of J.Iacang~ib's last sreats.

The last 'i1ears of Aurang:ib's life were unspeal~ably 1Jloom\7.

In the political sphere he found thu.t his lifclon~ cndcu\70Ltr to
1Jo\7ern India justly and strongly lMd c11dcd in a1k1rchy and
disruption throughout the empire. A sense of itnutter,1blc
loneliness haunted the henrt L)f ALH'<11Hp:ib in his old a\le.
One by one all lhe older nobles had tlhxl out, and !he sole.
personal friend and snrvi\7or of the li(Ct1Gl'iJlion in which his
youtb had been nurtured th,'lt was now left lo him was
Asad Kl?an the: wazir, o.nd l'ven he was some fl'lc ycats
Amam;izib's junior. As the aged monarch Ioofacd wund his
Court circle lie only found on dll sides yottrnJct !l1('11, timid
sycophan ls, afraid of responsibility, afrclid tu k'll the trnth,
and etemall)! intriguing in u mean spirit of pc1so1k1l greed
and mutual jeci.lousy. llis Puritan attskrlfy had, at all limes,
chilled the ad\7ances of other men lowards him. Men sbranli
in almost supernaturnl dread frnm one who wus tibove the
joys and sorrows, weal~ness and pity of mortals, one who
seemed to ha\1e hardly any element of commoo humanity in
him, who li\7ed in llw wodd but did not scern lo be of it.
His sole companions, when free from the C\7Cl"ern;(rossin\l'
State affairs, were his daughter Zinat-ttn-nisa, alrcad)? an old
maid, and h!s last wife Udipud, a low animal type of partner,
whose son Kam J)aRhsh br~l~e his impel'i.:il father's heart by
his freal<s of it1sane folly and passion.
 1
1706/ EVENTS O!, EMPf:ROR S LAST YEi\R 38!

lfis domestic Hfe was darl~ened, as bcrecwements thid<enecl

t'ound his dosing eyes. I!is best-lovcd daughter-in-law,
)ahanz::cb Banu, died in Gujrat in Mu.rch 1705. Iiis rebel son
Al<bar had died in exile in a foreign soil in 1704. Still eadier,
his <;lifted daughler, the poetess Zeb-un-nisa, had ended her
days in the prison of Delhi (1702). And now Oauhar-ard
BeiJam, the bole sur\7ivor amoni;i his numerous brothers and
~isters, died in 1706, and lhe news of it dral(.ged out of hi~
heart the pathetic cry, which he repealed again and again,
"She and I 'alone were left among Shah Jahan's children." In
May 1706, his dau!i:h!et Mihr-un-nisa and her husband fzid
Bal<hsh (Murad's son) both died toqether in Delhi, and next
month Buland Al<hlar, the son of Ak>bar. Two of his grand-
children died shortly before his own death (1707), but his
ministers mercifully withheld the news from the sil1l~in!j! man.

1S. Imperial dominions fiamssed bs: Matatfias, 1706~1707.

Amangz::ib had left desolation and anarchy behind him
when he set out for Ahmadnali}a1. But his retreat to this
city did not bring rest to his army or peace to bis empire.
In April or May 1706, a. \7ast Maratha army under all their
!j!reat generals, appeared fottr miles from Che imperial encamp-
ment and threatened il. Aurans;pdb sent Khan-i-Alam and
olhe!' officers who succeeded after a lons;1 and se\7ere contest
in repulsin;J the Marathas from the neighbourhood.
In Gujrat, a terrible disaster befell the imperialists. !nu
Mand, a formet brewer of Kbandesh, who had taken to hii;ihway
robbery, made a league with the Maratha ~enerals. In\7iti11li!
Dlrnna Jadav and his army, he sacfaed the large and rich tradin)j!
centre of Baroda (Mal'. 1706). Naear All, the faujdar .of the
place1 was defeated by the Marathas anci captured \Vith his men.
Similarl);, the province of Au1arngabad was frequently
ra\7a,:,ied by the Maratha bands under Dhana Jada\7 and other
leadets.
582 SllORT l!ISTO!~Y UI AlW/\NGZlll [cu. XVI

In July Maratha activity near Wac,;imJcra forced the Emperor

to detach Tarbiyat Khan to thut rc~~ion to punish them. Pidia
Berad, in alliance with Hindu Rao, ~Jained Pcnu--l~onda, "the
key to both the KarnataRs," by bribin1;1 its Mw;ihul qilactar,
who had been sti1rving from his salar\7 bein!J left in arrears.
flushed with their gain of sucl1 a fort, lhe Marnlhas turnt'd to
Sera, the caJ)ilal of Bijapuri Karnalal< Upla11ds1 the district round
which the\7 had plundered befo1t', in June l 704. Dami Kh.:111,
the faujdar of Karnatal~, afterwal'C.!s tecovcred Pcnu-lwnda.
Siadat Khan, an officer of the Court, was wounded in both
eyes b\7 mttsl<et-shot, canturecl, und held to ransom by the
enemy. The\7 also rt>covcrccl Basanlg,uh from the imperialists
ubout this time.
When the ruiny sea.son emkd (Sep. 1706), Mara till\
activity was~ renewed wilh tenfold intensi1y. Dh.:inil Jad<lV
now made a dash for the old dominions, 13ertlr and
Khandesh ; but Nusrat Jan!J, lea.vin!J his camp near Miraj,
headed him off into Bijapur and thence beyond the Krishna.
A long train of cal'a\7ans coming from Aurarniabud to the
imperial camp was plundered of t'\7er1thin<J near Clrnnda,
24 111. from Ahmadnagar.

16. Last days of Aumn,wc.ib.

While clangers wetc lhus thicl~cniniJ r1.,i1md Aurangz;ib's
forces, the intemal troubles of his camp became t::V'en more
ominous. Muhammad Azam's inordinate 'Vanity and ambition
ur~ed him to secure lbe st1ccession for himself, by- t'ClllOV'ing
all rivals from his puth. So, he polsoneu the ears of the
Emperor against A::inHtsh-shan, the nble thit'd son of Shdh
Alilm, and had jhim recalled from the ii(Overi1111ent of Patna.
He also drew ov-er lo his side the prime ministcl' Asad Khan
and some other nobles. Then he lool~ed out for an opportunity
to mal<e a sudden attack on Kam Bafahsh and t.~ill him.
l707\ lJC'\Tll OJ~ AlmANOZHl 383

E'i'Cl''l d,w Asam's hostile desiiJ:ns <HJainst Kam Bal~bsh became

more e\7ident, uncl therefore the Emperor appointed the brave
and faithful Sultan tiusain (Mir Malang) paymuster of Kam
Eial~hsh's forces, iltKl clrnnJed him with that prince's defence.
Eurl'I! in Feb1ut117 J707, Auran!Jzib hau one more of the
attacl~s of \arn;iuor and ill-health which had become rather
frcquenl of late. Ile recovered for a time and bc!(!an once
mo1c to hold public darbars und do business of the State.
But he felt that this time the inc\7itable could not be far off,
and that lhe peace of his camp .:md the sufet'l of the vasl
host assembled !here were thteatencd by Azam's i;rrowinq
impatience and \7icik'nl ambition which might break bounds
.:iny day. So, he appointed Kam BaRhsh subahdar of Bijapur
an<l sent him aw<1y with a large force io his ch.:nge 011 9th
febmary. four days later, (13th Peb.) Md. Ae:am was des-
patched to Ma[w,1 as its !6<)\7Cl'!1or ; but that cunning prince,
hnowinS6 his fathet':-i death to be \7C1"i" near, m.:i.rchecl sl0wl1,
halting every other day.
four days after scndin~ away the last of his sons from bis
side, the aged and womout monarch was seiz:ctl vvi!h a
seven fc\7cr ; bttl for three days he obstinately insisted on
comini;i to lhc Court-room and saying the five daily prayers
in full comtrei;ration. In these days he often reciled the CQUplet
of forcbodlns;i-
" In a fitJinK.te, i'n a mbwfe, in a bl'eatfi,
Tile condition of tfic ivorld cfianges.''

Durinli! lhis las! pci'iod he dlctated two pathetic letters (see

next appendix) lo hls sons A:::am and Kam Bal<hsh, entrealing
!hem to cultivate brotherly lo\7e, peace <1nd moderation, and
illustrating the \7ani!y of all earthly things.
In the morning of Fridd'l1 QOth February, 1707, Auranitiib
come out of his bedroom, went through his morning prq,1er,
and began to count his beads and repeat ibe Islamic
confessit1n of faith in !he oneness of the Godhead and the
 384 SUOln' lllSTORY OF l\URl\Nm;m [en. XVI

prophetship of Muhamtnall. Gradually unconsciousness crept

on, his bl'eathing became ha!'der and hardc!'; but such was
the mastery of that indomitable spirit o\7er the natural Wl'almcss
of the body that his firn,>,ers continued to move 0\7er his
rosary and his lips to ~Jasp out the f(a/imafi, till a.bout cf!Jht
o' clocfa when all was <WCJ". [le had c\7cr wished to die 011
the Muslim S1bbatb Friday, and that prayer had been fJl'unted
by a gracious Deity to one of I!is truesl scr\7ants.
Muhammad Azam arrh~ed in the camp on the 22nd and
after mournini;i for his father and consolini;i his sister Zinat~un
nisa Begam, he tool~ pal'! in canyinl6 the corpse u short
distance, and then sent it away to Khuldab.xl neat Daulatubad,
for burial in the enclosure hallowed bl? the earthly remains of
the saint Shail<h Zain-uckU11.
A low simple tomb, without any marble platform below or
dome ove1 it, but havin!J the tl'ou~;h in its covering slab filled
with earth fot iJrowing Q'l'een hel'bs (in imitation of his sister
Jahanara's {omb outside Delhi),-now co\7ers all l.h<lt l'('tnains
of the grcutesl of the Great Mughals sa\'.'c one.

APPENDIX

Autctng~ib's last letlet lo Atwm.

"Peace be on you !
"Old a!i(e has anived and wea!mess has qwwn stronlJ ;
strength has left m? limbs. I came alone and am 11oing away
, alone. I Rnow not who I am and what I have belm doiniJ.
The days that have been spent except in austerities ha,\7e left
only 1eqret behind them. I ha\7e not at a.11 done an'{ (trne)
li1ove1n111ent of the 1ealm 01 cherishini;! of the peasantr}'..
"Life, so '1aluabl7, has gone away for nothing. The Master
 1707! L1WJ' LL'J' l'J:J~ TO l\Z/\M 385

lrns been in my house, but my darl<cned eyes cannot see His

splendour. Life lasts not ; no trace is left of the dafs that are
110 more ; and of the future there is no hope.

"My fc\rcr has departed, leaving onlr the sfain and busl?s
behind it. My son Kam P..al<bsh, who has ~one to Bi)upur,
is near me. And rm1 ur<' nearer even !hetn he. Dear Shah
Alum is farthest of d!L Grandson Muhammad Adm lrns, br
oidcr of the Great God, arrived near Hindustan (from Bengal).
"All the soldiers arc fcdinlJ helpless, bewildered, and
perturbed lil~c me, who ha\7irnJ chosen to lea\7e my Ma.ster,
am now in a stale of trl'pidation lil~e quicl<sil\7er. They lhinl<
not thal w0 hu\7e our Lord Pather (e\7er with us). I brought
nothin~ with me (inlo the world), uncl am carrying nway with
me the fruits of my sins. I know not what punishment will
fall on me. Though l have strom~ hopes of His qrace and
liindncss, ycl in \7iew of my acts cinxiety does not leave me.
When I i'lnl parting from my own self, who else would remain
to me ? (\7 erse)
W6atcl7l'l' tfie wind may be,
! am la11ncfifn17 my boat on tfie uratcr.
"'!'hough the Lord Cherisher will preser\7e I-lis sla\7eS, ret
from the poin/ of \7lew of the outer world, it is also the duty
of my sons to see that God's creatures and Muslims mar not
be unjusily slain.
"Con\7ey to nw grnndson Bahadm (i.e., Bidar Bab.bl) lll'l
par!inlJ btessin>J. At the lime of !Jolnq away I do not see him ;
the d<'sire of meeting 1crriains (unsa!isfled). Thou~h the Bei;ram
ls, as can be seen, aftlicted with grief, yet God is the master
of hcarls. Shortness of sight bears no other fruit than
disappointment

__ _......,. ____ __
"Farewell ! farewell! farewell!"*
. ..._,__,.... ~-----------------

Tra11$ll\ler! b\1 me from Br. Musetcm Ad<ll. iroa4~. 'rite ~etsion 111ven in the
litho111,wncd edition of the Ruqat has b~GI! 1<!Jcctc<l.

0
 Si!ORT ll!S'lORY Ol !\llf<l\NOZ!ll fell. XV[

,..Jurang::cib's last fetter to Kam Bafrfist1.

"My son, I dose to my henrt lihe ] my !i'Vcr ! AlthouQ"h,

in the days of my power, l !Jil'le ad\7icc for submission lo
Jhe will of God and exerted myself beyond the limits of
possibility,--Got! havin~ willed it otherwise, none listened lo
me. Now that I am dying, it will do no ~ood. I shall
cany away with myself the fruits of <ill the punishments
and sins that I ha\7e done. Whal <> mar\7el that I came [into
the world] alone and am [now] depilrfouJ with this [iaL'l,l"e]
carn\7an? Wherc'ler I cast my C\7CS, no cara\7an-leddcr sa'le
Go<l comes into my \7iew. Anxiety about the u.rm\7 and
camp-followers has been the cause of [ my I depression of
mind and feat" of final torment. Al thoui;;h God will under
!aRe the protection of Ilis people', )!Ct it is n[so obligator\7
on Muslims and my sons. When I was foll of strcn!J'lh, I
could not at all protect them ; and now I am trnablc lo
tal~e care of mrself ! My limbs ha\7C ccaS('d to mo\7e.
The
breath that subsides, there is no hope of its return. What
else can I do in such a condition !hun to pray'? Your
mother Udipuri II3eiJam] has nHendcd me during mr il11wss ;
she wishes to accompany me [to the next world]. I consi!;ln
thee und thy children lo God. I am in trepidation. I bid
you farewell. ...... Worldl? men mc decd\7crs (liler11llf
,
they show wheat as sample but dcli\7ct burler) ; do not do
any worl< in 1e!iancc on their fidl.'lit)?'. Worfa ought to be
done by means of hints and si11ns, Dnrn Shulmh made
unsound arrangements and hcncC' he foiled to reach his point.
He lncreaocd the salaries of hls retainers 1to 11Jore 1han what
they were before, but at the time of need he ~ot less and less
worh. out of them. Mcnee he was unhappy. Set your feet
within the limits of ~our cal'pct.
"! have told you what I hud to say and now l take 01y
lea11e. See to it that the peasantry and tlli;: people. . , .. art:>
17071 LAS1 WILL or AllRANGZm 387

not unjustly ruined, and lhat ML)Sa!mans may not be slain,

lest pllnishment should descend on me." [India Office MS.
1344, J: 26a].

1-lurn111J:J.ib's last ~viii.

I ~'rnm India Office Librari MS. 1344, !. 49b. Said to
lk1\7C been written wltb his own hand and left under the-
pillow on his death-bed.]
"l was helpless [in life] and I am departinli( helpless.
Whichever of my sons has !he IJ"OOd fortune of !i?aining the
kingship, he should not trouble Kam Bal~hsh, if the latter
is contenl with the two provinces of Bijapur and Haidarabad.
There is not, nor will !here Iever! be any wazir better than
Asad Kh,111. Dianat Khan, the diwan of the Deccan, is better
than other imperial servants. With true devotion entreat
Muhnnumtcl Ai:!am Shah,--if he agrees to the mode of
parlitionill!ti the empire whi,ch was proposed in my lifetime,
rht'n !here will be no fighting between armies and no
slau!Jhlcr of manl~ind. Do not dismiss my heredi-
tary sc1vants, nor molest them. The occupant of the throne
should have [one of) the two subahs of A~ra and Delhi, and
whoever agrees to tal<e the former [of theseJ will get four
subahs of the old l;tingdom--Agra [sic], Malwa, Gujrat, and
Aimil' and Lhe cfiafclas dependent on them,--and follr subahs
of the Deccan, namely Khandesh, Bel'ar, Aurangabad and
Bidar and their ports. And whosqever agrees to ta[ie the
[alter [i. e., Delhi] will qet the eleven snbahs of the old
kinjJdom-Delhi, Qanjab, Kabul, Multan, Tatla, Kashmir, Beni;ial,
Ol'issa, Bihar, Allahabad and Oudh.'' [Another version is igiven
in F1aser's Nadir 8fiafi, 36..,37. See Irvine's Later Mugfia!s, i. 6.]
Another alle!ilcd will of Atmmgsib is !ifiven in the
Afifom~ikA!amglti ascribed to lfomidHud-din Khan fiahadur
( 8 of the lex! and translation published by me). ll runs thus :
"Praise be to God and blessing on those servants of Iiim
 888 SHORT il!STLll~'i or /\LIRANOZ!ll [cu. XV!

who ho\7e become sanctified and h,we qin11 satisfuc!ion

to IHm.
I h.:ivc [some instrnction~ to lc:u\7C' us my] ldsl will and
testament :
PmsT,--On behal[ of lhis sinner sun!~ in iniquil'? [1. c.,
myself] co\7cr [with an offering of dolh] the holy lomb of
Hasan (oN lllM m: PEACE !), bccmtsc those who l\l'C drowned
in the ocean of sin ha\7e no other protection than seel~ing
reftt!ile with that Portal of Mercy and For~1ivcncss. Tlw means
of ricrforrning this !Jl"C<lt auspicious act MC wilh my noblt!
.son, Prince Alijab [AzamJ ; talw them.
SncoND,-Pour Rupees and two annas, out of the price of
the caps sewn by me, a1c with Aia 11c\(, !he mafialdat. Tahe
the atnouni r.U1d spend ii. on tlw shroud of this lwlpk%
creature. Three hundred a.nd fl\7c l<upecs, from the Wc'l.~~l"s of
cot;iyin~ the Quran, are in mv ptusc fo1 pcrsona( expenses.
Distribute them to lhe faqirs on the dny of nw dL'<:tth. As the
money got br copyinQ the Qllran is 1c~a.1ck'd with respec:t
by the Shia sect," do nol spend it on nw sbrnud and o~ht'r
necessaries.
Tmrm,~Tnlie the reniainimJ necessary articles from the
a~enl of Prince Alijah, as he is tl1l' ncU'('St heir umong tn'f
sons, and on him lies lhc 'rcsponsibilit\7 of the lL1wfut or
unlawful [practices al my funeral) ; Ibis bdplC'ss J"JL'!son U !.?.,
Aurangz:ib} is not an5werable foe them, because the d('ad Me
at the mercy of the sttr'?ivo rs.
1
PouRn1,-Bu1y this wanderer in the Vullc1 of Dcviation
from the RfiJht Path with his head baec, bcoousc C\7ct"'l ruined
sinner who is conducted bareheaded bcfol'e the Grnpd
Emperor (i. e., God), is sure to be an object of mercy.
Prmr,~Cover the top of the coffin on my bier with HK'
coarse white cloth called ga.~I. A\7oid ihc sp1caditui;!' of a
* The -------__,.......-
teadinlJ in MS. N. rnay be i,aJ~el\ lo mean, "Aq the n1ouey ~<ll by '''lf>Ylm!
the Q11rat1 is suspected bl'. th~ Shi.1 ~l!ct lei be an 1111lm11llll (!~ind or wc.:i\lh,J"
-
17071 DYING ADVICE OP i\URANOZlll 389

rnnopy and innol7ations lil~c [processions of) musicians and tl1l'

cclcbralion of the Prophet's Nali\7ity (maufud).
Srxn1,---ll is proper for the rnler of the l~ini;jdom (i.e., nw
heir) to treat f~inclly the helpless scwants v1ho in the train of
this shameless creatme [AmanjJ::ib] ha\7e been ro\ ill!J in the
7

deserts and wilderness [of the Deccan). Even if any manifest

fault is committr:d by !hem, give them in rctLtrn for it gracious
forgiveness <1lld beni1t11anl o\7cdooking [of their faults).
SEVENTII, --No othe1 nation is better than the Persians for
acting as clcrl~s (mutasaddi). And in war, too, from the age
of \be Emperor lfomayun to the ptcsent lime, none of this
nution has turned his foce away from the field, and their firm
feet lia\7e nc\7 Cl' bec11 shal~cn. Moreover, they have not once
been !Juilt)! of disobedience or !reacher)! to their master. But
as !hey lnsist on bciniJ treated witb i;tr<>ar honour, lt is ve1y
difficult fo pull [OlJcihcr with them. You have anyhow to
cnncilic:lte ihctn, and should employ subterfui;ies.
Erolf'rn,--The Turani reoplc ha~e ever been soldiers. They
arc very expert in mal;:inq charges, raids, nl!Jhl-attachs and
arrests, Tbcy feel 110 suspicion, despair or shame when
commanded to mal~e a retreat in the ver17 midst of a foJht,
which m<:ans, in other words, 'when the arrow is drawn
bad~' ;-and th<:y arn a hundred stai;ies remote from the crass
stupidity of lhe Hindustanis, who would part with tbcir heads
but no! Iecwc their posiHons [in battle). [n every way you
~hottld confer favours or\ this race, because on many occa-
sions these men can do the necessary service, when no other
race can.
NmTn,-You should treat the Sawids of Ba1ha, who are
worthy of b(essin!i\, according to the Quranic verse, 'Grvc
UN'I'O um Nr~Ar~ RT::t,ATtONs [oF THE PRoPfmr) Trrnrr< DUEs,' and
never !6row slad:? in honourinig and fa\7omitig them. Inasmuch
a;,, accordiniJ to the blessed verse, 'I SAY I oo NoT ASK OP
YOU ANY RECQMPENSE FOR IT EXCEPT LOVE To [MYl KINSMEN,' (ove
390 Sl!OR'l' ms l'olH' Of' i\\ll~i\NOZlll [co. XVI

for this family is TllE WAGES 01 IMu11AMMAD's I PlKlP!IETSl!IP, you

should never be wantinitr rin respect for them I, and it will
bear fruit in this world and the next. B11t vou should be
extremely cautious in deulin<J with lhc Su.nids of l\ad1c1. Be
not wantiniJ in love for them at heart, but extcrnallv do 11ot
increase their ran!~. because a slron~~ partner in tile <;(nvcrnmcnt
soon wants to seiie the l<irn~ship for himself. If you let them
take the reins tvcr so !it!lc, the result will be your own
disgrace.
TENT!t, --As far as possible lhc rnler of il 1~11 H~clom should
not spare himself from movinlJ abott! ; he should avoid st<lvin!J
in one place, which outwardly- !Ji'les him repose bul in cfft:>ct
btings down a thousc111d calarniHcs and troubles.
ELEVENTH,-Never trust your sons, nor frct1t !hem dLtrim~
your lifetime ln an intimate manner, because, if lhe l:mpt'ror
Shah Jahan had not freated Dara Shu!wh in this manner,
his affairs would not ha"Ve come to sttch a sorry pdss. E\7er
Reep in "View the sayini;r, 'TnE worm OF A KING rs !11\lmr:N."
Twm.FT11,--The main pillar of gov-crnmcnt is to be well
informed in the news of lhc kingdom. Nt:>gliiJcnce for <\ singh:
moment becomes the cause of disgrace for Jonl;t ye,ws. The
escape of the wretch Shiva tool~ place thrott!Jh (my] careless-
ness, and l ha"Ve to labour hard Ia1;1ainst tht> Marathas I to
the end of my life, [as the result of it].
TWELVE 1s BLESSED Iamong t1umbers!. ha\7e concluded
with twelve ditectlons. (Verse)
If you team Ltfie lesson!, a kiss 011 y:our wisdom.
ff y:ou neglect ii, tfien alas ! alas I
 CHAPTER xvn
AFFAIRS or NORTfIERN INDIA.

I. Tfifdy years' wadme in Matwat

When !he Emperor went to the Deccan in person after
pcltchin!J up a peace with the Maharana (June 1681), the Rajput
war so for as Mcwat was concerned was ended, but not in
respl'ct of MMwar. The Emperor's troops continued to hold
the chief towns and strateqic points of the Rathor country, but
thr: I~athor paMots remained in a state of war, They
occupied the hills and deserts dtK1 every now and then
swooped down upon thr plains, cttliinr,r off convoys dtld
lrnde carnvans, capturinlJ' weakly held Mughal outposts, an<l
ren cJel'iniJ the cultivation of the fields aud traffic on the t'Oads
irnpossibk except u11de1 the protection of the imperial
garrisons. No wonder that famine was constantlr present in
Marwar, and t!MJ the Rathor bard records that in certain
11
years the sword and pestilence united to dear the land."
A ~eneralion of time passed away in Marwar in ceaseless
conflict, cartures and tecaptures. But the I resources of the
empire were for supel'ior to those of a small desert province
rava!Jed by perpetual warfate. The Rathor national opposi-
Hon1 lhetefore, wot1ld have !i]radttally !Jrown weal~er and
finally died out throul;ih altrmon, if only the Emperot had
not been plunqed into a more serious conftict in the Deccan,
which drained all his resources. The military situation in
MaharaslHra reacted on the situation In Jodhpur, and worked
for the ultimate Sltccess of the Raf.hor patriots and the
testorcltion of their chieftain to his ancestral throne immediately
after Auranitzlb's death.
The history of these 27 years (1681-1707) in Marwar
392 SllOR'J' IIISTORY or /\UI~ANOZlll [c11. XVII

falb into three well-defined pcriod'i. from 1681 to 1687 ii was

a people's war, bccuusc their bin!J wcis d child and their naliondl
leader DunJadas was absent in !he Dccccm. The l<athor
people fou~hl under dlftercnt capldins, !Jl'Ollp by <Jl'Ollp, with no
ccntial authority and no common pJ,m of c\ction except lo
attad~ lhc Mu!Jhals whercvct they could. This desultcn y
warfare afforded many t'Xalll pies uf l<a tlmr bra vet y ,1nd
devotion, but its mihlary effect was nothi111,1 mote !ban to l<Cc'P
the MuPohal !Jarrisons in constant alarm und lo 1w1lw !heir
occupalion of Murwdl" tlnancidlly 1uinous. It Wd~ ra.thc1 dll
ddvanla!Je to the Rathors that al thb !:llagc they had 110
common leader, becuu~e d pitched battle of c:tll the torcc~ ot
the 1ribe with the beHcr armed and better OJ'ii!c1ni~cd impNialis(<;
would have k'd to their clccbiV(' ddcul and pr('Vl'nled
ihern from raisirnJ 1heir hends for " ~cncruUon to conic,
where<:1s by adoptimJ gueriJla tudics Hwy wore oul the Mughols
.ind n1inimiied the clisadw111ta("fl' of their own inferior numbers
and equipment.
The second stage of the war bcf,lull Ill 1687, when
Durgudas rehttnecl from lhc Dcccun and Afil Sin!Jh crime
out of conceulrncnt. The success of !he [~,1thor!> wus at first
brilliant. Reinforced by the flddus of Bundi, they chwcd
lhe plains of Marwar and, swccpirnJ onwards beyond thl'
limits of their own counlty, raided Malpurn und Pm~Mandal
(1687), and cvea dcfented lhc sttbohdilt' of Aimir (1690).
and carried tl1eir r<1v<HJcs inlo Mcwat and the wcsl
of Delbi. Rut they could not t'ec0\7l'l' their own country. Tn lhc
very 1ear 1687 in which Ajit Sin~h and DttriJad.:is appct1led
folilcther at !hr:' head of the national forces, an t'XCcplionallr
able and enlerpl'ising officer named Shujact Khan became
liOVernor of Jodhpul' on behalf of the Emperor, and held
that office for J4 years, dul'imJ whicb ho sw:ceeded in
maintaining the Mui;;hal hold on Marwar.
Shujaet Khan, in addition to the faujdad of Marwar, held
 NUG/l/U S OCCUPY ~JARW1\R 393

the subnlidari of Gujrat. Ile a[ways l~ept his retainers up to their

lull number tllld Wds prompt and quid~ in his movements.
lie used to spend six months (sometimes cigh!) every year in
Marwat ctnd the other six in Gujrat. Thtts, he succeeded in
cl1ed~i11~ the I<athors when it came to ftghtin~, while he also
made .111 undcrstandini~ witl1 them, payin\! them one-fourth of rhe
imperiul custom duties on <111 mcrchonclise if they spured tbt>
trnders 011 tlw rnads ( l688). This was another form of the
cliauth.
But 011 9 July 1701 Shujnet Khan died, Prince Muhammad
A::,1111 :;uccceded blm as governor of Maiwar and renewed
hoslilitlcs with Ajil, and the third stai;:e of tl1e Rajpttl war of
independence bc>fJan, which after much bloodshed und mi;iny
rcl7ersl'S on both sides ended in the complete brcal<-down of
llw impcric1l policy of !Jrecd u.nd the final recovery of Marwar
by its nutional rulin!J dyna5l'l (1707).
A ftcr lhl" MllfJhal occupation of their capital and other
cities, the Kl:nthors tool~ refltli!e in lbc hllls and out of \he way
noot~s ; bul \he plains Inv cxposl'd to the raids of their
roviniJ bands ; 011d cncounlers frequently look place between
them and the cll'llly oJ occupation near one or other of these
Olllposls wrlth vai-yin!J' stlccess. The situation of the country
is best 'ksct"ibcd in the words of the bard Karani-dan :
"An holH' bdo1c sunset every !;(ate of Mdnt was shut. The
Muslims held the strongholds, but the plain" obeyed Ajit. ...
The roads were nuw impuss.ible."
2. Durgadas a~Jafn in JY!acwat, f!.5871698.
DuriJadas's retllrn from Maharashtra in 1687 greatly stimu-
lated I<athor actl\7itf, and happily just then they \1ained a
v-uhmblc:- allt', Dltrjan Sal Hada, lbc leading \7assal of Bundi,
on being insulted by his cllieftain Anmudh Singh (a loNl
kuda'to1y and liflmeral of Al1L'angiiib), armed his kinsmen and
retainer5 and seii:;ed the fort of Bundi by a sudden attach.
394 suorir lllSTOI~Y or l\lllMNCilll\ [etr. XVII

Ile then came over to Marwar, married il sbter of Mulmnd

Sin!,l'h Chatnpawat (a I<dthor leader), dnd slrcn~1tlwned the
Ralhor m1tional dl'tnY with his thoUSiU1ll horsemen of tl1c rluda
clan.
The united I<athors and l ludas, havin<; slarnthlcrcd or
<lrivcn away most of the Mu~hal outposts in Marwar, made c1
darin~ raid into the- imperial dominions in the north and even
menaced the cdpifol Delhi. After his rl'lurn, Durian Sal Wc1s
billed in a battle near Mandal.
In 1690 Dur!6adas !Jainecl a conspicuous succc~s ; he routed
and drove ba,el~ on Ajmir the new \~overnor of that province,
Safi Khan, who had tal~en post on the Marwcu frontier. lie
l<ept llp pltmclering J.nd distu1bins,1 !he parts of Mnnvar in
Mtt<;!hal occupation and t'l~nclcred lhc roads unsak for
travellers. This ularmin~~ 5itl1dtion recillkd Sl1ujad Khan, who
very tactfully won over tM.ny of the I~ajpuf headmen (tJiakm~I'
and pa!tawats) dlld inspired them With arclottl' for till' empcl'OI''~
CctllSC.
Auran!Jzlb Wc'l.s anxious to sJd bad< Al~bur's dawJhter
Saflyat-un-nisa, who h<1d been shellered by tllL' I~cdhors e11et
since her father's tlhJht in 1681. The ncgotit1\io11s for this
purpose which had failed in 1692 we1e rern:!Wld in 169-1
and entrusted to the able and wi5e Shujaet Khan, Wh.)
employed dS his inlermediut'Y in ihis affai1 t)1e histori.in
Ishwar<las, a Na.gar Brahman of Patan (now in the G<1il<Wut"s
territory), formerly- employed dS a rc'lenue collector (sfiiq.dar
or amin) in Jodhpur.
After Ishwardas had repeatedly approt.1.chcd DlmJddas, the latter
rutreed to mal<e terms for his chieftain and himself, by ~lving up
ARbar's dau~hter to the Emperor. Ishwardas escorted the princess
to the imperial Court. On their arrival thet'c, Auran!ll'zib
immediately spol<e of appoinlinli! a tutoress to !i!IV'c his <;trand-
dau~hter that education in the Islamic SCl'iptuees which she must
ha'Ve missed so long ln that uncivilized and inaccessible Hindu
 i\l(l\l\R S Cf[[LDREN DCLIVERED 1\Y l~ATlIORS
1
16981 39:5

Slate. [)ul the Beq<ttn infonned him that 0Ul'gadas had been
so attentive to her welfare that he had secured for he1 a
Muslim mistress from Airnir, Ltncler whose lLtition she had
already studied the Qurc\n and committed it to her memory.
This fact convinced the Empernr of Dur.gadas's
ck'vol\011 dnd induced bim to forget all his past offences.
The next thin!;) was to recover Alzbar's son Buland ARhtur
from the l~athors. But in cffcctin!i( this there was nearly two
years' clclar. mainly because Durgadds demdnded the restora-
tion ot Jodhpur to Ajit Singh, while Aurangzib wished to
salisfy the heir of Jaswant with only a small pol'lion of Marwar.
f~ut Ajit Sin!f!h's position was now one of distress and
dcspflfr, Ile was weary of roving in the wilderness, hunied b't"
MtuJlh\l columns and subjected to every hardship. So, in 1698,
Dmgadas ,1batcd his demands. Ajit was pardoned by the
Emperor <Uld given a maasab in the imperial army, with lhe
parganas of Jhalor, S<\llchod and Siwana as his jagir, of which
he was also uppointecl fattjdar.
0Lm;rad<1s co1wc1ed Buland ARhtar to the imperial Court
lhcn at Islarnpuri on the BhI111u (1698). This poor royal lad
had been btou!;l'hl UP ever since his birth among the rude
Rajput peasantry, without seeing any city or Court, or talbing
with any cuHured person. He did not even know the polished
rlindushrni language. Allran!llzib was shocl;i.ed and his Court
was amus~~d to find a grandson of the Emperor who could
speaJ~ only the Rajput patois (Rajastliani bolt) l Buland Akhtar
felt Metcome with shyness lit<.e d counlty youth suddenly
brou!lht to a la1ge dnd polished city. Moreo'V'er, he had been
taui,;h! dul'inJJ his life arnonq the Raihor nationalists to regard
Aurans;IZJib as a sort of demon and the relentless enemy of
his fathet and family ; and now he was bein~ torn away
from the protectors of his boyhood and the comrades of his
youth and deli'lered over to that very Aurangi:ib. He thouitht
U the wisest course unc;le1 the circumstances not to open his
 396 SJ!Ol~T llISTOl~Y ,JJ 1\lW1\NOZlll !ell. XVII

lips at all but to prdeml w,1s, however,

dumbness. Ik
gradually cducdtccl und polished, um! li\7cd to be employed in
the Court, close to the Emperor's Pl'rson, in clwr Jc of one of 1

the royal sculs. Dur~~adas WdS rcwMdcd by bci1HJ created a

3-hi:\::ari mansabdat'and uppoinkJ fo.ujdar of P,1lan.

3. Ajit and Durgadas, 1701~1'107.

This reconciliation wilh Dur1,?adas tool..? place in May 1698,

but in 1701-2 he was driven i11lo rcbdlion " second time.
In foct, both he and Ajit Sinf;"lh had continued to distrust the
Mw;ihal Gol7crnmcnt and l~ept themselves at il suspicious
distance from the Conrl. The new 1Jovernor of Gujr,1t,
Prince Muhamtndd Asum Shah 1 \'his onkrcd by till' En1pcrnr
to send Du1~iaclas to the imperial camp if lIL' could, otherwise
to !~ill him there, so tlrnt Dl11' JC1 ml ;ihl no lllDr(~ insli!J<\ie Aj\l
1 1

Singh and the other I<atbors.

Muhammad A:;;a.111 summoned DU1'\l<1dds lo \V,1it on him
at Ahmadabnd, the seal l)f his f;Jovenmwnt. But llw <U"l'i\7c1l
of couriers in succession to hasten his visit excited the l<ajput's
suspicion, which p,1sscd into alarm when he hcdrd reports
abottt the prince's troops ha17illli? been drawn up Mmcd.
Therefor<:, Dun;radn~ sB! fire to llis tents dnd bali/i,!i11Jc und
itrnnedidtely rode cWva'[ towards M<1l'Wm' with ;11J his folhJwers,
by fo1ced 1m1rchcs.
When Dur!Jadas was bacl~ iU{.uin in Marw,u dS 1111 enemy
of the empire, Ajit Sinit:h joined him in open l'cbcllion
(1702) and made some nttack' on lbc Mu1thals. Bl1t the two
could effect nothiniJ. The economic exhauslio11 of Mnrwar
was complete, und W<1r-weariness had seiacd tl1c l<dtbor clansmen
afte!' a quarter centur'j! of continuous !;!m:dlla lllithtin!ll.
To a>J1travate tile el7il, disagreement now brob:: oul
bei.ween Aiil dnd Durqadas, of which th~ Emperor was not
slow to tal~e advanta\Je. Ajlt was impatient of ad\7ice, imperious
in tempe1', and jealous of Durqadas's well-medted
 [7071 COMPLETE SUCCESS OF AJIT SrNl11f 397

i11t1uencc ~n the toya! council and populdrit\:' amon~~ his

clansmen. This internal discorci ~1mon~ ll1c l<athoe leaders
helped Auru!l~J-::ib's dcsi\)ns just when all seemed to be ~oin~
c:tipinsl him, dnd it 1;nabled him lo keep Aiit Sin'1?h out of bis
[:iimJdotn and capital for fi\7e years more.
In 170,J. AuranJzib, Lt! last aclmitlin!J his growing helplessness
d!Jc:tinst <1 sc,1 of c1wmics, made i1 sort of peace with Aiit
by ~i\7in!J him Muirla ,,s iugir. [n No\7etnber 1705, DLUgaclas,
too, tu1ublc to 1miint,1in himself in barren independence, made
his submission lo the Emperor through Prince Azam, and
was L'cslorcd to his old mansab a11cl post in Guirat.
Nexl year, the last of Auran@":::ib's reign, a Maratha incursion
into GLtjral was followed by a crnshing disaster to the Mughal
arm'? al [~atanpu1. Ajit Sin!lh raised his head in rebellion for
the third lime. Dur~]"adas <15Jain fled the Mw;1hal carnp and
be~Jun to ad in concert with him, causing risings in Therad and
other places. But Princl' l31dar BaRht, then in charge of Gttjrat,
scnl u force against DLmJudas, who now fled to the broRen Koli
c0Ltnt1y, south of Surut. Aiif Sin1Jh had now been in open
rebellion fM some Hmc. Ile fought Muhafaam Sinqh of
Na1~01 who was on the EmpcroL's side, at Drunera, and by
ddealing him i6ained an increase of prestil,;e and strength.
Just after this, news of Aman1;1zib's death at Ahmadnagar arrived,
and on 7th MMcb l707 Aiit took horse for Joclhpur, expelled
]dfat Quli (the depu!r faujdar of the cit)?), and loofa po~:;ession
of his father's capital. Maida was evacuated by Muhaaam
Singh, who fled wounded to Na!i(or. Soja! and Pali were
resJaincd. The fort of Jodbpur was pttrified with Gunges water
and fu!si lea\7es. Durgu.da~i's life's tasl< was thus crowned with
success.

4. Jat disfw:bances neat Agra.

The endless wars in which Aurangzib became in-vol\7ed ln '
1679 and which were to continue till his death, beqan 11ery
398 SJIOTH ll!S'l ORY OJ ,\\ll~ANCiZlll [c11. XVll

soon to react on the politicul condition nf Northern Indict

Jn unvar)7in~ succession Northern India continued to Lw ilnnually
drained of its publlc mone)7 and youl11fol recrnils, in order to
fill the evcr!Japinfl void caused by the Dccciln W<irs. Yeat"s
passed away, and yet the Emperor did not rdurn lo his
capital, nor did any of the prince:.. The l'ich old provinces
of the empire north of the N,1rmC1.du were left in clw.ri;le of
second-rate nobles with insufficient troops. At the sc1me time,
ihe long caravans ol merchandise, Slate l'l'VCllllL', army provi-
sions, and the fomilies and property of the nobles, so frequently
mal~in!J their way to the for-off South under slender escort,
offered an irresistible temptation to robber tribes. Tlw great
roral road leading from Deihl t0 Agra ,1rnl Dholpur and
thence throu!Jh Malwc1 to the Deccan, p,1ssecl directly lhrou~h
the counhy of the lats, ,1 brnvt.' strotHJ aud lwrdy peopll' whose
predatory instinct can be ~wpl in checli only by lbe terror of
superior force.
In 1685 lhe opportunity c1catecl b'{ the Emperor's Deccan
i1wasion was seized by two new leadcts of the Jats, l<ajaram
and Ramchchra, the petty ;;:amind<1rs of Sinsani crnd Sogar,
who were the first to h'<1in their clansmen in IJl'OUp or~irniz<1tion
and open warfare. Every J<1l peasant w,1s pr<1cliscd in wield
ing the staff and tbc sword; tl1ey had only to be cmbodiccl
in regiments, taught to obey their captains, and ~upplied with
fire-arms to ma\1c them into dll army. As bn~l~S for their
operations, refmJes for tbei1 chiefs in defeat, ,md s!OL'lng places
for booty, they built several small fort~ (mu/ii) amidst their
almost tracf.!lcss junSJle, an<l slrcn~thencd them with mud
walls that could def)1 artillery. Tben they bci:;ran to raid the
faing's highway and carry their dcpredalions up to the suburbi;
of Agra.
Rajnram's lawless activities could not be ched~ed by Sall
Khan, the (;lovernor of A!iJ'ra. The Jat ganl6s closed the roaus
to lraffic, and plundered many villages of the district. Rajaram
 !688] r~AJ1\RAM Ji\'I's WSING SUPPRESSED 399

soon showed c\7cn greater auclaciiy, by attacking and l~illiniJ

(near Dholpur) the renowned Turani warrior Agbar Khan when
ml his way from Kabul to the Emperor''> camp at Bijapur.
Prince Bidar Bal~ht was sent (in December 1687), to assume
the> supreme command in the }at war.
Bul before the prince could arri\7e, the }at leader committed
more a!rodlic~. E<1rly in 1688, he attaclled Mir Ibrahim of
llaidurabad (newly entitled Mahabat Khan), then marching to
his 11iccroyalty of the Panjab. Shortly afterwards he plundered
Al~bar's tomb ut Sil1andra, taRing away its carpels, 15old and
sil\7er vessels, lamps, &c., and damaging the building.'''
Bidar Bal~hl, on his arrival, infused greater vl!Jour into the
Mu!;!hal operations. [n an internecine war rnging between
lwo I~ajput clans, l~ajaram, who \Vas fi~htlnlJ for one party,
was shot dcnd (4 July, 1688).
Disl1un Sinli!h Kachhwa, the new r<aj,1h of Amber (Jaipur),
was appointed by the Emperor as fottjdar ot Mathura with a
special chan;ic lo root out the Jats and tal<e Sinsani as his own
ja1Jk. [~ldar Bal~ht laid sie15e to Slnsani. But the campaign
iu the iuni,jlcs of the fat country severely taxed the invadin!6
Mmy, which had to undets;io i;rrcat hardship from scarcity of
pro\7isions and water. But the besiegers held tenaciously on. A
mine was successfully fired (end of Januar-y 1690), the wall was
breached, and lhe Muqhals stormed the for! after three hours
of stl1bborn opposition, the Jats losin!f( 1500 men. On the
imperktl side, 200 Mus;rhals fell and 700 Rajputs were slain
or wounded. Next yeur (21st Mny 1691) Rajah Bisbun Singh
surpdsed the othet Jut stron>,fhold of Sogae.
The result of these operations was that the new )at leader
went into hiding in 'noofas and corners' tmlmown lo the
. -.. --.,--------------'-------
~ Jshw\11tfos, 132/1, ManuGci (ii. Z20) adds: ''They bcllan their pilla\!e by bre;diiag i11
the !Jreat uah's of bronn wblch 1t had. ro\iblng the 1;-,\h1ablc precio11S stones <>nc!
plu!eS Of gold nnd siJ\1Cr, ilJJd de~\roy!ny \\1hal )nC\' WCJ'C llOf ub\e lo carrr u\V3\1'.
l1r.1i;i11i1111 oul the l:>oucs ol AJ~bar, they lhtt>1\7 them 11n11tily into the /i1 ~ a:od burnt
1hcm." ;
400 SIIO!H l!ISl'!,WY PI /\lW1\NOZlll [t 11. XV1!

imperialists, and the c!istrkt rniofed llC1C'-' for some fCdrs

after. This leude1 wus Churaman, the son of l'>l 1t1ii<i, ,1 brnlher
of I~ajaram. This Chu1-.u1wn had " fJcnius lor nnJani;;:ation
and using opportunities, c\nd SllC:Cl'ldcd ill loundi111,~ c\ d\71lc1Sly
which still l'Ulcs o\TCl' F>ht1rdtpur. "I le 110! only incrc,1sed the
number of his soldier~, but t\lso sln'mJthc11Ld thc1tt by lhc
addition of fusiliers (rnusl~etcers) L\11(.\ L\ lroop or l't\\Tdlt"y, wllum
he shol'\lf afterwdrds scl on foot ;... ilml h<Wit1'J roblwd many of
the mi11istcrs of the Court 011 the road, lK' dttd~l~(d tlw royal
wardrobe i\nd the rcvcm1c sent ft't)lll the prnvinces.'' l\ut lhis
full development of Churamtin's PDWl'l' tool~ p],\C(' <1flcr the
death of Att!'c1t1fJ?ib. About I70LI he rccovervd Sins,rni lrom
Mu;ilial possession. It was, however, wrcskd fn)m tlw
Jats a second time on 9th Oclobcr 1705 bv Mubhtur Khi."ln,
the 1,fo'Ycrt 1or of l\qru..
5. Pafictt c1ingfi 6aur a11d !1is sorzs disturb j\f[a/tM, !685.
'
Pahar Singh Gattr. <1 l~njput z:,1mind,,r of fndmfdii in
western Bundcll~hancl, was 51.'l''lin\~ the Emperor r15 fuujdM
of Slmhubnd Dham<lhera. in tvfohv<t !fc w,,~ ,, man nf mntch
less bra\l'ery und as chiv-alrous <1S h() w,1s bl'(\VC. 'J1l~i111J llw
side of Lul Sin1~h Khichi (Chnulrnn) <1~'!c)insl llw l,1Ucr'~
oppressive o\7erlol'd, Anurudh Sin~h I fi1dt1 (the l<aiah of
Bundi), Pahur Singh dcfoalccl tlw Jliundi l~uiuh 1\nd
ph.tndered all his c.::1.1np and b,\'illi\<llJc, \'>'mlh ldl~hs of
Rupees, (eadf in 1685). Ire then openly brofae with th~
imperial Go\l'ert;mt:!nt, ,:ind loob to plundcrin>6 the- 'VillarJt'S of
Malwa. At this time that province was b~ing ddminislt'ted,
in the absence of Prince Muhammad A"atn, b)! l~ai Mulul~
Chand, the assistant (pesfidast) lo his diwun. I le ilttacl~ed and
slew the rebel (Dec. 1685). hul the rlsin!J' continl1ed under
Pahar SJngb's son Bhagwa11t, who co!lecte<l a lar!Je b~')d)?' of
fierce peasants and beflc:111 to plunder the counll'\! rouud
Gwalisr, cnlitely dosin!il the roads to tratlic. Muluh Chand
16861 REnCLLlONS lN MALWA 401

marched a!Jainsl him with his troops. A pitched battle was

fomJht near Antri, in which the imperialists brnR.e and fled ;
bul the Garn soldiers plundered all the baggage, horses, etc.,
of the Mul,'(hals, and returned to their base to secure lhe booty,
d!ld Bha!JW@l Sin<Jh, who was thus left almost alone in the
fide!, was l<illed by some Mu\;!hal officers, (March 1686).
But the: trouble did not end even then. Devi Singh, another
son nf Pahar SimJh, joined Chhatra Sal Bundela, and toot<
to plundcti111;1 thl' imperial territory and molestini;: the people
in l'>ttndclbhand. In 1690, Gopal Singh, the grandson of
Pahar Sin!l(h, assembled a latge army and captured
!he fort of Indmfdii, bclon~in~ to Bal~htawar of the Bhadauria
d.:111. Safclat Khan, the fa.ujdc:tr of Gwalior, was l<illed during
an dtlacl< on llwse rebels (May 1690).
But two years later the Gaur rebels submitted to the
Emperor ,rnd we find them serving in bis army.

6. Oa11t1amm's risillH in Biliar; Gopa! 8ingfi's in Mab11a.

Ganli(.:i.ram, a poor Nagat Brahman of Gujrat, was diwan

of Kh<1nlJahan Bahadur, and manaiJ'ed his estates (jaf!.its) in
Allahabad and Bihar, while the Khan was servin!J in the
Dcccc:tn. The sudden rise of this obscure Hindu excited the
jealous hale of the other scr\7ants of the Khan, who had been
displnct:d from his favour ; and they poisoned his ears against
his absent d!wan, b'l charging him with a design for indepen
dencc and self-aqi.,rrandieement. The Khan summoned the
dlwan lo his presence. Gangaram, disgusted with such a light
'minded master and despairinlJ of his life and honour, flew to
arms. Colleclinq some four thousand soldiers, he plundered
the cHy of Bihat and advancin~ laid siei;{e to Patna. The tebel
set up a bo~tts Prince Al<bar and called 1.1pon the people to
rall'l t01.1nd his standard, (March f681). But he had nelthe1
the sl~ill nor {he material neessary for takin!i! a walled cily, and
26
402 1~i SHORT lllSTORY ()[ J\URJ\NGZJn [c11. XVII

{urned to the more profttabk worb of plunderin\~ the ncis;:h-

bourinJil 'VillaiGes, while the go\7crnor !>httt himself up in the
fort. Al len~Ut imperial relnforccmcnls aniv-cd from Ddcca
and Bcnarcs and raised the siciJc of Pat11<1. l\f!cr some time
Gani;iaram entered Malwa and in concert with l<aJpul rc-bcls
plundered Sironj, (Oct. 168"1). Ile died shortly dftcrwurds at
Ujjain.
Rao Gopal Sinl)"h Chandawat, the r-tminda1 ,,f l<~1mpura
in Malwa, wus serv-lrnJ in the Emperor's army in the Deccan.
He had sent his son I<atun Singh home to mana!Jc his affairs.
This wicl~ed youth becmnc d con\7crl lo Islul11, and thus secured
from the Emperor the grant of his anceslral colate, which was
new!)" named lslampw:a ! At the news of it, Oopal SirnJh
left the Mughal amw, returned home, und tried to rnisc u body
of men for reco\7erlmJ Rmnpurn (June 1700). But !he Mah\7a
governor's forces repulsed him. Al Inst Gopul Sin>,!h in
despair made his submission to the Emperor, und was ilppointcJ
faujdar of Kattlas (in lfoidatabad). Eady in 1706, lw ;.u;:ain
fell into extreme povcdy on his bcirnJ deprived of the
faujdari of Kaulas. tie then joined the Marathas for a li'Ving,
a11d accompanied them in the sac!~ of Batoda in the month of
March in that year.
7. t.11gJisfi ttade wlffi !3eng.a!.
The English nation established their first trade factory at
Surat in 1612 and exchanqed iJoods with A~ra and Delhi by
the land l'Oute. From A~ra attempts were mnde in 1620 and
1632 to open up trade at Patna in l~ihar, but the cost of land
transport from Surat was prohibithre, especially for bulR?
1Joods like salipetre, and this project was wis<:>h? abandoned.
There was also an as.tency at Masulipatam, a port of the
GolR.onda kingdom.
In 1633 an En~lish factory was opened at Balasore and
another at fklriharpur, Q6 miles south~east of CuttC\cl~. A little
 OROWTH OF THE ENGLISH FACTORIES 403

later, in 1640, the building of Port St. George was begun

ut Mudrus, on a plece of land bourJht from a Hindu Rajah of
the Vljaynrn;iar dynast)!, and thus "the English established
thclr firs! independent station ln India." It la)!, however,
outside the Mu!Jhal empire. In 1651 the Eni;ilish opened their
first commerclal hou~e in Bengal al littl5hli on the Garn;ies, 24
miles north of Calcutta. Their chief exports were saltpetre
(brou!;(hl down in boats from Singhia or Lals;ianj, north of
Pah1d), sill~ and sugar. Prince Shuja, then governor of Bengal,
1;iranted a nislian (or prince's ordt>r) by which the English were
allowed to trade in Ben!Jal on payment of Rs. 3,000 a year
ln lieu of all Rinds of customs and dues (1652). Balasore
continued for se\7eral )!ears as the place for loadinlif and
unloading Et11op,!f,loing ships.
Jn 1658 the llomc authorities reorganised the English
establishtncnls in India. All ihc Company's factories were to
be subordinate (o the President and Council of Surat, besides
which !here were to be chief agencies at Madras and I-lughli.
The trade with Bengal was very prosperous about 1658.
J.~aw silR was abundant ; the taffetas were various and fine :
the silltpetre was cheap and of the best qualit)!; the gold and
silver sent from Enli(land were eagerly taken up bi? the
Jndians.
In 1661 further changes weie made in the government of
ihe En!i!lish fadories in India ; all the Ben!f(al establishments
were made subordinate to the Presidency of Madras, which
now became of equal ranfa with Sul'at. The Bengal irade
contintted io lifl'OW rapidly : in 1668 the Compan)? exported
from the province goods worth 34,000, in 1675 the value
rose to 85,000, ln 1677 to 100,000, and in 1680 to 150;000.
Subordinate factories were opened at Dacca in 1668, and at
Maida in 1676. In addition to bu)?in~ local manufactures,
the En!i!Hsh sen\ out European cle1s to Bengal to improve the
colour of the silk cloth bouf;lht locally, and thei? also
404 St!ORT HISTORY or 11.UfMNGZ!fl [cu. XVl!

inaugurated the Bengal Pilot Service for navi,J.:tlin<J the

Ganges from Hughli to the sea ( 1668). The tlrsl f)ritisb ship
sailed up the Gans;res from Hie Bay of gen!ilal in 1679.

\:i 8. frictwn between Ifie e11g.n1fi /cadets ond Iii!! Mtwfiaf

otlicia!s in Be1117al.

In the meantime, !he differences belween the EtHJlish trndcis

and the locul Mui;;hal officers on account of the ilk!il1.l
exactions and obstructions of tlw luttet had corne to a head.
The local officials at Ilu<&hli continued to slop the Company'~
boats and seize their goods. In Vilin agent I ledges offered
to Shaista Khan lar56c ~urns of money in order to be excused
the payment of customs. At last the English traders lost di!
patience and Jccklcd to protect tl1cmselves b'l force, bre.ll~
with the Indian rulers, and seize c1nd fortif'l some convenient
place cm the Indian coas1 where their trade would be safe
from molestation. This war <iclually brol~e out in !686.
The complaints of the EniJlish flat!crs ufJninsl thi.' loc,11
agents of the Mu>.rbal Government were three :
(i) T!1e demand of an ad 110/orem duty OH lhc aclual
merchandise imported, instead of the lump sum of Rs. 3,000
per annum into which it had been commuted dtttfog the
viceroN!t'i of Prince Shujc1, and also H1e enh<\nccmcnt of the
rate of duty from time tl) lime. The En!;llish <1lso claimed
that AuranlJ~Jb's far:man of 15lh March 1680 cntHlcd them, on
the payment of a consolidated <lutr of '5 112 p, c. at Surat, to
impod 16oods and lo frade dbsolulely free of custoins anJ
other exactions at all otfiec places in the Mughal empire,
(ii) Exactions by local o11iccrs Ltndce the name of ra6dari
{road patrol char!;(e ot internal transit duly'), presents
(pesfif<.asti), wriler's fee, and fm:maisfi (supplyinq rnanufadmes
to order of the flOVernor, for which it was no! customary lo
take the pdce).
 1686] ENGLISH TRADE now NOLES'J'ED 405

(iii) The rwaclice of high officials (such as Shaisla Khiln

and Prince Aeim-ush-slrnn, subabdars of Bengal),-a practice
somellmes resorted to by local faujdars also,-to open the
rad;w!Jes of 'i(oods in transit and take awa'l articles at prices
capriciousl'l fixed b'l them far below the fair market price.
Some !J0\7ernors (notably Azim-ush-shan) tried to enrich
lhemse\'\'es b' sei:oin~ >Joods at low prices and '!hen sellinl;l
them in lbe murbet at normal prlces,-a practice called
sauda-i-fdias.
On 10th April 1665 Auran~zib issued an order that in
all provinces there would be two tmiform rates of custom
duty on imports in foture, namely 1/2 p. c. for Muslims and
5 p. c. fol' Hindus. The Mughal Government seems to ha\7e
found it difficult to <lSSess and le\l'y the ja!fiya per head
from the Europeans in the same mannet' as from the
Hindus, nnd consequently it seems to have offered them,
(March 1680) a compromise b'l turning the ja~i'Ja into an
addition to !be import duty on theie ~oocls, raising the lattet
lo 3 l/2 p. c.
The claims of the Engllsh in Bengal (a) to escape the duty
on 1he adual value of theit imports by a fixed annual payment
of Rs. 3,000 (as conceded by Shufa in 1652) and (b) to trade
absolutely free in all other parts of India on payment of
customs al Surat (in vfrlue of Aurani;isib's famtcm of 1680), are
both false and !ndefensible on any reasoninJil.
Shuja was merely a provincial ~overnor. He could, as
he pleased, let off some fa'Voured body of merchants on easy
terms dttt'ing his own \7lceroyalty, but h)s li!rant (nisfian) could
not bind his successors in office, unless it was confirmed by
!he Empe!'or and turned into an imperial charter (farman).
' I
The Enl;flish interpretation of AuramJzib's farman of 1680
was equally wro11g. Payment of duty on the goods landed
at Stirat could, by no exercise of in!i!enuity, exempt from dut'l
a different car~o that had come from Home or China not
406 SflORr HISTORY 01' AURJ\NOZILI [cu. XV!I

throuqh Surat but cliredl'f to Ben!Jcll, and which, thel'cforc,

could not ha\7e paid any duty at Sur~\l.
As fol' the second and third i;tl'ievdnccs of the En!;{lish, w~
must rematk that the exactions here complained ot
had been declared lllegal by J-\.uratuJzib und were practised
onf'I? in disre~ard of his orders. N.afidati ltud bc<;:n ubolished
in the second year of bis rehin, while "bcnc\7okncc!>" and
forced presents were condemned in the s;rcnetal order
abolishing abwabs issued on 29th April 1673. The "forcing of
goods" by his grandson AeinHtsh-shan fot his priV'atc lratle,
called forth Aurans;i:cib's sternest censures when it Wus broLtght
to his ears fobout 1703). But the h'c1dcrs thus \li'l'OlllJCd
by the local officers could have redress on those 1arc
occasions on!)? when their cries reached the curs of the old
Emperor in the fat off Deccan, and the icdrcss wus tne1el\?
an order on paper.
Purity of admlniskntion wt1s impossible in a societ'I? dc\rold
of publlc spirit and accustomed lo submit llt'lplessly to ever\?
man in power, in public life as well i.\S privl1k. The Emperor
could not looll to e11crythin1J ; he could not be present l'l7el''i'"
where ; he had to act throus;rh aiJcnls, tlnd these did not
share hfs inteqrity and 1c>.1ard for hfs subjects.

9. Tfie Eng_lisfi wac ~villi Aucang;,eib ill f3e11gaf, 1686~11589.

The Indian merchants and b1olwrs em11lo?cd by- the E. f.

Co. at Qasimbazar (Benqal) made a lal'i;!c claim 4!;1ai11sl Job
Charnocl<~ the chief of the factory- the1c, and hi,; collcai!,ues.
The Indian jud~c of the place decreed th~ sum of Rs. 4:5,000
asgainst the E11glishmen ( 168,.f-85). As Charnod~ refused to
comply with the order, his factory was invested, by Mttlj{hul troops
(Au1;Iust 1685). But in April ncx.l, he escaped io Hugh!( and
toofa the chief direction of En!illish affairs in Beni,Jat The wa1
began in six months' time from this.
 1686 I rnGLISf! MA.KE WA.R IN BENGA.L 407

On Q8th Oct. 1686, three English soldiers, in hying to

enter the marl~et of the Mughal town of I-lugh!i in defiance
of the order of the local faLtidar, were wounded and carried
prisoner to the faujdar. An advance made by Captain Leslie
from the En!,llish factory (near Golghat) lo rescue lhem was
beaten bacl< with loss, and the thatched huts surroundin!J the
English factory were set on fire to arrest their prngress.
But reinforcements soon arri\7ed from the English camp three
miles down the ri\7er, and ad\7anced, sacl<ing and burninig the
faujdar's house and lhe town lying beyond it. In the e\7ening
the En~lish ship~ came abreast of tlulilhli, captured a ship of
the M11ghal's, and "li!ept firing and battel'in!il' most parl of the
ni!Jhl and next clay, burning amt plundering all they met with."
The faLtjdar fled away in disguise; on the Indian side sixt'l
soldiets were l~illed and four or five hundred houses burnt
down together with a s;ireat number of baiqes and boats.
Slrnista Khun, on hearinf,'l of the sach of Hu~hli by !be
English, '!ecided to crush these disturbers of public peace.
Vost detachments of ca\7nlry were sent to Hughli and the
E11'i(lish factors at Patna were ordered to be seized. On 20th
Decembe1, the En~lish withdrew from Huqhli with all their
propedy, and falling 24 miles down the ri\7et halted at
SutanaH (modem Calcutta).
The war was renewed in Pebntary 1687. The English
burnt down the imperial saH-warchouses near Matiaburuj dnd
then stormed the forts at Thana (modern Garden Reach,
soi1th-west of Calcutta). Sailinq dow11 the rivet they sei.::ed
lhe island of Hi/Ji, on the east coast of the Medinipur district
(Contai sub,.,division),-a swamp of deadly mala1ia, but rich
in fruits, corn and game, and the seat of salt manufacture bt;
evaporatinq sea-water. Iiere all the English land and :;ea
foices ln the Bay of Be1115'al were assembled. Next March a
bod)?' of 170 Enqlish soldiers and sailol'S landed at Balasore,
toob. lhe Mughal fort, and but'nt the two towns called Old
408 S!IOf~T mSTORY or ALW!\NOZJB [c11. XV!l

and New I'>alasore, after looting them for lwo days. The
Indian shippirn~ in lhe docl~s were burnt, and two \7('sse1s
helonging lo Prince A;;am and Shaista Khan were sei:cd as
pri;;es.
About the middle of May 1687, Abdus Samad, .:i lieutenant
of Shaista Khan, arri\t~d before I lijli with 12,000 men to expel
the En!iilish. The in\7aders had been ck1ily losinsJ men from
disease, both on land and in the ships, durins,i the h?ing
months of March and April, and their provisions had now
run very short. Their losses in the meuntime had been lcnible:
200 soldiers had perished and onl? d htt11dred, weahencd by
fever, survived ; the- forty officers Imel sunk to five only. On
11th June the En!'.Jlish e-vucuated Hijli fort, carryins;i off all
their ammunilion and artillery, their dntms beatinl!I and their
bairncts flyinlJ. On 16th August Shnisfo Khan issued a letlcr
in which he rebuked the Enl;llish fm their rcccnl acls of
violence, but permitted them to build a fo1'1. at llluberi,1 (about
20 miles south of Calcutta) and renew their tr.:icic at IJuiJhli.
So, Charnocb returnee! with his shirs and halted at Sutanati
(September 1687).
Next 1ear Captuin Henth arri-vcd from E11sJla11d, rcplaclnq
Charnock as Agent in Bengal. The new chief decided to
withdraw from Bengal proper, and on 8lb Novcmbei 1688
sailed away from Sutanati with <ill the men and properf\? of
the Company. Sailini; to Balasore with 300 soldiers, Captain
!Ieath, on !l?9th November, stormed the Mughal fortification
(called Point of Sand) at the easternmost point of Old
Balasore, capturing its artilleri? and stmes, Next day he seii::ed
New Balasore (further inland, to the west) and commllted itreat
excesses, ill-treatinq Christians and nonChl'istiuns, men a11d
women alike, ArrMn~ before Chatsgaon about 18th Janua1y
1689, be planned to wrest that fort from the Mt1Si(hal officers
and rnal<e it the safe and independent base desired by the
En~lish for their trade in Benqal. A. council of war d!ssm1ded
 16901 1 NGLJSJJ MAKE PEACt:, CALCUTTA FOUNDED 409

him from this mad project, and at last in utter disgust Health
sailed away for Madras (17th Feb.), abandoning all his Ben15al
projects.
The Emperor, on hearin~ of these acts of hostility, had
immcdialdy ordered the arrest of all the Ens;!lishmen, the
occupation of their factories all over his dominions, and the
prohibition of all trade or other inte1course with them. But the
EnSJlish were supreme at sea, and could slop the journey of
pilgrim-ships to Mecca. The loss to his customs revenue
throu5i1h the stoppage of their trade was also serious. Therefore,
.:ifter a time he was indined to come to terms with them.
Ibrahim Khan, who came to Bengal as subahdar in May
1689, was a mild and just man, friendly lo the English. lte
wrote to Madras inviting the factors to return to Bengal.
At las{ in Febrndry 1690, peace was finally conclt.1ded
between the Mughal Governmenl and !be English on the West
Coast. As Aurans;:i~ib wrole on 22n<l Feb. 1690, "The English
[of Surat] havinSJ made a most humble, submissive petition...ancl
[promised) that they would present the Emperor with a fine
of Rs. 150,000... and behave themsel\7es no more in such a
shameful manner, ... His Majesty hath pardoned their faults and
aqrces... that thev follow their ttade as in former times." After
ihis sc1tlement, the Emperor also wrote to Ibrahim Khan, on
!be Q3rd April fo11owin\f, to let the English trade freely in
Bcnl;{u! as formerly, without giving them any further
iroublc.
Frnm Madras Charnoclz anived once more at Sutanati on
' ?4th At.1>;1ust as ASJcnt. This was the foundation of Cdlcutla
and of the British Power in Northern India. On 10th February
1691 an imperial order (ffosb ..ul-i5ufcm) was issued by the
J'.,J'.rand wasfr to the cliwan of Bengal, allowing the En!;l'lish to
carry on their trade in that pro>'ince without molestation on
payit)ii/ I<s. 3,000 a year in lieu of all custom and other
dues.
410 Sttor~T msroR'i Of l\URl\NGZIB [ell. XV[[

to. Eng/isfi 111at rr;fffi tfie Muga!s on tlie West Coast.

As in Bengal, so also on the Western Coast of lndi,1, the

En~lish traders suffered from the vexatious and illegal inter
ference and 15reed of the local officers of the Mughal Govern
ment, which the Emperor could not check [n addition, they
were in 1680 asl~ed to pa\! the ja~iya in the form of one p.c.
additional import duty, which would have amounted to
Rs. 20,000 annually. The friction continued ; the local a'6ents of
the E. I. Co. were powerless to find a remedy.
But Sir Josiah Child, the Chairman of the Compa1w in
London, was a man of a fiery disposition and exceptional fmce
of character. lie decided on a policy of firmness, indepen-
dence, and if necessary of reprisal, a~ainst lhc Mughal empire.
Such a policy required three things, namely (a) the withdrawo.l
of the English factory from Surat, which was really a "fool's
paradise," (b) concentralinq the Company's trade and officers
in Bombay as ''the Key of India," in order to be free from the
intolerable restr.:iints .:ind indignities to which lhc Company's
ser\7ants were subjected at Surat, and (c) seli:ing the Indian
shippin~ at sea in retaliation for the oppression done to Ern;dish
trade in the Muii(hal dominions.
But Sir John Child, the "General and Director in Chief"
of all the Company's factories in India, was weal~ and incompe
tent. ln obedience to orders from Home, he ldl Sura.I
for Bombay on 25th April 1687, in order to be be?ond
the reach of the Mu~hals. The imperial IJ<.Wcrnor of SUL'a.t,
tal<inq this to be a preparation for war, put troops rnunJ
the Ernglish factory, wilh the effect that Benjamin lia1ris1 tile
chief of the Surat Council, and Samuel Annc<;le?, hfa seconJ
in office, could not go outside.
At last, on 9th Oclobc1 1688, Sit' John Child appeared
with a fleet before Swally and sent to the go\7'erno1 of Surat
a list of the ~de\7'ances of the English, demandinq compensa"
1680] CNGL!Sll l'ACroRS i\T SURl\1' PUNISt!ED 411

lion for P<lSt iniLtries and a new charter confirming and

extcndintJ lheil' privileges. The !JOvernor began open bostilit)!
by suddenly imprisoning the English factors and their Indian
brol~ers, placini,1 <\ \?Uard over the E11151ish factory, and sending
a force to Swall'l to sei;;e Child. The latter escaped, and
retaliuted b'l blocl~adin!J the mouth of the river below Surat
and then sai!imJ down the coast and capturing all sorts of
!ndidn shippin!J indiscriminately.
The Mu~Jhal Govemment's reply was to put the captive
Engllshmcn at Surat in irons, in which deplorable condition
they l'Cl11aincd for 16 months (Dec. 1688-Aprll 1690). Al the
same time, the Siddi of Janjira, as Mughal admiral, delivered
an ,1tlc\cl~ 011 Bomba'{ (May 1689) and landed on the island,
occupying its outlfing parts. The Enqlish i;farl'ison wa~ dri\7en
within Bombay fod <1nd besie!i!ed there b'l a daily fncteasing
mob of Muslims. Go\""ernot Child, therefore, made an abject
appcnl for patdon, sending a mission lo Aurangzib under
G. Weldon crnd Ab1aham Navarro (10th Dec. 1689). The
Emperor pardoned them, by an order dated 25th December
t.689. The S11qlish \Verl~ restored to theit' old position in the
Indian !ta.de on condition of payin!J a fine of one"and-a half
lafahs of Rupees, und restorinq the qoods ta!ien from Indian
ships.

1L European pit:ates in Indt'an seas, t7lri cenful":;.

European p1racr in the Indian Ocean had begui1 with
tbe coming of Vasco da Gama at the end of the 15!h centuri.
It excited no moral reprobation in Christendom. Merchants
~ml c1dvenlurers of all classes and nationalities lloclied from
fanopl.! to the Indian seas in the 16\h and 17th centuries,
and wUh the ~::iwwth of lndlan trade thel'e was a cortespondinq
s;irowlh of pit"acy by diffel'ent nations.
In 1635, Cobb, !he captai11 of a ship licensed b'{" 'Chatles I
of Enqland, plur1de1ed two Muqhal vessels at the tnouth of
412 'iHORT HIS10RY OF AURANGZII3 [Cli. XVII

the Red Sea, though one of them had a pass from the
Surat factory. In 16:38, Sir William Courten, under a grant
from the same l~ing, sent out fout ships which robbed Indian
vessels and tortured their crews. Por these misdeeds of
their fellow~countrymen, the innocent serl7ants of the E. I. Co.
al Surat were liept in prison for two rnonths, and released
only on the payment of Rs. 1,70,000 as compensation.
In the tieconcl half of the 17th century an even more
lawless race of men than the ol<l Buccaneers appeared and
extended their operations to the Indian Ocean, acting generally
in single ships and plundering vessels of every nationality.
''Of these men, chiefly English, the most notorious were
Teach, Evory, Kidd, l~oberts, Eni;rland and Tew, with many
others less lwown to fame ....... Roberts alone was credited with
the destruction of 400 trading \7esscls in three ye<us ......The
chief cause of their inummitr lay in the fact that it was the
business of nobody in particular to ad aP,ainst them ....,..Their
friends on shore supplied their wants and !Ja\7e ibem timely ,
information of rich pri;;;es to be lool~ecl for, or armed ships
to be a\7oicled. Officials high in authority winl~ed at their
doings, from which they drew a profit.. .... Not only were the
greater number of pirates of Eni;rlish blood, but pirate captains
of othe1 nationalities often sailed tmder J-lnglish colou1s.
The nati\7e officials, unable to distinl,l"uish the roi;iues from the
honest traders, held the E. I. Co.'s ser'7ants responsible for
their misdeeds."
In 1681 two ships under English colours seized \7essels
in the Red Sea worth six lahhs of Rupees. Next yca1 a
number of secMovcrs from the West Indies made their
appearance and infested the Maldbar coast, hoisted the red
or black flag, and robbed fndfon and European \7esscls
alike. There were, besides, other Euiopean pieates
in the Persian Gulf, at the mouth of the Red Sea, in the
Mo:;;ambique Channel, and some !yin~ off Achen (Sumatra).
1695 I PIRACY ON TllE GANJ+S<\WAI 413

The most famous of these pirates was flerny Bridgman,

who tool~ the alias of Evoty. On 30th May 1694, while
actimJ us the mate of un Enrilish ship hired by the Spanish
Government, he 011erpowered the officers, renamed his ship
Fancy, and tool~ to a life of piracy, with 46 riuns and 150
fis;ihters on board. After notable captures in the Gulf of
Aden, he loo\-~ off Socotra (Sep. 1695) the fotn Mufiammad1:
.:i richly laden ship of Abdul Ghafur, the prince of Surat
mcrch,u1ts. A few tfo.ys later he achieved his crowning feat,
the capture of the 6anj~i~sa111ai, a ship belonJiiln15 to the
Mtt1Jhal Emperor and beinP, the largest vessel of the port of
Sural. Every year it used to sail lo Mohha and Jidda, canying
Indian pil<;irims for Mecca and Indian i;roods for sale in Arabia.
It had 80 !Jttns and 400 musllets on board, but its captain,
Muhummad Ibr<1him, was a coward.
Uc was tch.tr11in>;J from MoRhu, when between Bombay and
Daman he was attacl~ed by the Panes, a second pirate ship
and Lwo boats. The a!'tlllc1y fire of the Europeans was most
effrcli\7c ; in a shorl lime lhe Mughal vessel had lost 25
soldiers hilled und 20 wounded. A gun on board the 6anj-i-
sawai bmsl, setlin!J the ship on fire and R.illil1!1l or burnin~
S(Wcrnl (lf the crew. Whlle the Indians wel'e distracted by the
flrl' anJ cngnged in putting it out, the pirates boaided tbe ship
from ull sides. No resistance was made by the crew. The
captain hid himself in a lower cabin, after placing swords in
the hands of the TurMsh sla\7e-gids whom he had purchased
al Mofahc1 and whom he no1v bade fo fiP,"ht lll~e men !
For lhrce dav.s the pirates looted the ship at leisure ; the
women oll board, many of them belonginlJ to the Sayyid and
other respectable fatnilies, were oLttraqed, and several of these
\'>'idlms commit!ed suicide. Then El7ory left !he unhappy ship,
which was catTied by its crew, to Surat on 12th September.
When its pusserniiers, stripped of everythinl,f, unfolded the tale
of plunder and rape, tbe people of Su1ut wel'e roused to
 414 StlORT lllSTORY Ol' AURANGZIB [CH. XVII
uncontrollable indi!;tnation at this ouh'aqe on the Muslim faith.
The sufferers ascribed the attacl~ to En!Jlishmen closely connected
with Bombay.
ltimad Khan, the lJOV'ernor of Surat, was a friend of the
Enl;(lish and an officer of unrivalled uprii;(hlness and puritf.
Amidst the popular clamom he l~ept his hc21d, and by bis
judicious measures saved the local EmJlishmcn from bein!i(
lynched by the Muslim fanatics. He sent a party of rc!;lLdar
troops under his lieutenant Ashur Beg to occupf the factory
{14 Sep.), and confine the merchants there pending the receipt
of the Emperor's orders. A similar fa!e overtool~ the English
traders at Swa!ly and Broach. Their trade W<~S totally
stopped.
During his cuptivil\?, Anneslc\? (the President of the
English Council at Surat) witl1 tireless activiti sent off petitions
to the Surat i,::overnor, to the agents und friends of the
English in Aurani,::iib's camp, and to the Emperor himself and
his ministers,-asserting the innocence of the Company's
seNant5 and demandin~ their release. Sir John Gayer, the
iJOvernor of Bo.nbai, WJS equally active ; he wrote to Itimad
Khan and to the Emperot, stl'ongly protesting against the
arrest of his countrymen and appealing for justice. "We are
merchants and not pirates," he 1epeated.

12. Auran1pdb's pol!cg towards european tradecs.

Auran~zib deeply t'esented this fla!ilrant offence al((ainst his
flag and his reli~ion, bul he was too wise a man to be swayed
by his passions. I-le desired above all things to secure a regul<lr
escort of European warvessels for the pili,;ritn-ships to Mecca,
and this embar~o on Ettropean trade was only an instrnmeht
for putlinljl pressure 011 them to !Jain that end cheaply but
effectually.
The Dutch offered to clear the Indian seas of the pirates
.and to be responsible for the safety of the pilgrims to Arabia
1697-8) l'NOLISII PlRA'l'E:S JN INDIAN SCAS 415

if lhf'y were l;Ji\7en the exclusive right of trading in the Mu~hal

empire free of duty. This was declined by the Emperor.
Anncsley wrote to the Mu11hal Go\7emment 1.mdertal<in!il to
i:.upply convoy for the Indian vessels in the Arabian Sea or
~land responsible for their safety, on condition of the English
bdn~.~ paid four labhs of I~upees annually. The Emperor
hi\l\Jled hal'Cl over the amount to be paid fol' each escorting
ship, --offering only half the actual runnin!il cost for the double
vo'lu<Je. At last A11ncsley signed a bond for supplyin!J escort, and
the EmJlish prisoners were set at liberty on 27th June, 1696.
In 1696 a syndicate of English noblemen had fitted out
!he J.ldrJenture, a ver\7 strong 30-gun vessel, to act as a privateer
against the French and at the same time destroy the pirates
in the Indian Ocean. Its captain was William Kidd, "destined
to blossom into the most rcdoubia.ble pirate who ever
besmirched the honoul' of England." Arriving off Calicut early in
j 697, he tool~ lo a life of piracy, shamelessly describing his
robberies as legitimate acts of pri\7ateedng authorized by the
hing of Englancl. Kidd's success dtew many restless English
seamen into his party. "Distributing his forces with the sfailf
of il sca~stratefilist, Captain Kidd dominated the Indian Ocean,
11

with his munitions and stores drnwn from a base in Madagascar.

"All told, the pirate fleet mounted 120 56uns, and was
m<1nnecl by not less than 300 Europeans, of whom the great
tnf1jorit'f were Englishmen."
Besides takln.q matw of ihe E. I. Co.'.s ships, he captured
on 2nd February 1698, the Qaeda Mercfiant, 400 tons, bound
from Bengal to Surat with a rich cargo worth 4 lafahs of
r~upees belonqing to Muhhlis Khan, one of the great nobles of
the empire. L.;i.te in 1698 Chiv-ers (a Dutch pirate) captured
a fine ship with a cari;io worth 14 lakhs beloni,Jing to Hasan
Hamidan, a merchant of Jidda and Surat.
The Enjjl'lish me1chants of Surat could not escape anr
lons;ier. The wise and upriqht collector of the port, ltiJ;n.;id
416 'irlOfH HIS [ORY or Al\RANGl!B !ell. xvr
Khan, had died in Feb. 1697 and had been succeeded by
Amanat Khan, an unscrupulous and rapacious tvrant. "It was
useless to assert that the English were not to be idenhfied
with the pirates, when .... rnciny En!Jlish seamen of the piratical
crafl were actually recof,)ni:::ed by reliable nati'Ve sailors as
former ser'Vants of the E. I. Co." The Mughal .qo'Vernot, on
23rd Dec. 1698, sttrmunded the Surat factory and 1-J<WC
Annesley the ultimatum either to '{ield to the Emperor\ dcn1and
for iJi'ling a bond to 15u.:ird the sea u!laimt pirates or lo
lea\7e the countr1 in ten days. The Dutch and the French
were similarly treated. Meantime the fadot'ies were sei;i1nwtcd,
and Indians who tried lo communicate with them were bound
and llogqed by order of the <J<wernor. fn l\.ui;rust ! 698
came an imperial order that the English, French and f)utch
wot!ld be held responsible for all losseo. ,;il sec\ illld that the
three nations should P<:lY' to\r1l damages amountin~ to 14 lal<hs.
Finally, the English, French and Dutch <HJreed to act in
concert to suppress pirncy cllld sii,:necl bonds by which they
joint!::,;: engaqed to mal<e \~ood all future losses. On rcccl\7fo<J
this aqreement, Aurangiib rc\7crsed his cmbnr\JO on European
trade in the Mughal dominions, u,nd he wrote to the Surat
'i(overnor to sctlle the matter in his own way. In the terms
of this a!jl'eement, "the Dutch convoyed tlw Mecca pilgrims
and patl'Olled the entrance to the I~cd Sen, besides poyirnJ
Rs. 70,000 to Lhe governor of Surat ; the En1Jlish paid
Rs. 30,000 and patrolled the S0ttth Indian seas, whlk the
FrenchI
made a similar payment and policed the Persian Gulf.''
On 8th April 1699 a new English Company was established
at Surat, with Sh Nicholas Waite as Ptesident. Sil' William
Norris was $ent out from Enl;{la11d as the Enqlisb l~ing's
ambassador to the Mtt\!hal Cout"t in the interesls of the new
Company, rte visited AUJanQ";:db ln the sieis-e camp befon'
Pa11hala (April 1701) ; thel'e was an exchani;:e of ptesenls
between the Lwo Go11emments, but 11othin!i wus secured by
 SllRA1' rl\CTORS surr1m POR PIRATES
417
the ambassadm in return fol' his \7e1y expensive m1ss1011 and
waste of sixteen months (Q7 Jan. 1701-18 April 1702).
Auranq;::ib had demanded, as the price of a farman for the
new Company's faclol'ies, that the English shoultl !Jive an
undertaliinlJ to clear the seas of thc- pirates, while Norris
[:mew it lo be an impossible task
Meantime, in Febrnaiy 1701, Sir John Gayer had been
seiEcd cllKI imprisoned b'l Amanat Khan at Surat, throu~h the
machinalions of Waite, who had procured an order from
Autang;;ib to that effect by btibing the Surat news-writer. Poor
Gayer was faept in confinement for six years with only
occasiontll intervals of libert\?. A return prepared in January
l702 showed that the caplives al Surat numbered 109 persons,
includinlel 21 English officials of the Company....and 15 seamen.
The:ir imprisonment \7aried in rigour according to the capl'fce
of lhc qovernor.
On 8th Aw;iust 1703 two ships of Surat, one belonging
to Abdul Ghafur and anothe1 to Qasirnbhai, when returning
from Moliha wern captured by the pirates off Surat. The news
of the outrnqc tcached Surat on the 3 lst, and the go\7ernor,
ltibar Khan, sei::ecJ all the Indian broRers of the European
Companies, and blockaded their factories, cuttins,? off their food
supply and every l~ind of communication with outside. Three
lal<hs of l<upees wete extorted by the qovernor from
Vittal and KeshaV' Parehh, lbe brol<ers of the old English
Compan')?, cmd three lal<hs more from the brohers of the
Dutch. In this the go\7ernor had merely enfotced the
fndetnnfiybond which his predecessor Amanat Khan had
extorted from the Europeans in Februat'y 1699 to !he effect
lhat they would stand security fo1 any losses caused to
Indian shipping by the pirates. Aurangzib, on hearing of it,
disapproved of Itibar Khan's action and set aside the agreement
extorted in febrnary 1699.
But in truth !here was no peace for the Europeans. The
418 SHORT lllS'fORY OF Alll<ANGZ!fl [rn. XVll

carti\7ity of Sir John Gayer and his Council continued with

!he usual relaxations, under fresh orders from the Mwihal
Court in July 1704. The Dutch made reprisals by caplurin>,:
a rich vessel bringing Indian pili.Jrims bad~ from Mecca.
Among them were Nur-ul-Haq (a son of the lute Chief Qaz:i
Abdul Wahab) and Pa!:ihr-uJ .. Islam. Bolh were held in hiqh
veneration by Attrangzib for sandily of character <111d
respectable birth. "Without ill-treating them, the cartors sent
a message to the governor of Surat calling on him to repay
the money he had lal~en from them by force. On being paid,
they would restore the ships." Aurangzib al last rcaliz:e<l how
helpless he was at sea and that he must make an unconditional
surrender to the Europeans if his subjects were ever to mal<e
pilgrimages to Mecca. He instructed Nejabat Khnn to secure
the release of these two holy men and the other captives on
emf terms that he coukl ~et, und forbade him to tal~c
indemnitybonds from the Europeans in future.
 CHAPTER XVIII
SOME Pl<( WINCES DURING AURANGZHYS REIGN.

~ 1. f)eng.al: its natuml 1rrealtf1 and growtfi under

Mar:1.fia! peacP.

Amon1J u!l the provinces't of the Mus;ihal emplre, Bengal

Wd~ most lavishly favoured by Nature. Its copious rainfall
mal~cs the labour of artificial irrigatipn unnecessal'y. Its
munberle;;s rivers il.nd tanl~s with their abundance of fish and
its fruit-lil.den orchards richly supplement the corn-fields. The
clinrntc alone is vile and justifies Aurarn;(z::ib's epigram that this
i,wovlnc~~ was "a hell fult of bread." Such a country needed
onl'Y peace to be full of wealth and populatioh. That peace
.:iml \iood >Jt.wcmment were supplied to Ben!fl'al by the
MLt1;1h,1! empire throughout the 17th century.
ln the 16th century Bengal had been an unhappy scene
of .:u11:1rch'{ and d0solation from the decay and dismemberment
of its independent provincial sultanate and the lonl(i wars of
Mll!~hal conqt1est. The misery of the people was extreme,
from the annihilation of wealth and culture through political
turmoil. In the mldsl of this internal decay and exhaustion
of the old order, its conques! by Al<bar came as a blessing
to the pro'Vincc. Bu! durini:J Al<bar's reign MuSJhal rule in
B<.'mJal wus mol'e lil<e an armed occupation than a settled
administration. His viceroys had to content themselves with
the nominal submission of the old independent Afghan
princclings and llindtt rulinfJ r:amindars. The Emperor's
1t l ueilhN 1msible nor necess~nt to ~ht<' her< !lie hisl<.~r\? of c'l'er'l subali of
durin~ thi~ rr1~1L The htslorlan is conc~1n~d with \hose provin.
th~ Mu1thal ,rnp!re
r~s ol11\' wlw~~ ilff<1fr assumed an hnp~rlal irnporfi:rnce,
420 SHORT HISTORY OF AUl~ANOZll\ [cu. xvrn
subahdars merely received the tribute, but did not establish
direct imperial administration over lhe people, except in the
district rmmd the capital dnd the strateP,ic cities held b17 their
assistants, the faujdars. The huge thou!5h itTegular armed
forces under the various r:amindars ternained quiescent but
undestroyed. They only waited for some weahcnin~1 of the
Emperor's power, some catc1strophc at Delhi, to assert their
independence once again. After the accession of fahangir
his new viceroy, Islam Khan, who qovcrned the pl'Ovince for
six years (May 1608-11 August 1613), was a most ambitious,
active and high-spirited noble. By a series of campaiszns he
crushed all the independent z:amindars of Bengal, destio'fed
the last remnant of Afghan power in Mymensinqh, Sylhet
and Orissa, and imposed fuU Mughal reace and direcl
imperial a.dminish'ation upon all the pal'ls of Bengal. There
after Bengal enjoyed profound internal peac<.' for nearl'f "'
cenfuiy and a half and rccove1cd wealth and population.
trade expanded by rapid strides, industries developed, and a
s,tl'cat indigenous literature !Jrcw up in the hands of the
Vaishnav sect. The Arrac:anesc, and subsequent!? their agents,
the Porluii(t.tese pirate; of Chatgaon, were a pest to the
l'iversiclc districts of East Bcnigal ; but this evil was removed
eiirly in Aurnngzib's reiqn ( 1666) b"Y Shaista Khan; the trade
ol the English and the Dutch !Jl'CW b'f leaps and bounds
from the middle of the ccntwy onwards, and their foctories
and pt1rcltasc-agencies stimulated production and wealth in
the country.

2. fiowmors of Bengal in Amang:;;ib's ceig.n

Shaista Khan's first V'iccro)?alt'f of Bc.mqal extended o'V"cr 14
years (1664-1677). During this unusually Ion~ period of office
in one province, he first ensured the safet'l? of the Ben~al
J,"lvers and sea-board bi destroyinq the pirates' 11est at
Chatgaon, won oV'er the Ferin!6i pirates and settled them neai
 SllAJSTJ\ !<HAN, Gov1:rmoR OF BENGAL 421

Dacca. His internal administration was equally mild and

beneficent. I le in1mediately stopped the resumption by !he
Stale of the old rent-free lands which the local officers had
bq;un duriniJ the interregnum followin!l! Mir Jumla's death.
Every duy he held open Court for administerinq justice
and redressed wrongs ver1 promptlf. This he regarded as
his most important duty. Shnis!a Khan restored absolute
freedom of buying and selling, and also abolished two Ule!i!al
exactions of his predecessors, nmnelf, a tax of one-fortieth
(:.wleat) 011 the income of merchants and travellers, and an
excise duty (ffosil) from e\7e1y class of artificers and
1radesmen, the latter tax yielding 15 lal<hs of Rupees a year
in his own jMJirs alone. The lorn;t interval of peace secttred
by his arms to Bengal was employed by him in adorning his
cdpital DaccJ with ma1w fine buildings, and constructing satais
~111 o\7er the cotmtry. On the whole, he was a generous
1

nobleman of the ~rand old style. Shaista Khan was sent bacl'.l
to Bengal in January 1680. His second term covered the
nine YL'ars from 1680 to 1688; the most noticeable event of
this period was the war with the Enli(lish E. l. Co. already
dcscl'ibed. The popular tradition is that durin!J his governor-
ship rice sold in Bengal a{ the inc1edibly cheap rate of ei~ht
mmmds to the l:.:>ttpee.
Ibrahim Khan arri\7ed in June 1689, as subahdar. Ile was
an old man of mild disposition and sedentary habits and a
great lo'Ver of bool<s. Without streMth of purpose or capa
cltf fo~ action, he let matters drift, till the administration of
ihc pro\7incc entirely brol<e down, and e\7ety one did what
he Hkcd. He personally administered justice, was free from
vcnnlity and caprice, and promoted agriculture and commerce.
His fir!>t act ofter coming to Bengal was to make terms with
the English and induce them to settle in Beni~al again.
But Bengal in the late 17th century was no place for a
b ookwom1. The lawless elements in the province seiie~ the
422 SllOR'!' ff!STORY OI AU!~ANGZll\ [c11. XVIII

opportunity presenled by Ibrahim Khan's supine administra-

tion and slotbful unmartial charadcr, Shova Sin<Jh, the
zamindar of Chalwa-Barda in the Mcclinipur district, rebelled,
and in alliance with Rahim Khan, the chief of the Orissa
Af\(hans, be!i!an to plunder the lands oi his nei<,.1hbour, l<aiah
Krishna Ram, !he farmcr-J?encral of lhc l't!\7C11t1c of the
Bardwan district. Krishnd Rrnn ad\7anced <\!Jainst tlwm with
a small force, but was dcleated and slain, .rnd bis wik,
datt!Jhlers and enlirc propedy and the town of Bardwt1n itself
were captured by the rebels. Nurnllah Khan, the faujdar of
west Bengal, timidly shut himself up in the fort of Ilu~4hli,
where the rebels soon blod~<:tded him. lie slipped out of il
at niqht wllh his bare life, but all his wealth and the fort
fell into Sbova Singh's hands.
On the outbreab of the rebellion, lhe lhrce European
nations in Bcnr,al hod enlisted Indian soldiers to JJL1<1l'd their
property and obtained the snbahdar's permission to ercd
forts round their settlements of Calcutta, Chandcma\(ar t1nd
Chinsura. These places at once became lbc only havens of
refu!Je amidst the general disturbance in Ben!Jal. The Dutch
of Chinsurn rccover('c[ Hughli forl for the imperlaJ GoV'ern-
mcnt in August.
Shov.:1 Singh's next step was lo detach I<ahirn Khan with
the main part of his army to tal~c the rich cities of NacHil
and Murshidabad, while he telumed to his headqual'iers at
Bardwan. Herc he was stabbed to death by "' daus;ihtci- of
Rajah Krishna Ram. The 1cbel ttl'ttl'? chose Rahim as their
chief, and he now crnwned himself wiih the lltle of Rahim
Shah. By- !his time all Ben\lal west of the Gc\n!i1C:5 bud passed
into the hands of these men, while lbrahim Khan la'l innct111c
at Dacca. Rahlm's armf had now increased to 10,000 horse
and 60,000 infantry-. Ile plttndet'ed the rich cities of
Mttrshidabad, Maida and RaJ rnahal.
Immediately on hcadn~ details of this risln!l and Ibrahim
 Mtmsmo QULI, DIWAN OF BENGAL 423

Khan's negliP,ence, the Emperor dismissed him from the

viccroyalty of Hen!Jal and appointed his grandson, Az:im-ush
slrnn to the post (middle of 1697). The prince was then in
the Deccan, and pending his arrival Zabardast Khan (the son
of Ibrahim and fattJdar of Baidwan) recovered Rafmahal and
Maida. lie next atlad~ed the rebel camp at Bhagawangola
and after a two days' fight captured it (May 1697). Rahim
was succcssivcli driven oLtt of Mttrshidabad and Bardwan
into !he woods.
In November the prince atrived al Bardwan, and halted
there for many monlhs. Zabatdast ha\l'ing left the province,
the rebels now reappeared and renewed their activity on
till sides. Rahim, after plunclerin!,1 the Nadia and Hu!Jhli
districts, arrived neat' Barclwan to confront the imperial army.
Herc he treacherously slew Khwajah Anwat, the prince's
chief ministe1, at an interview, and !hen delive1ed an
impclltOtts attacl< on the imperial army, but was Mlled. Their
kade1 beini;! i;rone, the rebel army melted away.
Muhammad lladi, surnamed Kar Talb Khan, was fransferrcd
frou'I the diwani of Orissa in 1701 to be diwan of Bengal,
with the title of Murshicl Quli Khan. "The prudent manai;ie-
ment of the new cliwan soon raised Ben>Jal to the hi1Jhest
de(!t'ce of prnsperiti?. Particulal'l'\7 ca1'eful in the choice of
his officers, he obtained throu>Jh theh' means complete Informa-
tion about foe actual capacity of the [ands and the amount
of custom duties. The diwan took the collection into his O\V'J1
hands, and by preventinlJ the embez:elemenis ol the irnmindats
and ja!Jil'dars, augmented the annllal revenue."
Mmshld Qull refused to let A;;im-ushshan interfere with
revenue matters in anr wav. The foolish prince instigated a
plot of some ttoopel's to mutin'l' and mut'cler the diwan. The
conspiracy was defeated by Mttrshid Qu(i Khan's presence of
mind, courage and iact. But, to guard against furthec attempts
on hls life, he l'emoved the revenue office from Dacca, where
424 Sl!ORT lilSTOrn OF AURl\NOZIB rc11. xvm
the prince li\7cd as governor, to a more centrally situated \7illa15e
on the bank of the Ganges, whose name of Maqsudabad he
changed to Murshid-abad in honour of himself. This was destined
to be the capital of Bcrn~al for half the 18th century. Aurangzib,
on hearing of the incident, s,1rC'w \7Cr'l anqr'l, and ordered
the prince to remove to Bihar, which had been uclded to
his charge in January 1703. For lhe next three years (1704-
1707) A::im Jived at Patna, which he was permitted b'!7 !he
Emperor lo name A::im-abad after his own name.
Murshid Quli Kh<m repeatedly sent to the Emperor large
sums as the surplus revenue of the province. The mone\7
came most opportunel'i7 to Aurangzlb, whose other resources
had been exhausted by lhe endless war with the Marathas.
Under Murshid Quli all felt that a strong masle1 had come
to the pro\7ince. I-le collected the re\7Cntte by his own uiJCnts
directly a11d thus saved the profits which middlemen or zamin-
dars used to mahe. The orders of Murshid Quli Khan \Vere
so absolute that the mos! refractory men trembled in his
presence, and his commands were implicitly obe)?ed. Two
da'i's in the wed~ he administered justice in person, and wns
so impartial in his decisions and riqicl in their execution that
no one dared to commit oppression.
A few '17ears after the death of Auran1Jzib he became
independent ntler of Bengal, as the Delhi Government sank into
hopeless decline. Under him Bengal entered on a career of
peace and mar\7ellous material ptosperily, which was interrupted
onl)? by !he follies and crimes of his unwol'thy successors.

3. Malwa, its importance i12 Mug.ha! times.

'fhe MuSJhal province of Malwa extended north to south
between the Jann.ma and the Narmada ri\7ers. West of it,
across the Chambal, lies Raiputana, and east of it Bundcll<hand,
from which the rl\7er Betwa separnies it. Tbe most notable
elen1ent of its population are the Rajpi1ts, di\7ided into an
 Mi\! W/\ 1 l'JS DIVIlf..1SJrJfD POJ1UL/\TION 425

immense number of petty clans or minor b1anches of famous

dilns, and not ori;:ani::ed in compact tribal States as in Rajputana
proper. But their number and importauce were not so prepon-
derant as to throw into insii;iniftcancc other races of inhabitants,
such as the Jals who were spread over the northern side,
and the Gonds concentrated in full strength in the soulh and
lllc sotJth-east,--bcsidcs a stroni;t infusion of Muhammadan
lmmii;/l'ants (mostly Afi:thans) settled in definite centres, The
undc\7eloped primiti\7e races, thoui:th stron!il in number, lived
in out of the wav comers and among the hills and juni;?les.
Mnlwa was rich in ali[ricultural wealth,-producin'i! large
quantlties of the higher crops, such as opium, swiar-cane,
i:Jr.:tpcs, nms!Nnelons and betel-leaf, besides sheltering larqe
herds of clephnnts in ils forest tracts. In industdes if occupied
lhc first ran!~ umon~ the Mughal subahs after Gujrat. In
Mui;rhal times its importance \vas enhanced by the fact that
all the great military roads from the northern capitals, Aqra
and Delhi, to the Deccan passed throuqh this pro\?'ince.
A reponderantly Hindu province, with a sturdy Rajpttt
populntio11, wns not l!l?ely to take Aurang;:ib's polic'i? of temple
deslt'udion and poll-tax on the Ilindus with tan1e subrnissi\7eness.
The\? often fought the as;i<.'nts of Islam ht defence of the seats
of their religion. But, on the whole, thi:- disturbances in Malwa
durinq the fttst half of this reign we1e all on a small scale
and confined to a few localities. With the exception of the
raids of Cl~hatra Sal Bundeia and Bakl1t Buland Gond, Malwa
contlnued to enjo'l? peace and uneventful administration till
near the end of the 17th century. But after Rajaram's return
home from Jinji bt>i;ran a movement which was destined in less
lhcin fifti years to completely cham;ie the political history of
the pro\:'ince.
4, Macatfia incursions into Malwa, 161'J9 ..1706.
In November 1699, a Maratha band led by Krlshna Savant
crossed the Narmada for the first time and raid<:d Malwa up
426 S!!OIH ([!STORY OF AllW\NGZm [Cf!. XVIU

to the en\7irons of Dhamuni. The path thus opened wus

never al((ain closed, till at last in the middle of the 18th century
Malwa passed into regular Marntha possession. In }anlldt"'{
1703, the Maratbas crossed the Narmdda ulJain, and caused
distllrbances up to the environs of Ujjain. In October 1703, Nima
Sindhia bursl into Berar, defeated and calmcJ Ruslam Khan
the deputy !60Vetnor of the province (on behalf of Fint? Jun<J),
and then raidin~ {be fiushan~abad disfricl and crossing thC'
Narmada he advanced into Malwa .:it lhe in11ilalio11 of Chhalra
Sal. After plunderin~ many villa~es and towns, he laid sie~c
to Sironi, but Firui! fan1J, who had entered Berar in pmsuit of
another Maratha force, hastened with light equipment on the
trad2 of the raiders, overloo!~ them near Siron/, and immediately
delivered his attacR, (middle of Novcmbcr). Nitna fled away
on horsebacl~. Many of the Marathas and their local I<c1jput
cine! Afghan allies we1c slain or wounded. The followers and
cattle of Rustdm, whom Nima was dragging alotu;i with himself,
were released.
In FebruMy 1704 firLti! J<tnlJ, followirnJ up his succi::ss,
surprised Nima's anny, which was off its <Juan!, near the ju111ile
of Ohamuni, slayin!i( many and rcco\7ering mud1 booty. There
were beavy losses on the Mughal side too.
It was a great deliverance for the Mughnls. The Marn.Iha
activities in Berar had held ttp the reports of 110ws-wrHets and
official leltces for 3 or 4 months on the bani~ of the Narmada.
,\
The danf6er from which Malwa had just escaped, thtnu!i(h Firuz
Jang's courage and activity, brou!Jht home to AL1ran1;1z:ib's mind
the gravity of the situation. Prince Bidar Bal~ht1 a brnve u.nd
skilful !leneral, then acting as li(o\7ernor of At11an1Jabad ~1nd
Khandesh, was appointed \7iceroy of Malwa on 3rd AttiJust,
1704. I-Ie continued to go7ern Malwa till March 1706, when
he received urgent orders to 160 to Gltlt'al and tal~e chc:trlj:fe
of its defence.
The Ptince's fclvoutHe lieutenant was the ~ounq SJilllant fai
 CilllATRA SAL 1\llNDELA, EARLY LIH 427

Singh (8m11ai), the new I<ajah of Jaipur, who ha<l l;)ained his
1,ood opinion by his conspicuous ser\7iccs.
Amon(J the rebels who troubled Mulwa were Nasiri
Af~han, Gopal Singh Chandawat, Gopal Chaudhuri of Sfroni,
Abbas Af}Jhan, and llmat Pathan. In fact, the local disturbers of
peac(' in Millwa in the closing fears of the reign were too
many to be coLtnlecl. "Maratbas, Bundelas, and Afghans out
of employment me creating disturbances in the pl'OV'lnce" (1704).
The result is sutntlled up in Auran1izib's own words : "The
province of Khandesh has been totally desolated ...... Malwa too
is ruincd,--vcry little habitation is now left."

5. Cfiliafra $al Bundela's early life.

Champut l<ao Bundela's fout'lh son, Chhatra Sal (born in
1650), lived to defy the imperial Go\1crnment with success for
half <1 ccnltuy, l~ccp his own pro\1ince in c011stant turtlloil,
invude Mt1lwa., and finally to car\1e out an independent
principality In Eastern Malwa, with its capital at Panna. His
lonl,! life of 81 ?enrs ended in 1731.
Left helpless by lheit fot!Jl."r's outlawry and death, Chha!ra
Sal and his elder brother An1Jad were Jlrst employed by Jai
Siul,!h in his own contingent, in !ht> war a\]"ainst Shilrnii (1665),
and afterwal'ds rewarded for their i;iallant ser\7ices by bein!jl
created lmcria\ mansabuars (fiaa;oti and 3-.scidi respectively)
in Au1i-iust followfoiJ.
Chbatra Sal was next emplo'{ccl in the Muqhal altacl~ on
Dc>o!i!arh by Dilir Khan. But the younq Bundela prince felt
that he was not bcin~ rewarded as he desel'ved, and that a
subaltern's (W'eer in the Mui;lhal an11y did not offer full scope
to his soul'in~ ambition. He dreamt of taRtnl,!' to a life of
adventure and independence in Imitation of Shivaji, whom he
visited.
But the Matatha kin~ advised, hi01 to return to bis own
cou:ntry and ttse his local influence to promote risings aqainsl
428 SIIORT llJSTORY OF Al!RANGZJ13 [cu. XVIII

Aul'dll!J'-Oib, so as to dbtracl the Mughal forces. Chhatra Sal,

on his return home, began to altdcR the mhJhty Mughdl
empire.
The policy of temple ck-strudion on whicl1 AurarnJ2ib
launched in 1670, created un openin;;( which Chhatrd Sc1l at
once seized. The llindu population of f)undell~hand dnd
the adjoining pro\7ince of Malwn tool:;! up urms in defence of
the altars of their gods. Tht'Y si;;(hed for a bold !cadet who
would repeat Champat's spirited defiance of the Mu~!hd!
Emperor and protect their reli1Gion. Chhatra Sal was, therefore,
hailed as the champion of the Hindu foith and Kshatriya
honour. Even Sujan Singh, the loyal Bundela I~ajah of llrchha,
sent him a secret message of praise and <;!ood wishe~.

6. Cfifiatra .Sal's wat witli Mugfial 60111:.'znmcnt.

"The news of Chhatrn Sal's ad\7ance (1671) was lill'alcful to
Bundela ea.rs.'' The rebels elected Chhatra S,1J as their leader
and the kin'i( of all the Bundelas, his a.rm\7 numbcrin!J 335
men. But he soon recei\7'ed large reinforcements. The hopc> of
plunder drew to his side vast numbers of recruits from this
martial tribe, especiallf, Champat's old folloWL'l'S in bl'igd1Kla!'iJC.
In the enrlier part of his career, Chhafra Sal's raidin!il nctl\7itics
wel'e mostly directed m;rainst the Dhanmni district and
the rich city of Sfronj which lay 65 miles west of it. He
looted the \7illages of these two re~Jions year after ycu1.
Successive Mughal faujclars of Dhnmuni tcsistcd him wHh
indifferent results.
In a short time Chhafra Sal's repeated sncccsses decided
the waverers. Ma111 other pett\7 chiefs joined him, nnd e\7en
Durjan Sal, the IIada usurper of Bundi, <i.llied himself with
the rebels of Bu11delfaband. Chhatrn Sal followed the Mal'atha
system of sparinq the places that paid him a blacl:<mail of
one-fourth of 1heir standard re\7enue (cfiautfi). As Auran1t1zib
became more and more deeply enlanqled in the Deccan1
 LA'I'ER LIPE or Ctlfl/\TI~ASAL BUNDCLA 429

Chhatra Sal c1chieved more brilliant triumphs, including the

capture of Kalinjar and Dhaniuni and the loot of Bhilsa.
The ramJe of his 1aids was 46reatly extended ; the whole of
Malwa from the Jamuna to the I~ajput border and the
Narmada was his happy huntin!J ground, and he became a
nuckus round which d!I lawless men of this ref,"lion assembled.
In March 1699, Sher A[bu1 Khan, the faujdar of Ranod
(70 m. n. of Sironj), marched aP,ainst him, and attacked him
near Suraj-Mau. After a severe battle, Chhatra Sal fled into
the fort, which the Khan besieged, but the Burtdela chief
escaped from it. Bui Chhatra Sat had his revenqe next year.
On Q4th April 1700 Sher Afkan Kl1an attacki:-d him near Jhuna
and Barna, slew dbout 700 of his men, and dispersed the
rest after woundinicJ Chhatrn Sal himself. But lhe Khan was
mortally wo11nded by a musket-shot.
In 1705 Firm: Jang induced the Emperor to make terms
with the frrepressible I:ittndda. Chhatra Sat was created a
4..,fia~al'i in the Mu>Jhal peet'ul;Je an<l induced to v'isit the
Emperor in the Deccan. I-Ierc he li\'7ed ln peace for a yeae
and a half, and !hen, on Au1anqzib's deutb, returned home
lo renew his career of independence.*

7. Tfit!! Gond Kingdoms and tfiefr relations uritli Ifie

Mug.fiats.
Gondwana covers much of ihe modern Central Pro\7inces,
and stretches on both sides of the Vindhya range. In the
northern half of this re~ion a great fainqdorn had been
established in the 16th century by the Gond I~ajah of Garha.
But Al<bal"'s qenerals dismembered the Rinqdorn and sadted
Its capitals Garha and Chaueagarh. The later Rajahs reigned
at ChauraSj;arh, with diminished power and territoryf ~md
rapidly "sanfa into obscurity in the middle of the 17th centur\!.
- .rf;;;fuil1~~-ChhatM Sal's later career, based LIPOll ori~inal Petslan <1nd
M11rnlhi sources. is 1,1iven in m'I' cditiou of Irvine's later Mugtir:lls, li. 227~41.
430 SIJO!ff IJIS'JOlN or ,\lJRANG7lll [rn. XVIII

The predominance umon~ the Gonds Ih)\V pas~cd to the

chief!:> of Dcogarh, in the Ct'nlre of Gondwana and south of the
Narmadu river. Some twentyfi\7e miles south of Lko!Jarh lay
Chanda, the seal of another Gond 1~<1jah, who wc1s the constant
enemy and ri\7al of the house of Deogarh. Thesc \Wl\' the only
Gond States th0t counted for .::i11ythirnJ in the reign of Aurall\l'z!ib,
and their accumulated treasure, hLrds of elephd11ts, and
colledio11s of ~ems locully quarl'ied, mucle them objects of
cupldit7 to the Mu!Jhul Go\7em111ent. 111 1637 a Mughul urmy,
released from operations in the Deccan, entered Gondwana,
le\7yin!il contributions from the local chiefs. It storll.1ed Nas;!pw,
the seat of the Deogarh I<ainh Kul~ia. The fort Wus restored
to him on bis promisin~ an annual tribute.
But the tribute fell into arrems, and in 1655 a MwJhal army
marched into Deoi;iarh territory r1nJ fmccd !he Rajah (Kesari
Singh) to mal<c an abject submission. The urrcdrs qrew to
15 labhs at tbc encl of 1666.
An imperial army under Dilir Khan marched into Gondwann
ln januar'l 1667. Manji Malar, the f<ajah of Chanda, had been
refrudor}1 alld done some acls of lawlessness. But on the
urrival of the Muljllrnl army ul Mandura on his frontier (Feb.
1667), he offered submission, and promised a war contribttUon
of one h.mre of Rupees and an annual tribute of two lul~hs.
Dilir Khu11 sl11';7ccl there for two months, durinl!! which he
rcaliie<l 77 lal~bs of Rupees out of the promised contribution.
Kuh. Sin!;Jh, the l<aj.:1b of Deoqarh, was fri!ilhtencd by the
fate of the Chanda chieftain. fle huLUbl'l Wdiled on Dilit Khan,
a1,Jreein!;J to pay three lnl<hs as line, anJ delJ\7el' 18 lal~hs
within a fixed period. I-le, however, did no! l~cep bis promis0 1
and in Am6ust 1669 Dilir Khan hnd to repeal his !11v11sion.
The Mu~hals overtan Deogarh. The Rajal1 with hls entite
famlly (two brothers and one sister) embraced Islam, , as the
price of restoration to his l~in5'i1dom, and on Q~th Mmch Dilir
Khan left Nas;mur for tlic ~outh.
 GOND RAJ/\IIS or Cl!ANDA /\ND m:oG4Wi 431

Bui lhe ilftitucle of the Gond Rajah was not changed with
his chan~c of religion under temptation. He continued
refr,1ctory. In March 1686, one claimant lo this State was
converted fo Islam with the title of Rajah Ba!~ht Buland and
jJ(\7Cll the throne. Ile lived to extend the area, power and
prosperit? of his l<imJclom very k1ri,rely, aHcl to give the 15reatest
trouble to Auran!ilr:ib in l/1e last fears of his reign.
Rrn1 Sin!Jh, the I<ajah of Chanda, was deposed in
Ociobcr 1683 and the throne lJiven to Kishan Singh. But
the old Rajah refused to yield possession to his rival.
So, a Mughal force unde-r Itiqad Khan entered his
capital on 2nd Nov. 1684 and installed Kishan Singh. This
l~ajah was succeeded by his eldest son, Bir Singh, in July
l696. In Auf,Just 1700 he was summoned to the Emperor's
cump a~ his tl'ibute had fallen into arrears. fie reached the
Emperor's army on 5Z7 April 1701 and paid one lakh into
ihe Berar trcusury.

8 8. Bafdit Buland, Gond l!ajafi of Deogarfi, asserts firs

independence.
ln June 169 l, Bal<llt Buland was deposed by the Emperor,
and the throne of Deo~arh was l.:liven to another Mttslim
Gond named Dindur. Bal<ht Buland, after being l~ept under
smveillance for some years, recovered his freedom (Aug. 1695)
b)7 >Ji\7i11~ se-cul'ity for his future co11cluct, though the Emperot
remad~ed, "lie will run away; !:wep a watch on him." Soon
,1fler this, trouble began again in Deogarh, Dindar proved
defiant, and a Mughal force with the help af the Chanda
Rajah Kishan Singh, captured Deogarh and drove Dindar into
lllght (March 1696), Kan Sin15h1 the second son of Kishan
Sin~h, secured the. thrnne of Deo1i1arb by htrninl6 Muslim
(under the narne of Rajah Nelmam). Bal<ht Buland now lost
all hope of his restoration. The titne was opportune for a
bold strol:ie, to fest fortune by a throw of the dice, as
4-q SllORT lllSTO!~\! OF AllfU\NGZltl [cu. X\ll!l
'-
Dco!Jarh and Chanda had both changed their rulers in the
same year (1696), and their new I~ajahs were mt>re lads. He,
therefore, slipped away from the imperial army, returned to
Deof6arh, and raised tile standard of rebellion with remarlMble
pertinacity, resourcefulness and success. The limperor, i11
impotent un!Jer, ordered his name lo be chunqed from Rak/it
Buland ('Fortunate') to Nagun Baldi! ('Lud~less'). The rebel's
activity spread over a wide arecl. Berar wus his nearest
huntincJ iground. A Jetachmenl from Pirm; JamJ's army
defealcd Bal<ht Buland and captured Deogarh (June, 1699).
The rebel escaped from his doomed capital and entered Mulwa
with a vast force ; he next occupied the liini;idom of Gadlc1
and 1estored Narendra Shah to his anccstrdl till'One, (July).
Bal<ht f:)uland in July sent f<s. 30,000 lo Cbhatra Sal with
a request to recruit a body of the fo.mous 13Ltndcla musfaetecrs
for him. In October, he sent two envoys to Rajararn in
Satara fort, to invlle hltn to Deogarh, in order lo create d
diversion in Aurang::ib's reat ; bul the Maratha l~inr,i declined
under the advice of his generals. Early in March 1701, Bal~ht
Buland and his uncle Nawal Shdh, the zamindar of Jam1:1arh,
in conced wiih 1hc Marnthas assembled <1 force of 4,000
troopet's and 12,000 infanlty, and altctcl~ed Ali Mardon Khan,
lhe lJOVcrnot of Bcrar, bul they were defoc1tt'd with r.1cat
slau!ilhler, Nawal Shah being billed and 113aliht Buland wounded.
Risinli{s by Bal~ht BL1lancl's Muslim ollies al'C reported in
February 170:3 (near lljjain under Abbas) ond January 1704
(unde1 Sayyid Abdul Qadir).
"During Babht Buland's reign the rich lands to tbe south
of Deo!;larh, between the Wuin~anga and Kanban dvers, were
sleadlly developed. Hindu and Muhammadan cultivators
we1e encourasied to seH!e in them on eqttul terms with Gonds,
until this region became most prospernus.'' Industrious settlees
frotn all quarters were attracted to Gondwana, many towns
and villuqes were fot1nded, and agl'icltlture, manufactures, a,nd
 Bi\Cl<WARD CONDITION OP l\l\SHM!R!S 433

e\7en commerce made considerable advances. On the death

of AurarnJzib, this Deogarh chief extended his hingclom ; the
Seoni district was ceded to him by Naw1dra Shah and he
also annexed the ll.ncient historical Gond principality of Kherla.
But the gl01y of Deo~arh departed on the death of his
successor Chand Sultan (1739), and the Maratha house of
Nagpur secured bis t~ingdom.

8 9. Condition of Kasfimfr undet tfie Mug.fiafs.

The Mui;ihal emperors treated Kashmir rnerel1 as a pleasure
resort. They did not try to improve the face of the land
or tht: condition of the people.
The common people of Kashmir were sunl< in tlle deepest
iqnorance and poverty ; many of the villagers Jived in
primitive simplicity and went about almost nahecl for want
of clothing ; they merely wrapped a blanRet round their
bodies for warmth. Lon~ distances and lad~ of rnads made
it impossible to import lilrain from outside, and every \7alley
lmd to be selfcontainecl in the matter of its food st1pply ; and
when n natural calamity lil~c flood or hea\7\? snowfall cut off
communications, the inhabitants perished helplessly of famine
in thousunds. The proV'ince was off the routes of the civili~ecl
world ; difficuliy of transport raised the cost of marl~etinq its
produce. The province had no local indushy. E\7en shawl-weavinl,J'
was mostly a Government monopoly, and the people earned
from it only the wages of dail'l labour at the State factories.
The fine Kashmir! paper was consumed only by the Court,
and made to order,
So bad~ward were the people in civ@mtion that even the
uppct classes of Kashmil'ls we<re deemed untlt to be emp1ored
in the imperial ser\71ce as mansabdars, till near the end of
Autansizlb's 1ei!l11 We learn that it was only in 1699 that
the Emperor was firs! induced b)? the then subafidat to
appoint people of Kashtnir as mansabdars. No Ka,shmitl Hindu
 434 SHORl' 111510RY OF AU!V\NGZill [en. xvm
gained any office under the Mui;ihal empire, and as for the
common Muslims of the pro'V'ince, if they were V'itlagers lhc'l
were despised as ignorant sa\7as;!es, and if townsmen as lyin~
tlattcrers and cowardly cheats, so that in Mughal India u.
Kashmiri came to be a by-word for a srnooth-spolwn ro<Jue.
Ii;inorance, po\7er!y, and the feudal organization of society,-
which l<ept the masses in c1 ser\7ile condition, also
accounted for their sale of the honour of their wh1es
and daughte>rs.
The ignorance of the people was only equalled by their
superstitiousness. A huge parasite class of Muslim saints and
their disciples flourished in this charming climate <ind exploited
the credulity of the people. In the cities (.)f K'.a.shmir, the
seda.l'ian bitterness between the Shias <llld the Sunnis often led
to fierce riotin!J and e\7en ci\7il war, Dnd the stromJ arm o[
the f,lo\7ernor (when he did not happen lo be the parlisun
of either sect) could only maintain an armed truce <imong the
local population. Quarrels between individual membe!'s of the
riva.I sects quid<bz pabsed into mass contlids ; the Sunni mob
of the capital, roused by the qa;:i's lmrnngues, plundered ulld
burnt the Shia quarter, and nrnssacrcd e\7ety Shia whom they
could catch. Sometimes there were pitched bottles in the
streets between \he armed rio!e,i-s and lhe lJ0\7ernor's troops.
E\7en the 'i7ice1oj7's residence was not safe from lhe Sunni
mob and soldiery, if he was suspected of harbourimi( any
Shia whom they wanted to lfneb.
The \71lla!ilcrs were half-nalted boors, li'V'imJ i11 abject po\7erbz,
i~norance, and filth. The townsmen, too, had nQ\ ,, much
happiel' lot. The sudden and dangerous Hoods to which the
lahe is subied, forced them to bLtild their homes in the cramped
hiqh ground abo'Ve the edqe of the ri\7et or lhe lal~e. The
frequenq of carthqual<c:s made il necessary for lheir hotts0s
lo be li!;lht wooden structures. The inlc11se cold of the- cotmll"'f
made fires nec:essal')? fn every household dny and ni1;,1ht. The
 CALAMITIES AND RIOTS IN Ii:ASHM!R 435

natural consequence of this chain of causes was thai conJ1aJiira..

lions were frequent, and when they brol<e out they sprea.d
from one end of the city to another, mal~ing a clean sweep
of these crowded human warrens of timber and grass.

10. i-l11ranga:ib's viceroys and triefr doings in Kasfimit,

In Amangzib's reign, there were twelv-e subahdars in

Kashmir during 48 years. The life of the pro\7ince \7aried as
the characters of its successive governors \!'aried. Some of
them, lil~e ltimacl Khan and Fazil Khan, administered justice
with great diligence and honoured learning. Others, liRe Saif
Khan, introduced inno\!'ations in the form of illegal exactions
to enrich themselves.
The long roll of natural calamities durini;! the half centur')?
of Aurarn6zib's reign includes two eatthquaRes (June 1669 and
1681), two conflagroUons of the capital (1673 and 1678), one
flood (1681), and a famine ( 1688). The most notable events
of \bis perocl in the history of Kashmir were Aurangzib's royal
progress throus;ih it ( 1663), of which Bernier has left a
~Jraphic account (wl\h a wrong date) and the conqLtest of
Greater Tibet (1666) whose ruler, styled Daldal Namjal in the
Persian chronicles, bowed to Islam.
In 1684 tooli place what was probably the worst tlli(ht
bdween the Shias and the Sunnis. The Hasanabad quarter of
Srinagar was a Shia stronghold. A resident of it named Abdus
Shcifaur ,md his sons had done some injury to a Sunni named
Sadiq. Their enmit')? grew into a long-standing quarrel. ln the
couise of it these Sbias publicly did some acts and made some
rernarl1s designed to insult the memory of the first three Khalifs
(who were usurpers, accordini:;( Lo Shta theology). The offenders
looli refuge with the go\!'ernor Ibrahim Khan. The qa,zf
Muhammad Yttsuf, in pious frensy1 roused the mob of the~
city and they set fire to the Hasanabacl quatier. Dur!nf;! the
riot, the gover~1or's son Fidai Khan came out to sttP,POl't the
 436 SllORT !ilSTOr<Y or AllRl\NGZrn [c11. xvm
men of f-Iasanabad, while the mob, strccJthened by- the Kabul
officers just returned from Tibet and some local mansabdill"s,
opposed him. Many were slain and wounded on both sides
and the mob rioted with terrible fury.
Ibrahim Khan, flncHm~ himself worsted in the contest, at
last handed Abdu~ Shalmr and other accused Shia!> over to the
qa:;:i, by whom Sha!mr and his two sons and one son~in-law were
put to death under canonicu.1 sentence. The Sunni rioters were
masters of the city and sad~ed the mufti's house, thowJl1 he
was a Sunni. Baba Qasim, the preceptor of the Shias, was
seized on the road and put to death with <lis>JTuce. Fidai
Khan rode out and slew a local leader of the Sunnis with
many of the mob. But in the meantime, Slialbh 13aqa Baba
had assembled a.nothel' crowd, and set fire to Ibrahim Kht1n's
mansion ! That governo1 then art'ested aml imprisoned Baqd
Baba, tho qazi, news-writer, and bal~bsbi of the province, and
the leading men of the capital. This stroni.J action cowed lhc
people into submission. Atuun~;;ib, on heal'ini;: of these
occurrences, removed Ibrahim Khan from the viceroyalt1 and
ordered the Sunni captives to be rdcased.
About 1698-99 an event happened which roused !he
reli~ious fcnmur of the Musllms to the point of ovel'flowini,1.
This was tbc bdnli(ing into the countty of lhc l'cpukd hair of
the Prophet Muhammad which Khwajah Nuruddin had seemed
in Bijaput\ and which was sent after the Khwajah's death to
Kashmk alon.g wlth his corrsc. The entfre Muslim populalic>n
poured out inlo the streets and open spaces, lo behold and to
touch the blessed relic.
Another incident, illustrntinlJ the gross crcdulit'l of lhe
people of Kashmir', tooR place in Mar 169Q, which in that
year was the Muslim month of fosUng U~ami;an). A stran1Je1
of some positio11 named Mfr Husain had come to Kdshmit" at1d
lalien up his t'esidence near ihe Tul~ht-i ..Sulaiman hill, where he
set up hls herm!taige. In the month of Ram::::an he prepared
 WEALTH AND TRADE OF GU)RJ\T 437

a !J1and illumino.tion in honour of the season. Most of the

people of Srina~Jar went there for excuesion and sight-seeing.
In the third quarter of the day such a \7'iolcnt storm of wind
rain thunder and lii;ihtning burst upon the place that the
whole cit\! was darl~ened as in the darkest night. It continued
so for some time, and then the people, bclieviniJ that the Sun
had set, broke their <.ia);"s fast. But after 2 or 3 hours the
tempest ceased, the Sun reappeared, and all felt themselves
befooled and disi:.;raced, for a Muslim can hardly commit a
greater sin than to eat anylhin\] in the day-time of the
month of Ram:oan. It is characteristic of the intellii;ience
and education of the people of the capital city of Kashmir
that all of them, high and low a!H~e, ascribed this abnormal
phenomenon to the magic art of that heretic hermit, The
"faith-defending, truthhnowirnt' Emperor believed in the charge
<.rnd ordered the mas;!ician to be expelled,

11. f'rttitaf, its ad11antag.eous position and divetsffled

population.
The wealth of Gujrat was 111ainl'? due to its handicrafts
and commerce. The former could flourish only in walled cities
ancl in the villai;(es ncstlinli( in their shelter. In commerce,
not only did its people, both Hindus and Muhammadans,
possess a nalural capacity surpassinlJ that of other natives
of India, but Gujrat enjoyed a position of exceptional
advnnla!i(e. All the merchandise of the rich inland districts of
Khanclesh, 13erar, Malwa and e\"en Upper India had to cross
Gujrat for shipment ab1oad. On the coast of this province
stand the lllteatest ports of India,-Bl'oach in f-Iindu times and
Surat in Musllrn. Gujral was, therefore, pl'e-eminenlly the gate
of India ln Mughal times, in respect of the outer Muslim wodd.
Thtough Surat passed the enormous volume of Muslim
pjJ~l'ims to the holy cHies of Arabia and of Shfa \1otaries to
the shrines of Najaf and Karbala. Travellets, merchants,
438 Sf!O!H 111'1'1\WY Ol' /\llUANG7lf ', [c11.XVll!
sd1ol<1rs1 fortune huntel's, and politic,11 rcfttr,iees from Persia,
Arttbiti, 'l'Llrl~cy, faJVpt, 7.a.n~ibar tlnd C\7Cll Khurasan and
B<lrb<uy U!k:d to enter f11dia thtomJh the Gujrat ports
by lhe short, comfortable, cheap and U$ttally sl1fc 'ocean
hl1Jhway, while Ilic lc1nd route acmss the Sulalcnan and
llindu Kush rarnJes fell into 1Jrowinl,( neglect.
Tbi5 1Jco1Jrapbical advantage has given Gujrat a very
composite population and a large forci<JII str0i11 frnrn ve1y
curly times, especially the fit'e-wotshippin~ Persians and that
branch of the Ismailia heretics of Islam who are popularly
!mown as I3ohras as well as lhe unodhoclox sect of Mahda1,7is.
'fl1csc and otbcr cmi<Jrant duns or fam1lles along wilh the
remnants of the Muslim tribes that hi:ld held sway over the land
befor<'! the cominq of the Muqhals, have given an unparallellcd
diversity to the racial complexion of the p1ovince. On the
llindu side the population ls even less hornolifctlcoLts ; there were
in the frini;re aeeas of Gujl'al in the 17th cc11lmy man' primitl11e
l'i:'\ces not yet broken Lo ci\7ilization nnd orderly political
life1 such as the Ko !is (in the south). tltc Hhils in I3a1;dana
(southt'.a.st), the wild Rujpnls and pscudoI~ajpl!ts ln thl':
eastern frontier, and the pre<li\loty Grasias scattered !hrnu!Jh"
out the ptovincc, besides th(? Kathis of the west. Thc~e were
an evet present me1wce lo the peace of the country. To
them were added in Aura11gzib's rello(n another MCC of
disturbers, the Murathas, who at last swept MU!ihnl rule out
of the pro'Yince.

1Q. 601;emors of 6ajmt ttndel' Aumrzg:;;ib.

Durins.T Aurani;r>::ib's reili$U of 50 fears Gt1jrnt was JJ0\1erned
fot him by twelve 11kero'lS, of whom Mahabat Khan (6 rc.:its,
1662-166 8), Md. A.min Khan (10 years, 1672-168 2), Shujaet
K!1a11 (17 years, 1684---1701), and Prince Md. Aidm (4 yca!'s,
1701-1705) ruled the province lon9est. In the remaininli( 15
years there were as many as ei!Jhl Sltbahdars.
1706] MARA1'f!1\S INVADE GUfRll.T 439
'
Oujl"al had an e\7il reputation for famines in the middle
a!Jes, and the rei!,in of AuranfJzib was no happier in this
respect. We read of famines in 1681, 1684, 1690-91, 1695-96
and 1698. In 1681 there were bread-riots in the capital.
The drought of 1696 \\?'as so terrible that "from Palan
to Jodhpur t10 water nor blade of grass could be seen."
In addition to these natural calamities, pestilence desolated
many of the cities, lingel"init for years together in them.
Among the noteworthy public disturbances was the o\7erflow
of the Rajpnt war across the northeastern frontier of Gujrat
(1680) when Bhim Singh the son of Maharana Raj Singh
raided IJadmuJar, Vishal11aga1 and some other rich cities.

13. !Ylamtfia intmsion of fiajrat, 1706.

The greatest disaster that the Marathas inflicted on the
En1pcror's troops occurred ca!'ly in 1706, during the intel'val
between the departure of Prince Aeam from Ahmadabad
(25 Nov. 1705) and the arri\7al of Biclar Bal<ht there (30 Iuly
1706). The Marafhas under Dhana Jada\7 took prompt ad\7antage
of lhis defenceless condition of the pro\7lnce for the time being.
1-\t Ratanpur (in Rajpipla), the two di\7isions of the imperial
troops were signally defeated one after the other by Dhana.
Two of their chiefs, Safda1 Khan Babi and Nazar Ali Khan,
were captueccl and held to ransom; tht!ir camps were looted,
<md lanJe numbe1s of MLtsalmans perished ot were tal<en
capll\l'e, {J5 March, 1706).
When Abdul Iiamid Khan (the deputy gotrernor) himself
attitrcd wffh ?tnothei atmy, his small force was surrounded
by the cxullanl victors neat the Baba Piara ford, all the chiefs
Including the deputy governor himself were taken prisoner,
and their entire camp and baggage plundered. Then the
M.:.wathas levied cfiaatfi on the sutrounding country and
retired after plundering the towns and villaqes that failed
to pa'l it. The Kolis had tal~en advantaqe of these disorders
 440 SI!ORT !llSTOf<Y OJ l\URJ\NGZJJl (cu. XVlI!

to rise and sac!< the rich trading centre of Baroda fol'

two days.

14. Religious persecation of tfie !3ofJra and Klioja sects.

A spiritual quide of the Isnk1illa sect iwmed Qutb had
been put to death by ordc'l' of l\urdnl;!zlb early in his rchJn.
In '1705 the Emperor, learninq lhat Klianji, thl' head of the
Ismailia sect and successor to Qutb, !Jt'd ~ent twelve en1issnrics
(dais) who were sccretl'l perver!in!J Muslims to this hcresr,
ordered the twelve tnt'll and certain other members of tltis
communit'l to be drrested and sent to him under careful !Jllard,
with the moner collcctC'd by them dnd the ~bely and odd holi
bool~s of their faith. This was done. Al the same time orthodox
leucbers were appointed by- lhe Strdc to educ-at(' thL' children
and illitcmtc peoplc of the Bohrds in t've1y \7illMJC dnd city
in Sunni doctrines illlll p1uctkcs. Their mo>que~ had been
co1wcrtcd to Sunni usa~e carli er in the rchJ11.
Another braocb of these sccldries, called f(fio;~1s in
KathiilW<id ,1nd Mumins (or Matias) in Oujr<1l, consisted
mostly of Ilindus converted to lsldm by <t sainl lldtncd S,wykt
lmanNtddln, whobe tomb <.\l Karmdl<lh (9 miles outside
Ahmadabad) was their chid sbl'ine. Thc)1 pd\cl idot,\trous
<\doration to their spiritu<1l 1Juide1 l~isslniJ his toes and hei.'\pitHJ
up gold and silver on bis fr'd, while ht' s,1t in 1oy<tl splendour
behind a scl'een Md they supported him by a 1'c1Jular volunt,uy
tax of one~tcnth of thc\t annuul lt1conw. At1ral1li{i!ill ordered
Ille at'l'est of their spiritual hl'ad, S<tyykl Shahji. The mun killed
himself by poison on the way, but hb so11 1 ,1 boy of lwd\1'e,
was sent to Attran~i!ib. At this all his followers in Oujrut ro~c
lo w1ea!~ \7engeance on the Sl{o'Vcl'nt?t", sayiu\'.l that he had
murde1ed iheb l'eligious head. They fottqhl qtld hilled the
faujdar of Broach, captured that city, and held it in a body
4,000 stron~ (Oct. 1685). The' subahcl~\1' ~1ftcr a lonQ siege
recovered the fort and butchered the fanatics within it.
 CHAPTER. XIX
AUI~ANGZIB'S CHARACTER AND THE EFFECT
OF HIS REIGN.

1. Peace Ifie root-cause of India's ptospel'ity.

To all outer observers the MuiJhal empire seemed to have

nttained to its hiiJhest splendour and power when Aurangz::ib
nsccnded the throne of Delhi. "The wealth of Ind" had
become proverbial ln far off countries, and the mac;inificence
of the Court of ihe Great Mughal had "dazzled even eyes
vvhicl1 were accustomed to the pomp of Versailles." And
when a trained administrator and experienced general like him,
who was also a puritan in the simplicity and putity of his
private life, succeeded to the li!Uidance of this l'ich heritage
in lhc fulncss of his ph)?sical and mental powers, all people
hoped that he would cany the emril'e to unimafJinable heights
of gl01y. And yet the result of AuratH;i;:db's Jong and
sfrcmuous rcil!ln was utter dissolution and misery. The causes
of this sfrani;re phenomenon it is the dut)? of the historian to
investigate.
In a warm, moist and fertile country: like India,-where the
!.:wish bount\? of Nalme speedil)? repairs the ravaqes of hostile
man and beast, of inclement sun and rain,-orde1' is the root
of n~1tional life, in an even lilreater degree than in other lands.
Gil.Yen peace without and the spirit of pro~ress within, the
Indian people can advance jn wealth, strength and civili"Eation
with a 1'apidity ri\7alled only b)? the marvellous !ilrowth of
their veqetation after the fh'st monsoon showers. A century of
stl'Onq and wise government under Akbar and his son and
SJrandson had SJi'Ven to the richer and more populous hJ:tlf of
442 SHORT lf!Sl'ORY OF l\URJ\NOZ!ll [ell. XIX

India such peace and impulse to imprnvement. A hundl'ed

victories since the second Panipal had taught the fnclian world
to bclie\l'e that Mu<;:hal urms were itwincible and Mw~hal territoty
inviolable. Shi\l'aji brolw this spell. Mughdl pc,1ce--tlK' sole
justification of the Mughal empire-no loni;;er existed in India ul
Anrang;:ib's death.
In a preclominantlf agricullural country lihc India, the tillcr5
of the soil arc the only source of nu.tiono.1! wealth. Directly
or indirectly, the land alone adds to the "arn1ual Hdlionul stoch."
Even the craftsmen depend on the pcasnnts and on the men
enriched with the lnnd re\7enue, for the sule of their goods,
and if the latter hn\7e not enou<Jh foodstuff lo spare, they
cannot bu\! any hanclicraft. Hence, lhc ruin of the IX'asunts ,
means in India the ruin of the non-agt"icullural classes too. Pm1t11e
pa:;sa11s paa17te toyaume, is CV'en h-uer of Inclia thttn of
France. Public peace and sccut'ity of property arc necessary
not only fol' the peasant and the dt'tistt11, bttl also for the
trader, who has to carry his !Joods 0\7CI' wick disl,mcc? ancl
Qive lon<J creclits before he can find t"\. profitable mad~el.
Wealth, in the last rcsorl, can nccumttlatc onh from sa\7il11Js
out of the peasant's production. Whak'VN lowers the
pca~onl's productive powe1 or destroys his spirit of thrifl by
creatht!J insecurity uboul his property, thereby pre\7ents the
i,;rowtb of national capitnl and impairs the economic staying
power of the cot111!1y. Such are the universal and laslim~
effects of disorder and public insccurily in lndin. And the
reiqn of Awan!ilzib atTords the most slriliir~ illustration o[
this lrttth.

2. l;'conomi(: dtai11 of Aatang.tdb's ceaseless wm1ate.

The economic drain caused by Au1an1,1zib's qual'ler century
of wal'fate in the Deccan was appalling in its character and
most far-reachinq and dt11able in its effects. The opet'alions
of the imperial armies, especially their numerntts sici;tes, led
!707] DCPOPULi\l'!ON AND RlllN OF J\OR!CULTU~p 4-t3
to a lolal dcstrudion of forests and iJ!'ass. The huge Mugbal
forct's, totallin<;? 1,70,000 trnops accordin@ to the official records ,,
with pcrhu.ps ten times that number of non-cotllbatants, soon
ale l1p C'\7erythin!i( ~Jrecn wherel7er they mo\7ed. In addition,
thC' Maratha raiders destroyed whatever they could not carry -'
off,~-fceclin<i lhei1 horses on the standing crops, and burning
the houses and properly too hea'Yy to be retno\7ed. Hence,
it is no wonder that when at last in 1705 Aurangzib retired
after his Inst catnpaign, the countr1 presented a scene of utter
desolatio11. "Ile left behind him the fields of these p1017inces
d.;:void of trees and bare of crops, their places being laRen
byr the bonl!s of men and beasts." (Manucd). This total and
cxlcnsivl~ c\efotestalion had 11 mos[ injLtrious effect on agricttllute.
The i111<mciu.I exhaustion of the empire in these endless wars
left Go\7crnmen[ and private owners a(ilw too poor to repair
tlw buildings ,1nJ roads 1vorn out br the !apse of time.
Tl1e labouring population SL1ffoi-ed not only from violent
capture, foeccd labour, and star17ation, but also from epidemics
whicl1 were v-ery frequent dul'lng these campaigns. Even in the
imperial camp, where greater comfor!, securit'l and d\"ilization
miv,ht ha\7e been expected, the dtl\lttal wa.stage of the Deccan 1
\vats was one lctl~h of men, and three lakhs of horses, oxen,
camds and elephants. At the siel;Je of Goll<onda (1687) a
fominc b!'ofac out. "rn Haidarabad cit'? the houses, river
and plain were filled with lhe dead. The same was
the condition of the imperial camp ...Kos alter tms
the efe fell only on mounds of corpses. The incessant
tain melicd away the flesh and sRin ..... After some months
when the rains ceased, the white rids;tes of bones looked from
a distance lit.le hills of snow." The same desolation ovel'tool<
tracts whlch had hilhelio enjo1ed peace and prospel'ity. 'fhe
acute observ-cr Bhimsen writes about the Eastetn Karnata.R, ,.
"Durtn~ the rule of the Bijapur Goll<onda and Te!inga ldynas
ties] this countnz was extensively cultivated. But now tttanv
-144 SHORT HISTORY OP AURANOZI!\ [CH. XIX

places huve been turned into wilderness on account of the

passage of !he imperial armies, which has iutlictcd hardship
and oppression on the people." And he noticed the same
thing iI 1 Berar also.
In 1688, Biiapur was visited by a dC'solating epidemic of
bubonic plague, which is estimated to lrnvc canicd off a
hundred thousand lives in three months. So, loo, we read of
a plague in Prince Az:am's camp in Aug. 1694. The English
factors at Surat rcrort similal' devastating epidemics throughout
Western India in 1694 and 1696 (when 95,000 men perished).
1 To tal<I.:' one example only, the drought ancl plague of 1702--04

l<illed two millions of men. In addition to disease, !Jt'eat

natural calamities lil~e flood, drought and cxcessi\7c and un-
seasonable rainfall were frequent in 1he Deccan at the bcgin-
ninll! of the 18th century, which ulJ'QTavated the sufferinqs of
invaders i\nd naiives uliht~ and still further reduced the popu"
lation. The stale of war, spread over nearlr a 1Ji:nerution of
time, had left no savings, no power of resistance in the com-
mon people ; everythin~ tlley produced or had stored ttp
was swept aw,w by the hordes on both sides, so that when
famine or drous;:ht came, the peasants and landless lubou1crg
pedshed helplessly lil<e tlies. Scarcity- was chronic 111 the
imperial camp and often deepened into famine. The former
1emarl:w.ble cheapness of ~rain now became a fonJottcn myth
in many parts of India.

,:>,.,. In/ut"S! to tmde and industt;i bJ? wat, disordeL~

and officfal e.xactfons.

There beinq in many places no peace or safety for !illaSJe;

the starving and exasperated peas.;tnhy tool< to hiqhwt\y
~"'1,

robbery as the only means of li"i115J'. In the Deccan they

15athe1ed arms and hot'ses and used to join the Marathas in
their raids, Raid in~ bands were, also, locally formed, which
 l>fSORDEr~ AND EC0NOM!C ImIN 4-15

<Ju\7C cmploymcnl to manf and chances of glorf and wealth

to lhe more spirited among the villal6ers. Trade almost ceased
in the Deccan during this unhappy quarter century. Cara\7ans
could lra\7c! south of the Narmada only under strong escort;
hence, they had to wait in the fortified towns for months
before they could (Jet an opportunity of ad\7ancing further
towards theit destination in safety. We even reud of [he royal
mail and baskets of fruits for the Emperor's fable being held
up for five months at the Narmada by Maratha dbturbanccs
in the roads befond it.
Even where war was not ragin!6 (as in Beniifal), the
weafaening of the central Go\7ernment emboldened pro\7incial
i:,iovernors to disregard imperial prnhibitions, and to make
money by fotdng lifoods from traders at absurdly low prices
and then selling them in the public marls, and also by
exactini,: fot bidden abwabs from craftsmen and merchants.
!See lll'f Mugfial Admi11fsttafio11, Ch. 3.] In the absence of
secul'ity al home and the imposslbility of mafaing purchases at
distances, arts and crafts ceased to be practised except in the
walled cities. Village industries and industrial classes almost
died out. The Madras coast, for instance, with its teeminfi!
wcal>'ing population, wtis so unset!led by the Mu!Jhal-Maratha
sh'WJ!Jle for the Karnatal~ (1690-1698) ihat the English and the
French factors found it difficult to get enot1<;1h clothes for loading
theit Europe-igoin1;1 ships. Thus ensued a great economic
impoverishment of India--not only a decrease of the "national
stock", bL1t also a rapid lowering of mechanical shill and
standard of d\"'ilisatlon, a disappearance of art and culture
over wide h'acls of the country.
The MLtl,?hal soldiers on their march often trod down the
crops, and thouqh the Emperor had a speclal body of
officers for compensatituJ the peasants fo1 :this loss (pafmalf,.
f~:;.al'alt), bis financial difficulties led to the ne~lect of this
1bumt\ne rnlc. The worst oppressots of the peasants, howe~er1
446 SllORT llISTOI~Y OF AUl~ANGZil:l [cu. XIX

were the tail of the army- the vast nondescript horde of

servants, clay labourers, dmv1~ri5es and olbcr va1Jrants who
followed Aurun!J;;ib's "mo\7in!J city of tents" in the hope of
pid~in!J up crnmbs where such u crowd had gathered together.
Particularly the Bcluchi cdmehw.rners who hi1ed out their
animals to the army, and \he unattc1ched Afghans searcbitHJ
for employment, plundered and beat the country pcopk~ most
mercilessly. The banjacas or wanckrinl;"! i;irain-dealcr tribe,
who mo\7ed in bodies, sometime~ of 5,000 men, each with
his couple of bulloct~s loaded with gr<Jin, were so strong in
their strength of numbers and contempt for the rc1ty officers
of Government, that they sometimes looted the people on the
wayside and fed their cattle on the crops in tlw fields, with
impunity. E\7en the royal mcsscn!Jers kullcd mewmtis in
Gujrat) who carried Govcrnmenl letkrs, l'l'ports of spies, and
basl<ets of ftl1its for prcst'nlation to the EmfX'l'OL', used to
rob the people of the villafJC'S they passed by-. In the fraili
of the Maralha soldiers appcdred tlw Bcrads <UJd even the
Pindaris-who were brigands pure and simpk.
Then, there were the k1nd~slcwards of l'ivnl iu!Jirdats, --
the inrnrnin!J and the oul~ioing of the same \7illc1w~. Undc1
the plea of the 11e\7cr-to~lx s.:itistkd c11'rcurs of rcverrne, the
late Jalilirdar's collector tried to squeeze lWctythin~ oul of lhe
peasantry before he !cf(, and cvt'n continued to sla'i?' in the
village for some months after the anlval of his successor.
And the newcomcr, in orde1 nol lo sl<1t'vc himself, passed
the half-dead peasants throuf;lh his fiscal li(rindltuJmill.

4. BanKr:uptcy of Mur1fial (ro1rcm111ent.

The English conquest of India was of u pulsolory
charader ; "it was achieved not by an uninlerrnplcd snccc%ion
of advances, but each WJi1t'essivc !J0\7emo1-1;Icneral was
followed by a pacific economical non-inter\7entionist, A
Warren I-las\infJs filled the financial void created by the 'ffi.11'5
 l'INANC!AL l~lllN or MUGl!AL EMPJRJ: 447

of Clive and Vansiltoll, and laid lhe basis for the mil1ta1y
expansion of a Wellesley, while the bankruptcy caused by
Wellesley's freniy of conquest was repaired by the recupera-
tion of a sober plodding Barlow or Minto. The paclfic
Bentincl~ undid the ravages in the Treasury made by the
bellicost' Marquis of Jiastin~s an<l Eatl of Amherst. Not so
Aur<1ng1::lb. Ever since 1679, whe11 he emba1ked on the
spoliation of the hinl;ldom of Marwar, his rei!Jn was one
long warfare. Ile did not realize the necessity of intervals
of peace and retrenchment, which would !Jive breathing lime
to his subjects, recoup the losses of war, and lay by a reserve
for future wars. lie soon ran through his current revenue,,
the yield of the new tax (ja:;:iya) imposed on the Hindus in
1679, and e\7en the accumulated treasures in the vaults of A!ii'ra
and Delhi forts.
Thus, the last tcser\7e of the empire was exhausted, and
public banlm1ptcy became ine\1ilable. The salaries of the
soldiers aud civll officers alil<e fell into arrears for three years.
The men, starl7il1>6 from lad< of pay and the exhdustion of
their credit with the local grocers, sometimes created scenes
in the Emperor's Court, sometimes abused and beat their
i;!cncral's business manager. The lmpel'ial Government made
recl<kss promises of money i;Jrant and high command to "
every enemy caplain who was induced to desert and e\7et'f
tnemy qilmlar who was persuaded to surrender his fort
It was nol humanly possible to l<eep all of these promfses.
The result w~1s that th<~ entire land in the empire pro\1ed
insufficient for the total amount of javir needed to satisfy the
dues of all the officers included in the swollen armyAist.
E'ilcn when the jJrants of land in lieu of salary were drawn
up by the Pai: Office, they remained for 1ears as mere orders
on paper, the actual deli\7ery of the \7illa!Jes to fhe iJranlees
bein>J impossible. The inter\1al between the order and the
actl1al possession of the jagii:, it was sarcastically said, WqS
 448 SliORT ll!STOI<Y OF AURANozm [cf!. XIX
lonf5 enou!Jh to turn a boy into a iJrey-beard. E\1cll a minor
Marath.:i hill-fort cost on an average Rs. 45,000 in cash lo
tal~e it by bribing its qiladar, and lhc Emperor mi>Jhl well
despair of taMn<J all of them <ll this rale. And yet he
obstinately went on capturing for! after fort bi hca\7y bribery
or by regular sieges which \\7ere ten tinws more costly.
The spirit of ihc Mu!Jhal army in !he Deccan was at las!
utterly brol<en. The soldiers !Jrew sic!~ of the enclless and
futile war,' b11t Auran<J2lb would listen to no protest or
friencll\! advice. Even his P,ri'.:lnd wa;;il' Asad Khnn, who had
\7enturecl to suggest that now thnt Bijapur and Gollwncla had
been conquered he had no more worl~ lo do t1lld might as
well retum to Delhi, 1eceived a sharp reprimand, "I wo11der
that a wise old ser\7m1t lihe you bas made such a rcqucsLSo
long a~ a sil1l~le brealh l'C'mains in !his mortal body, there is no
release from labour." A >Jrneration of impedul followers i:Jrew
up in lhc Deccan who had never entered a cil')! 01 house of
bric!~ or stone, but passed all their lives in tents, rn,1rching
from one encampment lo another. The l<ajput soldier~
complained lhat their rnce would not be abk to serve the
empitc in the next iJenc1ation, as they had to pass their [if(
ii111e in the Deccan camptligns, wilhout ~Jeltin~ any rl'spltc for
.s;ioin~i home c\nd reat'i!HJ l1p children. Ont' home-sich. noble
offered the Emperor <1 bribe of one lal~h of I<upees for
transferring hiin lo Delhi l
,' I'
v/ 5. Admfnisfra/f1le decline arzd public dl\'ftttbat1Cl!S.
;rhe inflated cxpencliturC' <1.nd incess,,nt w<.\l'farc in the
Deccan aclvel'sel'l reacted on the situation in Nor them Indk\.
The older, and more settled peaceful and prosperous provinces

____________
of the empire were dtained of their manhood, wealth, .:incl
_...,_ ............... ~ ......... ----~..--- ...
 MUGHAL l\DMINISTRATION Bl~EAI<S DOWN 449

talent. Their best soldiers, highest officers, and all their

collected revenue were sent to the Deccan, while the subabs
of llindustun were henceforth left to be governed by minor
officers with small contingents and incomes quite inadequate
for maintaini ni;i vicerer;!al authority. All classes of lawless
men belj1an to raise their heads in the north as well as in the
south, though la!et and more fitfully in Hindustan than in
the Deccan. The proud ;;amindars, whose grand-fathers had
been rulin<J princes before the coming of the Mughals, the
Afghan families settled in \7arious districts (especially Ben.\!al,
Jaunpur, Malwa, Allahabad and Nodh Orissa) and still
drearninq of their lost empire in India, claimants to principali-
Hes dispossessed by order of Aurangz:ib, predatory tribes like
the Jat peasantry west of Agra and the Mewatis south-west of
Odhi, and turbulent Ra\put villa!lers like the Bais of Oudh
and the lljjainlas of South Bihar,-all rose in defiance of the
Government and bei;ran to lay hands on their weaker
neighbours. The local viceroys could not cope with them,
for, their income, inadequate even on paper for their heavy
dutles, was acfui.111)! dwindling very fast. The general unrest
naturally caused a falling off in the rent collection from the
peasants. It is difficult to imagine a S'ZStem more rulnous to
the peasants and therefore in lhe lonq run more harmful to
the State also, than the actual adminishation of Mughal
jawirs. rt ended in a mad lootln~ of the peasants by
ri\7al jaSJil'dat's' agen1'i> or successhre agents of the same
jas;iirdar. "There is no hope of a jaqir being left with the
same officer next year. When a jagirclar sends a collector
to his ja~ir, he first tafaes an <'ldvance from !he latter
by way of loan. This collector, on arrivin!if in 1he 'Villaqe,
fearins;l lest a second man who had given a larger loan to the
jai;rirdar wa~ following (to supplant him), does nol hesitate to
collect the rent with evety oppression. The ryots h.:we ~Iven
up cultivation ; ihe jas;lirdars do not get a penny." (Bhimsem).
29
 450 Sl!ORT Il!STOl~\C OF AllRl\NOZHI [c11. XIX

The same ruinous policy was followed in n.~\7enue collection

in the Crownlands. [See my Studies in JY!tigfial India, ~23.]
/'thus, cl vicious circle was formed : political disorder (lo
~/which we must add u wron@ system of land cldrninbtrnlion)
led to less and bs money coming from the jai,:irs ; this
diminished income lorced the !J\)\7crnors to l~eep tewe1 <.11H.J
fewer troops in their pay ; the decrease in their anued slrenl)th
encoura~ed fJreute-r lawlessne~s amon\; the people, from which
follOW('d <1 further impoverishment of the peasant~ cUld falltn\)
off in the land revenue.
War was the only occupu.tion of the l~ajputs and indeed of
all the Hindus who claimed to belong to th(' Kslwtriya cask'.
The MufJhal reace estabHshed in nortlwrn India liad left lo
them chances of employment only in the tri'.\ns.frontlcr reiJions
on the wc&t ot in the stiH Ltusttbducd parts of the Dcccdn.
Rajputs had fous;iht tttH.lcr the impcriul bunncr in Cenl1al Asitl.
and Qunduhdr. But in Auranl;12:ib's rei!Jn Mt11Jhal military
activity was contr<lcted within the frnntic1s, thott1Jl1 Kabul was
still a part of his enipire. llis .;i,miexation of the re111ainin1J
Deccan principalities caused unemployment amonl;t the l~ajpuls
in two wars,-flrst because he wus u11de1 the necessity of
li)'ivinfJ employment to the mc1stcrless local troops of the sub.
verted monarchies, and secondly bec.iuse fowc r lcrritorics wen~
now left for him to conquer. (n lhese circum~tunces aspiri1116
scions of Rajput houses coukl only ftghl with their l~insfolh
for theh' ancestrnl "homes", ta.lie to robbery, ot apostatize in
or<ler to get 16rants of estates from Atll'anqztb.

6. Decay: of !ndian cfvili.'<::atloa undi?t 1-Iura11ru~ib,

lts causes and signs.
The refro>.$1'cssio11 of medireval Indian dvlli~ation ut1der .
Auranq:e!b is noticeable not onl'? in the decline of the fine
.at'ts, but still more in the low tntcllcctual type of the new
 HOPCLI:SS DECLINE OF ClV!LliA1'10N 451

~Jenerdtion. As the 17th centur'l wore on, the older nobllit'l

nourished on the manly traditions of Akbar and Shah Jahan,
~ifled \\7ith i;;realcr independence of spirit, and trained with
<;:realer resources and responsibility,-filraduall)! died out, and
their places in camp and Court were tal~en b'l smaller men,'
supplied wilh poorer resources b\? H1e suspicious Aurangzib,
afraid lo exercise responsibility and initiati'i'e, and seekiniJ to
ad\7ancc themselves by sycophancy. The exceptionally pro-
longed life of Aurang:::ib with its ever increasiniJ store of
experience and information, tnade him intellectually dwarf the
younger generc1tion. His self-sufficiency and obstinac'l increased
with u!JC' ; till at last none dared to contradict him, none could
<~ive him honest advice 01 impart unpleasant truth. With the
lad~ of leisure amidst the incessant warfare and rough camp~
lHc in the fox off South, the cultuee of the aristocrac'l deca'led,
and, as the nobles set the tone to society, the whole of the
inlclleclual classes of India steacllly fell back to a lower
1e\Td. A coarse }afar Zatali tool~ the place of a chaste Pai:ri for
their delectation.
The !Jrowinq pessimism of the older men, which we find
n'flecled in the letters and anecdotes of the time and e\7en in
lhe wodts of thoughtful historians, bears witness to the moral
decay of the \l'0\7t'rni11g classes. It was too deep and roo
sincere to be set aside as an example of the familiar oriental
habit of ima!Jinin!J a golden age in the past and looking down
uron the present generation as the deJ6enerate successors of
their !Jlodotts ancestors. The historii'ms Bhimsen and Khafl
Khan were strnd1 by the hopeless change for the worse that
had seized the Indian world and looked wistfully back
(\t the virtues and glories of the me11 of the times of Akbar
and Shah Jahan. We find the aged Aurangi:lb himself dolefully
shal<inrJ his head over the prospect oi the future and predicting
a deluqe after his deafh. It is true, as Sa<lullah remarked in
reply to a pessimist, "No a~e ls without men of ability, What
452 SllORT lllS'JOf~Y OJ ALWl\.NGZm !c11. XIX
is needed is a wise master to find them out, cherish them, r.et
his worl~ done b'l them, and never lend his ears to the
whispers of selflsh men against such offtce1s." But this wise
principle was not followed in Aumnr,zib's ldtter re.:irs, @d it
was altogether discarded by his successors. Career was
not freel1 opened to talent. The public ser\7'ice was not
lool<ed upon as a sacred trust, but as i1 means of <Jrulifyin!J
the apostate, the s1cophunt, the well-groomed d<tndy, tl1c !Jrcat
man's hinsmcn, and sons of old offici<tl families. Bi1Jolty 11nd
narrowness of outloot~ under Amangzib and vice and sloth
unckr the later Mughals, ruined the adminblration of the
empire and dragged down lhe Indian people alon!J with the
fatlin!J empire.

7. Mota/ degenemtio11 of t/3e JY!ar7hal adrtocra(v.

This mol'al decay was most noticc:dblc amo11J6 the nobilit?
and it produced the greatest mischief. The character of the
older nobility in the late 17th century was dt>ploruble. In a
mean spirit of jealousy they insulted and thwnl'!ed "new 111cn"
drnwn from the ranRs and ennobled fc)!' 111l' mosl brilliant
public sl'rvices, and yet they tbcmsel\7es had 1Jrow11 utlctlv
worthless. We have a si!ilnifkant example of Uw moral
.'clelilencration of the Mughal peerage. The prirnc minister's
grandson, Mir<!c:t!iTafokhfahu1 used to sally fodb from his mansion
in Delhi wilh: his ruffians, plunder the shops in the bazar,
kidnap Hindu wcHnen passinlil throttSilh the public sl1'eds in
litters 01 li/OiniG to tlw ri\'.'cr, and dishonour them ; and yet
there was no jud!ifc strong cnotu;-ih to punish him, no police
to pte11ent such crimes. "E\7ery time such an occL1ri:~mcc was
brought to the Emperor's notice by- the news-letters or official
reports, be 1efcncd it to the pdmc minister mid did nothing
mol'e."
All the surplus produce of a fertile land unJer a most
bounteous Pro11idence was swep~ into the coffcrs of the
 Dt:GENERACY OF MUGr!AL NOBILITY 453

Mughal nobility and pampereJ them in a degree of luxury

not dreamt of eV'en by kings in Persia or Central Asia. Hence,
in the houses of tlie Delhi nobility luxur'l was carried to an
excess. 1'11e hctrems of man'l of them were filled with immense
numbers of women, of an infinite variety of races, intellect
and chatacter. Under Muslim law the sons of concubines
arc enli!lcd to their patrimony equally with sons born in
wcdlod~, and they occupy no inferior position in society.
Even the sons of lawfull'l married wives became, at a
Precocious age, familiar with vice from what they saw and
heard in the harem, whHe their mothers were insulted by the
hi!i!her splendour ond inlfoence enjo-qcd in the same household
by ymmgcr and fairer rivals of servile orlqin or easier virtue.
The prottd spirit and majestic dignity of a Cornelia are
impossible- in the crowded hat'em of a polnamist ; and without
Comclias among the mothers there cannot be Gracchi amon!(!
the sons.
b
Th~r.~--'R~S no good edLtcation, no practical training, of the
son~~, of the i\fugh:;l~1obllity~-They w~;;;-. t;~-~;~~h-p~tteclby
~U~Ltch~ ".;n~( ;;~ici:;;:-.;;;ts and P&ssecl !hrnuqh a sheltered life
from birth lo manhood, e\7ery thorn being removed from
their path br attendants. Earl'l familiariz:ed with '\"ice, softened
in their fibres b'l pleasure, they were yet tauqht to have an
inord!nalely hi~h opinion of thefr own wealth and importance
in the scc1le o{ cr{'ation. Thelt domestic tutors were an
unhappy class, powerless to do any ~ood exc;pt by leave of
their pupils, btow"beatcn b'l the eunuchs ~with the support of
the ladies of the harem), disobeyed b'l ihe lads themsel\7es,
a1id forced to culti'Vate the arts of the courtier and the sneal~
or to thrnw up their lhanRless offlce. The free !jl'i'Ve and taRe
life in a pttbllc school (which hardens character and al the
same time rema\7es its angularities). the salutary di~cipline of
traininq as subalterns in an orderly armv, were unknown to
the sons of the Mughal arlstocraci. tlence1 their mo~al
454 s11om IIIS'IOJ.!Y or J\llf<ANOZ!l\ kll. XIX

decline wus startlin<Jly rapid and unchcd~ed. Most of lhem,

am! e\7en sons of Auran\Jzib !il:<!e Sllilh Alam and Kam L'ial~hsh,
were beyond corrc>ction. As Auraw;t;:ib, worn ollt with iJil;rin;;i
them unheeded counsels, cries out in despair, "! bavc
become a babbler by taH1in~1 and lall~ing ; but none of you
have tai<en heed from my words."
In addition fo Ltnbrldlcd sexual lkencc and secrcl drinl~ing
and gumbling, many members of !he nobility and the middle
class were tainted by pederasty, a \7ice from which many of
the so-cdlled saints were not free. All Attrarn;i'zib's prohibitions
and all the activity of his Censors of Public Morals failed to
hold the Mt1i;.ihul aristocracy bad~ from drink The (rec1b
pleasures and queer fancies of some of lhe nobles Me noticed
in the contemporary uccmmts. (Manucci, i\7, \251-6, %2.)

8. Poprt!al' s11pe1wtifro11s.
All classes alibc were sun l~ in the <k'nscsl 1mrcrstitlnn.
Astrology !J'0\7Cl't1cd e\7Cl''l act of lif (' c'\lllOllr,T l'ich '111d poor
alil~e. l~clic worship WdS universal utllOIHJ mndus and Muham-
madans nlil~c. Evc11 the orthodox Al1l'u11}Jzib <ldored and
wall~ed devoutly l'OLHld the pretended footprin1s dlKl hnit' of
the Prophet Muh<rn1mad (asar-i-sfiacif), M if these wet'('
representations of lhc Deity. Jt ,is difilcult to disti11;.wish belWl'en
his 11Hittide towards them nnd '' Hindu's 1,votship of Vishnu's
foohnadis on stone. Man-worship of the )Jrosscst fon:n dt:~\'il.ded
the characte1 of the masses. besides the ,1dMafion of ,qimts
and mo/fonts by Hindus and Sibhs, tbc Muslims, <.0qually< wilh
the members of those h\70 c1C'cds 1 venerated saints a11d rcliqious
mendicants, and besottJJht them lo wod~ miracles, and JitiVe
them amulets, spells or mar\1 cllous 111cdici110~. Prdcndcd
magicians did a rodt'inP. trade in these thin~s, as well as in
the phllos~pher's stone,-beiog Putrnnie-ed by the nobl~s as
well as the common people. Alchemy was bclie1,1cd to be
~11 f.JoVi'lt"~ t:f'1'iPt1t"'P "nrl fl1A1i. nf fhr.. itt't'ff"\IAlJ~ ~-f.i~ftH'I "J.t"ll'f JbrrfH.-.. ~Hl"\.1'\
 JGNOTJANCE AND SUPERS'fl'J'JON PREVAIL 455

supported and encouraged the professors of this art, e'Ven

ulldcrtafaing to introduce them to the Emperor.
The darl;wr aspect of the subject was not wanting, and we
recH.l of human sacrifice being performed to aid the quest for
i;iold und the elixil' 17itce, lhouiJh it was criminal in law and
punished wheneV'er detected. Some Muhammadan doctors
used hL1man fat to cure their patients. rlindu superstition is
further illusll'atcd by the worship of lon~arrned men as incar-
11<1tions of the monlwy-god I:-Ianuman.
As a natural consequence of their i!Jnorance and pride,
all classes kit contempt for forei15ners. [t is true that ELtropean
iJLtn-founders, artillerymen and doctors (a few) Wel'e patronil!ed
by the wealthy, because their superior efficienc'{ had been
dt>monstrated before their e17es ; and European objects of
luxury \Vere eagedy bought. But no attempt was made by
.:tn'{ fndian noble or scholar to leam Et1ropean languages/,,
arts or militat"Q' system. A modern Indian nationalist will best
l'ealizc how blindly selfish and autocratic the Mughal Emperors
and the Indian aristocracy of the 16lh and 17th centuries were, 1

if he considers ihat whlle they spent lal<hs of Rupees every

year in bttying European objecls of luxur}I ot art, not a single
prinliniJ-press, not eV'en a lithoi;iraphic stone, was imported
either for popular edllcalion or public business.
The mmal C\nd intellectual tone of Indian society was
i;ircatly k1werec.I by the abttndance of slaves. In addition to
cap1ivcs of war and v-anquished families reduced to bo11dali)"e,
men and women were sold by their parents for money in
famine tlrnes, or in discharge of debts. A defaulting debtor

r Al lh~ Mlll!hal Court interpretation \VM done tor European vi~ilms by Armeni\1115
c.
or by I:uropc~ns who llnew Per,lan. Only one Muhammadan (Mutarnad Khan,
's !eHe1s a knowing !he En~li'11 langull\le. A few
170.') la spoken of 111 Aurangzlb
Marathl docu-
Shcnvi B11hmans of Goa tcrdtor'(', who !mew Porlu\iuese, translated
Jn Madras
me* inlo th~ former hn~ua~c for the be11cftt 0! the En\ili$h i'lt !lomba\i'.
English and Pr~nch fodoJJcs employed Biahman hilerpreter s who l<ne1v thefr
Ille
masters' lnnl'(ual(c~ besk(~~ "Moor" (i.e., Pcrsi~n.)
 456 SllORT IIISTORY OF l\LH~/\NGZ!l\ [c11. XIX

could himself be sold with his family at the demand of his creditor.
This was an ancient lel,lal practice of the Hindus and
Muhammadans alil~c. One way of punishirnJ criminals of
certain classes was to turn them into slaves und sell them io
the public ; the sale of female sl0ves of this class is ,noticed
in the "Peshwas' Diaries." Slavct')" lirnJcrcd down to the tirst
quarter of the 19th cenlmy even in lhe !~1itish district ot
Purniu. IMarlin's Ea~tem India. I People often matk eunuchs
of their children and . sold them ; Ol'issa and Sylhct wen:
notorious for this offence, which was strornJly coll(ktnne d by
Attranr.isib.

9. O!licial btibety ; file and cfiarnctcr of !fie official ~11odd.

The educt<ted middle cldss wus composed entirely of

officiuls, if we except the lrnndful of plwsici<1ns .:ind superior
pricslly families. AtnonlJ the traders and lesser i<1ndowm'l'S
there were nrnny who runl~cd wilh the middle cl.1ss in we.11th,
bul not in cduct1lion, nor did they ever cultivate lW.~ratLH'e.
The Muglw.l administration, botll civil i:tnd military. could be
carried on only wilh the hdp of a vast urn1y of ck~d~s and
accountants. Their official pay was very low (lil~e !hal of
the East India Company's factory 'writers' in !he ! 7th
century).
But the exaction of o!Ilcial perquisites or i:,r1-.1tuHies from
men who had to get business pushed lhrouqh tbc public
offices, was the uni'le1sal and admitted ptactke, as in Tudor
van<l Stuad England. In addition, many officit1ls from the
highest to the lowest tool~ btibes for doin!il undeserved fa\Tours,
or deffectin!il the course of jusiice. OIY!cial conuplion was,
however, admitted in society to be immoral, and was practised
only in secreq. There were many officers abo\7e cottuplion
e17cn i11 Aurn.ngzib's reign. Bul the recei'Vinq and even
demandin!J of presents by rnen in powet was the ttttivcrsal
"'
 OFPlClAL llRlBERY AND VICES 457

rule ctnd publicly aclmowledged. ' Even the Emperor was not
exempt from it. Aurangr:ib asRed an aspirant to a title, "Your
father sJave to Shah Jahan one la!:l.h of Rupees for adding /
a/if to his title an<l maRin5J him .i!Imir Khan. How much
will you pay me for the title I am giv'ing you ?"
The ministers and influential coLtrtiers round the Emperor's
person ha<l the oppodunity of reo.ping a golden harvest, by
sclliniJ to suitors their good offices in speaRing for them to the
sovereign when in private attendance on him (taqatrub). Thus,
Qabil Khat1 in 2lf2 years of personal attendance on Aurangr:ib
cunassed 12 lal~hs of l<Ltpees in cash, besides articles of value
und d new house. They \\7ere besouqht and bribed with
presents and money to yield their pwtcction to officers, to
conceal the shortcomings (g.fiafb~pusfii) of the latter, to
intercede fot' them witl1 the Emperor (11,7asila), and in genetal
to watch over their inlerests at Comt during their absence.
This pressure was passed from the Emperor downwards to
the peasant; each social !Jrade trt'ing to squeeze out of the
cla!:is be!0\\7 itself what it had to pay as present lo tl1e ranl~
ubo\7c il, the culti\7ator of the soil and the trader being the
v-ic!im in ihe last !'esort.
The dt'lnl~ habit was \Videly prevalent amonljl the clerl~s,
both of the Kayastha and Khatri castes,-as well as among
the Rajput soldiel's. In spite of the prohibition of the Qutan,
the Musltm nobles and office!'s, both military and civil, were
in many cases addicted to it. The Turks were specially
notodous for it. The lower official class, 011 account of their
having to do their worl~ far awa'i' from their homes, kept
small harellls of local concubines. It was on{)r the annihilation
---.; -fii.ir - fohaii's-fa1iiel:--wI1eilfiitrne-in1,iiiife1 "Uiictcl'Jalianiii'i;was sii'ameteiiSin-
.fomanctinq !)resents. So also was /11far Khan, one of the eadir wa~ks of Auran~nb.
J,11 Sln1tl1 offored ,1 JJltrse of R:;. J0,000 to the wilzfr for inducin!I the Empc1or to
1cta!11 him lit the Deccan comma11d. Elhlmsen e~presses his d!sgust 11! ha"Ving to
PU\' c\"cr11bod\' al Court in 01de~ to \!Cl or retain a petty civil oflice. The q~a!>
11rew enormottslir lkh by tal>ill\I bt'ibes, the most nokirimts o( them being Abdul
W~h~b. So also did t\Htnir sadais.
458 SllORT lllSTOfJY 01' l\lffll\NGZm [rn. XIX

of distance by railways and Hie moral reform effected by

English education and theistic rcli~~ious movements in the
late 19th ccn(u1y, that put an end to this !Jencr.:tl immorality.
Tl1e clerf<s, both Uindus r111d Muhammadc1ns, formed a
brotherhood bound lo1Jethcl by C< Hnmunity ol duties and
interests, education and ideals, social life and t'vcn vices.
The o1Iidal world was inspired by intense hatred and con-
tempt fm intrndcrs inlo its prcs\~rves. Offices were' expeckd
to be resen1ed for old families of clcrl~s <Jnd acconnlants.
Any official who was not a 'hcri.:'clitary scr\1unl' (ldiana fi:wd)
of State but had sprung from the ranl<s, wus Lkspiscd as a
normm fiomo used lo be in the officio.I wol"ld of tlK' dyins;(
republic of I~omc. This Atlitudc was tmivers,i_l, from the hi}Jher
nobility to the pett1.7 clerl~s.
10. Tlii! putit;,r and simple dcfifrfifs of Ifie fife of Ifie masses.
The abo\7e picture of sociA! life in MLt<Jhal India appeal's
very darl~, and must be <lcclared inrompld1' ,1ncl tliercfnrc
untrue, if we do nol consider certain other <1spccls of it. We
are bound to ,1dmil that ilmornJ the teeming millkins of lhe
Indian people domestic life WL\s pure and not without its
simple colour and joy. This virtue olone s1wcd lhc people
from the doom of extinction which cwc.'r!oob th~: dcl,lctwra.k:
Romans of the latel' empire, We hu.d many popular songs,
ballads and stories, which assua~;ed the strklwn hlltnan soul,
iat1.ght heroic patience, und infused lcnderness into the mos1
unlettered hearts, The epic of Tulsidas, which ls l'\7en 1ww
acted annually in every cenh'e of popul(1tion dlld recited in
every Hindu home in the I-Iilldi-speal?inlJ provinces, Hllctl
millions of our people with love of duty1 manlfncss, and the
spiril of self-sacrlfke, and taught them wisc10111 in public and
privaJe life.
In i)en!iral, Tirhut, Orissa and Assam and ~~ertain other
parts, the Valslmavism tau!ilht b)" Shankarde-v and Chaitanya
 LJFE Of' COMMON PEOPU: 459

introduced .:in
unwonted ssentleness and fervour, and tamed
Hie rude if manly savagery of the Tantric worship anJ
onimism thal used to prevail there before. The 17th century
was the r;rreat period of the expansion of this new Vaislma~
vism,-wbich was marl~ecl by enthusiastic personal devotion
(a~ in the Christian revival movement), tenderness to children
cind the weal~, the culti\7'ation of literature (both Sanskrit and
!he current speech of the people), and the infusion of song
and dance and a delicate romantic sentiment into the e\7'eryday
life e\7'en of the poorest. It also bridged social gulfs and
established a democracy of the spirit. Apart from this new
popular reli~ious llterature, the masses'i in different parts
had their folfa-son~s, lil<c the ballad of Ranjha and Hir (in
the Panjdb), which went to their very hearts and relieved for
a lime foe dead~wdgbi of Jabour and political tyranny which
pressed them down. Tbe fdrtan or chorus-singing of religious
nat-ra!ives in verse (interspersed with songs) was the uni\7'ersal
popular substitute for the sermon, the lecture, and literature
thromJhout India-in the south as much as in the north.
The Mubammadans of that aigc (except the Hindi-speahing
p<)rtion) had no vernacular reliqious poetry for !he masse~.
But they had the annual celebrations (urs) of different saints
at tl1cir lombs, which were allendcd by tens of thousands
of pil1,nirns from distances, and where fairs were held which
attracted men and women of all ci-eeds. In addition, bofh
sexes dwd1in1if in cities1 had their usual wcel<ly outing to the
Jilatden~tombs of saints in the suburbs. The opportunitf was
uti!i;;ed. fo1 pleasure rather than pieiy, and lhe spread of
immorallty that ii cat1sttd led Aurarii;;:ib (IUze Piru<: Shah
TttiJhlaq before him) to issue an order for sioppln.g the
prndice. But it was too popular to be put down. Visits to

I 11<1ve spol.ien of pOpLtlar rotnancc and relilllous poetry in the v~rnacular. B11t
a vemac11la1 likralure 101 the upper classe~ was just rtllssed bv Auranuzib. Tl catne
into bein11 under Wall of A1uan~abnd only ten years aller his death.
460 SllOR1' ll!STOlff Ol" Allf~i\NO%l!I [cu. XIX

these periodical fa.it's and seats of pilfJritnu~,ie were the sole

joy of the Indian villa~Jc populc1tio11, and men and women
were passionately ca!;!er to undcrtal~e them. PilrJr\m-centn.:s
like Ajmir, KL1lbanJa, Ni:r:anHtchlin J\uliya, and Burl1t1npt1t for
the Muslims, and Mlhttra, Allahbu.d, tklli:tt'ls, Nasil~. Madma
and Tanjore for the Ilindm, served also to diffllse culturl'
and to brcal~ down provincial isolation ,)tKl 1wrrownes~ of
mental horizon.

11. Cfiatacf<:l' of Jlmm19J1.ib.

In the medi~\7al world, and nowhct'L' more o;o tlk\ll in
India, lhe l<ing was held responsible for the IMppim'ss of his
people, and with good reason. lie WtlS Ood's rcprc1-1e11tativc
on earth, itwestcd with unlimited, unquestioned authority and
the entire property in the t,1nd. Therefore, when lowards tltc
close of Aman!Jeib's t'ei!Jn all thinqs be'Jan to ~TO wion~, the
contempmary historians turned lo examine the l~mpct'Ol' s
1

character, in order to account for the deslrudinn of thc-

cmpil'e and of public peace.
Atlt'arn~;;ib was bra\7e in an unusunl de!Jrcc. All lbc
'
Timurids, till the dllys of his unwodhi! greah:mndsons, hud
pe1sonal comai;ic ; but in him this virtue Wcts combined with
a coldness of temperament and <1 cdlculnllnq spit'il whid1 we
have been tctWilht to belicvt' ns the special hetito:)~ri; of the
races of Northern Europe. Of his personul k.:ule$sncss he
had 16iven ample e\7idence from the a!Je of Hfti;cn, when he
faced a furious elephant un<ittcndl'ci, to his 87lh yctlt', when
he stood in the siel6e trenches befor0 \Va!Jirn;icrc\. !!is cdlm
self-possessio11, his checl'inq words a111idsl the lhicl~esl da11gc1,
and his open defiance of death at Dhturnat and Khajwa h.:tve
passed inlo the famous thins:,ts of Indian history.
In addition to posscssinq constitutional cOttt'aii(e and cool-
ness, he had eadi in life chosen the perils and laboltl' of
kirn;iship as his vocation at1d pi'epared himself fol' this so'\l'el'eh;rn
 1
,\URANGZil\ S LEARNING AND PRl\7A'I'E LlFC 461

office by sclf-re\7erence, self-knowledge, and self-control.

Unlil~e other sons of monarchs, Aurangz:ib was a widely read
and accurate scholar, and he kept up his lo\7e of bool~s to
his dyin~ day. E\7en if we pass o\7cr !he many copies of the
Quran which he wrote with his own hand, as the mechanical
industry of a zealot, we cannot forget that he lo\7ed to devote
the scanty leisure of a very busy ruler to readini;i Arabic worl<s
on jll!'ispruclence and theology, and hunted for rare old MSS.
of books !Hie the Neliayya, the Afiiy:a-ul-ulum, and the
/Jiwan-i-.!J'aib with the passion of an idle bibllophlle. His
extensi\7c correspondence proves his mastery of Persian poetry
and Arabic sacred literature, as he was e\7er ready with up!
q11olaHons for embellishing almost e\7ery one of his letters.
In adclilion to Arnbic and Persian, he could speal< Turki and
Hindi freely. To his initiative and patronage we owe the
greatest digest of Muslim law made in India, which rightly
bears his name,-the I'atawa"i-Alamg:iri and which simplified
and defined Islamic justice in India e11er after,
Besides bool~"learn irn~, At1ranqzib had from his boyhood
cultivated control of speech and action, and tad in dealing with
others. As a prince, his tact, sagacity and humilitl' made the
highest nobles of his fathet"s Court his friends ; and as Emperor
he displayed the same qualities in a degree which would have
been remad~able even in a subject. No wonder that his con~
temporaries called him "a dar11isfi clad in the imperial purple."
His private life,-dress, food and recrealions,-were all
extremely simple, but we!I"ordered. lle was absolutely free
from vice and even from the more innocent pleasures of
the idle rich. The numbe1 of his wives fell short even of the
Quranic allowance of four,* and he was scrupulousl11 faithful
---------------------
DilrM Hamt d!ed i11 tG57 ; 1'1awab Hai was rele'i\akd !o a l'ellrcd lile at Delhi
af!N J(l(lO; Aman~abndi seems to )lave staved \vith him till her death in 1665, 5!>
that Udalporl (married about 1G60) was his onl)!' companion (after Ai1ra11Qabadi) for
!he J,!lll half ol his rci~n.
462 st!Ol<l' msTorN OF /\Lir~/\NGZID [cu. xrx
to we<ldcJ kwc. fhc only delicacies he relished, --the reudcr
will smile to learn, -were the acid fruit cocinda (Carissa
camndas) and u sort of chewing ~~um cdllc<l ldiardali.
His indi1slry in c1clministration was marvellous. In oddition to
re>,1ularly holdirn~ daily Courts (sometimes twice a day) and
Wcdnesdu'{ triab, he wrote ot'<.lcn. nn kttcrs and petitions
with his own ham! and dictated the very lun~~u,wc ot official
replies. The Italian physician Oemeli Careri thus describes the
Emperor qivin;t public audience (21 March 1695) : "Ile was ot
a low stature, wilh a larqe nose, slender and stoopi111J with tuJc.
The whiteness of his round beard was more visible on his
olive-coloured sMn... I ,,dmired to see him endorse the petitions
Iof those who hnd business I with bis own hi1nd, without
spectacles, dnd by his diei.:rful smilimJ counkndllCt' seem to
be pleased with the employment."
Ilistorians ha\7t' observed thai thow;rh lw died in his 90th
1 ear, he ret:1in0d to the last almost a.11 his faculties unimpaired.
His memoty was wonderful : "he ucver for(Jol a fa.cc h~' ha.d
once seen or a word Hw.l he hi'\d Ollcc hcat'd." l\ll his
physical powe1s retained their vigour to the end, if we except
a slight deafness of the eat', which afflicted him in old r1!,Je,
and u lameness of the rliJht le!;T, which was due to his doctor's
unsfailful freatrnent of Ml accidental dislocation.

12. His besetting. sin of ovetHcentmfi:~ation : its disastcous

effects on ffie administration.
But nil this lon\'.f selfpreparation and splendid vitu.litf, in
one sense Pl'0\7ed his undoinlJ, as they naturallv. beSJot in him
a self-confidence and distrust of othel's, a passion for seeiniJ
ove1'1?'thin!fl" carried !o the highest perfectlon accordinq to his
own idea of it,-which urged him to order and supervise evc1y
minute detail of administration and wurfarc personally. This
excessive interference of the head of the Stale l~epl h!s
viceroys and commanders and c\7en '4tbe men on the spo("
 LACK OF Tl<l!E STATESMANSfHP 463

in tar oJT districts in perpetual tutcla!!e ; their sense of

responsibility was destroyed, iniliati11e and rapid adaptabilih? to
a changing enllironment could not be developed in them,
a.nd they tended to sinl< into lifeless puppets moved to action
by ihe master pulling their strings from the capital. No surer
means than this could have been devised for causin~
administratlve degeneration in an extensive and di11ersified
empire lil<e Indi.:-1. HhJh-spirited, talented and encri;retic officers
found themsel\7cs checbed, discolll'al6ed and dri11en to sullen
inactivitf. With the death of the older nobi!itf, outspoken
responsible advisers disappeared from his council, and
Aurangzib in his latter years, lil<e Napoleon I after the climax
of Tilsit, could bear no contradiction, could hear no un-
palatable h'ttlh, but surrounded himself with "'smootl1-tongued
sycophants dlld pompous echoes of his own voice. Iiis
ministers became no better than cled~s passively registering '
his edicts.
' Such a Ring cannot be called a political or even an
aclminishathre genius. He had merely honesty and plodding
industry. He WilS fit lo be an excellent departmental head,
not a statesman initiating a new policy and legislating with
prophclic foresight for rnouldini;r the life and thou'1ht of
unborn generalions in advance. That genius, though unlettered
and often hot blooded, was Akbar alone among the Muqhals
of India.
Obsessed by his narww ideal of duty and supremelf
ignorant of the real lilnitntions of his charader1-and not
out of political cunning, as Manucd suggests,-Auran'6'2ib
practlsed sai!lll't' austerities and self-nbasement and went
rc~iilarly and even ostentatiously through all the obser-
vances of his religion. He thus becq.me an ideal chara~ter
to the Muslim portion of his subjects. They belieV'ed him to
be a salnt who wrought miracles (Alamg,it~ ~i11da plr I) and he
,himself favoured this Jdea by his acts. Politically1 therefore,
464 SliOIH lilSTOl~Y or AURANOZl!l !c11. XIX
Aurangz1b w1lh all his virtues was a complete failure. But the
cause of the failure of his rei~Jn !dy deeper limn his pcr~onal
character. Though it is not true that he alone caused the fall
of !he Mughal empire, yet he did nothing to a\7cd it, but rather
quicl~ened the destructive forces already in operettion in the
land. And these I shall examine now.

13. Twe c!iarncter and aim of Ifie 1V/u~;fial 6011emment.

The Mughal empire did much for India in m<lny wnys. But
it failed to weld the people into a nation, or to ~'l'catc a strons;r
and endurinl6 State.
The glitter of gems and gold in the Tai Muha! or the
Peacocli Throne, ou!Jhl not to blind 11s to th~' fact that in
Mughal India man was considered vile ;-the mass of the people
had no economic liberty, no indefeasible I'ili\hl lo juslkc or
personal freedom, when their oppressor was a noble or hhJh
official or landowner ; political ris;ihls were not d1wuni of.
While the nation at large was no better than huntan sheep,
the slatus of the nobles was lmrdly t11l'i hhJhcr under .1 strnnlif
and clever l~ing ; tl1c'i had no assured constlltttlo1wl position,
because a cons!itution did not exist in the scheme of 1itovcrn~
mcnt, nor even had they full right to their materk1l <lcquisitionb.
All depended upon the> will of tlrn autocrat on the thrnnc.
The Oo\7ernment was in effcd despotism tempe1ed by rcvolu~
lion or the fear of revolution. The whole power <1nd i\ll the
resources of a country produce a Courl;-thc centre of the
Court is the prince ; finally, then, the ultimate prod~1cl of all
Ibis g<1thered life is the sclf-sttftlciency of the sovcrci!Jn.
In Mughal lndfo, as in all other absolute momuchit's,
popular happiness even un<lct the best of 5ovc1ei~rns W<:1s
unstable, because it derended upon the churnctcr of 011c ma11.
"The Mughal system of education and iraininltl" entirely failed
to malntain a line of promisin\l' hcirs-appan:mt. .. As the princes
~rew up, ihe jealottsy of rival queens forb<.1dc their tahi11!! a
 M\\SLIM TIIEOI~Y Of GOVERNMENT DEFECTIVE 465

leadin!J part in the politics of the capital. .. A prince who

lool~ his proper part in the council of the State was suspected
of intriguirnJ against the monarch ... Hereditary succession is
only tolerable under a system where the responsibilit? falls on
a minis!ry, vvhich screens the viciousness or incompetence of
the occupant of the throne." "Such a ministLy the Mughals
were ne\7er able to on;ianiz:c. The monarch was obliged to fall
bi1cl~ on the mob of ad\7enturers who crowded round his
datbar, ... whose function was more to amuse their master
tban to acl as a modern Cabinet . . . H was never the Mughal
policy to foster the ~rowth of a hereditary aristocracf." [Croofa.e].
By its theo1y1 Islamic Go\7ermnent is military rule-the
people arc the foithful soldiers of Islam, the Emperor (/(fia!ifa)
is !heir commander. In an arnw it is not for the officers, any
more than for !he privates, to reason whf or to scd~ replf
from the supreme leader. The Khalifa-Emperor is the
silhouette of Goel (a::itli.mbfiani), and in God's Comt there is
no "why or how.'' No more could there be in the Paclishah's
udrninistration, which was a sample of God's Court (namuna~
i~darbar~i~ilafif), By the busic principle of Islamic Go\'.'ernment,
the lllndus and other unbelie\7crs were admittedly outside the
pale of !he nation. Bui e\'.'en the dominant sect, the Muslims,
did not form a nation ; thef constituted a militarf brotherhood,
a perpetual cump of soldiers.
14. Difference in life and idec1' mafces fusion of Hindus and
Mufiammadani impossible.
Accot'din!il to the l'OOt principles of Muslim polif'l, there
can be no political d!ilhts fot minorities, the nation must be
merqed in the dominant sect, and il community homogeneous
in creed and social life must be crcatL'd by crushin!,l' out all ,
&vergcnt forms of faith, opinion and life. The nation as a
purely political creation was inconceh,.able and impossible in
such a state of thini;is. The e\1ll was aggra17aled by the fad
30
 SHOR! Ill$10RY 01' l\Ul<ANGLm [clI. XIX
11
that in India the politically depressed class or 0fficial
minority" was a numerical nliljority, otttmunbering the
dominant sect as three to one, and ul the same time cconomi"
cally better qualified, strom;:ce in cctpitu.l and Wl'dlth"prodttcitHJ
power, and not inferior in intellecl 01 phy,!cal vi~ot11.
No fusion between the two clc\sscs Wil'i possible even
with the passa~e of centuries, as they dirfeted lil<c opposite
poles in ideal and life. The Ilindu is solilaty, pa..,~iV"l\
other-worldly ; his hi!Jhcst aim is sclfn'dli:::alion, the
nltainment of personal salvation by individual effort, private
devotions, and lonely dUsteritics. To him birth is a mMortune
and his fellow-beings so many sources nf distraction from his
one true \(onl. Not by enjoyment of God's gift., but bi renuncia
Hon, not bv joyot1s expansion bLtl by reprcssinn of emnlion,
is he to attain lo true bliss. The Muslim, on the other hand, is
taught to feel that he is notbimJ if not 0 ~oldicL' of llw militirnl
force of Islam ; he must pray in coni;11c1~ation ; lie tmrnl ~!ive
ptoof of ihe sincerity of his foilb by undt:rlal~in<J jitia.d 01
acti\7e exertion for the spread of his reliqion and lhl' dcsfrm>
tion of unbelief amon~1 otl1\~r m.;:n. Ill' i~ a miqslonMy, and
cu.n110t be indiiicrcnt to the welfare of his nci!;ihbours' souls;
nay, he must be e\7cl' ali'Ve to his dutv of prnmolinf,l tlu~
salvation of others by all mea11s at hiq command, phrsicnl <\S
inuch as spiritual. Then, u.i.t<1i11, Islam boldlf .:wows tlml
it is i;;ood for us to be here, that Oo{ l lrns sJi\7l'l1 the
wodd lo the failbful as an inheritance f01 lhck cnjovmcnl.
The practical outloofa and social soliclnl'll'l 1.)f Uw Muslims
have made them develop .,the arts and dvi!i;:ation (excepting
literature) in a much higher drs;ircc than the Ilindus ; lheir
pleasures arc of a mo1c varied and eleli(ant l~tnd, and tlw
Tlindu a.dstocracy in Mui;ibal tinws we1c onl'Q' clumstr imitators
of the Muslim peers. The l!!Cnernl type of tlu: Muhammadan
population (excepting beggars and mcnia.l labourers) al'e
more refined and accustomed to a costlier mode of lifo, while
 POLI'l'ICJ\L DEGRADATJON OF HINDUS 467

Hindus of the corl'espondini;; classes, e\7en when rich, are

grosser and less cultured. The lower classes of the Hindus how-
e\7et', are distinctly cleaner and more intelledual than Muslims
of the same grades of !He.
15. HiJ1dus po!ificall';l depressed and der;.taded
1111det Aui:ang::db.
Apart from the restrictions about food, difference of
relhJious doctrine and ritual, rttles forbidding intennar~ialjle, &c.,
this polar difference in their outlool< upon life made a fusion
between I-lindus and Muslims impossible. In addition to these,
the Quranic polity made life intolerable for the Hi11dus under
orthodox Muhammadan rule. Aurangzib furnishes the best
example of the effects of that polity when carried to its
logical conclusions by n kin!il' of exemplary moralit't' and
rcliqious zeal, without fear or favour in discharging what he
held to be his duty i\s lhc first servant of God. Schools of
Hindu learninJJ were broRen up by him, Hindu places of
wmship were demolished, Uindu fairs were forbidden, the
llindu population was subjected to special fiscal burdens in
additibn to being made to bear a public bad!l(e of inferiority;
dlld the service of the State was closed to them, as we have
seen ill <;;h. vur.
Thus, the only !He that the Hindu could lead under
Auran56iib was a life deprived of the light of knowledge,
dcpd\'cd of the consolations of icliqion, depri\7ed of social
union and public rejoicing-, of wealth and the self-confidence
tli<ll is begotten by the free exercJse of natural activities and
use of opportunities,--in short, a life exposed to constant
public humiliation and political disabilities. BeaV'en and earth
alike were closed to him as long as he remained a Hindu.
llence, the effect of Aurangiib's reign was not only to goad
the Hin<lus into constant revolt a;1d dislurba,nces but also. to
mal~e them deteriorate in intellect, organisation, and ec?~omic
468 Sl!OJn' IIlSTOf~Y or J\Ull!\NOZJll [cr1. XIX

resources, and thereby wcal~cn tl1c Sla!e of which they fol'mcd

more than two-lhirds of the man-power.

l6. Decline of tlie Muslims in India ; its causes.

The Muslim portion of !he population, loo, did not pro'.,pcr
under such a polity, thoui,;li fm d diffc.:rcnl rca,oll. The Turb
arc soldiers and nothin1i else ; their 111cl!1hood is a nu.lur,1lly
embodied armf, and war is their only profession. A standiwJ
army ls necessal"ily prc11enled [rom cultivalin<J continuous
domestic life. The rulitHJ race utnornJ the so-culled Mw,1h.1ls
we1c really Tud:<s. llencc, Muslim society in the Mughal period,
in many of its civilian ru.nhs also, trcquently displ,wccl 1Jarrison
manners, as the orgdnir:ation of their Oovcr11mc1it W<\S of ,1
military type and tile soldiers set the tone lo sociC'ty.
The in!elledua! decline of the Muslims was htlsk'ned by
the peculiar position of tbc faithful in lndi<1. They lrnd 111atk
India their permanent home ; nwny of them were Indi,1ns by-
race ; and all had become so in thcit perso11al .::tPPC<WdnCl\
lh0tHJhts, mannc1s and customs. And yd lhdr t'('[hJiousi
1
teachers lll'jJed them lo lool< bud< lo cl!1cil'!1l Arabia and
draw thdr mental sustcni.tnce from the far off <HJc of llw
Prophet. The Ians&LtMJc of their relif,lion musi lw Arabk'.,
which not one in i.l hundred a.tnon!J tht~ Muslims of lndi<l ful(y
understood ; their cttltmat la1u;ruai;ic was Persian, which d
few more learnt with difficulty and rn;cd with all illll>tll'it\7 that
excited the lat1ghtcr and scorn of thl' Persian-born. The
Indian Muslim considered it beneath bis dilJnityr (till well into
the 18th centtuy) to use the vcnmcula1 fol' lik:rary purposcb.
Hence, the immense majol'il'f of lhis sect wNe without any
literafure of their own ; their educutioll w;;1s hampetcd and
their private lifc (except in the case of the few who could
use Persian freely) was depri\l'cd of intellectual joys. The)?'
could noi have even a lit7ing ~rowin~ relis;rious llteralure.
Hindustani amalory or clcvotional sonJJs and Sufi 'VNS('S
 INDIAN MUSLIMS WHY UNPROORBSSl\7E 469

in Persian were nol adequate instruments for the diffusion of

cultme or the removdl of general ignorance among a whole
community.
Thus, the ol"lhodox Muslim ever felt !hat he was in India,
but not of it. He durst not, for peril to his soul,-so lie
WilS !aught, -striRe his rnots deep into his naH\7e soil. He
must not tal~e to his heart its traditions language and culturnl
products ; he must import these from Petsia and Arabia.
Even his civil and criminal law must be deri\7ed from the
writings of jurists and the decisions of judges in Baghdad
or Cairo. The Muslim in India was an intellectual exotic ;
he could no! adapt himself to his envfronment. The Quranic
precepts for the ~~ui<lance of d\7il society and lhe regulation
of human con<lud and relations, were framed in a far off
<HJe for a nomadic people. lt was absurd, so a rationalist
lil~c Alibar argLted, that 1he'l should be considered binding
on tncn of the 16th or 17th centuty li\7ing in a country that
hnd nolhins;i in common with Arabia.
The intelledual vacuity caused by tl1is unnaftlral stl'aining
aficr u [~)reign and impracticable ideal, not only arrested the
mental and social prngress of the Indian Muslims, bltl also
llladc their hearts a fertile soil for noxious weeds. The
eternal human craving for a personal religion, for a 11\ring
fuith, could not be satisfied by repeating an Arabic boo!< by
l'Ok! (fiif:<i,..fwlam ... ulla6.), or by goinSI! through one mono
krnous physical dtill five Umes a day in a public ll!athering
Uamait). The lbit'sty sottl turned to ever'? fabled Hvin>J saint
\11 Us neighbourhood and to the Jilreedy successors in
atkndance at the tombs of famous saints of the past,-both of
whom were belic\7cd io be capo.ble of wo1l:!irn;i miracles,
The racial chat'acter of the Semitic peoples who created
lhc QLtran and Sun11i Canon Law was essentfolly different
frotn that of the Indians, and the mere fact of a bo<l'l of the
latter race ha~ing accepted the reli~lon of the Arabs could
 470 Sl!ORl' IlJSTOR'{ or l\llRJ\N0%1B [rn. XIX

not counteract this ethnic difference. These wcl'e insurmounl~

able handicap:. lo Indian Islam.

17. Dctetiomtion and inficrcnt weakness of Hindu

society.
The Hindus of medi&\7<1! Indin p!'csmtcd an equally tm-
happy spectacle. They could not possibly form a nation,
or even one compud sect. A sociu.I solidMit)7 lil~e that of
the Muhammadans was lnconceivublc amo1HJ ,\ pcopk divided
into cm111tless mutually exclusive castl's, with thcit Mncorous
disputes about rights to the sacred thread and the Vcdic
chant, access to public watel'~sl1pplics and temples, beskks
toucfiability, and in Southern Indin also crpptoacfiability. And
time and prospel"it\? seemed only to ai;iq1avak: HtetiC differences.
,/;"C<1ste giows bv fission," and the nrnltiplicu!ion of new sttb~
Cdstes was in active progLess tl11'ouqh {he opcr~1lirn1 of inlcrnal
forces durin.g Muham111ad<111 1ule1 divi<limi and WC'abc:nin~T
Hindu socidv. still further.
No enli!i(htened or patriotic priesthood aroSl' to ii<~ve lht'
Illndu peoples. The sep1.uatist tendency is a:-. stt.ong in their
rellJi!ion as in their socidy ; <1nd, indeed, <\11 01\~ul\ii!Cd
priesthood or Stale Church is opposed to thc mot prlncipk's
of the Hindu scheme of salvation. Stra)?' shL!Cp rnnuln\! after
sfr<1y shepherds fall cas\? victims to tl1t~ qu11d~ and the
volupitia1)?'. Even if we pa~;s over lhc de~l\\dlm,J fotms of
man-worship that marked the l'eJiqious 1m1cfa:l's of lhe
Vall<1bhachar)?'a, Kartablrnj<1 and other seds of 1Jlll'lh'\dore1s,
or the licentiousness promoted b'{ temple dancers (d<?r1actasl1'
OL' mutolls) and small p1udcn t Gsote1'lc sects, dnd turn om
el!es to the ordi11<1r)? idol-worship of the millk>ns, wt~ find
the pt'iesthQocl brinl;ling thclt Wol'sbippcrs down lo tht' lowcsl
intellectual le\7el by holding- up to thcfr ddoration a 1;1od
who cats, sleeps, foils ill of fcn~r (as Jui;iannath docs kw 11
week e17e1y yeat), or pit1:s~1es ainorous dalliances which n NaW'l!lb
 1-IlNDllMl!SLIM RELIGIOUS PEACE AND WAR 471

of Oudh mighl eiwy or a Qutb Shah imitate in his own

harem. Reform was possible on!)! outside the regular Iiindu
Church followed by the masses,-i. e. 1 among the small
non-conformin~ sects, where men were prepared to lea11e all
thinf,fs and follow truth ; but, e'Ven there, on!)! cluri111J the first
1Jene1ation or two afte1 their foundation, before lhe1 too
sanl< into gross 9wu-worship.

18. flow Hindus and Muslims li11ed fog_etfier in India;

occasional anion, latent dang_ez of firJ.fif.
In spite of what has been said before, Hindu and
Muhammadan societies often touched each other at cetiain
poinfo. The true ideals bf both creeds were the same, namely,
the worship of one Supreme Being, abstinence from eartblf
joys, tenderness to all creatures. But bigots and the mass
of mdinary people could not rlse to such a hl~h plane of
thott!i!ht. Muslim saints, famous for sltiRinq acts of self
tnortifkation or mit'acle~worl<ing power, were often adored by
Hindu princes and people. Simi!ad17, the cult of Sufism
brous;Jht membe1s of the two sects toJ?ether in. friendly
communion. Sufism, however, w&s not so much a livin~
cteed as an emotlona 1-intelledllal enjovment, which affected
the select few, being confined to the educated and official
classes.
T11e masses could not appreciate such lofty ideas as mystic
pantheism and the unlV"ersal brothel'hood of man. Fanatics
had !i(t'eater sway over their hearts than philosophers. .The
lower dasses, afte1 some fighting between Hindus and Muslims
or Sblas and Sunnis, (the forces of Government being .alv;rays
011 th<;; side. of the orthodox creed),"'""'7at last came
to. a
.settlement in e\7ery locality, reco!j!niiing the bc>1111daries d~hts
and llmilations of each creed on a basis which acqulted the.
sacredntess of custom with the passage 0Hin:1e. 'fl:11,i~1 th.e'Q'
li11ed amic.:\blt. within their own .narrow litnit.s, l3t.this .
472 SIJOI~ I l!IS I Ol~Y 0! .\lll~ANl u'.111 [CJ!. xx
reh!Jious truce held good only so IL1n J us the local society
1

was sldtic. Witl1 the b1sl chani;ic in the relati\7c slren<.!th ot

lbc two sects or in their tt.:mpcr, with the visil of c111 aclil7c
orthodox preacher from outside or lhc <1cccsoion of a biiJOl
to the th1one, the slccpin1J \7okilnn of mob puc.~.io11 s would
D.Q'ain wabc to fury. Exampk:, of il me furnished by tlw
111ass<:1crc of lhc Shias al Srinu<;Jut in 1685, llw dt'slntclion <1nd
pollution of Ilindu tempks by Au1"<1111~;;:ib, tlw plucl~in<J of tltc
ja.iiJa-collcctor's beard by Rc1jpu[5 in JvJa[wc1, a11d rcld!i<:11i()ll
on mosques bf some Rathor and Mnrnthd princes of hi!Jh
spirit. Incliun society wus, therefore, in a <;[.:\le of tmsiabk'
equilibrium in e\1e1y cenlrc of mixed population in l\uran<J;:ib's
reign.

19. Indian peoples lack ftl<! spfdt of pt01JU'ss ; fil!11cc

tlieit declin<!.
Pinalli, the Indian 1wopk of the Mtt!Jh<tl ,1Jc, both I IimJus
and Muslims, were sta\k)tllll"i'., pwne k> VClll'l'<lle Utt' wisdom
of their ancestors .tnd to loot~ down upon lhL latest <1JC ,,~ lhc
worst. Expcrinwnl and free thou~hl wen: ht'llCP ,1pt lo be
Conc!e11111cd dS an impious queslionillcl' of 5,1cred c1ttfhnri\y rl!ld
an insokmt setting up of our own 11n11y intdled <Wt1i11~1 lhnt
of lhe Sdl;1cs of yotc. The pro\;rcssi\7L' spirit dhl t Hli of Indi,1
at the death of Al~bar. Tlll'll followed n stttlinn<ll'\! c:ivilizalion,
and such a civiliialion is bmmd l\) dcccW <1S il finds improve-
ment impossible.
"The riJidity of faJ,un has enabled its follmve1s ill ell! lands
lo SLlCC~ed up lo il ccrilill point. J\ut tfll'l'l.'l ihuy hi.1\.1'(~ sloppe< (,
while proi:J'1'ess is the ktW of life in lhe li\7in<t wneld. While
Eurnpe has been stci'tdilf advanci111,1, th0 'stuliom1ry E<\st' l1<1s
been relati17cl';'. fll!lit1i;1 bci.ck, c111ll every ';'.Cill' that passe~ lncrCil
ses tbc dislance between Europe and Asia in lmowlccllJe,
organl.:ation, accumulated l'esourccs, and 11cql11L'ed capucily, and
mcll<es il increasingly diffic11lt fot lhc Asiulics lo compek with
 now TO ['Olm AN INDIAN N,\'J'ION 473

the Europeans. The English conquest of the Mughal empire

is only a purt of the inevitable domination of all Africa and
Asia by the- European nations,-which is onl'l another way of
stlfi11~1 that the prngressivc races are supplantin~ the conser~
Vil.tivc ones, just as enterprisirnJ families are constantly replacing
$(CCP'l ~1.:lf-s<tlisfied ones in the leadership of ot.ir own society."
[My 1>'lurrfia/ Administration, 2nd ed., 255./

20. T/5.e sig.nificance of A11can9ii:ib's re(gn : fioi11 an

Indian nationality can be formed.
The detailed study of this long and strenuous reign of fifty
ycms drives one tt'llth home into ow minds. If India is evet to
be ihe home of a nation able to l~cep peace within and i;;iuard the
frontiers, dcvdop the economic resomces of fhe country and
promote art and science, then both Hinduism and Islam must die
,rnd be born <HJain. Each of these creeds must pass throu!ih a
ri>Jornus vigil and penance, each must be purified and
rc~ittvcnutcd under the swcw of 1eason and science. That such
n rebirth of Islam is not impossible, has been demonstrated in
at.tr own days by the conqueror of Smyma. Ghaii Mustafa
Kamtll Pasha has prnved lhut the !'.Jl'eatest Muslim Slate of the
tuJc CEUl secttlarfa:e its constitution, abollsh pohzgam? and the
smvile seclusion of women, grant political equality to all creeds,
and yd not ccasG to be a land of Islam.
13ut Amarn;Jilb did not atternpl such an ideal, even though
his subjects formed a vety composite population, e\7en though
the entire Indian wodd lay at his feet and he had no European
i'iV<1ls hutti;;irily watchin!J to sei:;;e his Ringdom. On the contrary/
lll: deliberately undid i.he be~lnnings of sttch a national and ,,
r,1Honal policy which Alibar had set on foot.
Ilislory when ds;ihlly read is a justification of Providence,
a revelation of a great purpose fulfilled Jn time. The failure
of an ideal Muslim kimJ Iii~ Aurangzib, with all the
.adv.:\nlagcs he possessed at his accession and his high mot'al
474 St!ORT lIISTORY m l\Ul~l\NOZm fc11. XIX
character and frainimJ,-is, therefore, the dearest proof the'
world can afford of the clemal fruth that there ccmnot be a
great or lustinl\'( empire without '-' <Jteat pCO/J/c, lhal- no 11coplc
can be great unless il learns to f<.11111 a compact nation with
equal rights and opportunities fo1 ,,11,--a rwlion the componeut
parts of which arc homoqeneous, d\ll'('ein1,r in <111 css1.mtial
points of fife and thottiJ1if, but freely fo{cru(frn~ indfV'idtmf
differences in minor points and priv<1ic life, rccogni;;in!J
indi'J'idual liberty as the basis of commun,11 Jibcrty,--a
nation whose administration is solely bent upon prnn10tinH
national, as opposed to parochial or seclatian inlerests,--,1nd
a society which pursues lmowlcdf;fe without fear, wilhoul
cessation, without bounds. ll is only in that put'e li~(ht of
good1lCss <lnd truth that an ImllJn 1mtiond11IY Cc11l 1;rrow to
the full statur~ of its beirnJ.
 CHAPTER XX
TIIE EMPIRE OF AL!RANGZIB: ITS RESOURCES,
Tf~ADE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

1. Tlie fmpil'e : its extent and tef!e1111e.

At the dc-ith of Auranf,(ioib (1707), his entpire consisted
of 21 subalis or separate provinces, ,2Lw_hic\l 14 were sil1rnted
in rtndustan or Northern India, six in the Deccan, and one
(nmnely, Kabul} in wl:at now fonm _Af~hanistan. Their names
are :
9), J'Ji.tbafis of Hindustan-Agra, Ajmir, Allahabo.d, Ben!Jal,
l3ih<1r, Delhi, Gu!rnt, Ka5hmir, Lahot', Malwa, Multan, Orissn,
Oudh, and Tatta (or Sindh).
(ii) 8ubafis of !Iii: Decc:an-Khandesh, Bera!', Aurangabad
(old Ahmadnagar), Bklar (old Telin~ana), Bljapur, and
lfoidarabacl. A cenlt11y eadier, i. e., at the end of Al<bar's
reign (1605), the Mu1Jhal empire had embraced all the fourteen
subahs of Hindustan and onl\? the first two of the above
pro'Yinces of the Deccan,-lhe annexation of Ahmadnas;iar
by Akbat bein~ nominal. .Qgn_cfoh~L.2L?2~fu. )ifg?~~~t~~. ':'7~s.
J9,1;~J;:tllered in the official records as a subah of the Mughal
eLUPJl:Gi but it w~1s in name only, as it frequcutly cbamied
lmlJ.4.t. bdween the kinqs of Pe('Sil'I and Delhl and was finally
lost to the Mu~huls in 1049 i it was even at the best of
a
i1~;s barren possession and a \7C1'\? losing concem. Kabul
01 North Afghun1stCtn, though held by ihe Mughal Er~1p~;~s
till its ann.cxation bl[ Nadh: 5hah (1739), had a tevenue of
o.11ii QO lal<hs of l~upees In Akbar's time and 40 lakhs in
Awani;t;ilb's 1e1gn1 much of which was often unreall~ed.
So, we shall leave these two ptovinces of Af~hanistan out
of our consideration in this chapter.
 SHORT llJSTOnY OF J\\II~/\NGZIU [cu.XIX

character and lrainirn;r,-is, therefore, the cleatest proof lhc

world can afford of the e!enlill truth thal there cannot be it';
![lTcal or lasting empire without a >;real eoplr:, thu.~ no people
can be great unless if lt.!arns to form a compact nation with
equal rights and opoduni!ies for all,-<l nation lhe compo1wnt ,,
parts of which ure homo!Jcncous, mirecin!J in all csscnti<)f
poinls of life and thoui;rht, but freely lolcrJtinr,: individtlal
differences in minor points and priv<1lc life, rcco~ni,;inq
individual libert'Q' as the basis of comnu111al liberty,-,,
nation whose aclminislration is solely bent upon prnmotin!J
national, as opposed to parncbial or sectaricrn interests,--- .:tnd
a society which purstt1:'5 l<nowlcd!Jc without fcur, without
cessation, without bounds. It is on!? in that pttrc lii~ht of
!JOodncss and truth that t1n Indian nationality cnn i.,11ow to
the full slature of its beirnJ.
 CHAPTER XX
TJrn CMPll~E or AUI~ANGZlB;ITS RESOURCES,
Tl:1ADE AND ADMINISTI:>l.\TIVE SYSTEM.

1. T!ie l;mpil'e : its extent and revenue.

At the de.llh of Aurang:oib (1707), his empire consisted
of 21 su6afis 01 separate pro17inces, _9Lw;hich 14 were. sifm\fed
in Ilindustan or Northern India, six in the Deccan, and one
(namel'i.', Kabul} in what now forms . Afghanistan. Their names
arc :
,Q). ~c'ftibafis of fltn,du~~taa--Agra, Ajmir, Allahabad, Bengal,
Blhar, Delhi, Gujrilt, Kashmir, Lahor, Malwa, Multan, Orissa,
Oudb, nnd Tatta (or Sindh).
(ii) 8aba!is of Ifie Dec~a11-Khandesh, Berar, Al1ra11qabad
(old Ahmadnagar), Bidar (old Telingana Bijapur, and
llciidarabi:'ltl. A ce11tt11y earlier, i. e., at the end of Afabar's
1clgn (1605), tbe Mughal empire had embraced all the fourteen
subahs of Hindustan and only- the first two of !he above
Pt'0\7illct'S of the Deccan,-the annexation of Ahtnadnaga!'
by Al.rbar bcini,T nominal. Q.m.dl\.l151J.:.Et_$g_uth..1lfE~~~t~n.~w.c:s_
l':?}}iJrllkred in the official 1ecprds <\S a subah of tht> Mughal
cmpii~, but it was in name only, a~ ft frequently changed
lltl!JS:\. PC'twc_i.~!1 the l<irn;rs of Persia and Delhi and was finally
lo~t to the Mu~hals in 1649 ; it was even at the best of
tim-;; a barren possession and a very losing concern. ~abul
or Norlh Afii:hanistan 1 though held by the Mughal Emperor~
tlll its- t1nnexatio~i b'l Nadil' Shah (1739), had a re\7enue of
o~;)y QO lalzhs of Rupees in Alibar's time and 40 lahhs in
Auran!ildb's reign, m11ch of which was often unrea!il!ed.
So, we shall leave these lwo pro\7inces of Afghanistan out
of our conside1ation in this chapter.
11.75 SIIOI~ l' lllSTUlN 01' ,\l\H/\t-ll>lli" [Cl!. xx
The MrnJhill empire undi..:r Alll'<ll1~J2ib indudcd in llw
norlh Kdshmir urn l all Af!Jllc:tnblan south of lhc llindulwsh ;
011 the south-west a line :'l6 miles ~oulli ot Oha:::-ni separnkd
it from the Persian l<in~;dom. On llw \vest Wdst it strdchcd
in theory np to llw northern frontier of Cloe\ <1nd it1lc\nd lo
Belgaon (in lhc l'iomb<ly Karnu.!,1[~ or Ko.J1,1ra) and Hi<..'
TtHHJ,1bhadra river. Thcrmfler lhl' bciumlttry passed wesl to
east in cl disputed and ever shiftirn,1 line throwJh the centre
of Mysore, dippill<j sottlh-caslwards to lhc Kuleru11 river
(north of Tanjorc). In the extreme north-c<1sl, l11l~ rivet
Monas (west of O<ltthati) divided tlw crnpir . . from the
independent l~ingdom of l\.ss,1111. But it should Lw alwttys
borne i11 mind lhal in the south-west, s1.>uth t1nd south~enst,
i. e., thrmuJhout 1Yfol1arnshh'<1, I\,maia, Mysnrl' and llw
Eastern Ko.malv.1~, !he Emperm's ruk was dbpllh'd <1nd most
places bad lo obey a dnuhlc sel of m0skrs m spolitllors
(do~am/i),--as the Enqlish and French fndury rc~:nrds Pi\infully
illus Irate.
ExcluJimJ AfiJ(1crnislun, thl' Mrn;lrnl empire [1,1d d re\7enuc
of l<u1x~es 13 Ktores ulld !31 hrfdis LHltkr l\l~b,1r, <"rnd 33
!<:totes and 25 la/2fis under AuramJ;:ib. Thi:> w,1s llw st.:u1dard
or maximum St<lle demetnd f1om k'nd, bl1t this c\mount Wn5
never fully t'e111lzed <H1d tl11.' odual colkclh111 often kl! Vt't'Y
short of it 'l'his foittt'l' srood ft1r the lt\nd l"C\'C'l1tlt' ,1\onc
dnd did not include the procL'eds uf lnxe:; Jil?t' llw .'.!lakat
(one-fortieth of the anmrn.I tncnnw of Musli1rn, lll be sncnt
solely in rclis_:iious cbnrit1) <111d /a/f(ya. l\ Wll!Jh id<:tt of llw
proportion of the diff('l'ent sources of St,1kfoctiml' Cun bi:
formed from the fl>Jttl'<.$ for Oujral in Aurnmsl!ib's rei~n : -
land rc'V"cnue K~s. 113 lafahs, /ll/i;f':JCl 5 lal~hs, cust,)ni-<lulics of
Surat port alone HI lal~hs pel' <mnum. (Tht! otlrnr Pl)t'ts
did negligible frade, exec pl Masulip11k11n ,111d Ilughli tow.mis
!he encl of the i-eign). The amounts of lc1nd held ,\s milit,1t"i
fief (fag.fr) and Crownland (f:ficrl.s~1 sficm'fc1) Ciln be )l1dft~'d
 Nl1Ml\Ll~ AND PAY OF OFFICI:RS 477

from the followin~ fi!6mes (cit-ca 1690) : land reV'enue assessed

on /arr-its 27'64 l~rores and on ldiafsa 5'81 hrores of Rupees
(for llie whole empire).
2. Ifie Official peerage.
' The lJOvcrnmcnt both ci\7il and military was concluded by
means o[ oftick1ls entered in the army-list ancl <Jraded in
succ:c~si\7c 1"<1t1bs (mansab) from commanders of (nominal}
h1 c11ty thousand horse down to commanders of twenty
[in l\hbM's rci~n ten] men only. Of these, all who held any
~irade from 3 ntlc'Wl'i upwards were called ~randees (umara-i-
a.::::am or ~rand commanders), and those below the command
of 3000 horse (nominal) were styled simply mansabdars or
officL'rs:'1
r1 c. 1596 C, 1620 1647 c. 1690
,, Number of
Orum.Ices (i. e.1 3-limwri
und upwards includin!J the
pdnces) 63 112 99
Totcil, lnclttdin(J both umaca
and mansabdar:s ... 1,803 2,945 8,000 14,449'

11 From the above we can see the enormous inflation of

the amw-list under Aurani;Jeib and the heavy- financial burden
ih.:1l it produced.
Out of the 14,449 mansabdars under Aurani;:eib, about 7,000
wi!re jag:il'dats anJ 7,450 were naqdl (or paid in cash), i. e.,
nearly half nnd half, The annual salary and allowances of
the mansubd<:'lrs, includinq the pa'i of their troops (who,
umler Sbah Jaban's rnlc, had to be actually at least one~
fomlh of the nominal number of their grade) were as follows.
for the first class in each grade :
7haiari ... 3.5 lokhs of Rs.
5-ha:cari . . . 2.5 11 ,,
llazari .... half a lal~h ,,
Commander of !went)? Rs 1,000.
478 SllOI~r f[[STOl-IY or l\lll-1ANGZm [c11. XX

The actual urmecl strength of the empire in 1647 WuS

2 k1l~hs of troopers brou~;bt to !be muster and
bwndin!J,
8 thousand ma1Mabdats,
7 thousand anm!is and batqanda:m~,
1,85,000 tabinan or additiolh1l !roopcrs of the
princes, umam ,uicl mansabdats, ~ ill1d
40,000 foot-musl~ctccrs, ~Junners, and rncl~d-m('l1,
These numbct s undcrWL'nt d still further incrL~ase with
AuraruJo:ib's fresh warfare ctnd m111ex<1tio11s in the Dl'ccan,
till at last his finances hopelessly bwbc down undc1 the
army bill.)
[n the Mughal emph'e there prcvuilcd what Bcrnie1 calls
"the barbarnu~ and C1ncit'l1 l ('ll~tom" of llll' sovereign confis-
catincg !he properly of every om' who dbl in his se1vicc.
fn otlwr words, there was no hcredittH'y prnpt't'ry umon<J lht
nobility, but the Emperor <tlways lonb posscssion of the
treasures and l10uses of his noblemen on llwit cb1lh r1lld
made a iJift lo their childt\'11 of only whal lw pk'i'\S(!d ; thl'
heirs lk\d 110 k>iJal righi lo their f,,thcr~' lc1,rc1cy. Tlll' l'CSttll
was \7cl"'i' lwrmfnl lo lhe Stak and ln lndi,111 civilit<1lion.
The nobles lived cxtravasJantly ,\11d squandt'tcd tlwir all on
luxury, as they !mew that they could !c,\v~' 11oil1i1HJ to their
family and i.h,1t the Dmpcro1 ulo1w would profit by lhdr
fntli(ality. AiJu.in, the insccueil)! of tbe nobles' forltuws
pre-vented lhc accumulu.t!on of private c.\pii<tl and the economic
gtowlh of the coL111lry which d()pcnds on capi1aL The !Jt'nerttl
level of ci\l"illt:ation and CLtltlll't', too, was klWl'l'cd, because
each i,te11eeation hild lo wod< . from lhc bnlkHn upwal'ds,
instead of bcnefltinq by the acquisilions and prO!J!'t'SS achk\'Ni
by its predecessor.
The political effect of lhis 0srhcal system w.1s mos!
disastrous ; it pre\rented India from havin~ one o( llic slrons;icst
checks on royal autocracy, namely, pn independent hereditary
 B.\D EFFECTS OF ESCUcAT SYSTEM 479

peeru~1c, whose position and wealth did not depend on the

l~irn;(s fd\7our in C\7e1y i;!eneration and who could tht>refore
afford lo be bold in !heir opposition to royal f'lranny. It
also mudc lhc Mugbal nobility a selfish band, prompt in
desertin1J to lhe winning side in every war of succession or
forciqn invasion, because they knew that tl1eir lands and
0\7Cll pcl'sonal propedy were not legally assured io them,
but depended solely on the pleasure of the de facto kini;i.
Ml'diac\7al India had no independent nobility or powerful
trddin!J class to ad as a barrier between the omnipotent
Emperor at the top and the countless poor peasants and
labottrcrs at the bottom. Such a Go'Vernment is most
tmsbble "t1d unsound.

3. Manufacfut:es and tmde.

The Mu!Jhal Government was Us own ma1mfacturer, in

Slat( foctot'ics called kar.,fdianafis, for large quantities and
"111 lm mcnse \7atiety of <irticles. These ha\7e been described
in detail in tny booh J.llugfia! Administmfion, Ch. X ("Stale
Industries"), The pti\7ak~ industries of the various provinces
l\l'C cnumernted separately in my India of Autang./1-ib. Foreign
trade, howeve1, occupied a negligible position in the economics
of the Mugbal empkc, on account of its small \7olume,-the
total )?icld of lhe import duty beinl6 pr~bably less thnn 30
lal~h~ of Rupees a year, while lhe land re'Venue brouiJhl to
the State one hundred and eleven times that amounO As
l)crnier acutely obser\7es : "Nor can the commerce' of a
cQuntl''\: so i;!averned be conc.1ttcted with the activity and
s1..1ccess tlu1t we witness in Euwpe. . . In case, indeed, where
the merchant is pl'olected. by a military man of ranR, he may
be induced to embark in commercial enterprises ; but still
he musl be the slave of his patron, who will exact whate'Ver
:terms he pleases as the price of his protection."
480 SJIOltl' IIJS'l'Oiff Ol' 1\lW1\Nnzrn [cu. XX

The value of lhc Indian products exported b\7 lhc ErnJlish

E. L Company duri111J the tlrst sixty ')!cc.11s of ils lrdde (16rn-
l672), dirl nol avera<~C more than a hundred t!10usc111d pounds
(or eight li:1hhs of Rupees) per .11111un1. [In I681 it rose lo
230,000 for Beu~:al alone]. While [h, lr,1dc of tile Dllkh
Company with fndit1 WM a! lllis ti1m~ ptobnbly t1l k.:isl i!S
\ar1Je as that of the En<Jlisli Comp,1ny, lhc lrndc of tl1c
Portuguese was e('rtainly smalkr. TlwrL' b 110 cvidcrn.:c' lo
show thctl ,111\! very cnnsidcMbk \l()[mm of lrndL' by Sl'<t
was in lhc hilnds of native merchants, but d small amount
of traffic continued to be carried 011 by the overland rout-
1o Pcrsfo and Turl'.;!cy [and also Tilwt!. The foci is llhlt lhe
people of Indid at tllill time obf,1itwd liltlt by iullrntllion.1!
exchm11,te except precious mdals lo!Jctllc1 wilh <1 few attidt''-
of luxury enjoyed by the l'fch. These imports \Wl'l' In lhl'
main puicl for by her cxporl of ~otlnu i,\oods, supplcnwnled
by a small \7nrictrr of 1-.=1w produce sud1 a~ PL'ppcr, indh,10,
and saltpetre. India was thus l'c011omict1lly ulmost sdf-
supportirn-J. [C. J. llamillon, 32-33).
The low runi;ic of import duties [11t1mdy, ':5 1 /~ 1wr cc1tl
ad t7alorem, of which 1 p. c. Wi:IS for lbc ja.'..:iyal impo!;l'd by
the Mu!Jhcll Empernrs pl'ovcs llrnl thcrt: W<IS d lJ'l'llt'l't1l dcsirt~
to encourage foreign trade. There w<:ts no question of an
attempt to prok'ct 11<ltl\7t' tl1<1l1ltfodun.'s rby prnl tibitl\7C: import
duties]. The exp<Ytl trndc seems i.o hnvc been <lpprnvcd [by
the Delhi Governrnenl] .:is the recognizc.'d nw<1ns fM ()btt1i11ln1J
a supplr of the precious metals dnd of drllcfos of lttxmy
consumed at the Court I C. J. lfomillon 1 QO].
The Engligh E. r. Co/s fr<l.dc with the Enst <:htdng fht.': ft!'sl
half of the 17th cctt!Ltty was to i'I lar~;e extent confined to
dealin!ils in five classes of goods. ,Jn the Bnglish mi1d~(!t llw
products most sott~hl fm were the spices from ll1(! Atchipclnqn
and the Spice Is1ands1 the raw st/I( of Pcl'Sle1, and the scr!tpeit'e
and indigo of India. No doubt a fair quanll1\! of the finer
 IMPOl<'l'S JN'JO rlllGtlAL IND!\ 481

col/011 dnths, us ulso J. small ciuantily of manufactured silk

qoods, wc1e impurkd into Enqland. But, for the most part
the Cornpt1ny's pmc!1ases of cotton goods were made not for
import into En<Jland, bu! for the markets of !be Further East
nnd of Pcrsiu. lncliu, inclcecl, possessc-d almost u monopoly in
the llli111Ltfoc!urc nf co!ton go0ds, in foreii;in marlwts, . , .but
she hud 110[ C\7l'l1 i1 considerable export !rude in silb. !ilOods.
l~i1\\7 silh cumc [to En<~[,111cl] chiefTv from Persia and from
Chinu, while even in lhe first hilli of the 17th century, China
supplied the qre,1lcr part of the- manufactured sill< articles
imported into Enl,lland. IC. J. Hamilton, 31 32).
The cbicf imports into India in the Mughal limes were sif>?et'
and .qofd (in specie), und to a lesser extent coppec and lead.
W ,, WNc prudically dcpend\~l1t t1pon foreiP,n countries for
these nwlals, ihoui;rh not for irnn and stecl,-which last were,
howc\7er, imporled as cheaper~ for hii,;h class woollen clothing
Eurnpc (notablr Prance) was our sole supplier, and large
quantities of imported broadcloths and other woollen fabrics
(Arabic saqadat, scarlet) were consumed in India by lhe CoLtrt
<'11d the rich. Next in \7alue were horses, of which lanJe
numbc-rs came by ship froni the Persian Gulf and by the
lund-routc from Khurasan Cenfral Asia and Kabul throul;Jh the
north-western passes. mu ponies (cal!ed tangcm or 9unt) were
imported from !he Eastern film21laran States, Tibet and Bhutan,
thtotts;th Bengal, Kuch Bihar, Moran!J i:'ll1cl Oudh. Larqe
quantities of fruits-fresh rr;~~~ctcfiYallthe'1ear round,
were cons~1med in Upper Indi.:i, and came from Central Asla,
Af ghanislan and Pel'sia. Spices (such as clo\7es, nufme~s,
dnni'ltnon and cardamom) were supplied by the Dutch from
lhc Spice Islands, which had a monopoly of these commodities.
Articles of luxury lil~e musk and porcelain came from China,
pcads from Hahrain (Persian Gulf) and Ceylon, elephants from
Pcgu and Ce?"lon, superiot brands of tobacco from America,
liflass~warc wine and curiosities from Europe, and sla\7,es from

31
482 SllOlH llJSl(HN Ol l\lllU\N<Ji,111 lcu. XX

Ab}!ssiniu.; but the quc:intily of thc~.c wa~ very srn<1ll, c\S b<.:llltcd
their hi<,;!h prict' and lirnitc>d com um ptio!l. The Europc'<1n
Companies \7('IY occasio11ally sold dr!illcrv and mu11iliow. (in
small quantities) lo our local rule1c,, in tlicir sttddl'll 11ccd, but
there was no rc15l1lar !rude in thc~c thit1<~s <1rnl, indeed,
the tra11saclions wcrl' mostlr done in ~ecrd <lt. unl ..1wful. !\
thin stream of traffic cnll'rl'd [ndi,1 from the l limt1lay,lll l"l\:in11s
by W<\f of Oudh (and ILlkr lhrow~li l\1hw) ; tli.'Y brnuqhl lo
us, loaded on ponies ,1nd bhccp (!), Sllklll q1wntilics ot 1wld,
copper, musb dnd the L1il of UK' yal< cow (101 U~L' ilS fan..,
or fly-whisl<crs), and also spare hill-ponies; <1tHI <1f!c1 sdHrni
tlwm 1001< bad~ sDll, cotton, ~~lussw,m~, etc, E11ropc,111 pdpcr,
imported b'l the Portuczuc:.!' 01HJ li'1tcr bl.' lite Dukh (but slill
popularly cnllcd 'Pmtu<~D\ Pc1l'H.~r ), wa:. idt\~tlv ('Ull:.lmK'ci bf
1

!he independent Sulla11:. of the Decc,rn. l'iul llw Mu,;htJI

Emperors had their own lactories for \Tcry li1w P<1JW!' (now
\mown in Europe as 'lndi,1 pciper') in K<1c;lnnlr ,111tl <1 fow
olhce places, while tltL' Ill'C:ds of urdinmy ofTice worl~ dlld
prlvate persons were supplied by a d<\SS of Mw,lim lll1lllttfadlH\'1'~
(called KOi! fia.'<i.\) who plit.:d their industry in tvery low11, wilh
a sp~ciul suburb (tJl/tct) of lildr own utur llK' cdp\l,1b.
Our most imporlilnl exports in thoS(' d,1ys Wt'!\' co111mon
cotton cloth (called ca!(coes), dtlicr pl.:iin or pdntvd kfiitil.~),
which were latJdy con~umcd in U1t; lt1Llitln /\1chipefogo, <md
towards the close of lhc 17lb century lll England ,1\sl),- - mu5lin
or vcri fine cotto11 f,1brics,- t1nd t'<l\\7 produc!s Iilw !Mllpelrti+,
itKliljj'o silR. and pl.!pper (bcsiJcs ct:rlain othe1 co~ifaimJ Bpiccs).
SmaJI q~Dn\ities of \vhitl' ~lHJur wetc cx:porlcd frlim Ilui;1hli,
<.Hamonds anti rubii.'s via Masulipuld!1l, ~lrwcs from l.kl!Ji!ul and
Madras, and nlso cotton yarn tor mahin\1 candkwicfas in
En>6lan<l. Towards the end of the ccntmy sill~ t,1f!elas and
brocades bc.gan to be t.'xpol'led in lan;;r<:r quantities, .:md i1
distinct lmprovcnlcn! in the d'{clng and w~'i.Wini;J' of $ilt~ Wc\S
effected in Bensial by the En~lish Compan')?'. The whok'
 CIIIEF MIN!Sl'EI~S OF MUG!ll\L EMPIRE 483

Mcldrns coasl from Musulipatam to PondichetT'l, (and next, but

fur behind it, Kanara or the country from Hubli to Karwar)
were lhe seuls of the most productive cotton industry in India;
but the Wclrs following the o\7erthrow of the Go!l:wnda
sulbni1lc and lhe rise of the Marathas, completely rnined these
rc\;!lons <Hld the prinwcy in coiton manufacture passed on to
Bengal af the beginning of the 18th century.

4. Tiie administrative system.

j The Muslim State was essentially a military Government and
dcRcndcd for ils very existence on the absolute authority of
lhc monarch, who was also the supreme Commander of the
Fu.itbful in wa1) f-Ie bdcl no regulur council of ministe1s, The
wa:dt or de1fia11 was the highest officer below the Emperor,
and the other ministers were in no sense his colleagues but
udmillcdly inferim to him. Many important questions were
decided by the Emperor anLl the waz::it alone without the
lmowlcd5Je of the other ministers. But none of the ministeis,
not even the \Vaair himself, collld serve as a check on the
myal will; their office depended entirely on his caprice. They,
lhL'rcforc, collld not form a Cabinet in the modern sense of
the term. Evcqr Mllslim so\7ereii;;n is, in strict il1eory, the head
of tile Church and !he State alihe ; be is the Knalffa of the
ag.c to bis subjects.
The chief departments of the Mtts;1hal aclminislration were:
fl L The Exchequer and Revenue (under !he Diwan or
Clrnnccllor).
2. The Imperial Household (under the l(fian-i-saman or
lliiJh Stcwurd).
3. The Pny and Accounls office (under the Bal(fisni or
Paymaster),
4. Canon Law (under ihc Qa;,;i of Qa:i<is.)
5. I<cll1;tious endov\7tnents and chadly (under the 8adt of
Sadis).
 484 Sll(l!IT Ill~ I Uk\. 01 l\l lk,\N0/ 11 > k11. xx
6. Ccnsor~hip of Public Mo11ls (under ilw Mllhltrsib).
[JJfctior lo tlwsc, but ra11l~in~ ,1lrllt)Sl lil~l dc1h1rlrnt'11ls,
were --
7. The Artillery (under tiw Mil' IItis(J), o111d
8. Intcllil~C'llCe und Pusts (under th\.' narclfffiu of
Dakcfiattfd).
The Imperiul Diwan rC'cciYcd <111 l'\.'Vl'l1lll' Prwrs ,1mt despilldwc,
from the pm\Tinccs .1ml tick! dl'lllk~, ,1ml dcddvd i1!1 (jlll''tioti..,
connected wilh the collection nr assc~SlllL'llt ol tlw 1TVt'lltt1.'.
He also appointed dtKl contrnlll'd the diw<111s nf llll the prnvinns.
All orders of p.:iyrnl~nt h,"! lo bl' si!Jncd by him. Ift \Vtolc
letters "by mLfor" (fias!Htf-liukm) in his own 1wrso11 lo
communicate the Emperor'!; wishes, ,1nd oflln dt'<\flcd rnyc1!
letters to important Pl't'sons and foi-L'i<Jn ruh'1s.
The sulc1t"''l bills of <11! officers -bu th dvil tllld milil.wv
(because both wet'c <llifac a1ansahd(us) lhid to lw l't1lc:ul,11t'd
and pass1~d by the l\,1ld1shl, <\lld in lhl' C<1~l' uf ,\ fil'Jtl 1ll'nl'?
the pnymcnt olsr) was !l1tl(k lhrm11.th his <kparimenl. l\l llw ''IHI
of l\urangzib's rclrJn, owitHJ lo lhe >,ireal cxp1111~ion of tht'
empire, there were one Chid fl>,1l~hshi k,11lcd llw First l'>ttllhshi)
<1tKl three assistants, called the Qnd, :ird and 4th Bal~l1 11hhi. E,wh
field army was plac~d undel' r\ 1:1cncr<1l c1ppoinled fol' llw
occilsion. 'rhou~1h <1! scV'ernl pedmls W(' find o!Hcerg 111\l'l'Skd
with lhe title of sipafi salar: or 'chief tif the ~wmy,' it was
only c1 title of honoul' unc\ these officers did m)t n~<illy
commMd the cntit'c Mu~llal army. The Ernpcrot' (\lmw wm,
the commander~in~cl1lcf.
The Khan~f-saman or lI!qh Stcwi1rd Wus the htod of fhe
Emperor's household department; he conlrnllcd l1ll ihc pcrsol1dl
se1'\7ants of fhe Emperor, sur;ier\7ised his daily expcn(littue,
meals, stores, &c,, and uccompanlcd him durinSJ his jomncys.
The State factor( es or fwtfdirmafis wl:'rc ll1d11\l;tcd <"Ind paid
by him.
The Cmperot was theol'elicall'l 1hc hi\{hest Jttd1tc ln the
 JllS'r!CE AND RELIGION now ADMINISTERED 485

realm, and used to lry cases personally every Wednesday.

But the court held by hlm was a tribunal of the highest appeal
rather than a court of first instance. The Qa;;i was the
chief judge in all criminal suits of the Muslims and most
ci\711 cases, and fried them according to Muslim law, assisted
by a mufti, who stake\ the abstract law beari1w on the case
afler: consulting Arabic bool~s on jurisprudence, while the Qaii
pronounced the sentence.
The imperial Qa2i, called the Qa:d-al-qwwt, always
accompanied the Emperor, and appointed and dismissed the
lo cal qazis of lhe cities and Jan;re villages in every province.
1
(~:,:..)I'he Chief Sadr (called the Sadc-us-sadltl') was judge and
supervisor of the endowments of land made b'l the Emperor
and tbe princes for the support of pious men, scholars
<:i.n<l monlw. It was his dut'l to see that such grants were
applied to their proper purpose and also to scrutiniee fresh
'lPPl!cations for !Jrnnts. He was also the Emperor's almoner
and had the distribution of the charil'l fw1d of the Sta.te.
The r>rovindal sadrs were appointed and supervised b'l
hlm,
It wc1s the duty of the Manfasib to reglllate the lives of
the people in strict .accordance with the Quranic rules, and
to enfo!'ce the Prophe!'s commands b'l puttin.<g down the
dl'i11l~i1HJ of distilled splrits 1 bfiam7 and other liquid intoxicants,
>Jcunblin15 and !he practice of immorality as a profession or
in public. The punishment of heretical opinions, blasphemy
a>,rainst the Prophet, and ne;Jled of the five daily prayers
or of the fost dLainfl' the month of l~amian, also lay within
his province. The den~oli!ion of newly built temples vyas
entmsted fo him.
The administrati.\1e a1ienc1 iti tbe provinces of the MufJ'hal
empire was an exact .miniature of the .Centi at Goverriment.
There were the go\7ernor (off!clally styled 11a~im and :pop~Ia~ly
subafidctd, the diwan; bcflffisfif, . qa~f, sadr, bu~tJfa{(R.eeper of
 486 5110/tl' lflS !\)l~Y Ol ,\l1f~,\NG/lll [rn. XX

Govern men! property and official tnhkl), cllH I illL' 1111/filasib,

bu! no !Uian-i--saman. Each Mtba!idar lril'd to pl.w Jlw
Emperor wilhin his own jurisdiction.
The provincial ,1dmi11blri"llio11 Wil~, co11cl'l1t1\1kd in ib d1id
town. J\.t important centre's or sub-divi~iun~ llwrL' wen fau/datw
lo m0inlai11 order, punbh rebels ,111d wro11<.~dOl'I''>, ,1nd d~sbl
in the collcctio n of rl'Vt'nttc wlwn nppu'iL'Ll. Tl ll' \'ill,H,!L''i were
ne~~lccled und, cilhcr coi1tcmptu,n1sly or th1ot1:,l11 in~uffidcncy
of oJTicial <.;tnit, left to Hw their own li\lv~, olti'I\ cl'i smnlt
self-~1ovcrnin~ units or "villa!;ll' communities."
In !he
bis;i ciiies the /fofwal m pr.;.'h'd ol polke w l[ only
enforced k1w and order, bul had ,11so lo distht1nJL~ nl<H1y
!unctions o{ d mock:m munidpalily, L'Onll'ol ihL' !l\Ml~lb (wch,:hls
and prices), ,rncl 111i\inli\in tlw Qtu1nk l'l1ll 1 ~ of ltlot'dlily.
The Ccnbdl Govt:rnlll<.rnl J~ept Hsdf i11tnrml'd uf tlw
occurrences i11 all pi\d~ of lhl' country by llH.'<Hls of bpks dlld
ncws-rcport<et's, bolli public ,md s1~c1~t. 'J'!iv'IL' ,11,r1.'11ls ful'llwd [our
classes : 1vaq,1iM11a1rlr, sawa11iliH11iyar, f(;JiafiaHmwl1 (Sl't'l'l'I ldtct
wrHcl'), and !iarK:,rrafi (Sp\?' <11ld courie!'). They !Md tn '->l'lld npoJ'ls
at l'C>Jllktr fnll'rvals. E'll'l"Y pnhlk officl' hJd c111 011v11 1'1.1 porlc1
01' ciiurist attached (o it. /\ll lbc l't'j!llt'!S l'Ct1d11.'d !hl nll\jWl'lll' 1

throu1Jh the Pm1lmaskr-Gcn(~1"<1l (/A1!'01Jfia .. f-!Jatfrlia11k;i).

In spik' of tlw rcpcr1ted prnhibilions of lJw Empl'l'm"H, llk\llY
local officers (nnd c\len subnhdt.1rs) trncd lo cxnl'l ilh:sJ.il 1.ts~cs
(c:dl!ed abnmfo) ttndct i'll il1ilnl't1Sl' \'<'lt'idy tif llL1 <1d~ r\!ld from
all daS5l~'> nf at'!i<;clUS, trndcrs, folblllll\~L'S, rllH I p1:npit' 111 l,f0lll'l'r1L
1\ list of 67 such abwabs i:; iJivcn with t:xpl,11rn1ur\T 110\<:s in
nw M11r1.fial !ldmfnislrntion, ch. 5. 1\ fudlwr smll'ct: ~1f
oppression wus the practice of some sttbdhddrs to scfa:t' llie
!goods of merchants in tr<111sll> p.:1y un inudl'qtttllc pdct~ nl' no
price at all for them, and tlwn S~'ll thc;c iJood.;; in the orwn
tnarl<ci for their own profit (wh,1t lhc En~lish trad~'rs called
"the f01'dn<;J of lil"OOds'') 01 appropdak the choice articles to !hclt'
own use. Onl'l a stro11g imd viiJilant Emperor ctntld s{op it.
 CHRONOLOGY.
[All the dates in this booh are in The Old St'i'le or un-
reformed caknclar. To convert them to the New Sll'le, .:idd
fen (sc1metimcs elc-vcn) cla'ls).
1618. Oct. 24, Birth of Aurang2ib.
l 627. Apr. 10, Birth of Shi\'aii.
[628. Feb. 4, Shah jahan crowns himself. I Jahanf;fir died on
29 Oct. 1627].
1633. May !28, Attrangi:ib fi~hts an elephant.
1635. Scp.-Dec., Aurarn,;;::ib commands in Bundela war.
1636. Maf, Purtition treaty between Shah Jahan and Adil
Shah.
1636 July- [644 May, Amam;:zib's first viceroyalty of the Deccan.
1636. Oct., Shahji Bho11sle submits to Mu15hals and enters
Rijapur ser\7icc.
,1637. May 8, Atll'. marries Dllras Banu (who cf. S Oct 1657).
1(138. Feb. 15, Zeb-un-nisa, Aur.'s elcbt child, born, (d. 26 Ma'l?
1702).
June, Am. annexes B<HJ!ana.
,1639. Dec. 19, Md. Sultan born, (d. 3 Dec. 1676).
1643. Oct 4, Muazzam (Shnh Alam I) born.
1M4-. Mny, Attr. dismissed and degraded. Is reinstated in Nov.
11'4:5 Feb:~1647 Jan., Aut". go\7ernor of Gujrat.
1647. March 7, Dadaji I\onddev dies ; $bi\7<tji becomes in~
dependent, ~alns Ad!l-Shahi forts.
Md'Y 25, Am. reaches Ball~h city ; retreats in October.
'1~48 M<lrcb ..-1659 jul'i', Aur. i;.!O'Vernor of Ml1llan and Sindh.
, 1649, May 14-Scp. 5, Aur.'s first siel6e of Qdndahar.
,.,1'651:?. May ~}"-M'I" 9, Am.'s second sie!Je of Qandahar.
1002-1658, Au1.'s second 'liceroyalty o( the Deccan.
1655. Nov. 2 J. QLttb Shah imprisons Mir Jumla's sofl.
488

1656. )an. 1:5, Shf'7dji ullllL'Xl'S f<l\"li, 1,:,1ins l~.ii\?<lrh 6 ApL

Jan., l\ur. i1w<1dcs Clullwudd; ]V[u\d1t1ls ocrnpy J l,1id<1r,1b,HI
~3 Jun., Aur.'s sic~~L of Cil11lwml,1 l'vli. '/ Jv]Mcil :10.
Pcc1cc in April.
July, Mir Juml,1 i~LH:~ kl lklhi, is 11ppui11lvd W<l.ir.
Noxr. 4, Md. Adil Sbuh dks, J\li II. st1ffl'L'(k
'1657. Wai with l!>ij,1pm: J\ur. lcil:cs l.Ji(k1r Li~ siv.w 52 ~9
Mardi, Kc1lidni .J. tv!ay-t l\tt<_?., rdr1\1ls (kl. .J.
Sep. 6, Sh<lb J,1ha11 falls ill ,11 Ddhi, 1,,1dw~, l\i,n'<1
Ocl. 526.
Nov. Shuja nowns him:,df in lkll<Jcll.
Dec. 5, Murt1d Cl'L)WllS hiu1sclf, Cclpllll"('!l cmd rnlis Surc1!
Dec. ~10.
1658. F1..~b. 5, l\ur. slculs from Aurnrn.~,1b,1d l\l conks! lhv lhmtw.
,, 14, Shuj,1 ddl<1kd dl ])(1h<1durpur l>y ~'iul,1im,1n
Slmlwh.
April 15, At1r. and Mur.1d dd1..\tl fosw,\Ot ,\[ l>hMm<ll.
Ma;'i! 523, Officio! ber1inni11r;: o/ first Y<'m' vf ll11t. s tl!i~Jn.
1

,. ~9, Daril dekc1lcd ut St1lllll!i.~\l'h.

June 8,Shah )uhan nhldl' prisonl.'r in A\jt\1 ful'L
Q5, Aur. irnprisnns Mur<tli, (wli(i is l~llled Ih' .. 1, 1l\C1 l),
"
July Q!, Aur.'s Jlrst coro1it11io11.
1659. fon. 5, S!rnj<\ dck<1led dl Kh,1iwi\,
March 13, J),ua lidl'<1k'd ,11' Dcorai.
hme ~), Grund cornnation or 1\ur.
,, 9, Daru and Sipihr Shttlwb captured.
Amjl. :SO, D11r.:t cxccutt'd.
Nov. 10, Shivaji !~ills Afat1l Khan.
1660. Ma\f 9, Slrn1stt'1 Kllnn occupicg Puna, simms Clwlum
Au~. 15.
6, Shuju !Ices from Dacc11, which Mir Jum!a
occupies. (Shttia petishvs in Arrncan, F(lb. 166 l.)
Dec. f27, Sulaiman Shttlwb lirnught to Ddhl as
Prisoner, (killed May 1608).
 CW<ONOL OO'i 489

1661. Feb. 3, Shi\7uji defeats K.:it Talb Kb. at Umbarl<hind.

May, Mu~hals ta.lie Kallan from Shivaji.
,, 22, Persian envo'l Budaq Beg inter\7iews Aur.
Dec. 19, Mir Jumla captures Kuch Bihar cil'l.
1662. March 17, Mir Jumlu cup!u!'es Garh!;]aon, capital of Assam.
May rn, Aur.:irn;rzib falls ill, complete recovery on
JLme 2-L
1663. Jan. 1, Assam l~ill\l malles trcat'l \Vith Mir Jumla, who
bci,1ins retreat on Jan. 10, but dies on Mar. 31.
l\pril 5, Shivaji's ni!Jhl att<lcl~ on Shais!a Khan.
May 14--Aug 16, Aur. visits Kashmir.
166it. fon. 6-10, Shil7aji loots Surat (first time).
,, 23, Shahji 13honslc dieo;.
1665, March 30, Jai S. begins siege of Puranclar; Shiva
interviews )ai Sin<;ih 11 June, Treaty of Purandar
13 June.
Apr[[ 101 Am. doubles custom duti on Hindus.
Nov. 80, Jai S. stal'ts on invasion of Bijapttr, beqins
retreat 5 Jnn I606 ; Jies 2 July 1667.
1666. Jan. !i?.S, Shah Jahan dies.
26 Shuista Kh. conquers Chalgaon.
"
May 12, Shivaji is presented to AuranJ;(::;ib, escapes
19 Aug., eeturns to l:lajgarh 20 Nov., submits to
MtuJhals c. Sep. 1667.
1667. Fc-b. 24, Kam Bahhsh born.
March, Yttst1f;:ai rebellion in Peshawar.
1668. Feb. Am. forbids music at Court.
11
Aur. reco~Jniies Shi\7aji as a Rajafi.
!669. April 9, Aur. ordets temple destrud!on throuli(hou[
his re<:1lm ; Vishwanath temple of Benares desttoyed
Attq., Kcsha\7 temple of Mathura in Jan. next.
1670, c, Jan. 11 Shivail renews wa1 with Muqhals, recovers
his forts, raids extensively,
Oct. :;;~5, Shivaji lools Surat (second tirne).
490 ~i!IOJ<'l [[ISTOl~\'. Ol i\UW\N(if'.111

Oct. 17, Shiva ddcais !luud Kh. dl Pimlorl.

Dec:. ,, robs Kllrnidvsil <111d lkr.ir.
1671. Jan., Aur. dismisses <111 llindu olficcrs from n'\7t'llUL'
department. ChlMlril Sdl bc1,~it1s Wilr <H,i,1insl l\ur. in
Iundd!~hc111d, (d. as l~lll!J in 1751).
J672. ?... Afridi risin!J umler Anna!.
March, Salnilmi rchcllion.
Apr. 21, l\.bdulli:1h Qulb Sh. dh's, J\bul r1,1sc1ll ~11\'L'l'l'd!:i.
Nov. 24, l\li Adil Sh. IL dk's, Sil~,111dM >im:L'(eds,
Kha was Kb. bccollll'~ wa;;:ir (deposed 11 No\'. 1675).
1673. Shivaji gains PanlMla 6 Mar., Parli l l\pr., S,1tM<1 27 July.
1674. Feb. 24, P1atap I~ao l~llled al Nv~al'i, Ilc1111bir I~cw
succeeds cb Sc11<1p<1ti.
April 7, Aur. lcnves Iklhi for I l<tsull Abd,1!, when' IK
stays Jill ] )i..:t:. 1675.
}unc 6, Shi\7tij\'s cownt1tlon; lknlh of llit1 \)ui lt. lnm'.
1675. Apl'il-- Mc1y, ShiV'Llji cnptt11e;, Pbondn furl and KcHWcll'
district
No\7, 1L Bc1blol Kh. bL'cnmcs Wt\l'il' lf Jlij,)(lur, (d. 23
DcC'. 1677.)
Dec. Gmu Tc!ilh Buh,1dur bt'ill'<\dcd.
V\?cllll<aji conqtwrs tlnd <1ttm:xcs 'l'<111jort.
1676, June 1, Bahlol dcbtts n,1hc1dt1r Kb. ,1t !l,1h:<111\~i 1 (slmn
Kb. slain.
Ocl. 8, Asad Kh. crec1k'd w,wit of /\.m.
1677. c. Jan. 1, Shi\7aji starts n11 I\<1ru,1l,1l~ ('Xpedition, h,11ls
at [[,1klarnbnd dutinlJ Ft'b,. ,1t Shri Shuil,1 ~H
Mal'"- I /.\pt., ;:d:; Jinjj (ml t 3 M,w1 lic~k1J\'S
Vcllore 23 Ma'f (it foils !1 Jllly 1678), rou1s
Sher Kh. al Tiruvntil QI.) Julll'i n11:ds Vyanf ~,1ji
ul Tirumalavudi c. 1S\221 July, '"~cemls Mysol't\
plateau on rc!urn honw c 5 Nov., Vya11lwji
4Hac:~s Shantaji 16 Nov., Shiva reddmi home
(Panlwkl) c. 4 Apr. 1678.
 CHRONOLOGY 491

March 19, Amir Kb. appointed governor of Afghanistan,

(ard\7cs 8 JLme 1678, d. 28 Apr. 1698.)
July 7, Bahadur Kh. captmes Ku!barga, is replaced by
Dilir in Aug., Dilir in\7ades Goll<onda, is repulsed
al Malkhed in Sep.
Nov. 18, Aur. introduces pmibnical simplicity at his Court.
[678. Feb. 21, Siddi Masaud becomes wazil' of Bijapur, resigns
Dec. 1683, is succeeded by J\qa Khttsrau, who
dies 11 Oct. 1684.
Dec. 10, Jaswant S. dies at Jamrud.
,, 13, Sharnbhuji escapes to Dilir Kb., returns to
Punhala c. 4 Dec. 1679.
1679. Feb. 19, Am. rcnches Ajrnir, invades Marwar, which he
gives to Indru S. May 26.
Apt'il ~, Aur. reimposes ja;,:iya on non-Muslims.
July 15, Ajit S. conveyed out of Delhi by Dttrliladas.
Sep. ~5, Aur. 1eaches Aimil' again, annexes Marwar to
empire in Ocl.
Od. 7-NM. 1,k, Dilir Kb. threatens Bijapur fort, thereafter
plLtndcrs the country atouncl.
Nov. 4, Shivaji starts to raid Mughal districts, sacks Jalna
15-18 Nov, is defeaJecl by Ranmas! Kh., retreats
lo I\1tta c. 21 No\7.
1680. J,111, si:i, Aur. cnk1s Udaipur; visi1s Chitor 22 Feb.,
reltuns to Ajrnir 22 Mar.
April 4, Shi\7il)i dies.
June 18, Shmnbbuji enters I<ahJarh as hing.
Od. QQ, Mohnruna l{aj S. dies, Jal S. succeeds. Shaista
Ki1/s second ~zovemotship of Bengal 168088.
1681. Jan. 1, Prince Afabar crowns himself Emperor.
,, 16, ,, ,, flee~ awa); on failure of his rebellfon,
rcdchcs Pall in Ma harasht!'a 1 June.
Jtm. 30--Pcb. 1 Marathas loot all suburbs of Burha11pur.
Mi'.lrch, G,1nv,1uum Nas,rnr (t'ebel in Bihar) besle!es Patna
fort, {d. 1684).
492 ::illot,/'l lil!:liUl~'i UI \llP/\NL1/ ,ll'

June I.!, [Vfohr'\l'<llhl )c1i S. 11\<lh~ l1 ealy ol f~aj~.1t1ll1dr,1

with J\ur,111~,ib.
Se. 6 1 Ju.hallcU'a die".
8, J\ur. ;,[Mt:> f t'Olll /\]111tl' fnr lhL' Dec,''111, t'l'dtlH",
"
Burhanpur 13 Nuv., ,111d i\L111111<:11b,1d un '2'2
JI.for. I llfo~.
Ocl., Sh,1111bhu1i pub l\11n,11i. S,>vr11 n,1i 11ml ollll'l'
1.:onopirators [D dcdtiL
Nov. 13, Sh,unbhLIJJ lnll'l'Vll'IV~' /\l~b11l' rl~ p,,JL
168!. fonuary-, Shambhuj1 bun1b,mJs ),111jit"i.
Apr., MwJhc1ls b,~lc<Jc Jrn1scj, l"l'iire Lm"uccc~~rul i11 Od.
May 18, Shahu (01 Shlv,1ji II) L)Lll'll.
No11., M1t<Jllals occlll)'t' l\<11i<ln 1 cVdl'l1t1tL il \lll QJ
Mardi next.
Dec., l\l~bc1r 1"1~mows from l\1li lu lhrnd,1.
1683. Apr. 5, Slli1mbl1t1ii be~iins WM with PnrltuJue~t'.
Sep., l\l~bcll' renln'V'l'~ to Bid101i111 i1lld lrks I\ 1 hit'l'
i1 ship f(1r Pers!,1.
,. QO, Shah !\l<1m le,Wl'S /\iu.rn\tt1b,ul nn P<11tHJh,1l
t'XJ)tditin11.
Oct. 22, VklJWi7 of Oou l,ws bit:',!C to llhondt1, 111,1l~i:s
Jisa~trnus rdrL'at ~'i l Ud.
No\7. 11, M<1rntlws oc>cL1py S, Eskv<to ,111d l!H\~.1ll11 Ona.
Dec. l, M,11\1llrn~ in\7.tdv l),tt>tk~ ,1nd S,1hll'liL' di:>ttJds
(r,111u 1J\' f\11 {lJW 1nonlh).
1684. fon. 5, Shalt l\!dm l'Laclh'S Bi<.:liolitn, pr<.wvvds to
Goa i !W'U'Jt'' ' S,w,1I1iv.1di clnd s.
l~dlrl<l~1il'i,
t'flurns to P.mn,.::lwl 20 l\b., .ind lo 1\h11it1dn,war
18 May.
Jan. 20, Al~h11 i:1l'l\11l!\!CS Pl.!uCc..!
bd\V('l'll si.,imbhttii i?tll(I
Portuguese at f)h'1t111.,rc1rh.
Ma)T, Shan1bhuji mnl<x:s frk11dly tm1ty with Drn;.l!sh
of Bombu?
Shia~Sunni fi>ihl in StinaiJM.
 omoNOL OOV 493

l6t5. J,rn., Vyu11~~aji dies, Shahji JI succeeds at Tanjore.

l\~b., Kbem Savant rebels agaimt Shambhttii.
!\pr. l, Mrn;ihals bcqin sicQc of Bijapur.
fot risin~ under I<ajaram begins.
c. (>ct. 8, MHqlwls occupy I!dklarabacl (2nd time).
()cl., I<li()j,1 fun,\lics seiz:c Piroach fort.
lkc., Mulul? Chand !:>lays Pahar S. Gaur in Malwa,
bllt Utlur tcbcllio11 continues till 1692.
1680. c. !'for 7, M<1du1rno murdered at GoHwnda.
July 3, J\urnmJ:cib 0rrives at Piijapur sie(le.
S\!p, 12, Full of Bliaf1l1!', Sihandar Adil Sh. deposed,
(d. 3 l\pr. 1700).
Od 28, En<Jlish in Bcng,ll sad~ I ltt!ilhli and befJin war.
1687. Jdn. QS, Mlt<;Tbal'i occupy Jldidarcibad (finalll_7).
Fd1. 7, Sk~~c of Goll~o11da be11ins, it folls on Sep. 21.
Feb. 2 t, Shah Alam imprisoned.
Feb., sails for Per~in, reaches Isfahan on
Al~ba1
24 Ian., 1688, (cl. 1704).
M.1rch, Duri;tddas returns to Marwar, Rathors press
Mu~hals ha1d, Durjan Sal flada se!Ees Bttndi
lune 11, Ern.;lish l't.;bclo cvacuak Ilijli.
Nov. 28, 1\11:1 Na}!al< surrendel's Berad capital Sa~ar,
(d. 1 Jun. 1688).
1688. J,111. 1 J, Maralh1.1s plunder Conjeveram.
c. Feb. f~ajarmn fot plunders Akbar's tomb at Sllw11dra,
(is ltille<l 4 htly).
March, 1-ham caplu1es Bcl~aon.
Al11J. 6, Si<ldl Masaud yields Adoni fort
Ocj. Enl,Jlish trc1dc1s make war on Aw-. on West Coast.
Nov. HLtbonic plague in Bijapur (lasts two iuonths).
1689. Ftib. 1, Shamblrnjl c:"lnd Kavikalash captured, reach
impcl'fol camp on 15 Feb., beheaded 3 March.
,, 8, Rn,Jaram crown~d at Raigarh, escapes from
lt 5 Apr., and reaches Jinji 1 Nov.
t94 S!lOIH lllSl'<mY 01' A11Rl\NUl:JI\

March 27, tvfotab,1r Kl1. tccovcrs l\ali,111.

Oct. 19, /'.ulfiqar Cdp\url's I~u.h;:ad1 wilh Sh<lhu.
Dec. 25, l\ur. pmdons Ern,dish trader,, Pl'<lcc lll<\dc.
f690. c. Jan. 28, Mll'~httb ~torn1 Sins.:ini.
May 21, Aur. enc.1mp~ at OailJ<ll<1 till MM. 1695
(except Mc1t. 1691 --M,1y 9:}.)
,, 25, Murc1thas cc1plurc [~Lbl,1111 Kil. lll'11t S,\!<1r,1.
AulJ. 24, E111,!lish found Cnkttll<\.
l.\.wJ. Zulliqul' l'l'c1clws Conje\Tl'l'<ll\l.
c. Sep. !:.l, Zulfiqar arrives bdmv Jinji, bc1Jit1s sk~Jl'.
691. Dec. 16, Asdd KIL and Karn l\akl1~li r<::ach Jinji.
169~. Dec. D, Scmlil Ohorpare capture~ l\li MMd,rn Kh.
(fouJdu.r of Conjevcrum l.
,, l6, Dlrn11a Jadav cttptltrl':-. bm,1il Kh. Mal<,1
outside Jlnji.
c. ,, 20, K<lm l~al;d1~h Mrl'slcd by As,1d Kh.
1693. Jan. 23, luliiq,11' ab11ndo11s sie~1e nf Jinji <\ltd rctitl'S
Lo Wantliwasb.
'? Mulcibur Kil. tn<tlws war 011 Pol'lt1\(Ut1S<' of Nurlh
Konlwn.
l694. Feb.-Mu'i!, %ultiqar le\7il's ldliLt!c ft'<)tn Ttltlj()lv ,uKl
conquers S. J\.rcJt district.
Ser)., %ulfiqar f\'l1cws sic1Jc of Jinii, t'<1isls it i11 Ikc. 1605,
and l'llCilmps at l\rcnl (Jan. 1696 -Mell'. 1G97).
Afabar's da.ui,;thler t'cstorcd to Alli'. by Durq,1d,1~.
695 Ma'Y 21-.. 1699 Oct. 19, Am. cucm11ps al l~lilmpuri.
May, Sh1.1h Alam rck.:iscd c.1ntl scnl ln llw P.mjtib ,,s
fJO\TCrtlOl'.
Sep. 8, Pirac)?' nn th~ CTctnii-smvaf.
Oct., Mwi_llMls l<ty siclJc to Vcllore, (it foils nn J.t
Aus,r. 1702).
Nov. S<111ta Ghorpure besieges 0<1sim Kh. in Doddcri,
Kh. dies.
1696. Jan. 20, Santu. !~ills Hlmmat Kb. at J),,~,\vapat,111.
 Clll<ONOLOGY 495

March, Santa reaches E. Karn<dal< ; then invades Central

Mysore in No\7.Dec.
c. May, Rebellion of Shova S. and I<ahim Kh.
P1al~ht p,u!and Gone! be~1i11s war in Deogarh.
1697. Mar., Dhnna defeats Su.nta in Satara district.
June, Santa mmdcred.
May-June, Zabardast Kh. expels rebel l<ahim Kh. (who
is slain Aw,(. 1698).
No\7. Prince Az:im-ush-sban, new subahdar of Ben!ifal,
utTi\7CS at fiardwan.
Zultiqar renews siege of Jinji.
"
1_0.98.~ Ja11. 8, Zulfiqar c..iptures Jinji.
May, lU~bur's son Buland Al~htal' restored to Aur.
by Dur1Jadas. Emperor favours Dur~adas and
Alit with ju<Jirs and mansab.
1699. Feb., l~ajnram reaches Vishalgnrh.
Mar., Agreement between Emperor and Ettropc.:tn
traders for lc;uardin!il the Indian seas.
..,,.
Oct. !9, Aur. leaves lslatnpuri lo besieqe forts .
,, 26, I~ajaram issues from Satara.
No'?., First Maratha ruid into Malwa fonder Kl'ishna
Sn\1ant).
Dt'I::. 9, Alu'. begins siege of Satara, (itfaUs 21 Apr. 1700),
1700. , . March Q, J<ainram dies at Singl1~urh; his son Karna
crowned, but dies 23 March, when Shitraji III (son
of 'l'nra r~ai) succeeds.
lune 9, Aul'. captmcs Parli.
Oct. 1, Imperial camp at Khawaspur washed away,
Etnp.'s fanee dislocated.
1701. March 9, Aur. besieges Panhala, (it falls on May 28).
Apr., Slt W. Norris visils Aur. as ambassador.
Mul'shid Quli Kh. appoin{ed diwan of Bengal.
170. Jan. 16, Am. arrives before Khelna, siege begins, it
v' falls on 7 June.
,j96 SllORT ll!ST(1fff nt /\LW/\NOi'.ll\

Dun1adas and Aiit a~din rise ,,,~,1111st /\ur.

Dec. 27, Am. bc:~ins sk.W of Ko11da11ci (Siw:h\l<ll'h), il
falls on .8 Apt., U03.
1703. Oct. Nitnil Sindhld ruids lkrat <11HI Mcilwa, 1s ('Xpdlcd
by Firu:o Jan<J in Feb. ncxl.
Dec. 2, Aur. !dys sk~l' to J.?,1j 1J<trl1 1 ii fcills on 16
. Feb., 170i1.
1704. 23 fcb. l\ur. bcsh1:'~ Totnet, it f,1lls 011 10 MdtTh.
1705. Feb. 8, Aur. bcsk:~c~, \\fo 1Jin<,!\'t';1, il folb 011 '27 Apr.
May-- Oct. l\ur. hcdts ,,[ l kva.pttr, falb ill.
Nov. DunJadas u!Jlin SLtbmits to Aur., but rd.)t'IS in
April next.
!706. Jun. '20, Aur. rL'<1ches AhnMdn,11,~M.
M.irch, M,1rathets iu\7acle Guj11I, ~:ntshinJ ddeflt L)f

Mt1\~h<1ls c1ll<.:itii11pur (l5 M.1rd1) and l.>,1b,1 Piarn

ford ; Buroda srn:l~cd.
J 767. Feb. Alll"i.'lll',!2:ib S\~11c1s c\WdY K<un B<1l~hsh lo Jliijuplll'
(~1th) and 1-\c<im to Jvfo!wa (13lh), f<1ll~ ill 17th, dies :10th.
March 8, J\jit S. recove1s Jodhpur.
 INDEX
Abdulluh Qutb Shah, 33~38, d. 269, heirs 268.
Abdur Razzoq Lut'i, heroism 283.
Abu! Hasan Qutb Shah, accession 269, welcomes Shivaji 230, aids
Bljaptu 233, deposed 284, wit 279, character 270 and 285 11,
how he offended Aur. 271. Seo Golkonda.
Aemul, Aftidi rebel king 141.
Adoni, captured 306.
Afghanistan, people's charncter 137, Yusufzai rising 139, Afridi
and Khatak tisings 141~147, Amir Kl1. governor 146~147.
Afridi, rising 141.
Afzal Kh., slulll by Shiva 197~199.
Ajit S., hitth 170, saved by Durgadas 171, war with Aur. '.392~397.
Akbat, Emperor, tomb looted, bones burnt 399.
Akbor, Prince Md., in :Rnjput War 172~176, rebels 177~180, pursued
181, in Mahnrlishfi:a 290, plans 291~299, quarrels with
Shambhuji 300, his daughter 394, son 395, leaves India 307.
Ali Adll Sh. II succeeds 40, d. 248.
1\Jijah --Prince Md. Azam.
Amin, Md., see Md. Amin.
Amir Kh., governor of Kahul 146"147.
Asnd Kh., wnzit, at Jinji 333,.337, arrests Kam Bakhsh 336.
Assam, des::rlbed 122, history 122"124, invasion by Mil' Jumla
125"129, treaty 129, later history 131.
Aurangzib, bh'th 7, education 8, fights an elephant 9, in Bundela
Wur 11, first viceroyalty of Deccan 11~14, family 14~17, dismissed
l8, in Balkh 19, besieges Qandahar 21"24, second viceroyalty of
Deccan 25 at seq, invndc$ Haidnrabnd 35, invades Bijapur {1657)
40, t:r:eaty with Mu:r:ad 51, preparations for wa,r of sttccession
52~56, battle of Dharmat 58"63, crosses the Chambal 64, battle
of Samttgarh 65~71, impdsons Sh. Jahan 72, arrests Murad 74,
Deonti 78"80, Khajwa 88~92,
Chaructet o{ two halves of his reign 100, hls movements durlng
 498 SIIO!n' IIISTORY or l\t.mi\NGZII~

first half 101, during second half '314-320, illueirn (1<162) 102,
visits Kashmir, 103, abolishes faxes 107, Isla111ic rcgulutious
108, puritanical rules 109, kills Sarmad 111, biitcl' conespondence
with Sh. Juhan 116-118, goes to direct l\.fghun war 144, an ii~
Hindu measures l56-160, in Rujput war 172-183,
His early Deccan policy 186, first dealings with Shivaji 195-1%,
at siege of Bijapur 203-266, at siege of Golkonda 27f>, plans
agninsi Slmmbhuji 292, later Det.~cm1 policy 3HJ-''Sl9, misery of
his dominions 320, wur in Muharashira 313-32(1, leaves Isliuupmi
360, takes Satata 361, Padi 362, Punhaln 3M, Khclnu '.3rifi-3fi7,
Kondanu 368, Rajgurh und Torna 309, Waglni!em 37V)75, his
camp at Klrnwuspur flooded 363, becomes !utile :304, lllrH'SS at
Devapur 379, harassed by Marntlrns 376, sadnt:ss of !Mt years
379-380, bereavements 381, sends hls sorn1 uwny )8'$, illness
and death 383, tomb 384, lust letter to Aznm 384, li~ttcr to Kam
Bnkhsh 386, hrnt will 387, dying advice 388~390, dculin~jH with
the English 405~416,
Condition of empire ni his dcuth 442-458, economic dl'clitH' 4,i3
at soq, bunkruptcy of Govcrnn1ent 447, si~nificnncc o( his tclgn 2,
tragedy of his life 3, mutcdnls fol' his histoty 5, his chniocfor
460~464.
Azam (Pci11ce Muhunu}1ud), cn1ttpaign (1682) 259, 29'), n( siegt~ of
Blj<tpitr 262, ai,!uilu;t lh:rnds 371, Snfol'tt !lllt11l:d 11f(er him 302,
governor of Mnrwnr und Gujrat ;93, dcnlin~!s with Dntgadtts
396, atnbition and plot tt1 kill l(mn Baklrnh '.382, nff(r Aur.'s death
383.
Azlm~ush~::;han, governor of Bcn!,!nl 423, and 1Hlrnr 11'.,M,
Buglanu annexed J3.
Bahudur Kh.~-Khtm-lwJohan.
BakM Buland (Gond U.ajnh of Dcol~arh) i'.HM433.
Balkh, Mullhals invade .19.
Belgaon, taken by Azam 30f1,
Bengal, prosperity under Mughal peace 419, history dudn~ l\ur.'s
rel!!n 420-424, $hova S.'s rebellion 422, 1:ule of ShnJsta Kh. 420,
of Mutshld QuH 423~424.
Berad, people 369, country 370, capitltls 370, defeut Oill1 257,
ca1npaig11 (1667) 305, Au.i;.'s WM 37'J~375. Se(/ Palh and Pldia,
 INDEX 499

Bidar, fort captured 40.

Sidur Bakht, at Khelna 367, governor of Aurangabad 368, at
Ahmadabad 439, campaign against Jats 399.
llijapur, Mughal wnr and treaty (1636) 12, invaded by Aur. (1657)
39, by Jul S. 241-246, by Dilir 255~257, dismemberment 247,
reign of waziL"s 249, Khawus Kh. regent 249, Bahlol Kh. regent
250, Masaud regent 253, war by Bahadur Kh. 251, humiliating
tr<:aty with Mughuls 253, helpless condition 259, rupture with
Aur. 260, city described 260, siege 261-265, annexed 266,
plague 306.
Bishun S. (of Amber), campaign ag. Juts 399.
Bohrn sect, persecuted 440.
Bribery (official), 456.
Bulund Akhtar (son of Pr. Akbar) restoi:ed 395, (son of Shuja), 91.
Bundelkhand, in Aur.'s reign <!27-429, Jhnjjhar 1011, Champat 104,
Chhatrn Sal's rising 428-429.
Bundi, gained by Dur.Jan Sal 393.
Calcutta, founded 409.
Chumpat Bundela, killed 104.
Chanda (Gond kingdom), 430-432.
Charnock (Job), in Bengal 406-409.
Chatgaon, pirates of, 133, Mughal conquest 134-137,
Chmtfh, 237, 393, 318.
Chhntra Sal Bundela, history 427-429.
,, Hada, death 67~71.
Child (Sir Josiah), 410.
,, (Sir John) 410-411.
Condition of conntry, at Aur.'s death 443-460, of people, 454-455.
Daflc, Uujl Chavun's death 362, Satvaji 359.
Dara Shukoh, character 45, acts during Sh. Jahan's illness 47, his
difficulties 64, at Smnugarh 65-71, flight 71, 76~77, at Deorai 78.
second flight 80-82, captured 82, paraded 82, beheaded 83.
Dnucl Kb., 77, 96, 106, 209, 219, 222~44, (another) 342, 382.
Deccan, Mughals in 11-13, Aur.s second viceroyalty 25 cf S!Jq,
revenue reform 27, keynote of Deccan history 184~185, causes
of Mughal wenlmess In 188, See under Bijapu:r, Golkonda,
M11r11thas.
 500 SflOfff II!Sl'OI~Y OF i\lll~ 1\NU/,ll\

Deognrh (Goud kin~dom), 1'5,30, 1'.iOA3".i,

Dcorni bati\e, 78~80.
Dhana Jadav, captures Ismail Kh. '334, civil Wdt' with Santa 3,i7,
clwrnctei- ~5,18, invades Gujrai "581, 11''9.
Dhnrtmtt bnttlc, StJ~(J'.i.
Dilir Kh., 84,8f>,97, a( Purnndal' 2()(), 224, qua1nh with Sh. /\lnm 219,
massacre at Punu 2?4, with llal11tdHI' Kl1. '.J'i[, invr1de;1 Malkhed
252, captures Bhupal~~,1rh 2T'S, 2'i'l, invndts BiJapur 25'), dl'fouhd
by Berads 257, disgrac('d 2'$8.
Dilras Ilunu, 14.
Dlndo1 i hutifo, 222.
Doddl'rl, Qas[m Kh. in 3 tt
Durgadas, saves Ajil 171, wnr with Mujjh11l1>, 182, 30:~~'3'J'7, occom~
panics Akhut 180, 290~'307.
Dnrjun Snl Hada, 3<)) .)IH,
Education, ueglecCed in Mughal India 45'3, 1J':i5.
Embassies, ret:civcd by Atu.. l 13 et Sil</, EnJ!lish I11.
Ilm1,11c (Mw~hul), s!W Mughnl 1.rnpin',
En~lish, foctol'ics in Tudi11 402, their !!rowth 40'5, fricrion with Mu~\lml
Govcrmnent 404-40(>, mnk< wnr in Ben1~ul 407--HN, wru on the
west Cl)nsi 410~411, pt~1wc 4()rJ, 411, Sllrnf focto1s iinp1'1<1onNI 411,
414, 1!1(1-418, pirates 412-411\, 11grn<> to convoy Mu$.!linl ships '~If>,
Norris's t>111b11ssy 416.
l1nt11ullah Kh, %5-3117.
Firnz Jan~ ( -- Shlhab-ud-din, Ghu:r.lml-dln), 2ff:l, 27C), 2il2, ?02, ''104,
306, 347, 426.
Gang1m1m (Nt1g11r Brahman), rebels 401-402.
GanH-sawul, piracy cm .J.13.
Gattr, rebellit111 in Mnlwa 400-<101.
Gayel' (Sir John), 411-418.
Goa, threatened by Shmnbhttji 298, Sh. Alam nem 2<)[), 502.
Golda Jut, dsing 160~161.
Golkonda, Us resources 31, w11zi1 Mir Jumln 5:!.-'34, hwoi'lion (1656)
35,.;,;s, Dilir's invasion 252, decline 268, lnvusion (1685) 27'2, pt~uce
273, M11danna murdered 274, fort dcscl'lbcd 275, sic!je 276M283,
foll 283, annexed 284, 8011 Hatdarabad.
Gond klngdom.s, 13, 30-31 ; 429~433, See Chanda, Dco11at'li.
 INDEX 501

Gopal S. Chtmdawat (zumindat of Ilampura), tebels 402.

Govlnd {Sikh Guru), 166~168.
Gujrai, populntion and economic position 437, history under Aur.
4'38-4 1Hl, Maratlrns invade 439, 381, Do11ras persecuted 440.
lfoidarnbad {city), Mnghal occupation, 36, 273, 263, 275, welcomes
Shivll)i 230.
liijli (island), english flght in 407-408.
Himmnt Kb., slain 346.
I Iindus, political disubilitic;; 149, }11Yiya 156~158, other measures
159, risings lCJO, Sainamis 161, Sikhs 163~168, how isolated from
the Muslims 466, defects of Hindu socieiy 470. See temple.
History, matcdals for Am.'s h. 5.
Industries of Mugha! empire, 4 79~482.
Ishwardas Nagm (historian), 6, brings back Akbar's daughter
394-'395.
Wqad Kh., .~ee Zulfiqar.
Jahanmu (Ptinccss), burnt 17, tries to conclliate Aur, 73, nurses old
Sh. Jahn11 1w~120.
Jahnnzeb Bnnu (Jani Begum), hei:oism in buttle 294, d. 381.
Ja:l S. (Mrrhranu), succeeds 177, peace 182.
,, (Mirza :RnjaJ1), characte1 207, 11gainst Shuja 86, putsues Dara
80-82, war with Shivnji 208-211, invades Bijapur 24V246, d, 246.
,. (Suwui), heroism at Khelna 367.
Jalnu, suck of 234.
Jaswant S. (Mnharu.jah), at Dharmat 58-62, t~eachery at Khajwa 88,
rescues Shujact's troops 143, friendly to Shiva 217, d. 169, heirs
170, 306, Shivaji's contempt for 213.
Jut, race 398, rising undc~r Gokla 160-161, under Rajaram 398M399,
Chutatnan 400.
Jawhiir (State), 30, Maruthas captLtre 225.
ja1 I JllT (tux). 149150, 156-158, Shivaji's protest 234.
,lthml 11815l.
J!njl, described 332, siege 332-342.
Jiwtm (Mulik), betraya Data, 82
Jodhpur, tccoveretl by Ajit S. 397, Sae Marwur.
Kitlilln (city), buildings of Matabnt Kh. 352, capiuted 1971 202, 219,
293, 294.
502 SIIORT l!ISTO!N OF /\\ ml\NG7.ll\

Kaliani, Aur. cnpturcs 41.

Kam Bakhsh, charncter 334, 380, misconduct nt Jinji 335, llrrcsf.ed
336, sent to Bijnpur 383, lni;I. letter from Aur. 385.
Karna, son of Rajanun, sucGccds 356.
Kamatak, described 327, Shivuji's t'Xpcdition Jo 231, in Shnmbhuji's
reign 327-329, Muglrnl conquest of 328, 3'.S1-34'l. /'>'(!a Jlnjl.
Kashmir, condition of people 133, history under Aur. 4''S5-437,
superstition 436, religious riots 435.
Kavikalash, Slwmbhuji's favourite 2<J L, cuptmed 30\VHO, d. '.HI.
Keigwin (Captain It), treaty with Shambhujl 30.5.
Khajwa, batilc 88-92.
Khan-i-Jahnn ( ~Balrndur Kh.), 220, 224-22<), 251, :.!40~252, 272-288,
293, his diwan Gun!jarnm rebels 401-402.
Khataks, rislni~ 142.
Khawaspur, Aur.'s camp flooded 36').
Khdna, captured '.'566-367.
Khoja {sect) rising ,140.
Khush~lrnl Kh. (Khatnk), 142-147.
Kondana ( -"Singh~guth), cup. by Shiva 193, 2'l<J, by Aur. 323, ~(>fl.
Konkan, described 351, 219, conquests of Mutnbu1 Kh., 352. Saa
Kuliun.
Madannu, prime 111inlllter 26<J, Pl't)~Murnthn policy 230, 2(19,
111u1:dercd 274.
Mulwa, populol'ion 425, rebellions in 427, Mtmithu rnlds In 425~427.
Munufoctures, Sao Indm1trics.
Marathu, country UW, people's clwrucicr 1<)(), lnflucnct: lJll Indian
history 185, poor fi~hting quality 3<iO, w111 cqu.ipnwnt '.578, system
of plunder 377-378, how devustai:cd c<Jtmfry 37(), navy 295, pQlk1y
(in 1590) 355, lcudm:s (in 168CJ) 321, fuctlons 355, country dccuyed
under Shnmbhuji 308, rccovl!ry l)f power (11fter H>8()) '.HS, 323,
war with Mugbals 323~326, 343~353, wnr in Karnrittlk 231-232,
327~342, Mughal victories over 38V582, partlsuus Qf Muglrnls 359,

Mntwur, described 169, annexed by 1\.ur. 170, wnr Jn !71~182,

391~397. See AJit, Dur~udus.
Masattd (Siddi), regent of DIJapur 253-255, rcsli.!ns, 259, yh~ldi:; Adon!
306, 233, 234.
 !NDCX 503
Maiabar Kh., life 352 ; conquests 3'i2~353, buildings at Kalian 352,
d. 353.
Mathurn, risings 160-161.
Mcwur, w11r with Aur. 173-176, 181, peace terms 182.
Mir Jmnln, his conquests in Karnatuk 33, created wazir 38, arrested
by Aur. '54, 11{ Khajwa 88, pursues Shuja 92-97, invades .Assam
12,J-130, d. 130, charncter 33, 130.
Mtiazzam (Prince Md.) -Shah Alam.
Mn;!hnl empire, ifs extent 475, revenue 476, its aims and achieve-
ments 464-468, trade and industry 479-483, administrative
system 483-48(1, causes of its downfall 467-473.
Muhammad Amin Kit., at Colkonda Courf 34, disaster in Kltaibar
pnss 141, governs Gttjrat 438.
Muhammod Sultan, Sl'a Sultan (Md.)
Muhtk Chund, kills Pahar S. Gaur 400.
Murad Ilakhsh, character 4Q, murders Ali No.qi 50, captures Surat 50,
partition treaty with A.urangzib 51, imprisoned 73, killed 75.
Mnrshid Quli Kh. (Khurasani), diwan of Deccar1, reforms 27, slain 60.
,, (Md. Hndi}, diwim of Bengal 42'3-424.
Muslim society, effeci of Quranic law on it 152-153, nobles 452, its
idcnls and defects 166-469. 472, decline tn India 468, isolated
from Hindus 466, 471.
,. State, its theory 148-149, its aim 465.
Nafomality, not formed in Indla 465, 473, the futtue of Indian
nationality 473-474.
Nima Sindhia, rt1lds Bemr i.ind Malwa 426.
Niznm (Shaikh), captures Shambhuji 309-310.
Nobles of Muglrnl empire, ignorance and vices 452-454, property
insecure 478, effect of eschent l!ystem 476-479.
Norris (Sir Wllliam), embassy of 416.
Nttsmt Jang -Zt11fiqar Kh.
Pahnr S. Gum:, rebels 400, his sons 401.
Pall!mau, co1lquered 105-106.
Pam Nayak, 305, 257, 263.
Panhn!u, Shlvnji in 200, 227, Mughals gain and lose 323, 325, futile
siege by Miighals 317, 324, 346, captured by 11..ur. 364:-365.
 504 ii!IOll'f !IJ:-i'J'OI<'i OF i\lmANtlrlll

Paru5h11ram Trimhak, his fuctlon 35'.:i, made Prntiuidhi '321, '557,

1eavcs Parli '.i62.
Parll, cnptured by Aur. '.'.if>2-"in3.
Patna, b(:sh-gcd by Gnng(lram 40'),.
Pcdguon ( Bahndurgnrh), '.1%.
Pcnukonda, '.182.
People, condition of 449-i<iO, life (Jf the nH1Hscs 'l58-4h0.
Pcrsirt, Muglwl rdationi; witl1 22-24, (mhnssy 1 !'5, .Shah Ahhug II
114-115, Akbar IJ1 307.
Phondn, 228, 297.
Pidin NtLyuk, can:cr '.~70-371, 3l7, kvie:; c/11111//J % 1i, he11lc11ed iri
Wngin~ieru 37'V5'7"J, gains Pcnnk11nda 38'.l.
Pirntes, European 41"1-418, Porttt!!uesc nnd Mn\\h of Chnt~aon rn.
Portuguese, plrutc:s 133, Goa invaded liy Sl1trn1hht1il 2%-21J<J,
utfodted hy Matithnr Kh. 353, !hrent by Sh. Alum "lO:!.
Purnndar, 11)4, skf,j(l 210, treaty of 21 L
Qnlich Kh., d. 27(1.
Qundaluu, slcgl~S of 21"24.
Q11sim Kh., ni Dlrnrmat 59.112.
,, (another) d. at Doddcri 34'5~345, 338, 325, '328, :ns.
RnHihan (son tlf Vyanlrnji). 358.
Ral~nrh, cu.pture11 by Shiva)i 105, cup. by Zulflqur '512.
Rajlmun Jnt, rebels 398-')IJ(),
,, (son of Shrvuji), crowned 28(), deposed 287, cn1wned uguin
311, flees to J!nJi 312, Ms !!ovt. u( Jin)i ~22", "1'50", wcnkness
ns king 351, rctur1rn lrnmc 349, lllst ycur 349, d. 350.
Raj S. (MahatlLM), 173. d. 177.
llnjtts Hi1i (wifo of Rlljarnm), 350, 359.
Raj~arh, l93, <:inp. by J\.w-. 569, 32,!,
Ra:tnchnndrn Nllknnth, title Halt~1mat"p1111t1h 522, '354.
Ramghat expeclltlon, 298, 302-304.
Rampu.ra =Islampur1.1, 402.
0

R.amsej, s:lege 292.

R.anmast Kh., defeats Shivi1 235, occ11ples Rullan 293, 2<J.i,
!~an~Jl Gho.rparc, feud 355, raid 364.
Ratnn S. Rnthor, falls at Dh(Ltlllat 60, monument 63,
OP.hellion, Jn M\lghal provinces 104-J 398~402, 422~440.
 INDEX'. 505

nus<nm Kh. (Firuz J,111r, Shah Jahani), falls at Samugarh 66-71.

,, (Dccc:ani, Shar;m Kh.) c.iptured near Satara 323, cap. in Berar 426 .
.Safiyn<~nn-nisa, daughter of Pr. Akbat', restored 394.
Samugarh, 65, battle fi6-71.
Santa Ghotpatc, captures .i\li Ma1da11 Kh. 334, 336, 326, defeats
Qasim Kh. 3'!3-345, k!lls Himmat Kh. 346, civil war with Dhana
147, is killed 34B, character 348.
Sarmad, life 111, dca th 112.
Satara, !!nined by Shiva 227, cap. by Aur. 361-362.
Salnumi sect, t'ising 16 l-163.
Shah Jnhan, prospctous reign 44, sons 45~46, illness 47, imprisoned
ln Agra '72-7'5, c1ptivc life and correspondence with Aut, 115-119,
lost illness and dc:ith 119, burlal 120.
Slu1h Aliun ( ~~Muazzam), 56, 204, 207, 216-217, 220, quarrel with
Dili1 21\J, 257, at sic!je of BiJapur 264, occupies Haidarabad 272,
nt Golkouda arrested 277, in Rmnghat expedition 298, 302-304,
n:icnsed and sent to the Punjab (1695) 318.
SJiahji Bhonsle, 13, history 191~194.
ShahJi U, son t)f Vyankaji 339.
Shuhn or Shivaji U, (son of Slrnmbhujl I), b. 288, captive life 357~358
Atlt'. p1oposes to release 358, escape 359.
Slrn!stn Kh., against Shivaji 200-202, surprised mid wounded 203,
conquers Chatgoon 134-137, governs Bengal 420~421.
8lrnmbhuji, fices to Dilir 233, gains the throne 286~287, sucks
suburbs of Burhanpttr 289, shelters Akbar 290, conspiracy
tt!!ains( 290, his favourite Kuvikulnsh 291, navy 295, war with
Portuguese 297-290, dealings with Akbar 300, 307, i;ehellions
U[1ainst him 301, 304, 309, treaty wlih English 305, decay of his
~overnment 308, captured 310, execution 311, family captured
311, 289, 304.
Shias, mass;tcred in Kashmir 435, dlstrusteq by A.ur. 278.
Shihahuddin o:.FJruz Jani;!, 302, 304. """.
Shirkci famtly, Shumbhujj's feud wlth 291, '.309.
Shivuji 1, early life 192, eatly conquests 193~194, first wat wlth
Mttghals 195~196, slays Afzal Kh. 197~200, loses Panhala, and
' Chnkan 200-201, war in Konkan 201, wottnds Sh!l-ista Kh~ 203,
sacks Surttt 205 and 221, war with Jni S. 208, treMy of Pur1u11iar
 506 Sl!l)l~T l!ISJ'Ol~Y 01' 1\ltl~1\N<1.Wl

211, itwtu.les Bijapur with Jai S. 244, visifs 1\ur. '.ff'i, tscupes from
Agra 215~216, nt peace wlfh Mughals 217, rem'w~1 war 2UI, bntllt
of Dindori 222, raids 223-229, occupies Koli countty 225, corn-
nntion 228, Karnntnk cxpcd. 220232, sttbsftHury nlliunc{' with
Qutb Sh. 230, aids Blj11p111 233, 254, 256, socks ]aliw !.t\4,
defeated 235, d. 236,
His kingdom 236, policy and udministrutiv<' syslc~m 237, cl!~ht
ministers 237-238, character nnd pince iu l1istory '.~'.39-240,
Anrangzib on 300.
Shivaji III, son of Tara Bai, succeeds 35(>.
Shova S. rebels in Bengul 422.
Shujn, clu1racter 86, surprised (Lt Bahad1trpur !:\fl, }Jt'tU.:e wiih Daru
87, marches to Khujwa 87, defeated ul Kha.Jwa 88~()'.>., fll~!hi and
wur in E. B!har 92~95, war in Mnldu !))~97, nlrnrnlons Bcu~!al 98,
d. 98-99.
Shujaet I<h. (Radand!lz), killed in Kurnpn pas:-; '14"5.
,, (anothet) subahdar of Gttjn1t nnd able fnujdur of Judhpm
392~394.
Sikandar A.dil Sh., deposed 26'.i, d. ~J67.
Sikh, rise of sect 163, ~urus l64 ... rn6, how chon~td by Guru Govlnd
167~168.
Sindhia, See Nlnrn Sindhill.
: Singh... ~ui:h ~"'' Konda.nn.
Sinsani (Jat fort), 398-39\l.
Sipihr Shukoh, 83.
Soyra Bai, killed 291.
Subho.nJI, qiladat of Safora 362.
Sularnrnn Shukoh, defeats Slmjn So, retreats townrd~ A~J'(t 84, fk('S
to Stinn!1nt hills 84, sutrendered to 1\ur. 85, d. 86,
Sultan (Pr. Md.), born 17, 35-38, '72, 92~96.
Surat, desedbed 205, fkst sack 205, second snck 221, tlu:enfoned for
ahauffi 225.
Tahawwur Kh., in RaJput war 172 ... 178, killed 1'79.
Tara Bai, chiu:acter and policy 356~557, c1owns her st1t1 350.
'fnxes, abolished by Aur. 107, Jm:lya 149...158, custom duties 159.
Tegh Bahndm: (Guru), 166.
temple destru.ctlon. hv 1\.ura11ts2ih 155.. t.:iri.
 IND!:X 507

Tolcrnii~m in Islam, its history 140-154.

Torna fLWf, 193, taken by Aur. 369, 324.
Ttade of th<." Mughal empire, 479-482,
Udaipu1 (city), entered by Mughuls 173.
Udipud (wife of Aw.), 15, 386.
Umburkhmd (battle), 201.
Vyunkaji, half-brother of Shivaji 192, 242, 231, meets Shil'a 232, his
sons 3"i9, 358.
Wagingern, dt>scnbcd 371-';72, Am's'siege 372-375.
Wnmhwush, Zulfiqar at 337, 338.
Yachnpa Nayuk, 329, 331, 338-339, d. 340,
YusufzaJ, 1 ising 139.
Zttinubudi, 15.
Zeb-tm-nlsa, born 16, imprisoned 181, d. 381.
Zimmi, their political status 149-151.
ZuUiqar Kh. ( ltiqad Kh. and Nusrat Jang), cap. Raigarh '312,
invades Kucnatak 331, sie.ge of Jinji 332-342, conquers S. Arcot
disttict 339, levies contribution from Tanjore 339, treachery
340-342,
,, (another), 91.

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