शिवाजीचे रूप आणि विलंब

An eyewitness observer of the time set down a description of Shivaji's person: of slender build, weighing roughly a hundred and fifty pounds, of a wheat-brown complexion, such that at first glance he gave the impression of being some formidable man of consequence. He kept a trimmed beard, was of middling height, under five and a half feet; and his sharp, hooked, parrot-like nose was the feature that struck the eye and lodged in the mind at once. On Saturday, 12 May, there occurred some minor confusion along the way, with the result that Shivaji arrived at Agra before the Emperor in the morning hours.

दरबारातील अपमान

Because he had arrived later than the appointed hour, that day's public darbar, the diwan-i-aam, had already concluded, and the Emperor was seated in the private darbar, the diwan-i-khas, when Prince Ramsingh brought Shivaji and Sambhaji into his presence. The very instant the Emperor pronounced the words "Shivaji Raje," Shivaji stepped forward, laid before him a nazar of fifteen hundred gold mohars together with a token offering of one thousand rupees, and bowed three times in salutation. At that point the Emperor had Ramsingh lead Shivaji away and made him stand in the rear row, among the lesser nobility. Shivaji at once asked Ramsingh who it was that stood before him and beside him; and no sooner were their names told to him than Shivaji became certain that the Emperor had broken his word and had deliberately insulted him.

शिवाजीचा क्रोध

It had earlier been settled that, within the darbar, Shivaji's rank and precedence should stand equal to that of the Shahzadas, the imperial princes. By insulting him in open darbar in flagrant violation of this understanding, the Emperor provoked in Shivaji an intense outrage. Breaking all darbar protocol and discipline, Shivaji withdrew to one side and abruptly sat himself down upon the floor. Seeing this, the Emperor summoned Ramsingh close to him and attempted to smooth matters over, telling him that he would hear Shivaji's grievances and settle them later, and sent him back to his lodging under Ramsingh's escort. As he left, Shivaji, in a fit of anger, uttered words to the effect: "Rather than insult me in this fashion, you might as well strike off my head here and now" — thereby breaking court decorum altogether. The Emperor became convinced that this was no ordinary matter, and both men sensed clearly what consequences were now bound to follow — and events did indeed unfold accordingly thereafter. This brief encounter of 12 May proved to be the first, and the last, meeting of these two celebrated men.

दरबारातील वावड्या

This incident took place on 12 May; over the three full months that followed, a great many developments occurred on both sides, so numerous that to set them all down would fill a large volume. The Emperor became firmly convinced that Ramsingh was in league with Shivaji, and grew displeased with him. He directed the very same suspicion against Mirza Raja Jaisingh, from whom he sought advice on how to proceed. Jaisingh wrote back in warning: "Do not injure Shivaji without cause. Should harm come to him, the consequences will be grave. To punish him after having broken one's own word will surely prove damaging to the state." The Emperor did not care for this counsel. Meanwhile, in the darbar, in public discussion, everywhere within the city and without, Shivaji alone remained the one subject of conversation, with everyone airing his own speculations and counter-speculations. Shaista Khan's wife pressed hard that he ought simply to be put to death at once. On the other hand, many thoughtful persons — and even one or two of the Emperor's own daughters — developed a genuine admiration and regard for Shivaji. It was, after all, natural in that age that unmarried princesses, upon beholding such a hero, should feel their hearts inclined toward him; countless women languished away their years within the imperial harem, growing old for want of a husband of comparable stature. Aurangzeb's own four accomplished and learned daughters passed their days engaged in every manner of intrigue.

जाफरखान आणि दंतकथा

The Emperor's thoughtful minister, Jafar Khan, had a wife who was sister to both Shaista Khan and to Mumtaz Mahal. Shivaji attempted to arrange a meeting with this minister, but the minister's wife would not allow it to take place. She warned her husband: "Do not meet with him — he will take your life. He is versed in every kind of sorcery and black art, and will conjure up some dreadful calamity upon you." Such wildly exaggerated notions about Shivaji had, by this time, spread across the length and breadth of the country: people believed he possessed some uncanny, supernatural power by which he could bewitch and subdue whomever he wished. Given how thoroughly such beliefs had taken hold, one must simply imagine for oneself how those three months in Agra came to be talked of and dramatised among the people.

सुटकेची तयारी

Meanwhile Shivaji, for his own part, pursued every means available for his protection. Petitions, meetings, questions of guards and security arrangements were the subject of continual discussion. One proposal doing the rounds was that Shivaji be converted to Islam and taken into state service; another was that he simply be put to death outright. How to steer clear of these dangers was Shivaji's constant preoccupation, and any number of such schemes were floated about him. Shivaji's lodging stood within Ramsingh's garden; the police officer Poladkhan complained to the Emperor that security there was not being properly maintained, whereupon the Emperor ordered that Shivaji be moved into another, more secure building then under construction. Shivaji understood from this that his days were numbered. All this while, Sambhaji continued to attend the Emperor's darbar. The capital was, of course, full of courtiers, nobles, and other gentlemen of standing, and Shivaji worked steadily to cultivate connections and influence among them. It was the custom of the age to send gifts on such occasions — baskets of fruit and of sweetmeats — carried sometimes upon a porter's head, sometimes slung from a kavad, a carrying-yoke with baskets at either end. Shivaji made the acquaintance of the guards and of the other people stationed near him. Escaping from captivity became the unceasing preoccupation running through his conversations with those close to him, and, well before the time came for him to be moved into the new building, Shivaji had firmly resolved to arrange his own escape.