point or ceded a foot of territory. Henceforth Au- CHAP. VII. rangzeb was devoted to the conquest of the Dekhan; nothing more was said about Rajputana.

magnificence,

Aurangzeb concealed his disgrace from the public Moghul eye by a show of pomp and magnificence which was remembered for generations. He had opened out the secret hoards of his fathers to establish the supremacy of the Koran.68 He moved from Hindustan to the Dekhan with the splendour and parade of a Darius or a Xerxes. Honour and royalty were wanting, but there was no lack of gorgeous colouring or cloth of gold. The memory of the magnificence of Aurangzeb outlived the dissolution of the empire.69

The pomp of the camp of Jehangir has been told in Imperial camp. the story of his reign. That of Aurangzeb is told by Manouchi and the Mahratta records; 70 it appears to have been on a grander scale, especially as regards artillery. The imperial army seems to have moved in three divisions. Omitting a cloud of details, the order of march may be gathered from the following outline. A body of pioneers walked in front with spades and Order of march. hods to clear the way; then followed a vanguard of heavy cannon; the imperial treasures, with wealth of gold and jewels; the account-books and records of the

68

6s Gold rupees or mohurs were very plentiful in India at this period. There was a fall in gold and a corresponding rise in silver. Unfortunately the data are very imperfect. It is said that the European mints in India made large profits by the change of value.

69

6 Nothing is more singular than the effect of splendour, however hollow, on the Oriental imagination. Not many years ago it was discovered that Lord Ellenborough was still remembered as the greatest but one of all the Governors-General by all the old native servants of Government-House at Calcutta, because on state occasions he ordered every candle to be lighted. The one exception was, of course, the Governor-General of the time, who happened to be Lord Lawrence.

70 Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattas, vol. i., chap. 10. Manouchi through Catrou.

CHAP. VII. empire on elephants and carts; camels loaded with drinking water from the Ganges; provisions in abundance; cooks by hundreds; wardrobes of dresses and decorations; masses of horsemen, which formed the bulk of the Moghul army.

The Emperor.

Camp followers.

Pavilions.

Policy of life in camp.

The approach of the Emperor was heralded by incense; smoking cauldrons of perfumes were carried before him on the backs of camels. Aurangzeb appeared on an elephant, or on horseback, or in a rich palanquin. On either side were the imperial guards on horseback. After him came the ladies of the seraglio in glittering howdahs veiled with the finest gauze. Flocks of other women appeared on horseback, shrouded in long cloaks from head to foot. Light artillery drawn on wooden rafts brought up the rear of the imperial household.

Lastly came the motley host of infantry, camp followers, sutlers, servants of all descriptions, with spare horses, tents, and baggage.

Wherever the Emperor halted there was a city of tents and pavilions as large and populous as Delhi. Every encampment was a vast square. In the centre were the pavilions of the Emperor, also forming a square; they were moving palaces, with courts, halls, and chambers as magnificent as the solid buildings on the banks of the Jumna. Every approach was guarded by rows of cannon.

The secret of this life in camp transpired in after years. Aurangzeb had resolved never more to dwell within palace walls or quit the command of his army. He was warned by the fate of his father, Shah Jehan, never to return to Delhi. He was warned by the rebellion of Akbar never more to trust a son with a force superior to his own. He was advanced in years,

2

but he lived for another quarter of a century. He CHAP. VII. spent the remainder of his days in camp, wandering to and fro after the manner of his Moghul ancestors.

Mahratta wars.

The news of the Emperor's march was soon noised Fruitless abroad throughout the Dekhan; the wonders of his camp and army were the theme of every tongue. But the war against the Mahrattas was as fruitless as that against the Rajpúts. Sambhaji, the elder son of Sivaji, was Maharaja of the Mahrattas. Whilst Aurangzeb was trying to crush the Rana, Sambhaji had consolidated his He was bold and unscrupulous, like his father Sivaji; but the Mahrattas were incensed against him on account of the licentiousness of his amours.

71

power.

resistance.

Sambhaji had received Akbar with every kindness. Mahratta He was prepared to defend the Prince against the Emperor. He played off the old Mahratta tactics; repulsed every attempt of the Moghuls to pierce the defiles; and broke out at intervals upon the plains, ravaging villages, cutting off supplies, and returning by secret ways to his mountain fortresses. He poisoned, the tanks near the Moghul camp. Aurangzeb and his household escaped because they drank the Ganges water; but multitudes of men and horses perished from drinking poisoned water."2

71 Khafi Khan tells a homely story of Mahratta life, which brings out the contrast between Sivaji and his degenerate son. Sivaji had dug a well near his door and set up a bench. It was his custom to sit upon this bench, and talk to the women who came to draw water as he would have talked to his mother and sisters. Sambhaji sat on the same bench, but when the women came, he dragged them to the seat and treated them rudely. So the Ryots of that place went out of the Mahratta country, and dwelt in the lands of the Portuguese. Elliot's History, edited by Dowson, vol. vii.

72 Manouchi through Catrou. The later Mahratta practice of poisoning tanks is mentioned in the Madras records. It was never charged against Sivaji.

CHAP. VII.

All this while the Mahrattas were plotting against Mahratta plots. their Maharaja; they were bent on revenging the shame he had brought on many of their houses. The conspirators invited Akbar to become their Maharaja. Akbar rashly assented; then he was afraid of being entrapped, and revealed the whole plot to Sambhaji. From that day there was a firm friendship between Sambhaji and Akbar. Meanwhile every conspirator against the life of Sambhaji was taken by surprise and put out of the way.

Aurangzeb's

plots.

Moghul mission to Goa.

Aurangzeb learned all these plots and counterplots from his spies. He laid another plot of his own. The old tutor of Akbar was disguised as a fakir, and sent to the Moghul prince with offers of pardon. Akbar was to revive the conspiracy against Sambhaji; to bribe the Mahratta generals to admit a Moghul force into their capital. Akbar listened with feigned acquiescence, but told everything to Sambhaji. Both agreed to deceive Aurangzeb. Akbar accepted his father's forgiveness; fixed the day for the Moghul advance; and obtained a large sum for bribing the Mahratta generals. When the day came, the Moghuls were surrounded by the Mahrattas and slaughtered like cattle. Akbar employed the money to secure an escape to Persia.

The rage of the baffled Emperor may be imagined. The Mahrattas and his rebel son were alike beyond his reach. At this crisis he planned another scheme. He resolved to make an alliance with the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa. He sent an envoy to Goa to persuade the Viceroy to attack the Mahrattas by sea, blockade the Mahratta ports, and and prevent the escape of Akbar. In this scheme there was no idea of a community of interests. Aurangzeb only wanted the Portuguese to