Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/200

194 arms, will give a sufficient idea of the state of the war in 1702. At this time Tárá Báí, the widow of Rám Rája, was queen-regent of the Maráthás, as Sambháji's son was a captive in the hands of Aurangzib. Tárá Báí deserves a place among the great women of history: –

'She took vigorous measures for ravaging the imperial territory, and sent armies to plunder the six provinces of the Deccan as far as Sironj, Mandisor, and Málwa. She won the hearts of her officers, and for all the struggles and schemes, the campaigns and sieges of Aurangzíb, up to the end of his reign, the power of the Maráthás increased day by day. By hard fighting, by the expenditure of the vast treasures accumulated by Sháh-Jahán, and by the sacrifice of many thousands of men, he had penetrated into their wretched country, had subdued their lofty forts, and had driven them from house and home; still their daring increased, and they penetrated into the old territories of the imperial throne, plundering and destroying wherever they went. ... Whenever the commander of the army hears of a large caravan, he takes six or seven thousand men and goes to plunder it. If the collector cannot levy the chauth, the general destroys the towns. The head men of the villages, abetted by the Maráthás, make their own terms with the imperial revenue-officers. They attack and destroy the country as far as the borders of Ahmadábd and the districts of Málwa, and spread their devastations through the provinces of the Deccan to the environs of Ujjain. They fall upon and plunder caravans within ten or twelve kos of the imperial camp, and have even had the hardihood to attack the royal treasure .'