Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/48

42 believed, that the Emperor's letters were forged by Dárá; they declared that their father was either dead or dying, and they announced their determination, if he were still living, to throw themselves at his feet and deliver him from the tyranny of 'the apostate.' In accordance with this resolve, which may have been genuine, Aurangzíb sent a Bráhman orator to the Mahárája Jaswant Singh with a message to this effect: 'I desire to visit my father. I do not wish for war. Either come with me, or keep out of my way, that no blood be shed.' The Rájput returned an insulting reply, and both sides made ready for battle.

The accounts of the engagement of the 25th of April are in many respects conflicting. It is evident that Sháh-Jahán's temporizing policy, and possibly Aurangzíb's promises and bribes, had divided the counsels of the generals. Some were for carrying out Dárá's furious orders and exterminating the rebels; others paid heed to his father's command to deal gently with the misguided princes. Had Jaswant Singh attacked as soon as Aurangzíb appeared on the opposite bank of the Narbadá, the history of the Mughal empire might have been turned into a different channel. Dárá as Emperor might have played the part of a lesser Akbar; the Hindú element might have become supreme in India; and a united kingdom, dominated by Rájput chiefs, might have offered a stubborn resistance to the encroachments of the English traders. But Sháh-Jahán, in his weak desire to play off the ability of Aurangzíb against the overbearing