Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/236

206 Chanda had visited the Court of Delhi in the 16th century, and his family had ever since been loyally attached to the empire, because this was their only protection from their hereditary foe and rival, the Rajah of Deogarh.

For a short time the DEOGARH Kingdom be- came so powerful as to over-shadow Mandla and Chanda and to take the first place among the Gond States. Its wealth was vast enough to tempt the cupidity of the Mughals. We have seen how in 1637 Khan-i-Dauran invaded this kingdom, stormed the fort of Nagpur, and forced Rajah Kukia to pay a large contribution down and to promise an annual tribute of 1⅓ lakhs of rupees. Kesari Singh had succeeded his father Kukia in 1640, after presenting a fee of four lakhs of rupees to the Emperor. But under him the tribute fell into arrears, and repeated demands for it produced no effect. So, in 1655, Shah Jahan ordered the country to be invaded, especially as the Mughal army in the Deccan had its hands free and the Rajah of Deogarh was said to possess 200 elephants, which would be a rich booty. Aurangzib point-