SHIVAJI

From 1657 till the end of his rule, Aurangzeb had to constantly fight with Shivaji.

Shivaji troubled him by fighting in a style known as Guerilla warfare.

Hivaji would hide with his army and then suddenly attack the Mughal army.

The Mughals would be surprised, as they would be attacked when they least expected it.

Shivaji was a wily leader. An evidence of his cleverness was the way he dealt with Afzal Khan of Bijapuur.

When Afzal Khan could not defeat Shivaji, he asked Shivaji to meet him staying that he wanted to talk about peace and friendship.

When they met in the open, both had armed themselves.

The tall and strong Afzal Khan tried to embrace Shivaj to kill him, but Shivaji had worn his famous tiger claws. They wre four curved claws worn on the hand.

Shivaji clawed Afzal Khan and killed him.

So Aurangzeb was very careful while dealing with Shivaji. He sent the brother of Mumtaz Mahal, who was one of the few men he trusted, to deal with Shvaji. His name was Shaista Khan.

Shaista Khan was a good general and was loyal to Aurangzeb. He was successful in defeating Shivaji.

Once Shaista Khan was staying in the well gurarded Lal Mahal of Pune. The Marathas were not allowed in the city.

A marriage party had got special permission to take out a wedding procession. Shivaji and his men entered the city of Pune, disguised as members of the wedding procession.

They secretly entered the house where Shaista Khan was staying.

They broke a wall and attacked Shaista Khan and his men. They killed his son but couldn't kill him. They even killed a man mistaking him for Shaista Khan.

When they attacked, Shaista Khan jumped out of the window. As he was jumping out of the window, they saw him and threw a dagger at him.

His thumb got cut, but he escaped. He was taken away safely by his servants. The Marathas went away without being caught by anyone.

Shivaji was at constant war with Aurangzeb to keep the Marathas under Deccan. He moved his court to Aurangabad and kept fighting with him.