city. Nothing more outrageous in the eyes of a good Muslim could be conceived than this insult to Súrat, the 'Gate of the Pilgrimage,' until the sacrilege was eclipsed by the fleet which Sivají fitted out at forts which he had built on the coast, for the express purpose of intercepting Mughal ships, many of which were full of pilgrims on their way to or from the Holy City of Mecca. It seemed as though there were no limits to the audacity of this upstart robber, who, now that his father was dead, presumed to style himself Rája, low caste. Maráthá though he was, and to coin money as an independent sovereign.
A fresh change of generals was tried. Jaswant Singh's previous record justified the suspicion that he had turned a blind eye to the doings of his fellow Hindús, the violators of Súrat. He was superseded, and Rája Jai Singh and Dilír Khán were appointed joint-commanders in the Deccan. Aurangzíb never trusted one man to act alone; a colleague was always sent as a check upon him; and the divided command generally produced vacillating half-hearted action. In the present instance, however, Jai Singh and his colleague appear to have displayed commendable energy. Five months they spent in taking forts and devastating the country, and at length Sivají, driven to earth, opened negotiations with Jai Singh, which ended in an extraordinary sensation: the Maráthá chief not only agreed to surrender the majority of his strongholds, and to become once more the vassal of the Emperor, but.actually went to Delhi and appeared
