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we find him deliberating about the necessity of punctual payment of masons. He urges his cavalry officers to beware of the careless use of fire in the camp. They are warned to be more careful about storing hay and fodder for their animals. To the Governor of a port he issues instructions for regulating the price of salt and nuts, and we cannot but wonder when we find the same man starting a literary movement which so vitally influenced the character of Marathi language.
Shivaji must not be judged by twentieth century western standards. He was, according to the ethics of his age and nation, a brave and chivalrous man. He was fighting a desperate battle, against enormous odds, and he could expect little mercy from his foes had he fallen into their clutches. His was a dark and violent age, and at least Shivaji's hands were not stained, like those of Aurangzeb, with the blood of his kindred. He was never deliberately or wantonly cruel. To respect women, mosques, and non-combatants, to stop promiscuous slaughter after a battle, to release and dismiss with honour captured officers and men, these are, surely no light virtues. His attacks upon the Mores and Ghorpades were inspired by the treachery which both had shown, and by the hatred which he felt for his country-men who refused to join in the national uprising.
Prof. Surendranath Sen, M. A. P. H. D. (Lecturer in Maratha History and Literature, Calcutta University.)
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He certainly, from the English point of view, acted treacherously towards Afzalkhan. On the other hand, Afzalkhan, with his knowledge of the Dekhan, deserves little commiseration. No officer of intelligence should have walked into such a trap, and Shivaji was, moreover, incensed by the wanton desecration of the most holy of the Dekhan shrines. The murder of Afzalkhan was, after all, no more treacherous than the murder of the Red Comega. Yet what historian seriously blames Robert the Bruce?
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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www.umaragyanbhandar.com
