After Sambhaji was brutally killed in 1689, it initially seemed like Aurengazeb was victorious. But the Maratha resistance continued under the able leadership of Rajaram and Tarabai. They were assisted by able generals like Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jhadav.
In 1690, a Maratha attack on Mughal camp nearly killed Aurengazeb
While Rajaram was cantoning at Pratapgad, Santaji Ghorpade and Vithoji Chavan accomplished an extraordinary feat of valour and dexterity, which struck terror into the Emperor’s heart. With a few selected followers they made their way on a dark night through torrents of rain to the Emperor’s camp at Koregaum. They fell upon his own royal tent, cut down the supporting ropes and the huge cloth edifice came down in a crash, killing the inmates, including, as was at first supposed, the Emperor himself. They carried away the sets of large gold top-balls of the tent and other valuables and presented them to Rajaram at Pratapgad. Afterwards it was discovered that Aurangzeb by chance was passing that night in his daughter’s tent and thus escaped death. The incident clearly illustrates the nature of Maratha tactics and gave the Emperor a sure foretaste of what he was to expect in future.“
- Page 321, New History of the Marathas, Volume 1
By 1706, Marathas were raiding into Gujarat
The Maratha army stated to be eighty thousand strong under Dhanaji entered into Gujarat, which, in the absence of a proper subahdar, had become virtually defenceless. The deputy governor of the province detached a force against the Maratha army. But the Mughal commanders did not see eye to eye with each other, and hence they defeated the very purpose of an united front against the Marathas. They assembled their forces at Baba Pyara ford on the banks of the Narmada. The forces were lying there over a month without making any operations. From thence these forces advanced towards Ratanpur on the eastern bank of the Narmada near Rajpipla. Here the Maratha force fell upon them mercilessly. A fierce battle took place. Many were lost in killed and wounded on the Mughal side. Many of the soldiers abandoned the battlefield and were on their heels to Broach. Two of their chiefs, Safdar Khan Babi and Nazar Ali Khan, were captured. They paid a ransom of eight lacs of rupees to the Marathas. The Mughal camp, including bag and baggage was looted and many of them were taken as war prisoners. This happened by about 15th March 1706.
- Page 249, The Mughal Maratha Relations: Twenty Five Fateful Years (1682-1707)
Kafi Khan who was a member of Aurengazeb's court writes
Rajaram’s wife, Tarabai, has caused havoc. Her leadership and military organization are unexceptionable, and the result is that the Maratha incursions and harassment go on increasing …Rajaram’s senior wife, Tarabai, has put his three-year old son on the throne and has herself assumed control. The appointments of commanders, their transfers, the administration of the state, the despatching of expeditions into imperial territory are all done under her orders. . . She has won over the loyalty of her chieftains and has organized her army in such a way that the Marathas were able to cause havoc all over the Deccan and even as far as Sironj, Mandsore, and the borders of Malwa. The Emperor spent his life in attacking Maratha forts. He fought Tarabai relentlessly till the end, but the strength of the Kaffirs as well as their virulence grows .... with the Emperor and his Generals engaged in campaigning in difficult mountain terrain, the Marathas made deep inroads into Imperial territory. Wherever Tarabai's commanders went, they consolidated their positions; even appointed their own revenue agents and lived unmolested and in comfort in those far off lands, along with their womenfolk, elephants and tents, for months and years. Their conquests were wholly beyond the bounds of forbearance.”
- Page 51, Chhatrapati’s of Kolhapur.
By 1707, the condition of Mughals in Deccan were incredibly pathetic and Aurengazeb's daughters were begging him to return to Delhi
The wastage of the Deccan war, which raged intensely for over twenty years, was a hundred thousand lives of soldiers and followers and three times that number of animals, elephants, horses, camels and oxen, for each of those years. In the imperial camp pestilence was always present and the daily mortality was heavy from the immense number of men crowded together, the accumulation of filth and flies and the unbearable stench. His soldiers and camp followers suffered unspeakable hardships in marching over flooded rivers, muddy roads, and broken hilly tracks. Posters disappeared, transport beasts died of hunger and overwork, scarcity of grain was ever present in the camp. His officers were awfully wearied. Aurangzeb burst into wrath at any suggestion of return to north India and taunted the unlucky counsellor with cowardice and love of ease.
The last few months of Aurangzeb’s life witnessed the fi.nal break-down. He had no Money : no funds reached him from outside. The Marathas became aggressive. The Emperor’s own wives and daughters came to the point of starving. With a united voice they all pitieously pleaded for a return to Agra. They said, “ It is now thirty years since we have been wandering in foreign land, suffering the hardships of camp life all the while. We were then young and full of youth. Now we have grown old and decrepit. Let us go back to Agra and die peacefully in our homes, without the fear of these vultures tearing us. Let us have peace at least in death.”
- Pages 358–360, New History of the Marathas, Volume 1.
The Deccan campaign was a great disaster for the Mughals and they never recovered from the losses they suffered due to it.
