section_path: Early life/Arrest and defection to the Mughals
section_name: Arrest and defection to the Mughals
paragraph_text: Arrest and defection to the Mughals
  
  The elder Shivaji imprisoned his son Sambhaji at Panhala Fort in 1678. Contemporary author Khafi Khan suggested that his imprisonment was for personal behavior including alleged irresponsibility and addiction to "sensual pleasures".: 251 Another theory suggests that Sambhaji was imprisoned at the Panhala because he "attempted to violate a Brahmin's wife". After Shivaji returned from his Southern campaign, he stationed Sambhaji at Sajjangad, hoping to improve the latter's attitude. Sambhaji, although he revered the Matha (Hindu monastics) and their practices, was not adept at following that disciplined routine. A liaison was already established between Sambhaji and Diler Khan, now the sole person in charge of Mughal affairs in south Dakhan. On 13 December 1678, Sambhaji escaped with his wife and rejoined Diler Khan for a year, taking with him a small retinue and leaving Sajjangad with the aim of reaching Pedgaon, the Mughal cantonment. Following this, he was made a Mughal noble with the rank of seven thousand zat and conferred with the title of Raja by Aurangzeb.: 215 He later attacked the fort of Bhupalgad, which was under Maratha control while serving the Mughals. After returning, he was put under house arrest at Panhala.: 80
  
  According to historian Stewart N. Gordon, Shivaji did not want Sambhaji to succeed him. To this end, he devised a proposal to partition his kingdom between his two sons, with Sambhaji receiving the newly acquired regions of Karnatak and coastal Gingee, while Raja Ram was to be given the heartlands of Maharashtra.: 80, 112 Jadunath Sarkar states that Sambhaji, aggrieved by this, is said to have joined Diler Khan in dissent against his father following Khan's letters promising Sambhaji to reclaim his right with Mughal support if he joined him. However, Sambhaji later returned to the Maratha fold following Diler Khan's unscrupulous behavior. He further states that much of the primary historical sources regarding Sambhaji are disputable, as they were written by people hostile to him. Gajanan Mehendale considers the reason for Sambhaji's estrangement from his father to be uncertain.
  
  The elder Shivaji imprisoned his son Sambhaji at Panhala Fort in 1678. Contemporary author Khafi Khan suggested that his imprisonment was for personal behavior including alleged irresponsibility and addiction to "sensual pleasures".: 251 Another theory suggests that Sambhaji was imprisoned at the Panhala because he "attempted to violate a Brahmin's wife". After Shivaji returned from his Southern campaign, he stationed Sambhaji at Sajjangad, hoping to improve the latter's attitude. Sambhaji, although he revered the Matha (Hindu monastics) and their practices, was not adept at following that disciplined routine. A liaison was already established between Sambhaji and Diler Khan, now the sole person in charge of Mughal affairs in south Dakhan. On 13 December 1678, Sambhaji escaped with his wife and rejoined Diler Khan for a year, taking with him a small retinue and leaving Sajjangad with the aim of reaching Pedgaon, the Mughal cantonment. Following this, he was made a Mughal noble with the rank of seven thousand zat and conferred with the title of Raja by Aurangzeb.: 215 He later attacked the fort of Bhupalgad, which was under Maratha control while serving the Mughals. After returning, he was put under house arrest at Panhala.: 80
  
  According to historian Stewart N. Gordon, Shivaji did not want Sambhaji to succeed him. To this end, he devised a proposal to partition his kingdom between his two sons, with Sambhaji receiving the newly acquired regions of Karnatak and coastal Gingee, while Raja Ram was to be given the heartlands of Maharashtra.: 80, 112 Jadunath Sarkar states that Sambhaji, aggrieved by this, is said to have joined Diler Khan in dissent against his father following Khan's letters promising Sambhaji to reclaim his right with Mughal support if he joined him. However, Sambhaji later returned to the Maratha fold following Diler Khan's unscrupulous behavior. He further states that much of the primary historical sources regarding Sambhaji are disputable, as they were written by people hostile to him. Gajanan Mehendale considers the reason for Sambhaji's estrangement from his father to be uncertain.