narrow valley, and the herons were struck down by trained hawks.[1]
It was during his second rule over the Deccan that Aurangzib clearly unfolded not only his administrative skill and energy, but also the limitations of his character which finally blighted his fame and wrecked his empire. We have already seen him boasting how he had destroyed the temple on a hill six miles south of Aurangabad. He is taxed by Shah Jahan with being unfriendly to the Rajputs, and tries to answer the charge by recommending a Rajput captain, Rao Karan,[2] to an administrative post.Early examples of his religious bigotry. Evidently there was no love lost between him and the Rajputs already. People perceive instinctively when they are disliked, and though they may be wrong in guessing the cause, their feeling always indicate correctly the spirit in which they are being treated.
A clearer proof of his religious bigotry even in youth is furnished by the following letter which he wrote at this time to the prime minister Sadullah Khan:
