in our resistance.” The Maratha leaders took solemn oaths of remaining faithful to Shahu as their true Chhatrapati and carrying on the warfare in his name till the country was liberated from the enemy’s possession. Before evacuating Raigad, Rajaram paid a last visit to Yesubai and laid his head at her feet to seek her blessings. The queen sternly placed her hand on Rajaram’s head, said to him, “There is no cause for grief. Victory will surely be yours and you will reconquer your father’s kingdom”. Rajaram rose, embraced prince Shivaji, and bade the garrison farewell moving towards to the Bhavani temple at Pratapgad. As he went inspecting the fortresses that lay along the route, he had them provisioned and armed. Everywhere the Maratha garrisons hailed his advent with enthusiasm. The charm of his address won all their hearts and from his name men drew a fortunate omen: “The army of Rajaram like that of Rama should fall upon the Muslims suddenly, from unexpected quarters in bands of 500 or 1,000, even 200 men. They should separate them, drive them, kill them and then run away. To sum up, all the people should have one aim of protecting Rajaram’s kingdom at the sacrifice of their own lives. The whole Hindu people should struggle for their independence without caring for their lives.” Through the countryside the folk rumors were circulated that "just as in olden times Rama of Ayodhya had conquered the demons of Lanka, so the new Raja Ram would drive from the land, the demons of Delhi". As the Mughals under Itikad Khan (later Zulfikar Khan) started laying siege to the region around Raigad on 25 March 1689, a daring plan was formulated by Santaji Ghorpade to counter this. They fell upon Mughal detachments and sometimes routed them so thoroughly that succours could not reach Zulfikar Itikad Khan in time for his operations. Santaji and Dhanaji made wonderful progress in the plan that was adopted. The forty thousand strong Maratha army under the immediate command of Dhanaji Jadhav was still too small to achieve anything in pitched battle against the large hordes of Aurangzeb. So Santaji Ghorpade suggested that the Maratha army should entrench itself at Phaltan and from that base draw the attention of Mughal generals while Santaji and a small cavalry contingent would raid the main Mughal camp at Tulapur, and if possible kill Aurangzeb in the