area. The government also instructed another Deshmukh, Khopde, to seize Shahaji's estates, but these orders were apparently withdrawn before implementation. A similar situation arose in 1646. In 1648, during a Bijapur campaign to support the rebellion of the Nayakas against the Vijayanagara king Sriranga III, Shahaji was arrested for acting against the interests of Bijapur. While the forces of Bijapur and Golconda laid siege to the Jinjee fort, Shahaji had started acting independently of Bijapur commander Mustafa Khan and started negotiating with the Nayakas of Jinjee, Madurai, and Tiruchirapalli. He even sought service with the Golconda government. Shahaji was brought to the capital Bijapur in chains and forced to surrender the forts of Kondana and Bangalore. While texts written under Maratha patronage such as Shiva-Bharat state that Shahaji was arrested because of a rebellion conducted by his son Shivaji, Bijapur records do not support this claim. Whatever the case, Shahaji was pardoned within a year. Little information is available about Shahaji's life from 1648 to 1660. He appears to have moved out of Bangalore, where his son Ekoji was stationed. Shahaji himself was stationed at Kanakagiri, and his son Sambhaji was killed during a revolt by the chief (Rajah) of Kanakagiri in 1654. During this period, Shahaji participated in Bijapur's war against Golconda. Meanwhile, Shivaji, who now administered Shahaji's jagir in the Pune region, began acting independently of the Bijapur government and started capturing territories of Bijapur vassals around Pune. Shivaji claimed to be a servant of the Bijapur government and justified his actions by arguing that he was governing these territories better than the deposed rulers did. However, the ruler of Bijapur doubted Shivaji's loyalty and Shahaji distanced himself from his son's actions. A letter from Bijapur, dated 26 May 1658, returns to Shahaji the control of his former jagir of Bangalore and assures him that he will not be punished for the rebellion of his son. Some writers have speculated that Shahaji and Shivaji collaborated to establish an independent kingdom, but no contemporary sources support this theory. The majority of historians believe that Shahaji did not support his son's rebellion. In 1659, the Bijapur government sent a 12,000-strong army led by Afzal Khan against Shivaji, but Shivaji emerged victorious in the conflict. Between the years 1659 and 1662, Shahaji travelled to Pune as a mediator between Shivaji and Bijapur, meeting his son for the first time in 12