After nearly thirty years of war Ajit Singh entered Jodhpur as its ruler in 1707.
01Out of Delhi
Jaswant Singh died at Jamrud in the Khyber in December 1678. His posthumous son Ajit Singh was held in Delhi, and the emperor wanted him raised at court. In July 1679 Durgadas and the Rathore escort fought their way out of the city and got the child to Marwar. The same year Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya. Maharana Raj Singh of Mewar joined the Rathores, and the war spread across Rajputana.
02Prince Akbar and the long war
In 1681 Aurangzeb’s son Prince Akbar rebelled with Rajput backing. When the revolt failed, Durgadas escorted the prince all the way to Sambhaji in the Deccan, linking the Rajput and Maratha wars. For two decades the Rathores fought from the desert and the Aravallis, never beaten for long. Aurangzeb died in March 1707, and Ajit Singh took Jodhpur that year.
Marwar won back its own ruler, and Durgadas became Rajasthan’s byword for loyalty that asks nothing for itself.