Sambhaji accompanies Shivaji Maharaj on the journey to Agra

Following the ratification of the Treaty of Purandar in late 1665, the Rajput general Mirza Raja Jai Singh I pressed Shivaji Maharaj to travel north to the Mughal imperial court at Agra. Jai Singh envisioned a grand strategic reconciliation between Shivaji and Emperor Aurangzeb, hoping to integrate the formidable Maratha leader into the broader Mughal imperial political hierarchy. To overcome Shivaji's deep suspicions regarding imperial motives and personal safety, Jai Singh gave his solemn personal oath, backed by written assurances and the pledge of his son, Kumar Ram Singh, who was stationed at Agra. Jai Singh guaranteed that the Maratha king and his delegation would be treated with honor, protected from political treachery, and granted full freedom to return to the Deccan.

On March 5, 1666, Shivaji departed from his capital fortress of Rajgad on the arduous long-distance journey to Agra. Recognizing the strategic and political education this expedition could provide for his successor, Shivaji took his nine-year-old son and heir, Sambhaji Maharaj, along with him. The Maratha delegation was compact but meticulously assembled, comprising trusted diplomatic advisors and loyal officers such as Niraji Raoji, Dattaji Trimbak, Hiroji Farzand, and a select guard of around two hundred and fifty elite cavalrymen and retainers.

The expedition spanned over two months and covered nearly a thousand miles across central and northern India. The route traversed imperial provinces and strategic transit hubs including Aurangabad, Burhanpur, Malwa, Sironj, and Gwalior. Traveling across these northern arteries exposed young Sambhaji to the immense geographic scale, urban administrative centers, and military communications of the Mughal Empire. Imperial governors and regional officers along the route received the delegation with formal courtly honors, though underlying tensions remained palpable as news of the Maratha arrival preceded them.

For Shivaji, the journey represented a calculated diplomatic risk intended to assess Mughal administrative stability and explore regional alliances directly. For young Sambhaji, the long expedition acted as an intensive forge of leadership, exposing him to northern courtly etiquette, political maneuvering, and geographical reality far beyond Maharashtra. The immediate result was the arrival of the Maratha royal family outside Agra in early May 1666, setting the scene for a monumental historical collision.

In the long term, this journey set the stage for one of the most perilous episodes in Maratha history—the dramatic confrontation at court and subsequent house arrest—which profoundly shaped Sambhaji’s lifelong hostility toward Mughal rule.