The Institutes of Akbar 283: Note on the Battle of Takaroí, or Mughulmárí, in Orísá.
The Áín i Akbari (Blochmann, Jarrett) 283
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Note on the Battle of Takaroí, or Mughulmárí, in Orísá.
283.1
This battle is one of the most important battles fought by Akbar’s generals. It crushed the Afghans, and decided the possession of Bengal and Upper Orísá. The MSS. of the Akbarnámah and the Maásir have تکروهی Takarohí, and تکروی Takaroí. My copy of the Sawánih has the former spelling. A few copies of the Akbarnámah have نکروهی Nakrohí. In Badáoní and the Tabaqát the battle of Takaroí is called the battle of بجهوره (vide p. 318), which may be Bajhorak, Bachhorah, Bajhorah, or Bachhorah. Stewart’s account of Mun’im’s Orísá expedition (Vth Section), differs in many particulars from the Akbarnámah and the Tabaqát. He places the battle in the environs of Katak, which is impossible, and his ‘Bukhtore’ is a blunder for به چتوا ba chittúa, ‘in Chittúa,’ the final alif having assumed the shape of a re, and the te that of خ. The Lucknow lithograph of the Akbarnámah, which challenges in corruptness the worst possible Indian MS., has ba chitor, in Chitor!
283.2
The Akbarnámah, unfortunately, gives but few geographical details. Todar Mall moved from Bardwán over Madáran into the Parganah of Chittúa (چتوا), where he was subsequently joined by Mun’im. Dádúd had taken up a strong position at دهرهپور Harpur or Harípúr, “which lies intermediate (barzakhe) between Bengal and Orísá.” The same phrase (barzakhe), in other passages of the Akbarnámah, is applied to Chittúa itself. Dádúd’s object was to prevent the Imperialists from entering Orísá, into which led but few other roads; “but Ilyás Khan Langáh shewed the victorious army an easier road,” and Mun’im entered the country, and thus turned Dádúd’s position. The battle then takes place (20th Zí Qa’dah, 982, or A. D., 3rd March, 1575). After the battle Todar Mall leads the pursuit, and reaches with his corps the town of Bhadrak. Not long after, he writes to Mun’im to come and join him, as Dádúd had collected his troops near Katak, and the whole army moves to Katak, where a peace was concluded, which confirmed Daud in the possession of Katak.
283.3
Now from the facts that the battle took place soon after the Imperialists had left Chittuá, which lies a little E. E. N. of Mednipúr (Midnapore), and that after the victory Ríjah Todar Mall, in a pursuit of several days, pushed as far as Bhadrak, I was led to conclude that the battle must have taken place near Jalesar (Jellasore), and probably north of it, as Abulfazl would have mentioned the occupation of so large a town. On consulting the large Trigonometrical Map of Orísá lately published, I found on the road from Mednípúr to Jalesar the village of Mogulmaree (Mughulmárí, i. e., Mughul’s Fight), and about seven miles southwards, half ways between Mughulmárí and Jalesar, and two miles from the left bank of the Soobunreeka river, the village of Tookaroe. According to the map the latitude of Mughulmárí is 22°, and that of Tookaroe, 21° 53' nearly. There can be no doubt that this Tookaroe is the تکروی, Takaroi, of the Akbarnámah. The battle extended over a large ground. Badáoní (II, p. 195, l. 3) speaks of three, four kos, i. e., about six miles, and thus the distance of Takaroi from Mughulmárí is accounted for. I can give no satisfactory explanation of the name بجوره, by which the battle is called in the Tabaqát and Badáoní (II, 194, l. 2). It looks as if the name contained the word chaur which occurs so often in the names of Parganahs in the Jalesar and Balesar districts.
283.4
In Badáoní (Edit. Bibl. Indica, p. 196), and the Tabaqát, it is said that Todar Mall in his pursuit reached کلکل گھاتی Kalkalghátí (?), not Bhadrak. List of Officers who died in 983, after their return from Orísá, at Gaur of malaria. 1. Mun’im Khán, Khán Khánán, (18th Rajab). Vide p. 318. 2. Hájí Khán Sístání, (No. 55). 3. Haidar Khán, (No. 66). 4. Mírzá Qulí Khán, his brother. 5. Ashraf Khán, (No. 74). 6. Mu’ínuddín Ahmad, (No. 128). 7. Jua’l Khán, (No. 209). 8. Hájí Yúsuf Khán, (No. 224). 9. Sháh Táhir, (No. 236). 10. Háshim Khán. 11. Muhsin Khán. 12. Qundúz Khán. 13. Abul Husain. 14. Sháh Khalíl.