The Book of Akbar 154: CHAPTER XXIII.
The Akbarnama (H. Beveridge), vols. I–II 154
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CHAPTER XXIII.
154.1
Account of the expedition of His Majesty Jahanbani Jannat-ASHIYANI FOR THE SUBJUGATION OF GUJRAT, OF THE DEFEAT OF SULTAN BAHADUR, AND THE CONQUEST OF THAT COUNTRY. Though the world-conquering heart (of Humāyūn) was void of the thought of the conquest of Gujrat so long as its ruler trod the path of harmony and sincerity, yet when the Creator wills to adorn a country with the splendour (farr) of a lawgiver's advent, He inevitably prepareth the means therefor. The actions of the ruler of Gujrat are a proof of this, for he, out of native arrogance, the assaults of flatterers, abundance of intoxication and intoxicated men, poverty of prudence and of the prudent, broke without object, treaties and visible ties, and became author of many improper acts. Thus it grew imperative for the lofty spirit (of Humāyūn) to march his army towards Gujrat. Accordingly in the beginning of Jumāda-l-awwal, 941, (8th November, 1534), the foot of determination was placed, in a happy hour, in the stirrup of felicity and the reins of prowess were directed to the subjugation of Gujrāt. When the army approached the fortress of Raisīn, the garrison submitted entreaties together with rich presents, representing that the fort was his Majesty's, and themselves his Majesty's slaves, and that as soon as the affair of Sultan Bahadur was settled, of what use would the fort be? In fact, as the object in view was the conquest of Gujrat, the army did not delay here, but marched on towards Malwa.
154.2
When the army had encamped at Sarangpur the news of its arrival reached Sultan Bahadur who was then besieging Citor. He awoke from the sleep of carelessness and sought the advice of his followers. Most were of opinion that as the matter of Citor could be settled at any time and the garrison was not giving any annoyance at present, the proper course was to put off the reduction of the fort and to march against the royal army. But Sadr Khan, who was prominent for knowledge and eloquence, and who ranked high in the congress (jirga) of soldiers and was renowned for wisdom and counsel, said that the proper thing was to finish the matter of the fortress, already nearly accomplished, and that as they had come out against infidels, the King of Islam would not come against them. Should he do so, they would then be excused if they abandoned a holy war (ghazā) and attacked him. This view commended itself to Sultan Bahadur, so he went on with the siege, and on 3rd Ramazan, 941, (8th March, 1535), subdued the fort of Citor. Thereupon he marched against the illustrious army which was then encamped at Ujjain. When the news of Sultan Bahadur's audacity reached the royal hearing, his Majesty also accelerated his movements, and the two armies encamped in the territory of Mandasor, belonging to Malwa, on the opposite banks of a lake which for greatness and breadth was a sea.
154.3
An engagement took place between the van of his Majesty Jahanbani's army commanded by Bacaka Bahadur, and Sultan Bahadur's van under Sayyid 'Ali Khan and Mīrza Muqim, who had the title of Khurasan Khan, in which the latter was worsted. Sultan Bahadur too was worsted (shikasta) in his heart. Taj Khan and Sadr Khan said to him "Our army is flushed with the victory of Cītōr and has not yet greatly felt the force of the royal army; it will address itself to battle with a stout heart. We should without delay go forth to fight.” Rūmī Khān, who commanded the artillery, and all the others, said to the Sultān “We have a grand park of artillery; when we have such a force of firearms, what sense is there in swordplay? The proper course is to make a bulwark of gun carriages (arāba lit. carts) and then having put a moat round this, let us first use those arms of long range so that the enemy may be diminished day by day, and be dispersed. Fighting with arrows and swords has its own proper place.” In the end this plan was adopted. There were constant encounters and the Gujrātīs were always defeated.
154.4
The following was one of the fortunate occurrences. One day a number of heroes and choice spirits were banqueting and became heated with wine. Everyone was exhilarated and talked of his exploits. One of them, who was further gone than the others, fell to saying, “How long shall we boast of the past! To-day the enemy is before us. Let us up and at them and so give a specimen of our valour.” Ere the reflecting portion of the army could know their design, those wine-flown revellers, about 200 in number, accoutred themselves and set out for the hostile camp. When they approached, a Gujrātī noble, with about 4,000 men who were on guard outside the camp, advanced, and then ensued such an engagement as beggars description. The Gujrātīs gave way and retired to the camp discomfited, whilst the battle-lovers returned in triumph. The report of this daring robbed Sultān Bahādur’s army of repose and after it they seldom came outside their fortification of gun-carriages. The victorious soldiers went everywhere, hindering the transport of corn, so that there arose great scarcity in the Gujrati camp. On the ‘Id of Ramazan, (4th April, 1535), Muhammad Zaman Mirza advanced with 500 or 600 men, and the other side also came forward to fight. After making two or three discharges of arrows the Gujratis dispersed, and by this stratagem brought the victorious army within the range of the guns. All at once they opened fire, and on that day some of the king’s men were destroyed.
154.5
After 17 days, when the auspicious hour had arrived, his Majesty Jahanbani resolved that an attack should be made on the camp of Sultan Bahadur. Meanwhile the fear and distress of the Gujratis increased daily, and the conditions of misfortune became more marked. At length by the Divine favour, on the night of Sunday, 21st Shawwal, (25th April), Sultan Bahadur grew distracted, and ordered that his cannon and great mortars should be crammed full of powder and set fire to so that they should burst. When evening came, Sultan Bahadur got out by a slit in the enclosure (sara-parda), accompanied by Miran Muhammad Shah and a few others of his intimates and set off for Mandu, taking first the road to Agra in order to throw out pursuers. Sadr Khan and ‘Imadu-l-mulk Khasakhail took, with 20,000 horse, the direct road to Mandu. Muhammad Zaman Mirza went off towards Lahor with a body of men in order to stir up a commotion there. That day there was a strange uproar and confusion in the Gujrati array, nor was the real state of matters known in the royal camp. His Majesty Jahanbani remained under arms with 30,000 men from evening till morning and awaited the good news of a mysterious victory. At length after one watch (i.e., three hours) of the day it became known that Sultan Bahadur had fled to Mandu. The heroes of the victorious army came to the camp of Sultan Bahadur and set about plundering it. A quantity of spoil, including many elephants, and horses fell into their hands.
154.6
Khudawand Khan who had been both preceptor (ustad) and finance-minister (wazir) of Sultan Muzaffar was made prisoner and was treated by his Majesty with great favour and made one of his servants. Yadgar Nasir Mirza, Qasim Sultan, and Mir Hindu Beg were despatched with a large force to pursue the routed army. Verily, whoever consorts with men of darkened understanding, becomes darkened. Especially shall an evil day come upon the man who violates treaties and engagements, and comes forward as a juggler, and plays the game of deception against such a world-lord who is the cynosure of sincerity and rectitude. In fine, after Sadr Khan and 'Imadu-l-mulk had departed, his Majesty’s army went straight to the fort of Mandu. His Majesty followed in the wake of his troops, and halted at Nalca, and drew his camp round the fort. Rumi Khan deserted the hostile army and entered his Majesty’s service and received a robe of honour. On the 14th day Sultan Bahadur after passing by circuitous routes entered the fort of Mandu by the Cull Mahesar Gate. A talk of an agreement took place, according to which Gujrat and the recently acquired Citor should remain with the Sultan, while Mandu and its territory should belong to his Majesty Jahanbani. Maulana Muhammad Parghali on his