The Book of Akbar 328: VICTORY OF H.M. THE SHAHINSHAH’S ARMY IN THE BATTLE WITH HEMU, HIS CAPTURE, AND HIS UNDERGOING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
The Akbarnama (H. Beveridge), vols. I–II 328
- Language
- English
Contents
VICTORY OF H.M. THE SHAHINSHAH’S ARMY IN THE BATTLE WITH HEMU, HIS CAPTURE, AND HIS UNDERGOING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
328.1.1
Great God! How varied are the decrees of fate, and how multiplex the marks of destiny! A blade of grass cannot spring from the ground without some designs being involved in it, nor a leaf stir on a tree without sundry purposes being infolded therein! How then can one estimate the mysteries and consequences which lie hid under events which are responsible for a movement of a universe? Among such was this battle-garbed banquet! (bazm-i-razmnama) which was among the great causes of external order, and also the best means of guidance for those who had lost their way in the wilderness of error and destruction. The account of this great boon is as follows: The ill-fated Hemu was continually giving way to pride and arrogance, owing to his accumulation of incitements to infatuation, such as have already been briefly described. Especially was the Indian army encouraged by the catastrophe of Tardi Khan, and it was emboldened to contend with the hosts of Fortune. High and low were filled with pride and indulged in seditious imaginings. When the news of the march of the standards of Fortune were spread throughout the hostile army, Hemu sent his park of artillery, great both in quality and in quantity, in advance of himself, and under the charge of Mubarak Khan and Bahadur Khan, who were chief officers of his, to Panipat, which is nearly thirty kos from Delhi, and set about preparing for battle. It had not occurred to him that the victory-begotten troops would move with celerity.
328.1.2
When the lion-hearted men of the advanced guard heard of the arrival of the artillery at that town, they equipped a force composed of active and battle-loving soldiers, such as L‘al Khan Badakhshi, M. Quli Uzbeg, and Samanji Khan and sent them forward to make an attack. When this force wrote reporting the strength of the enemy, ‘Ali Quli Khan Shaibani joined the division, and the masterful ghazis, who were backed by the Shahinshah’s Fortune, added feline skill to the deeds of tigers. It may be conjectured what deeds were done by tigers when thus supported! In fine, the artillery was captured, and the advanced guard of the enemy fled without fighting. When the moribund Hemu heard of this, he arrayed his army in three divisions. The right wing was commanded by Shadi Khan Kakar, the left wing by Hemu’s sister’s son Ramya, who was distinguished for bravery, and he himself marched forward with consummate pride and great celerity. He took with him the mountain-like and dragon-mouthed elephants, which had been collected by so many Indian rulers, and which by Heaven’s decree and for a warning to the superficial and the short-sighted had been brought together for this alien in form and substance. Among them were 500 palmary (sira) elephants, each of them a paragon for swiftness and dexterity.
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In might and courage they were exemplars, and the running of those active athletes could not be called running, for though the race-horses of ‘Iraq (Arabia) be swift, they could not outstrip those elephants. In truth each one of those famous elephants was capable of disordering a large force. They were especially calculated to confuse the onset of cavalry, as the horses had never seen such terrific forms. How can the attributes of those rushing mountains be strung on the slender thread of words. They ruined lofty buildings by shaking them, and sportively uprooted strong trees. In the hour of battle and contest they lifted up man and horse and cast them into the air. Verse. They advance at a gentle pace, but when they encounter, The strong are as powdered antimony under their feet. How shall the multitude of his army be described? The brief account is that he marched in excellent order with 30,000 practised horsemen composed of Rajputs and Afghans who, on many occasions, had by their exploits increased his pride and arrogance. Musketeers and cross-bowmen were placed on the mountain-backs of those enormous elephants, which were furnished with suits of mail (kajim) and defensive armour, and made ready for war. All the elephants had these war-panoplies, and had their trunks armed with spears and knives, and were intrusted to men of war and to courageous drivers. Every one had his place assigned to him.
328.1.4
The elephant Ghalib Jang, which was one of the first-rate elephants, was assigned to Hasan Khan Faujdar; the elephant Gaj Bhanwar (?), which was one in a thousand, was assigned to Maikal Khan; the elephant Jor Banyan, which was a powerful one, was given to Ikhtiyar Khan; the elephant Fauj Madar was assigned to Sangram Khan; and elephant Kali Beg, which had in many battles been ridden by Hemu himself, was on that day entrusted to a driver of the name of Capan. He conciliated these leaders, who were lions of the jungle of war, and were the confidants of Sher Khan and Selim Khan, and other haughty ones, and made them zealous for battle. But warlike preparations are of use against the superficial, and those who are influenced by material causes. Of what avail are they against a worshipper of God, and an annihilator of ordinary causes, who has been brought for the arrangement and completion of the spiritual and temporal world? All these materials and apparatus became additions to the household of that beautifier of the world of sovereignty. The strange event that immediately followed was a proof of this. The account of this wonderful fortune is as follows:— On Dibadin, the 23rd Aban, Divine month, corresponding to Thursday, 2 Muharram 964 (5 November, 1556), when the advanced guard of the victorious army was encamped on the borders of Panipat, scouts came and brought the information that the enemy had arrived, and reported his strength and equipment;
328.1.5
and it was made certain that the ill-fated scoundrel was boldly approaching. And before the above-mentioned town was reached, it was currently rumoured that Hemu had sent a large force in advance under the command of Shadi Khan Kakar. The imperial officers did not make much account of this, and having bound their hearts to the daily increasing fortune, proceeded to face him. When it grew certain that Hemū was coming with all that preparation, inasmuch as they had not looked to their real support (i.e., Akbar), perturbation found its way into the hearts of imperial servants, through the instrumentality of empty-headed babblers, from whom no army is ever free, or rather there are armies of such. The brave men of the army of fortune reported the facts to the victory-protecting court, and made themselves ready for sacrificing their lives. There were 10,000 soldiers in this force, but perhaps only 5,000 were men of battle. When the conquering heroes, and the loyal brave knew that the enemy was at hand they, out of wisdom and a large capacity, which on such occasions are greater incitements to victory than thousands of experienced soldiers, did not regard the apparent numerical superiority of the enemy, and their abundant equipment, for it is the way of the happy-fortuned and auspicious not to put off till the morrow the work of the day. Without a semblance of hesitation or delay they drew up their forces and sought for an opportunity to engage.
328.1.6
Sikandar Khan and a number of veterans were on the right. ‘Abdullah Khan and another body of devoted men were on the left. The centre received support from the valour of ‘Ali Quli Khan Shaibānī. Husain Quli Khan, Shah Quli Mahram, and a number of efficient young men formed the vanguard. Now that the narrative has come so far it is proper to pause and to expatiate somewhat, so that there may be amenity of discourse. O thou who seekest for admonitory words and who watchest the thread of exposition give ear for a time to me! From the time when H.M. the Shāhinshāh by dint of his world-conquering mind had sent on noted officers in advance, he did not for an instant disregard the arrangement of the main army, and marched forward, stage by stage, to victory. On this most excellent of days, which was the new year’s day of victory and rejoicing, he marched from Karnāl, which is ten kos from Panipat, and halted at the distance of five kos from the latter town. There was no intelligence in the camp that the enemy had approached the vanguard, and the soldiers had not yet rubbed off the dust of the march or taken breath, when news of the enemy’s having reached the vanguard, together with other disquieting information was received. It appeared that many had given way, but that fighting was still going on briskly. The order for battle was immediately given to the army, and preparations were made for the march.
328.1.7
Commands were issued that the heroes should put their armour on their breasts, and trust in God in their hearts, and follow the victorious stirrup. In a short time they were equipped in a manner worthy of praise from masters of fortune, and began searching for a fight. H.M. with a kingly and tranquil countenance placed the helmet of Divine fortune on his head, and the cuirass of God’s protection on his breast, and the foot of dominion in the stirrup of intent. Bairām Khan Khān-Khānān moved in front of the ranks, and round the divisions, and took measures for preserving the rules of war, and the protection of points. On behalf of H.M. the Shāhinshāh he distributed promises of favour and anger, and set in order the banquet of battle.
328.2.1
After the troops had been marshalled, and their hearts encouraged, the giver of commands to the world incited them to rapidity and ordered a march. When the moon of the world-conquering banner cast the light of its approach on Panipat, the vanguard of victory appeared in front, and heroic men came and communicated the glad tidings of victory, and Shāh Qulī Mahram brought Hemū a prisoner to his Majesty, and was the recipient of royal favours. The brief account of this great victory, and grand boon, which was a masterpiece of good fortune, is as follows:—
328.2.2
When Hemū became aware that the standards of glory were far off, and that some of the officers had come in advance, he rapidly marched against them; thinking that if he dispersed these men, who were the choice troops, the rest of his task would be easy. He relied upon the numbers of his experienced troops, and on his many strong elephants, and advanced with immeasurable pride. In the drunkenness of infatuation, he could not understand that he who is supported by the driver of the elephant will assuredly prevail over him whose trust is in the elephant. How then can the superiority of him be denied who is in the confidence of the Creator of the elephant?; and what effect against him can be procured by calling upon elephants for help? However that moribund, ill-fated one carried on hot war, and the brave men on each side made noble endeavours and like Ra‘d in Naisan, and tigers in a reed-bed (nayistān) rushed upon one another with shouts. They served well with courage and devotion, and gathered glory. Verse. Two armies so collided That they struck fire out of water; You’d say the air was all crimsoned daggers, Their steel had all become solid rubies. Though the heroes of the victorious army did not fail in steadiness and devotion, yet the onset of the elephants shook the right and left divisions. Several tigers of battle’s jungle, viz.
328.2.3
tiger-hunting soldiers, who regarded the dust of the battle-field as the cosmetic of victory’s bride, and as the rouge of fortune’s cheek, and who sought for the water of life at the spring of the blood-drinking sword, quaffed their fill of desires. Such were Muhd. Qāsim Khān of Nishāpūr, Husain Qulī Khān, Shāh Qulī Mahram, and L‘al Khān Badakhshī. When they perceived that the horses would not face the elephants they fetched a circuit and like famished tigers, sought their prey with blood-dripping swords and closed with the foe and overcame him. They hurled firmly-seated riders from their saddles and then despatched them by the dagger-hoofs of swift, fiery horses. Bands of devoted archers came forward on all sides and did yeomanly service. ‘Ali Quli Khan Shaibani whose command made the centre illustrious, had come to a spot which had a great ravine in front of it, such that even elephants could not cross. The brave seekers of battle and the lion-like men of the centre were compressed into a small space and stood firm, looking for an opportunity to attack. They showed such endurance that the elephants retreated from the sides of the centre. Thereupon the latter came out in the rear of the enemy and discharged their arrows and wielded their swords. Hemi the ill-fated rode proudly on an elephant named Hawai (the rocket ?), which was one of his best, and glanced from side to side at the brave swordsmen, and at the onset of the rank-breaking ghazis.
328.2.4
He beheld with apprehension the combats of the warriors of fortune’s army, and gathering together a band of fierce elephants he showed every stratagem which his powerful capacity could conceive, and every daring deed which lurked in his seditious soul. He made powerful onsets and performed many valorous acts, and dislodged many strenuous soldiers of the sublime army. Bhagwan Das, one of his leading men, and who was distinguished for his bravery in the field of battle, was cut to pieces in front of him, and Shadi Khan was trampled under the feet of the swift horses of fortune’s army. Suddenly, in the midst of the contest, an arrow from the bended bow of Divine wrath reached Hemu’s eye, and piercing the socket, came out at the back of his head. Seemingly, the wind of the pride, and the arrogance of that black-fated, inwardly darkened one passed out by that window. When those who were fighting around him saw that fortune’s arrow had hit the target, the arm of their courage grew slack, and they lost heart. They became handless and footless, and no more girded up the loins of courage. His army was defeated and every man strewed the dust of defeat on his head, and scattered the glory of courage on the ground, and turned to flee. Just then Shah Quli Khan and some brave men came up to the elephant on which Hemi was riding. He did not know that Hemi was on the elephant, and sought to kill the driver in order that he might make the elephant his spoil.
328.2.5
The helpless driver, who had neither the helmet of loyalty nor the cuirass of courage, from fear of his life, pointed out his master. When Shah Quli Khan heard of his great fortune, he blessed his stars and tossed the cap of joy to the skies. He gave quarter to the driver and made him hopeful of a royal reward. He then separated that and some other elephants and left the battle-field.
328.2.6
When the breeze of victory was wafted to the victory-marked standards of H.M. the Shahinshah from the vent of Divine favour, the black-fated foe at once turned their backs and sought safety in flight. The tigers of the jungle of courage cast the elephant-drivers headlong from the summits of their mountains by arrows and blows of battle-axes and made the hill-resembling elephants go like a strong gale. When daily-increasing majesty is in battle-array, lion-hearted, rank-breaking men have no resource but in flight; how then could unreasoning brutes withstand the glory of genius? The victorious officers after such a victory, which till the extinction of the world will be the inscription on the victory-proclamation of great princes, and the resplendent preamble of mighty world-rulers, engaged in returning thanks to Providence. The rest of the victorious troops occupied themselves in slaying the fugitives and in collecting the spoil, and made mounds of the slain, and treasuries of the spoil. The number of those fallen on the field was calculated at 5,000. Who could count the numbers of those who were trampled down on the roads during their flight? 1,500 noted elephants fell into the hands of the imperial servants. A force of victorious heroes pursued the fugitives, and after putting many to the sword returned successful to the foot of the throne. The ruler of the age returned thanks for the great boon and distinguished the combatants by endless favours.
328.2.7
Whilst every one of the heroes was being brought into the presence and was receiving rewards temporal and spiritual, Shah Quli Khan brought in Hēmu bound. Though they questioned him, he out of uncouthness (jahālat) made no reply. Perhaps he was unable to speak, or he was overwhelmed by shame and indisposed to say anything. Bairām Khan Khan-Khanan begged H.M. the Shahinshah to slay with his own sacred hand this stock of sedition, and to acquire merit by a holy combat. That lord of wisdom and master of sages, who regarded his youth as the veil of his divinely-bestowed wisdom, and abode under the screen of incognito and so obtained a respite from the vexatious disbelief of infidels, and the faith of the sincere, replied in words that were the interpretation of truth and were for the instruction of the wise, that his lofty spirit did not permit him to slay a captive and that it seemed to him that in the justice-hall of the Only One there was nothing meritorious in such an act. Though simple loyalists importuned and pressed him, the Shahinshah showed himself more and more averse to the proceeding. I extol the lofty intelligence of which no trace is to be found in the contents of books or in the minds of supreme sages; but the wise of the great court well know that this is not to be met with save in the lucid home of the holy heart of a pure spirit who shall have received the light of true knowledge from the Creator without the intervention of human means or earthly aids.
328.2.8
This is manifest in the brows of the sitter on the temporal and spiritual throne. It is plain also to the practical man and the exoteric that under all circumstances a lofty and God-fearing mind has arrived at the stage of being beloved by God, Such an one (the practical man) knows that to act contrary to His pleasure is to strike oneself with a sword, for without human effort the power of the Creator casts him on the ground of contempt and the abyss of destruction. Accordingly this is apparent at the present day to those who read the daily chronicle of this king who is based upon auspiciousness. Where has he leisure, that, while attending to the inner realities, he should give heed to the meanness and nothingness of opponents? Granting that he has leisure and permission from his intellect, how shall his lofty spirit decide to stain the holy skirt of his mind with such dust, and if such an event occur, how shall he stain his sword with the blood of such a moribund, impure wretch? What comparison is there between that holy personality and the petitions of men of the world? At last Bairam Khan Khan-Khanan when he perceived that H.M. was not inclined to take his view, withdrew from the attempt, and under the influence of hereditary beliefs which take place in men from imitation of fathers and teachers, himself became engaged in the acquisition of this fancied merit, and with his sword cleansed the world from the contamination of his existence. Would that H.M.
328.2.9
had come out of his veil and given attention to the matter! or that there had been some far-sighted master of wisdom in that court, so that they might have kept Hemū in prison and made him desirous of serving the threshold of fortune. Certainly he was a most excellent servant, and he had a lofty spirit. If he had been instructed by such a great one (as the far-seeing sage, or perhaps Akbar) what works might he not have performed? In order to display the Majesty of the Shāhinshāh, and to give a lesson to the superficial they sent his head to Kābul, while his trunk was conveyed to Delhi and placed on the gibbet of warning. The world had rest from strife and tumult, and mortals obtained happiness and tranquillity.
328.3.1
Among the wonderful events and unusual traits of H.M. Shāhinshāh which came forth from the ambush of secrecy and displayed their splendours in the theatre of manifestation, there was this that when H.M. Jahānbānī Jinnat Āshiyānī had come to Delhi after the victory over Sikandar, he (Akbar) there practised drawing in accordance with a sublime suggestion (of Humāyūn?). The skilful artists such as Mīr Saiyid ‘Alī and Khwāja ‘Abdul-Samad Shīrīnqalm, who were among the matchless ones of this art, were in his service and were instructing him. One day this cyclopedia of Divine things was in the library of H.M. Jahānbānī and in order to sharpen his mind was employing himself in drawing. He drew with inspired pencil the figure of a man with all his limbs separated. One of the courtiers saw that strange picture and asked the meaning of it. H.M. with mystery-explaining tongue said that it represented Hemū. At that time the name and note of Hemū were unknown, and so the listeners did not comprehend the matter and refrained from further enquiry. On the day when Bairām Khān made his request and tried to induce H.M. to slay Hemū with his own holy hand, H.M. replied that he had dispatched that haughty one on a former day and had dismembered him, and then he referred to the incident of the picture. Good God! How and when in that year had the news of this dominion-augmenting occurrence been conveyed by the tongue of act and the lip of speech?
328.3.2
Certainly, to-day, to-morrow, yesterday, the present and the absent may be revealed to ordinary compounds of human nature. But with nurslings of Divine light, disciples of the Truth and teachers of Reason, whose pure essences are manifestations of the Divine radiance, and are the rising of Reality’s sun, the future and the past attend upon the present and the absent is like the present fully visible. What matters absence to him who knows the presence of God? Away, away! there can be nothing invisible there! This traveller on devotion’s highway, Abul Fazl to wit, the writer of this preamble of excellencies, one day asked H.M. the circumstances of this miracle. He enunciated in reply: “An invisible Inspirer had placed an intimation of it on our tongue; he best knows the secret thereof.” The effulgence of Truth’s luminary, and its retirement behind a veil are similarly conditioned phenomena. Mighty is the capacity of a sublime nature which when placed amidst so many cellars full of varied senses-robbing wines, a mere sip of which will intoxicate heroes of the Path, viz., 1st. The wine of early youth. 2nd. The wine of temporal dominion. 3rd. The wine of spiritual supremacy. 4th. The wine of outward beauty. 5th. The wine of hidden favour; can retain its high sense and look not to itself, but to God! The wishes of such a soul are made its lovers, and Fortune is constituted the attendant on the threshold of its hopes.
328.3.3
I, who am, night and day, a devotee of this gate of Fortune, do not call to remembrance that either when he has cast a gleam of favour upon anyone, or in familiar conversation, he has ever uttered a syllable which savoured of arrogance, or that in his down-sitting or uprising, in his speech or in his audition in the company of his grandees, he has exhibited any change of demeanour. Far-seeing sages well know how impossible it is to gauge the capacity of one who uses so many man-o’erthrowing wines, and yet daily increases in wisdom. But he who is linked to fortune and is wakeful-hearted, knows this much that the Divine Providence must be the Watchman over him, and that such great victories (over passions) come easily to him, and that such great gifts and noble deeds and wondrous works rarely appear in this world. (rūzgārān).
328.3.4
One great marvel was that at the time when the expedition started from Jalandhar for the conquest of India, and the extirpation of Hēmū, an order was given one day to the master of the ordnance to prepare fireworks as a treat to the soldiers, and that among other things they should make an image of Hēmū, fill it with gunpowder, and set it on fire. The workmen quickly prepared a pyrotechnic display (gulzār-i-ātish, lit., a rosegarden of fire), and they brought the image of Hēmū there and set it on fire. In appearance it was simply keen amusement, in reality it was extinguishing a malevolent life. Certes, it is fitting that one who does such great deeds under the guise of sport and fun should, men being what they are, retire behind a veil and not show his spiritual beauty and that in his work he should appear as if unconcerned. Assuredly and incontestably there was no such masterpiece on the occasions when former great-hearted, nobly-born ones formed the design of conquering India and did great deeds. This will be evident on a little consideration to those who know ancient history. For on none of those former occasions was there a ruler of India, possessed of such courage, enterprize, and plan (as Hēmū). On the contrary they were backward in the management of their own dominions. It was otherwise with this virile spirit, he was ever meditating the conquest of distant climes and kept hidden in his heart the designs of great expeditions.
328.3.5
And in truth fortune had favoured Hēmū in a way which the rulers of India had not attained to in those former days, viz, in the multitude of tried soldiers; the number of able officers, the plenitude of artillery, which had nothing like it except in Turkey, and the number of powerful elephants, any one of which was enough to throw an army into confusion. Maulānā Sharafu-d-dīn ‘Alī Yazdī, in his account in the Zafarnāma of the fights of H.M. Sāhib Qirānī (Tīmūr) which took place in India, speaks of the warriors of India and of the greatness of its rulers, and boasts that 120 war-elephants came into the possession of the imperial servants in that great war. To those that know history and are of sound brain, the condition of the ruler of that time as compared with Hēmū is clear. On that latter instructive occasion, of which a small account has been given, 1,500 elephants were captured. The rest of the equipments may be conjectured from this. But how shall the amount of the ruler’s own treasures, etc., be counted? The plain of victory was the same fortunate spot as that where H.M. Geti Sitani Firdaus Makani contended with Sultan Ibrahim and raised the victorious standards, as has already been briefly related in its proper place. On the same exultant day which showed by God’s help so great a victory, Sikandar Khan Uzbeg was sent with a body of troops to pursue the fugitives and to protect the city of Delhi from the rabble.
328.3.6
He acted with rapidity and delivered some of the malignant and useless from the prison of existence, and put the distracted inhabitants of the country in order. Much plunder fell into his hands. Next day the army of fortune marched out at an hour, which the astrologers had chosen, and cast the light of their arrival on the holy territory of Delhi. The noble, the distinguished in every science, and the skilful in every craft, came out in crowds to welcome the army and uttered shouts of blessing. Majnun Khan Qaqshal represented to H.M. the excellent loyalty of Rajah Bihari Mal which he had shown at the siege (of Narnaul). A gracious order was issued for his attendance and the Rajah obeyed the command and was rewarded by kissing the ground of obedience. On one day when robes of honour had been presented to the Rajah and to his sons and other relatives, and they had been brought to the Court to receive their dismissal, H.M. was mounted on a mast elephant which in its intoxication was rushing in every direction. People were all going to one side. Once it ran towards the Rajputs, but as they held fast to their loyalty they remained standing. This steadiness pleased the lofty glance of H.M. the Shahinshah, and he made inquiries about the Rajah and said with his mystery-interpreting tongue, “We'll rear you.” This came to pass as will be described hereafter.
328.3.7
Thanks be to God that the Hindustanis, or rather all mankind obtained a head. Volumes are not sufficient to contain his greatness. By the grace of his justice the ever-vernal garden of India received special verdure and the truth-worshipping servants of God received a powerful support. In thanksgiving for this great boon, grand feasts were organised, and treasures of gifts were poured into the lap of the world. The Shahinshah’s favour exalted by a variety of kindnesses a number of men who had trod valiantly the forecourt of devotion. High and low, small and great, were made fortunate by large rewards. Among them, ‘Ali Quli Khan Shaibani was exalted by the title of Khan Zaman, and the Sarkar of Sambhal and other parganas of the Diab were assigned to him as jagir, and he obtained leave in order that he might go and manage those territories.
328.4
‘Abdullah Khan Uzbeg received the title of Shuja-‘at-Khan and was appointed to the Sarkar of Kalpi. Iskandar Khan received the title of Khan ‘Aalam, and Maulana Pir Muhammad Shirwani was styled Nasir-al-mulk, and attached to the royal person. Qiya Khan was nominated to the charge of the Agra territories. The dominion-adorning mind of the Shahinshah sent the officers of the court of the Sultanate to every quarter, and so gave order and tranquillity to the pleasant lands of India.
At this time it came to H.M.’s ears that Haji Khan, a slave of Sher Khan Afghan, who was distinguished for courage, prudence, and skill in collecting troops, was acting independently in Alwar, and also that the father and the wife of the ill-fated Hemi, and his goods and chattels were in that Sarkar. Nasir-al-mulk was appointed to that service along with a number of trusty and devoted followers. Haji Khan was frightened by the strength of the victorious army and fled before its arrival, and Alwar and the whole of Sarkar Mewat came into the possession of the imperial servants. From there they proceeded to Deoti Macari, where was the residence and family of Hemi. The place was strong and there was much fighting, and the father of Hemi was captured and brought alive before the Nasir-al-mulk. The latter called upon him to change his religion. The old man answered, “ for eighty years I’ve worshipped my God, according to this religion. Why should I change it at this time, and why should I, merely from fear of my life, and without understanding it come into your way of worship.”
Pir Muhammad treated his words as if he heard them not, and answered him with the tongue of the sword. After being victorious there, he came away with much plunder and fifty elephants and did homage at the Court, and was the recipient of royal favours. Haji Khan left the town of Alwar and went off towards Ajmir in order that he might find an asylum for his family and leave soldiers there and make preparations for renewing the war. The Rana who was a great Zamindar and was son of the Rana who had contended with H.M. Geti Sitani Firdaus Makani, as has been described, and had been defeated by him, demanded things from him and put him to intolerable troubles. Of necessity a great battle took place between him and the Rana near Ajmir. Haji Khan and Muzaffar Khan Shirwani who was his Vakil, did great actions in this engagement, and at last the Rana was defeated because he was uplifted by the number of his troops. Haji Khan took possession of Ajmir, Nagor, and the surrounding country.
When the success of Haji Khan came to the royal hearing, Muhammad Qasim Khan of Nishapur, Saiyid Mahmud Barha, Shah Quli Khan Mahram, Tahir Khan Khurram Sultan and a number of others were appointed to put him down. When the territory of Delhi and the Duab had been swept clear of the enemy, H.M. designed to cast the