The Book of Akbar 328.1.2

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.