The Book of Akbar 7: Flight of Bahadur. (See Vol. V. p. 192.)

7

[Text, vol. i. p. 162.] On the 21st of Shawwal Sultan Bahadur lost all hope. He ordered all the large guns and mortars to be filled with powder, and to be fired till they burst. When night came on, he, along with Miran Muhammad Shuja' and five or six of his personal associates, went out from the back of the camp towards Agra, and afterwards turned towards Mandu. Sadr Khan and ’Imadu-l Mulk went off with 20,000 horse direct to Mandu, and Muhammad Zaman Mirza with another body went off towards Lahore, to raise disturbances. Great cries and clamour arose on that night from the Gujarati camp; but the facts of the matter were not known to the Imperial army. The Emperor mounted and remained under arms till morning. It was not till one watch of the day had passed, that Sultan Bahadur’s flight became known. The troops then entered the camp, and obtained great plunder. Khudawand Khan, the tutor and minister of Sultan Bahadur, was taken prisoner. He was very graciously treated, and taken into the Emperor’s service. Yadgar Nasir Mirza, Kasim Sultan, and Hindu Beg were sent in pursuit of the fugitives. * * * Sadr Khan and ’Imadu-l Mulk went straight to Mandu, and Humayun followed, and encamped before the fort. Rumi Khan deserted from the Gujaratis, and came in to the Emperor, who bestowed a robe upon him. On the 14th (?), Sultan Bahadur entered the fort, and the question of peace came to be debated, and it was proposed that Gujarat and Chitor should remain in the hands of Sultan Bahadur, and that Mandu should be given up to the Emperor. These terms were finally agreed upon by the negociators on both sides. But on that night the garrison of the fort relaxed their guard, and a party of about two hundred soldiers of the Imperial army went to the back of the fortress, and scaled the walls by means of ladders and ropes. Jumping down from the walls, they opened the gate, and brought in their horses, and others followed. Mallu Khan, the commander of the batteries, a native of Mandu, who had the title of Kadir Shahi, learnt what was passing, seized a horse, and went to Sultan Bahadur. He was asleep, but the cries of Mallu Khan aroused him, and he rushed out with three or four attendants. On his way he met Bhupat Rai, son of Silhadi, one of his councillors, with about twenty horse, whom he joined. On reaching the gate at the top of the maidan, they encountered a party of about 200 of the Imperial cavalry. Sultan Bahadur was the first to attack them. He was followed by some others, and he cut his way through, and went off with Mallu Khan and another attendant to the fort of Sungar. He had his horses let down (the precipice of the town) by ropes. He himself followed through a thousand difficulties, and took the road to Gujarat. Kasim Husain Khan (an Imperial officer) was stationed near the fort, and an Uzbek servant of his, named Bori, who had previously been in Sultan Bahadur’s service, recognized his old master, and told Kasim Husain, but he took no notice of it. So Sultan Bahadur escaped to Champanir, being joined on the way by about 1,500 men.