The Memoirs of Bābur 932.2
The Bābur-nāma in English (A. S. Beveridge) 932.2
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932.2.1
(_f. Ferrying the Indus._) (_Dec. 16th_) On Saturday the 1st of the first Rabī`, we crossed the Sind-water, crossed the water of Kacha-kot (Hārū), and dismounted on the bank of the river.[1599] The begs, pay-masters and dīwāns who had been put in charge of the boats, reported that the number of those come with the army, great and small, good and bad, retainer and non-retainer, was written down as 12,000. (_g. The eastward march._) The rainfall had been somewhat scant in the plains, but [Sidenote: Fol. 254b.] seemed to have been good in the cultivated lands along the hill-skirts; for these reasons we took the road for Sīālkot along the skirt-hills. Opposite Hātī _Kakar's_ country[1600] we came upon a torrent[1601] the waters of which were standing in pools. Those pools were all frozen over. The ice was not very thick, as thick as the hand may-be. Such ice is unusual in Hindūstān; not a sign or trace of any was seen in the years we were (_aīdūk_) in the country.[1602] We had made five marches from the Sind-water; after the sixth (_Dec. 22nd_—Rabī` I. 7th) we dismounted on a torrent in the camping-ground (_yūrt_) of the Bugīāls[1603] below Balnāth Jogī's hill which connects with the Hill of Jūd. (_Dec. 23rd_) In order to let people get provisions, we stayed the next day in that camp. _`Araq_ was drunk on that day. Mullā Muḥ. _Pargharī_ told many stories; never had he been so talkative. Mullā Shams himself was very riotous; once he began, he did not finish till night.
932.2.2
The slaves and servants, good and bad, who had gone out after provisions, went further than this[1604] and heedlessly scattered over jungle and plain, hill and broken ground. Owing to this, a few were overcome; Kīchkīna _tūnqiṯār_ died there. (_Dec. 24th_) Marching on, we crossed the Bihat-water at a ford below Jīlam (Jīhlam) and there dismounted. Walī _Qīzīl_ (Rufus) came there to see me. He was the Sīālkot reserve, and held the parganas of Bīmrūkī and Akrīāda. Thinking about Sīālkot, [Sidenote: Fol. 255.] I took towards him the position of censure and reproach. He excused himself, saying "I had come to my _pargana_ before Khusrau Kūkūldāsh left Sīālkot; he did not even send me word." After listening to his excuse, I said, "Since thou hast paid no attention to Sīālkot, why didst thou not join the begs in Lāhor?" He was convicted, but as work was at hand, I did not trouble about his fault. (_h. Scouts sent with orders to Lāhor._) (_Dec. 25th_) Sayyid T̤ūfān and Sayyid Lāchīn were sent galloping off, each with a pair-horse,[1605] to say in Lāhor, "Do not join battle; meet us at Sīālkot or Parsrūr" (mod. Pasrūr). It was in everyone's mouth that Ghāzī Khān had collected 30 to 40,000 men, that Daulat Khān, old as he was, had girt two swords to his waist, and that they were resolved to fight. Thought I, "The proverb says that ten friends are better than nine; do you not make a mistake: when the Lāhor begs have joined you, fight there and then!"
932.2.3
(_Dec. 26th and 27th_) After starting off the two men to the begs, we moved forward, halted one night, and next dismounted on the bank of the Chīn-āb (Chan-āb). As Buhlūlpūr was _khalṣa_,[1606] we left the road to visit it. Its fort is situated above a deep ravine, on the bank of the Chīn-āb. It pleased us much. We thought of bringing Sīālkot to it. Please God! the chance coming, it shall be done straightway! [Sidenote: Fol. 255b.] From Buhlūlpūr we went to camp by boat. (_i. Jats and Gujūrs._[1607]) (_Dec. 29th_) On Friday the 14th of the first Rabī` we dismounted at Sīālkot. If one go into Hindūstān the Jats and Gujūrs always pour down in countless hordes from hill and plain for loot in bullock and buffalo. These ill-omened peoples are just senseless oppressors! Formerly their doings did not concern us much because the country was an enemy's, but they began the same senseless work after we had taken it. When we reached Sīālkot, they fell in tumult on poor and needy folks who were coming out of the town to our camp, and stripped them bare. I had the silly thieves sought for, and ordered two or three of them cut to pieces. From Sīālkot Nūr Beg's brother Shāham also was made to gallop off to the begs in Lāhor to say, "Make sure where the enemy is; find out from some well-informed person where he may be met, and send us word." A trader, coming into this camp, represented that `Ālam Khān had let Sl. Ibrāhīm defeat him. (_j. `Ālam Khān's action and failure._[1608])
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Here are the particulars:—`Ālam Khān, after taking leave of me (in Kābul, 931 AH.), went off in that heat by double marches, regardless of those with him.[1609] As at the time I gave him leave to go, all the Aūzbeg khāns and sulṯāns had laid siege to Balkh, [Sidenote: Fol. 256.] I rode for Balkh as soon as I had given him his leave. On his reaching Lāhor, he insisted to the begs, "You reinforce me; the Pādshāh said so; march along with me; let us get (Apāq) Ghāzī Khān to join us; let us move on Dihlī and Āgra." Said they, "Trusting to what, will you join Ghāzī Khān? Moreover the royal orders to us were, 'If at any time Ghāzī Khān has sent his younger brother Ḥājī Khān with his son to Court, join him; or do so, if he has sent them, by way of pledge, to Lāhor; if he has done neither, do not join him.' You yourself only yesterday fought him and let him beat you! Trusting to what, will you join him now? Besides all this, it is not for your advantage to join him!" Having said what-not of this sort, they refused `Ālam Khān. He did not fall in with their views, but sent his son Sher Khān to speak with Daulat Khān and with Ghāzī Khān, and afterwards all saw one another.
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`Ālam Khān took with him Dilāwar Khān, who had come into Lāhor two or three months earlier after his escape from prison; he took also Maḥmūd Khān (son of) Khān-i-jahān,[1610] to whom a _pargana_ in the Lāhor district had been given. They seem to have left matters at this:—Daulat Khān with Ghāzī Khān was to take all the begs posted in Hindūstān to himself, indeed he was to take everything on that side;[1611] while `Ālam [Sidenote: Fol. 256b.] Khān was to take Dilāwar Khān and Ḥājī Khān and, reinforced by them, was to capture Dihlī and Āgra. Ismā`īl _Jilwānī_ and other amīrs came and saw `Ālam Khān; all then betook themselves, march by march, straight for Dihlī. Near Indrī came also Sulaimān Shaikh-zāda.[1612] Their total touched 30 to 40,000 men.
932.2.6
They laid siege to Dihlī but could neither take it by assault nor do hurt to the garrison.[1613] When Sl. Ibrāhīm heard of their assembly, he got an army to horse against them; when they heard of his approach, they rose from before the place and moved to meet him. They had left matters at this:—"If we attack by day-light, the Afghāns will not desert (to us), for the sake of their reputations with one another; but if we attack at night when one man cannot see another, each man will obey his own orders." Twice over they started at fall of day from a distance of 12 miles (6 _kurohs_), and, unable to bring matters to a point, neither advanced nor retired; but just sat on horseback for two or three watches. On a third occasion they delivered an attack when one watch of night remained—their purpose seeming to be the burning of tents and huts! They went; they set fire from every end; they made a disturbance. Jalāl Khān _Jig-hat_[1614] came with other amīrs and saw `Ālam Khān. Sl. Ibrāhīm did not bestir himself till shoot of dawn from where he was with a few of his own family[1615] within his own enclosure (_sarācha_). Meantime `Ālam Khān's people were busy [Sidenote: Fol. 257.] with plunder and booty. Seeing the smallness of their number, Sl. Ibrāhīm's people moved out against them in rather small force with one elephant. `Ālam Khān's party, not able to make stand against the elephant, ran away.
932.2.7
He in his flight crossed over into the Mīān-dū-āb and crossed back again when he reached the Pānīpat neighbourhood. In Indrī he contrived on some pretext to get 4 _laks_ from Mīān Sulaimān.[1616] He was deserted by Ismā`īl _Jilwānī_, by Biban[1617] and by his own oldest son Jalāl, who all withdrew into the Mīān-dū-āb; and he had been deserted just before the fighting, by part of his troops, namely, by Daryā Khān (_Nūḥānī_)'s son Saif Khān, by Khān-i-jahān (_Nūḥānī_)'s son Maḥmūd Khān, and by Shaikh Jamāl _Farmulī_. When he was passing through Sihrind with Dilāwar Khān, he heard of our advance and of our capture of Milwat (Malot).[1618] On this Dilāwar Khān—who always had been my well-wisher and on my account had dragged out three or four months in prison,—left `Ālam Khān and the rest and went to his family in Sulṯānpūr. He waited on me three or four days after we took Milwat. `Ālam Khān and Ḥājī Khān crossed the Shatlut (_sic_)-water and went into Gingūta,[1619] one of the strongholds in the range that lies between the valley and the plain.[1620] There our Afghān and Hazāra[1621] troops besieged them, and had [Sidenote: Fol. 257b] almost taken that strong fort when night came on. Those inside were thinking of escape but could not get out because of the press of horses in the Gate. There must have been elephants also; when these were urged forward, they trod down and killed many horses. `Ālam Khān, unable to escape mounted, got out on foot in the darkness.
932.2.8
After a _lak_ of difficulties, he joined Ghāzī Khān, who had not gone into Milwat but had fled into the hills. Not being received with even a little friendliness by Ghāzī Khān; needs must! he came and waited on me at the foot of the dale[1622] near Pehlūr.