The Memoirs of Bābur 934.2
The Bābur-nāma in English (A. S. Beveridge) 934.2
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- English
934.2.1
(_Jan. 28th_) At dawn on Tuesday the 6th of the first Jumāda we marched from Bahjat Khān's tank intending to assault Chandīrī. We dismounted at the side of the middle-tank near [Sidenote: Fol. 334.] the fort. (_j. Bad news._) On this same morning after reaching that ground, Khalīfa brought a letter or two of which the purport was that the troops appointed for the East[2204] had fought without consideration, been beaten, abandoned Laknau, and gone to Qanūj. Seeing that Khalīfa was much perturbed and alarmed by these news, I said,[2205] (_Persian_) "There is no ground for perturbation or alarm; nothing comes to pass but what is predestined of God. As this task (Chandīrī) is ahead of us, not a breath must be drawn about what has been told us. Tomorrow we will assault the fort; that done, we shall see what comes." (_k. Siege of Chandīrī, resumed._) The enemy must have strengthened just the citadel, and have posted men by twos and threes in the outer-fort for prudence' sake. That night our men went up from all round; those few in the outer-fort did not fight; they fled into the citadel. (_Jan. 29th_) At dawn on Wednesday the 7th of the first Jumāda, we ordered our men to arm, go to their posts, provoke to fight, and attack each from his place when I rode out with drum and standard.
934.2.2
I myself, dismissing drum and standard till the fighting should grow hot, went to amuse myself by watching Ustād `Alī-qulī's stone-discharge.[2206] Nothing was effected by it because his ground had no fall (_yāghdā_) and because the fort-walls, being entirely [Sidenote: Fol. 334b.] of stone, were extremely strong. That the citadel of Chandīrī stands on a hill has been said already. Down one side of this hill runs a double-walled road (_dū-tahī_) to water.[2207] This is the one place for attack; it had been assigned as the post of the right and left hands and royal corps of the centre.[2208] Hurled though assault was from every side, the greatest force was here brought to bear. Our braves did not turn back, however much the pagans threw down stones and flung flaming fire upon them. At length Shāhīm the centurion[2209] got up where the _dū-tahī_ wall touches the wall of the outer fort; braves swarmed up in other places; the _dū-tahī_ was taken.
934.2.3
Not even as much as this did the pagans fight in the citadel; when a number of our men swarmed up, they fled in haste.[2210] In a little while they came out again, quite naked, and renewed the fight; they put many of our men to flight; they made them fly (_āuchūrdīlār_) over the ramparts; some they cut down and killed. Why they had gone so suddenly off the walls seems to have been that they had taken the resolve of those who give up a place as lost; they put all their ladies and beauties (_ṣūratīlār_) to death, then, looking themselves to die, came naked out to fight. Our men attacking, each one from his post, drove [Sidenote: Fol. 335.] them from the walls whereupon 2 or 300 of them entered Medinī Rāo's house and there almost all killed one another in this way:—one having taken stand with a sword, the rest eagerly stretched out the neck for his blow.[2211] Thus went the greater number to hell. By God's grace this renowned fort was captured in 2 or 3 _garīs_[2212] (_cir._ an hour), without drum and standard,[2213] with no hard fighting done. A pillar of pagan-heads was ordered set up on a hill north-west of Chandīrī. A chronogram of this victory having been found in the words _Fatḥ-i-dāru'l-ḥarb_[2214] (Conquest of a hostile seat), I thus composed them:— Was for awhile the station Chandīrī Pagan-full, the seat of hostile force; By fighting, I vanquished its fort, The date was _Fatḥ-i-dāru'l-ḥarb_. (_l. Further description of Chandīrī._)
934.2.4
Chandīrī is situated (in) rather good country,[2215] having much running-water round about it. Its citadel is on a hill and inside it has a tank cut out of the solid rock. There is another large tank[2216] at the end of the _dū-tahī_ by assaulting which the fort was taken. All houses in Chandīrī, whether of high or low, are built of stone, those of chiefs being laboriously carved;[2217] those of the lower classes are also of stone but are not carved. They are covered in [Sidenote: Fol. 335b.] with stone-slabs instead of with earthen tiles. In front of the fort are three large tanks made by former governors who threw dams across and made tanks round about it; their ground lies high.[2218] It has a small river (_daryācha_), Betwa[2219] by name, which may be some 3 _kurohs_ (6 m.) from Chandīrī itself; its water is noted in Hindūstān as excellent and pleasant drinking. It is a perfect little river (_daryā-ghīna_). In its bed lie piece after piece of sloping rock (_qīālār_)[2220] fit for making houses.[2221] Chandīrī is 90 _kurohs_ (180 m.) by road to the south of Āgra. In Chandīrī the altitude of the Pole-star (?) is 25 degrees.[2222] (_m. Enforced change of campaign._) (_Jan. 30th-Jumāda I. 8th_) At dawn on Thursday we went round the fort and dismounted beside Mallū Khān's tank.[2223]
934.2.5
We had come to Chandīrī meaning, after taking it, to move against Rāīsīng, Bhīlsān, and Sārangpūr, pagan lands dependent on the pagan Ṣalāḥu'd-dīn, and, these taken, to move on Rānā Sangā in Chītūr. But as that bad news had come, the begs were summoned, matters were discussed, and decision made that the proper course was first to see to the rebellion of those malignants. Chandīrī was given to the Aḥmad Shāh already mentioned, a grandson of Sl. Nāṣiru'd-dīn; 50 _laks_ from it were made _khalṣa_;[2224] Mullā Apāq was entrusted with its military-collectorate, and left to reinforce Aḥmad Shāh with from 2 to 3000 Turks and Hindūstānīs. [Sidenote: Fol. 336.] (_Feb. 2nd_) This work finished, we marched from Mallū Khān's tank on Sunday the 11th of the first Jumāda, with the intention of return (north), and dismounted on the bank of the Burhānpūr-water. (_Feb. 9th_) On Sunday again, Yakka Khwāja and Ja`far Khwāja were sent from Bāndīr to fetch boats from Kālpī to the Kanār-passage. (_Feb. 22nd_) On Saturday the 24th of the month we dismounted at the Kanār-passage, and ordered the army to begin to cross. (_n. News of the rebels._)
934.2.6
News came in these days that the expeditionary force[2225] had abandoned Qanūj also and come to Rāprī, and that a strong body of the enemy had assaulted and taken Shamsābād although Abū'l-muḥammad the lancer must have strengthened it.[2226] There was delay of 3 or 4 days on one side or other of the river before the army got across. Once over, we moved march by march towards Qanūj, sending scouting braves (_qāzāq yīgītlār_) ahead to get news of our opponents. Two or three marches from Qanūj, news was brought that Ma`rūf's son had fled on seeing the dark mass of the news-gatherers, and got away. Bīban, Bāyazīd and Ma`rūf, on hearing news of us, crossed Gang (Ganges) and seated themselves on its eastern bank opposite Qanūj, thinking to prevent our passage. (_o. A bridge made over the Ganges._) (_Feb. 27th_) On Thursday the 6th of the latter Jumāda we passed Qanūj and dismounted on the western bank of Gang. Some of the braves went up and down the river and took boats [Sidenote: Fol. 336b.] by force,[2227] bringing in 30 or 40, large or small. Mīr Muḥammad the raftsman was sent to find a place convenient for making a bridge and to collect requisites for making it. He came back approving of a place about a _kuroh_ (2 m.) below the camp. Energetic overseers were told off for the work. Ustād `Alī-qulī placed the mortar for his stone-discharge near where the bridge was to be and shewed himself active in discharging it.
934.2.7
Muṣṯafa _Rūmī_ had the culverin-carts crossed over to an island below the place for the bridge, and from that island began a culverin-discharge. Excellent matchlock fire was made from a post[2228] raised above the bridge. Malik Qāsim _Mughūl_ and a very few men went across the river once or twice and fought excellently (_yakhshīlār aūrūshtīlār_). With equal boldness Bābā Sl. and Darwīsh Sl. also crossed, but went with the insufficient number of from 10 to 15 men; they went after the Evening Prayer and came back without fighting, with nothing done; they were much blamed for this crossing of theirs. At last Malik Qāsim, grown bold, attacked the enemy's camp and, by shooting arrows into it, drew him out (?);[2229] he came with a mass of men and an elephant, fell on Malik Qāsim and hurried him off. Malik Qāsim got into a boat, but before it could put off, the elephant [Sidenote: Fol. 337.] came up and swamped it. In that encounter Malik Qāsim died.
934.2.8
In the days before the bridge was finished Ustād `Alī-qulī did good things in stone-discharge (_yakhshīlār tāsh aītī_), on the first day discharging 8 stones, on the second 16, and going on equally well for 3 or 4 days. These stones he discharged from the Ghāzī-mortar which is so-called because it was used in the battle with Rānā Sangā the pagan. There had been another and larger mortar which burst after discharging one stone.[2230] The matchlockmen made a mass (_qālīn_) of discharges, bringing down many men and horses; they shot also slave-workmen running scared away (?) and men and horses passing-by.[2231]