The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c15.11

v4.c15.11

Meanwhile the main bodies of the two armies were in motion and met, on 5 November, 1556, on the historic plain of Pānīpat. Bairam Khān detained Akbar at a safe distance from the field and entrusted the command of the centre to ‘Alī Qulī Khān. Hīmū’s army so greatly outnumbered that of Akbar that it was able almost to envelop it and threw both wings into confusion. Hīmū then attempted to decide the fate of the day by leading against the centre his 1500 elephants, on which he chiefly relied. ‘Alī Qulī Khān and his officers, taking every advantage of the inequalities of the ground, fought with the utmost valour but would certainly have been overpowered had not Hīmū’s eye been pierced by an arrow so well directed that its point projected from the back of his head. His troops at once dispersed.