The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.41

v4.c20.41

Then came two terrible disasters. In November, 1695, the emperor, learning that Santā was conveying his rich store of plunder to his own home in north-western Mysore, ordered Qāsim Khān to intercept him, and sent a picked force of his personal retinue and the contingents of the nobles, under some of his highest officers, to reinforce Qāsim Khān. The two divisions united near Chitaldroog, and Qāsim Khān entertained his noble guests with all the pomp and luxury of a Mughul grandee, discarding military precaution. Santā came up from a distance by swift and secret marches and formed his men in three divisions which were very ably handled and co-ordinated. The first surprised and plundered the advanced tents of Qāsim Khān and his heavy baggage, the second intercepted and enveloped the Khān, who was advancing to the rescue, while the third Marāthā division looted the camp and baggage left behind by Qāsim Khān in his advance. The Carnatic musketeers and Marāthā light horse completely overpowered the Mughuls and drove them in headlong rout to the small fort of Dodderi, which had neither space nor food sufficient for them. Fully one-third of the Mughul army fell in the battle and the retreat; the rest capitulated through hunger; Qāsim Khān committed suicide. The remnant of his army, after promising a ransom of two million rupees and giving up all its cash, horses and other property, was set free (December, 1695).