The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c21.105

v4.c21.105

In April, 1737, the Nizām set out for Delhi, by way of Gwalior and Āgra. The capital was reached in July, and his reception was one of the most amazing sights ever witnessed in that ancient city: the minister escorted him personally to the emperor's presence, amidst crowds which loudly welcomed him as their saviour.² After staying as the imperial guest until August, he took the field in order to drive the marauders out of Hindūstān. But he found Bāji Rāo awaiting him, and once more he proved no match for his nimble antagonist. He suffered himself to be shepherded into Bhopāl, where he was closely besieged, and, as at Pālkhed almost exactly ten years earlier, he was once more compelled by the Peshwā to sign a humiliating treaty. He agreed to grant to Bājī Rāo the whole of Mālwā, with the complete sovereignty of the territory between the Narbadā and the Chambal, and to obtain the emperor's confirmation for these terms. Hence the calling-in of the Nizām, instead of helping the emperor, merely led to the humiliation of both, and to the crowning triumph of Bājī Rāo. The Mughul empire was tottering to its fall: it only needed the invasion of Nādir Shāh, already looming on the horizon, to complete its destruction.