A History of the Mahrattas v2.c43: Chapter XXXV
A History of the Mahrattas v2.c43
- Language
- English
Chapter XXXV
v2.c43.1
AN inquiry into the reasons which induced Lord Cornwallis to refrain from the entire subjugation of Tippoo’s territory is foreign to the object of this work; it is only necessary to observe that even Nana Furnuwees and Pureshram Bhow, the parties in the Mahratta state most inimical to Tippoo, were averse to the total overthrow of the Mysore state, and Mahadajee Sindia was decidedly hostile to that course of policy. The Mahrattas, who are not sensible of the effect which may operate on British authorities from the influence of public opinion in England, attribute the moderation shown by the Governor-General to the representations of Hurry Punt Phurkay.¹
v2.c43.2
¹ Mahratta MSS. Hurry Punt’s letters. [V. A. Smith sums up the matter succinctly in the following words: ‘Subsequent events proved that the complete overthrow of Tippoo in 1792 would have saved another war; but at the time the Governor-General believed that he had done enough to secure a lasting peace. Annexation of the whole of Mysore would have displeased both the Nizām and the Marāthās, offended public and official opinion at home, and contravened the policy of the Act of 1784. The partial annexation effected was approved by the ministry, and the Governor-General was promoted to the rank of Marquis. Tippoo compelled his subjects to pay most of the indemnity, and at once began preparations for the next war,’ (O.H.I., p. 561 and footnotes.)]
v2.c43.3
At the period when Lord Cornwallis was negotiating the alliance against Tippoo, he instructed Major Palmer, the Resident with Sindia, to request both of Sindia and Holkar to use their influence at Poona in effecting the desired connexion between the Peishwa and the British Government. Sindia offered to unite in the confederacy against Tippoo, provided two battalions similar to those granted to Nizam Ally were sent to join the army, with which he proposed to march to the southward; and that the British Government should become bound to protect his territory in Hindoostan during his absence. These proposals being considered inadmissible, he refused to become a party to the treaty of Poona.¹
v2.c43.4
¹ Bengal Records.
v2.c43.5
We left Mahadajee Sindia in the early part of 1790, endeavouring to conciliate his coadjutors, intent on humbling the Rajpoots, securing the dependency of Ismael Beg, and preventing the incursions of the Seiks. A temporary adjustment with Holkar and Ali Buhadur enabled him to prepare for opposing Ismael Beg, whose hostile intentions soon became unequivocal, and the Rajpoot Rajas of Jeypoor and Joudpoor were pouring succours into his camp. Sindia, before risking a battle, endeavoured with some success to corrupt the regular troops with Ismael Beg, and at last ordered Gopaul Rao Bhow, Luckwa Dada, and De Boigne to attack his camp near Patun, at a point which was left undefended by a body of troops whom Sindia had secured in his interest; but, notwithstanding this advantage, Sindia’s officers being disappointed in the promised aid of Holkar, who stood aloof during the engagement, the utmost exertion was necessary to ensure success. Ismael Beg fought with his usual bravery, and a body of his Patans thrice charged through the regular infantry of the Mahrattas, cutting down the artillery-men at their guns. De Boigne displayed great personal energy on this occasion, and to his gallantry and the discipline of his battalions was justly attributed the great victory which ensued. Numbers fell on both sides,² but the army of Ismael Beg was completely routed, and that chieftain fled with a small retinue from the field of battle to the gates of Jeypoor. All his guns were taken, and ten battalions of infantry grounded their arms and surrendered.³
v2.c43.6
² One translation of a native newspaper in the Bengal Records says 11 or 12,000 of the Mahrattas were killed.
v2.c43.7
³ [De Boigne wrote an account of the battle in the Calcutta Gazette of July 22, 1790, in which he estimated Ismail Beg’s cavalry at 5,000 sabres. Apparently Ismail Beg confined his assaults to the Marāthā horse, having learnt by experience the difficulty of breaking De Boigne’s squares. Seeing this, De Boigne brought up his men, numbering 10,000, under the protection of his own guns, and stormed the Rājpūt camp. He estimated his own losses at 120 killed and 472 wounded—the enemy’s infantry, being entrenched, did not suffer greatly; but they lost ‘a vast number of cavalry.’ (Keene, Mughal Empire, p. 196.)]
v2.c43.8
A.D. 1791.—The Rajpoots, however, still maintained the war and a second battle took place at Mairta, in the Joudpoor territory, where they allowed themselves to be surprised by De Boigne at dawn of day on the 12th September; and although four hundred Rhatore cavalry made desperate efforts to reanimate their friends, and allow them to recover themselves, the general confusion was irretrievable.¹ It was supposed that Sindia would have completely subjugated the Rajpoots, but the opposition and dissensions to which he was exposed from his colleagues, Holkar and Ali Buhadur, induced him to grant them peace on their promising to pay a moderate tribute annually.²
v2.c43.9
¹ [De Boigne's own description of the battle shows that ‘his battalions were only enabled to resist the furious charge of the Rathod horse by forming into hollow squares—the formation to be rendered so famous in after years at Quatre Bras and Mont St. Jean. After the defeat, the battalions ‘resumed their positions, and advancing with their own artillery, made a general attack on the Rājpūt line. At three in the afternoon the town was taken by assault.’ (Keene, Mughal Empire, p. 200 n.) For accounts of the campaign from the Rājpūt side see Tod, Personal Narrative, chs. xxviii, xxix. (popular ed., vol. i.)]
v2.c43.10
² Mahratta letters and MS. Palmer's dispatches. Indian newspaper and General De Boigne.
v2.c43.11
The force of De Boigne was now gradually augmented to 18,000 regular infantry, 6,000 irregulars, Nujeebs and Rohillas, 2,000 irregular horse, and 600 Persian cavalry. This last body was mounted, clothed, armed, and disciplined by De Boigne, to whom all the horses of it belonged. Districts in the Dooab yielding twenty-two lacks of rupees of net revenue were assigned for the support of this force, and the fortress of Agra was given up as a depôt of small arms and cannon; of the latter De Boigne had upwards of two hundred serviceable pieces.³ Sindia affected to consider this force as part of the Emperor's establishment, and denominated them the imperial army; but such a flimsy veil was not calculated to deceive the watchful eye of his rivals, and Holkar in particular saw the growth of this power with rancorous jealousy. He retired across the Chumbul, and entertained in his service the Chevalier Dudrenec,⁴ a Frenchman, who raised and disciplined four battalions, the first troops of that description which the family of Holkar had ever used.
v2.c43.12
³ General De Boigne.
v2.c43.13
⁴ [Keene (Mughal Empire, p. 201) states that the name of this Frenchman is variously spelt Dudrenee, Doderneque, Dudernaig, and suggests that the form du Dernek may be correct and is reconcilable with a Breton origin. Dudrenec was the son of an officer in the French navy, and arrived in India about 1773. He joined the
v2.c43.14
Ali Buhadur, at the suggestion of Himmut Buhadur, undertook the conquest of Bundelcund, in which province, after a long struggle, they succeeded in establishing themselves, but found infinite difficulty in reducing the country, and were perpetually involved in warfare and insurrection.
v2.c43.15
Whilst Sindia was engaged in contentions with his colleagues, he frequently declared his intention of repairing to Poona for the purpose of obtaining their recall; but Nana’s policy in supporting Holkar was well known, and Sindia’s situation was deemed too insecure to admit of his venturing on an excursion so distant. When he therefore moved towards Oojein and actually commenced his march for Poona, various were the conjectures which ensued. Some considered that, jealous of the increasing power of the British and their influence at Poona and Hyderabad, his views were directed to the establishment of his own authority at Poona, for the purpose of preventing the ascendancy which it seemed probable they would obtain, especially if Tippoo’s dominions were conquered and partitioned. Others supposed that he had views on the territory of Nizam Ally, and some believed that his sole object was to prevent the interference of Holkar in his late acquisitions in Hindoostan.
v2.c43.16
It is probable there was some foundation for all these surmises; certain it is that he had in view the control of the Bramins, and the establishment of his own authority at the Peishwa’s capital. After the battle of Patun in June, 1790, he obtained from the Emperor, for the third time, patents constituting the Peishwa Wukeel-i-Mootluq, but which was now to descend to him as a hereditary office in unalienable enam, on condition, however, of appointing
v2.c43.17
forces of Bēgam Samrū about 1782, and remained in her service until 1791, when Tukājī Holkar offered him a large salary to raise and discipline four battalions of infantry. In 1798 the intervention of Amīr Khān, the Pindārī leader, saved him from being assassinated by Jasvant Rāo Holkar, by whom he was subsequently reinstated in his command. He and his troops submitted to Colonel Vandeleur at Mathurā on November 30, 1803. Opinions differ as to Dudrenec’s character. Some (vide Keene) have described him as a gallant and courteous gentleman; others describe him as unfortunate as a military commander and possessed of very questionable ideas of loyalty and fidelity. (Compton, European Military Adventurers of Hindustan, pp. 347–51.)
v2.c43.18
Sindia and his posterity his perpetual deputies. In order therefore to exhibit to his countrymen his absolute power over the imperial house of Timour, for which the Mahrattas in the Deccan had long a habitual respect, and to gratify the feelings of all Hindoos, the Emperor invested Sindia with the right of selecting his heir from among his sons, and issued an edict forbidding the slaughter of bullocks and cows throughout the Moghul dominions.
v2.c43.19
Sindia’s march to the southward was very slow; and he often appeared as if deliberating whether he might venture so far from his own territory. He gave out that he was proceeding to Poona by the Emperor’s orders, as bearer of the sunnuds and insignia of the office of Wukeel-i-Mootluq for the Peishwa. On his arrival at Bheer near the Godavery, charged with such commissions from the Emperor, he made some demands on Nizam Ally, the nature of which is not ascertained; but he endeavoured to induce him to make him a present of the fertile district of Bheer, and bestow Aurungabad on the Peishwa. On being refused, he pretended to be much hurt at his want of courtesy.
v2.c43.20
Nana Furnuwees long doubted whether Sindia would actually come into the Deccan; but on being assured that he was on his route from Burhanpoor, he applied to Lord Cornwallis, through Hurry Punt Phurkay, for the permanent services of Captain Little’s detachment, which, in the name of the Peishwa, he offered to subsidize; but the Governor-General for various reasons declined assenting to the proposal.
v2.c43.21
Sindia was very apprehensive of a connexion of that kind; and, to allay Nana’s well-founded jealousy of his regular infantry, he only brought with him a small party under an Englishman of respectable character, named Hessing,¹ and one complete battalion commanded by Michael Filoze, by birth a Neapolitan, a low, illiterate man of worthless character, but of considerable address and cunning. Sindia arrived at Poona on the 11th June, and pitched his camp near the Sungum, or junction of the Moota and Moola rivers, the place assigned by the Peishwa for the residence of the British envoy and his suite; and hence the Sungum and the Residency, a spot for many reasons interesting and well known to most of our countrymen who have visited that quarter, became synonymous.¹
v2.c43.22
¹ [Hessing was not an Englishman, but a Dutchman, born in 1740 in Utrecht. This is shown by the inscription on his tomb at Agra, which also records that he died Commandant of Agra in his sixty-third year, July 21, 1803, just before Lake’s successful siege of the place. He is described as ‘a good, benevolent man, and a brave soldier.’ Moreover, his son, George Hessing (see page 286 and footnote infra) was not the child of ‘a native mother.’ John Hessing’s wife was formerly Mademoiselle Anne Derridon, sister of Major Louis Derridon of Sindia’s service and of Madame Perron. She may perhaps have been of mixed descent, but was not a pure native of India. (Compton, European Military Adventurers of Hindustan, pp. 364-5; and article in Calcutta Review, January 1912.)]
v2.c43.23
¹ [For many years past the spot where the Residency stood has been occupied by the official residence of the District and Sessions Judge of Poona, who is also Agent for the Sardārs of the Deccan. The grounds of the old Residency included the site of the present Science College and the English burial-ground close to the present Sangam Lodge. The Resident’s quarters contained five houses, besides outer buildings for the guard and escort-parties. The entire block was destroyed on November 5, 1817, immediately after the departure of Mountstuart Elphinstone to join the British forces arrayed for the battle of Kirkee. Reporting the event to Sir Evan Nepean, Governor of Bombay, Mountstuart Elphinstone wrote, ‘I beg you will excuse this scrawl, but all my writing implements, with everything I have except the clothes on my back, form part of the blaze of the Residency, which is now smoking in sight.’ (Colebrooke, Life of M. Elphinstone (1884), vol. i, p. 376.)]
v2.c43.24
Nana Furnuwees did everything in his power to prevent the Peishwa’s acceptance of the titles and insignia brought from the Emperor; he represented the impropriety of adopting some of the titles, especially that of Maharaj Adeeraj (the greatest of great Rajas) which was inconsistent with the constitution of the existing government of the Mahratta empire. But Sindia persisted; and permission for the Peishwa’s acceptance of all the honours was formally obtained from the Raja of Satara. Nine days after his arrival, Nana Furnuwees visited Sindia, who received him in the most cordial manner, refused to sit on his musnud in the minister’s presence, and treated him with the greatest respect. On the ensuing day Sindia paid his respects to the Peishwa, carrying with him numberless rare productions and curiosities of Hindoostan for the young Prince. The following morning was appointed for the grand ceremony of investing the Peishwa with the title and dignity of Wukeel-i-Mootluq, and Sindia spared no pains to render it as imposing as possible. A grand suite of tents was pitched at a distance from his own camp. The Peishwa proceeded towards them with the most pompous form. At the further end of these splendid apartments, a throne, meant to represent that of the Emperor of the Moghuls, was erected, on which was displayed the imperial *firmans*, the *khillut*, or dresses of investiture, and all the principal insignia. The Peishwa on approaching the throne made his obeisance thrice, placed 101 gold mohurs upon it as a *nuzur* or offering, and took his seat on its left. Sindia’s Persian secretary then read the imperial *firmans*, and amongst others the edict which prevented the slaughter of bullocks and cows. The Peishwa then received the *khillut*, consisting of nine articles of dress, five superb ornaments of jewels and feathers, a sword and shield, a pencase, a seal and inkstand, and two royal *morchuls*, or fans of peacocks’ tails, accompanied by a *nalkee*,¹ a *palkee*,² a horse and an elephant; besides six elephants bearing the imperial standard, two crescents, two stars, and the Orders of the Fish and of the Sun.³ The Peishwa retired to an adjoining tent and returned clothed in the imperial
v2.c43.25
¹ A *nalkee* is a sort of sedan chair without a top, having four poles, two behind and two before, never used but by the Emperor or persons of the very highest rank.
v2.c43.26
² A *palkee* is totally different from the more useful and convenient, though less splendid conveyance, commonly used by Europeans, and termed by them palanquin. The natives, who call them *meynas*, also use the same conveyance, but the *palkee* is a sort of short bedstead, over which a pole very much curved in the middle is fastened, and above all, a scarlet cloth stretched on bamboos as an awning, and sometimes very highly ornamented, is placed. When used by ladies there are screens affixed to the upper cloth.
v2.c43.27
³ [Sleeman describes the *nālkī* as ‘one of the three great insignia which the Mogul Emperors of Delhi conferred upon independent princes of the first class, and could never be used by any persons upon whom, or upon whose ancestors, they had not been conferred.’ The other two were the order of the Fish and the fan of peacock’s feathers. The Order of the Fish (*mahī marātib*) is said to have been instituted by Khusrū Parvīz, King of Persia (A.D. 591–628), and thence passed to the Nawābs of Oudh and the Mughal Emperors of Delhi.
v2.c43.28
The Order of the Sun was likewise borrowed from Persia; the Mughal Emperors assuming the right to confer it upon the great ruling princes of India, irrespective of creed. According to Malcolm, the figure of the Sun in Leo was adopted centuries ago as the arms of Persia, and consequently became the insignia of an order of knighthood. Dr. V. A. Smith suggests that the symbol may have been borrowed by Hulākū the Tartar (A.D. 1258), as a trophy of his victory over a Seljukian prince of Iconium, who used the emblem on his coins, and adds that the symbol of Sol in Leo was perhaps adopted first by Ghiās-ud-din Kai Khusrū bin Kaikobād (A.D. 1236–44), the emblem having reference either to his own horoscope or to that of his queen. (Sleeman, *Rambles and Recollections*, ed. V. A. Smith (1915), pp. 135, 137–8.)]
v2.c43.29
khillut, when he resumed his seat; and Sindia, followed by Nana Furnuwees and such of the Peishwa’s officers as were present, offered nuzurs of congratulation. When the Peishwa arose to return to his palace he was followed by Sindia and Hurry Punt carrying the morchuls and fanning him. He entered Poona seated in the nalkee; the concourse of people assembled to witness the procession was exceedingly great; the pomp and grandeur displayed was beyond anything that the inhabitants of Poona had ever seen, whilst the clang of thousands of musical instruments, the shouts of the populace, volleys of musketry, and salvos of cannon, seemed to give all the effect that the projector of this state ceremony could possibly desire.
v2.c43.30
The investiture of Sindia by the Peishwa, as deputy to the Wukeel-i-Mootluq, immediately followed on their arrival at the Peishwa’s palace; but on this occasion, and on several others, the pretended humility of Sindia gave disgust when he insisted on being considered as the hereditary servant of the Peishwa, entitled only to carry his slippers, and addressed by no higher title than that of Patel. Though this affectation was meant to be in conformity with Mahratta taste, it failed in its effect. No Bramin of education was pleased or deceived by such coarse self-disparagement, and the old Mahrattas, though Mahadajee Sindia had purchased some hereditary privileges in the Deccan, would much more readily have acknowledged his new imperial titles¹ than have assigned to him the appellation of Patell, a distinction which they considered due only to the legitimate Sindia, Patell of Kunneirkheir. The Mankurees, and those cavaliers who considered themselves the old officers of the Rajas of Satara, though some among them could scarcely term the horse he rode his own, refused to enter the imperial tents with the Peishwa, nor would they present nuzurs to him as Wukeel-i-Mootluq. Nuzurs were presented to Sindia by his officers on returning to his own camp, but the feeling among his countrymen, which was too strong to escape his notice, proved to him the necessity of much caution in the prosecution of his designs.
v2.c43.31
¹ These were Raja, Maharaj, Mahdoo Rao Sindia, Mudar Ool Muham, Ali Jah Buhadur.
v2.c43.32
A principal object was to gain the confidence of the young Peishwa, to which the rarities he had brought from Hindoostan, and the splendid spectacle with which he had been gratified, paved the way. The frank, unreserved manners of Sindia, who talked to the young prince of hunting and hawking, and carried him out on frequent excursions to see those field sports, were things so very different, and so much more agreeable than the sedate and grave observance of decorum habitual to Nana Furnuwees, that Sindia soon became his constant companion. Parties to the country in the neighbourhood of Poona constantly took place, to which the young prince was invited, and Nana thought it advisable to give his assent, although he clearly saw the design of Sindia, and watched his proceedings so vigilantly that it was difficult for him to find opportunities of conversing with Mahdoo Rao unobserved. When they did occur, Sindia never failed to comment on the manner in which he was treated, and to assure him that he had both the power and the inclination to render him independent of such tutelage. But although Mahdoo Rao readily entered into every scheme of pleasure suggested by Sindia, his natural good disposition and judgement rendered it by no means easy to shake his confidence in Nana Furnuwees; and at first he combated Sindia’s arguments with warmth; but the customary restraints before unfelt began to be irksome, and Sindia’s society proportionally more desirable.
v2.c43.33
Sindia’s public affairs at the Durbar seemed principally to refer to Hindoostan; he represented the large sums he had spent in extending the empire, and procuring such honours and dignity for the Peishwa; he petitioned for the payment of his expenses, the entire management of affairs in Hindoostan, and finally for the recall of Holkar and Ali Buhadur. In reply to these, the minister always demanded in the first instance an account of the revenue of those districts which he had subdued so easily, and had enjoyed so long. Many discussions on these subjects took place, and many circumstances occurred, tending to strengthen the mutual jealousy of Sindia and Nana; but they for some time maintained every form of civility and respect, whilst their respective parties in Hindoostan, though engaged in service together in the Rajpoot country, were almost in a state of open rupture.
v2.c43.34
The restless spirit of Ismael Beg, and his enmity to Sindia, rendered him a fit instrument for disturbing the tranquillity of Hindoostan; to which, after Sindia’s departure, he was secretly prompted by the intrigues of Tookajee Holkar; but, after assembling a considerable force, his career was stopped sooner than was anticipated.
v2.c43.35
The widow of Nujeef Khan refused to surrender the fort of Canoond¹ to Sindia’s officers. A force marched against her under M. Perron, the officer second in command to De Boigne. Ismael Beg advanced to her assistance, gave Perron battle outside the walls, and being defeated entered the fort. He there assisted in the defence, which was well maintained, until the widow, having been killed by a stone shell, the garrison became dispirited by the accident, and began to think of betraying Ismael Beg to ensure themselves favourable terms. This treachery, however, the latter prevented by giving himself up to M. Perron, who promised, on the faith of his commanding officer, De Boigne, that he should not be put to death. The terms were observed, but he was ever after confined in the fort of Agra, where he died in 1799.
v2.c43.36
¹ [Kānund (Canoond) lies to the south of Delhi and Hansi, roughly equidistant from both cities. The proper name of the place is Kānund Mohendargarh (I.G. xiv. 369). The fort was a stronghold of earth, faced with stone, on the borders of the Bikanīr desert. Najf Khān’s widow was a sister of Ghulām Kādir, the Rohilla.]
v2.c43.37
Subsequent to the surrender of Canoond, which happened before Sindia reached Poona, Holkar’s and Sindia’s armies were levying tribute together in the Rajpoot territory; they had also taken two forts, when, quarrelling about the spoils, their jealousy burst forth into open hostilities, which brought on the battle of Lukhairee,² near Ajimere, on which occasion Gopaul Rao Bhow, Luckwa Dada, and De Boigne, with twenty thousand horse and nine thousand regular infantry, defeated Holkar’s army, consisting of thirty thousand horse and the four battalions of Dudrenec. The attack was planned by De Boigne, and the conflict the most obstinate ever witnessed by that officer. By the explosion of twelve tumbrils of ammunition his brigades were thrown into great confusion, but, being posted in a wood, Holkar’s cavalry could not take advantage of the disaster. Dudrenec’s battalions fought until they were nearly annihilated. Their guns, thirty-eight in number, were all taken; the shattered remains of the corps retreated precipitately into Malwa, where Holkar, in impotent rage, sacked Oojein, the capital of his rival.
v2.c43.38
² [The battle of Lakherī (Lukhairee) was fought in September 1792. Lakherī is in Kotah State.]
v2.c43.39
When accounts of these proceedings reached Poona, the ostensible cordiality of Sindia and the court was for a time obstructed, and precautions were adopted by both parties, as if apprehensive of personal violence. Nana Furnuwees called in the aid of Pureshram Bhow, who arrived with two thousand horse. This imprudent reinforcement furnished Sindia with a pretext for greatly increasing the parties of Hessing and Filoze who accompanied him, and for bringing down one of his infantry brigades, the command of which was confided by De Boigne to M. Perron. But as neither party was desirous of attaining its end by prosecuting the war, positive instructions were dispatched to their respective officers to refrain from hostilities, and to await the pacific settlement of their disputes by orders from the Peishwa.
v2.c43.40
The result rendered Sindia all powerful in Hindoostan, but he was conscious of his unpopularity in the Deccan and strove to overcome it. With this view he had, on his arrival at Poona, espoused the cause of Govind Rao Gaekwar in a manner which will be hereafter explained, and upon one occasion when Nana Furnuwees, during the minority of the Punt Suchew, assumed charge of his lands, Sindia, who knew that the proceeding met with general disapprobation, interposed, conveyed the Suchew to Poona in opposition to the orders of the minister, re-established him in his possessions, and dismissed Bajee Rao Moreishwur, the agent whom Nana had placed in charge of the Suchew’s territory. This daring interference gave rise to a quarrel which was with difficulty appeased by the mediation of Hurry Punt Phurkay ; but fresh disputes arose in consequence of Sindia’s more undisguised attempts to induce the Peishwa to seek his protection. On one occasion in particular a conversation took place in a boat at Lohgaom, which being overheard and repeated caused an immediate alarm in the mind of Nana, and he took the first opportunity of coming to an explanation with the Peishwa. He addressed himself both to his judgement and feelings, enumerated the services he had performed for him and for the state, described the views of aggrandizement entertained by Sindia, pointed out his foreign troops, his departure from ancient usage, and his want of connexion with the Mahratta people, over whom and the Bramin sovereignty he was bent on establishing an absolute power. With these observations he contrasted his own situation, his inability to preserve order or to resist the encroachments of Sindia, if unsupported by his prince; and finally, lamenting in tears the probable effects of the evil counsels by which he had been misled, he tendered his resignation and declared his resolution to proceed to Benares. Mahdoo Rao was greatly affected. In a transport of grief he begged his forgiveness, entreated his stay, and promised to be for ever guarded in his conduct. But notwithstanding this re-establishment of influence,¹ Sindia by his great power would probably have ultimately prevailed over his rival, although the unqualified support of Hurry Punt to all the measures of the minister, the friendship of the powerful Bramin families of Rastia and Putwurdhun, together with that of the old Mankurees, some of them great Jagheerdars, formed a strong opposition to the views of Mahadajee Sindia. But in the midst of his ambitious schemes he was suddenly seized with a violent fever which in a few days terminated his existence. He breathed his last at Wunowlee,² in the environs of Poona, on the 12th February, 1794.
v2.c43.41
¹ [Keene refers to an uncorroborated rumour, recorded in the Tārīkh-i-Musāfiri, that the Pēshwā about this date sent assassins to waylay Māhādajī Sindia at a little distance from the city, and that Sindia, while defending himself with success, was severely wounded. The story lacks foundation. (Keene, Mughal Empire, p. 210.)]
v2.c43.42
² [Wanowri (Wunowlee), the Anglo-Indian form of Vanāvdi, is now a portion of the Poona military cantonment. The Wanowri cavalry lines lie to the south-east of the open central belt of the cantonment. (B.G., xviii. iii. 350, 400.) See diary of meeting of Bombay Council held on February 15, 1794 (Forrest's Selections (Marāthā Series), i. 537) for record of Māhādajī Sindia's death.]