Later Mughals v1.c8.s17.18

v1.c8.s17.18

Hardly had the Emperor settled himself in the saddle, when Lal Kunwar arrived in search of him. She forced him to come into her howda, and together they took the road to Akbarabad (Agra). Night was now rapidly approaching and his troops in despair abandoned the field. Zulfiqar Khan sent men to repel the enemy but the movement was ineffectual; in the darkness many were slain by the Barha Sayyids, and some, among them Mukhtar Khan (son of Khan Alam, Bahadur-Shahi) and Wazarat Khan (son of Mir Khan, the elder), were killed by plunderers. The camp-followers of Jahandar Shah's army, who had taken to flight, were trodden under foot by the retreating elephants, of which there were over two hundred present.* When this rout was reported to Zulfiqar Khan, he made no attempt to retreat, but stood where he was for at least three hours after night had fallen. Although on Farrukh-siyar's side they were beating their drums in token of victory, no one, not even Abdullah Khan, ventured to move against Zulfiqar Khan. Meanwhile the latter had sent messengers, to whom he had promised large rewards, to search for Jahandar Shah and Azz-ud-din, and bring one or the other back to the battlefield. If one of them could be found, he intended to make one final charge in the hope of retrieving the day. In spite of all efforts, no trace of either father or son could be found. Uneasy at seeing Zulfiqar Khan still holding the field at the head of his troops, Farrukh-siyar sent him a message asking the reason. If he claimed the crown for himself, his persistence was understood. If on the other hand, he were only a subject, then one heir of the house of Taimur was as much entitled to his allegiance as another. When Azam Shah was defeated, he had submitted himself to Bahadur Shah; he was bound to adopt the same course now. On this appeal, Zulfiqar Khan withdrew slowly and in good order towards Agra. To all his enquiries for Jahandar Shah the answer was that he must have gone to the city of Agra. Zulfiqar Khan pushed on as fast as possible towards the city, in the hope of finding the Emperor and returning with him to renew the contest. He drew up at Shahganj near the city, where he remained until midnight, then finding no trace of Jahandar Shah or his son, he marched off accompanied by Abdus-samad Khan, Raji Muhammad Khan, Shakir Khan and other leaders with their troops. His first march made at night carried him to near Kakrol, he then changed his direction and made for Dihli.*