Twilight of the Sultanate c13.s2.14

c13.s2.14

Even after this Mahmūd foolishly lent a ready ear to Dariyā Khan. At his suggestion he and Fatēh Khan Harwī were sent with 30,000 horse and 40 elephants to check the advance of Bahlūl. By that time Bahlūl had reached Narela,³⁴ seventeen miles from Delhi. He had only 14,000 men³⁵ with him, but he did not despair of the outcome. On the contrary his patrols carried away cattle and horses of the Jaunpur army, and the next day he launched an all out attack. Fatēh Khan’s elephant was disabled by the master archer Qutb Khan with a single shot,³⁶ and his movements were retarded. Qutb Khan, probably unaware of the interview between Dariyā Khan and Shamsuddīn, then shouted out to Dariyā Khan : “Your mothers and sisters are besieged in the fort. What sort of a man are you that you are seeking victory for a stranger without having any regard for your own honour”?’’³⁷ Dariyā Khan hardly needed this sermon; he had already decided to leave the field. His retreat completely crippled Fatēh Khan’s strength and he was defeated and captured. As Fatēh Khan had killed Pithora, brother of Rai Karan of Shamsābād, the latter severed his head and presented it to Sultan Bahlūl.³⁸ The Sharqī king could not bear the shock of this catastrophe and retreated towards Jaunpur. But his chagrin was great and this campaign only touched off a long-drawn out war between the two “kingdoms”.