The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c7.s3.6

c7.s3.6

At Ghazni, Muhammad severely punished the Ghauri, Khalji and Khurasani amirs,⁷⁶ whom he held responsible for his defeat. Wallets full of oats were tied to their necks and in this plight they were paraded through the city. The Sultan himself was overcome with such shame that he would neither eat nor drink nor change garments till he had avenged himself Next year he again started from Ghazni towards Hindustan with full preparations and with a force of one hundred and two thousand Turks, Persians and Afghans. On reaching Lahore, he sent an ambassador to Ajmer and invited Prithviraj to make his submission and accept Islam. The arrogant message met with a befitting retort, and the armies of the two once more encamped opposite each other on the banks of Saraswati at Tarain, 588 H./1192 C.E. The Rajput army was far superior in numbers. Prithviraj had succeeded in enlisting the support of about one hundred Rajput princes who rallied round his banner with their elephants, cavalry and infantry. To counter such a vast number Muhammad Ghauri adopted a tactic which bewildered the Rajputs. Of the five divisions of his army, four composed of mountain archers, were instructed to attack (by turns) the flanks and, if possible, the rear of the Hindus, but to avoid hand to hand conflicts and, if closely pressed, to feign flight.⁷⁷ He delivered a dawn attack when the Indians were busy in the morning ablutions; the Hindus had to fight the invaders on empty stomach. Explaining the reason for the empty stomach Dr. Jadunath Sarkar writes: It was the Hindu practice to prepare for the pitched battle by waking at 3 Oclock in the morning, performing the morning wash and worship, eating the cooked food (*pakwan*) kept ready before hand, putting on arms and marching out to their appointed places in the line of battle before sunrise But in the second battle of Naraina (also called Tarain, Taraori) the Rajputs could take no breakfast; they had to snatch up their arms and form their lines as best as they could in a hurry In vain did they try to pursue the Turko-Afghan army from 9 oclock in the morning to 3 oclock in the afternoon at the end of which the Hindus were utterly exhausted from the fighting, hunger and thirst.⁷⁸