New History of the Marathas v2.c30.19

v2.c30.19

The Maratha troops who had been marching from the early dawn and strenuously fighting for over five hours without food and water, now began to show signs of exhaustion. Abdali chose this moment to throw in his reserves of ten thousand men into the battle. These reserves turned the scales decisively against the Marathas; and their destruction was completed by the Afghan squadron of 1500 camel swivels, which wheeled round in three batches of 500 each, doing immense damage at close range. In the midst of such a terrific fight a stray bullet from a *Zamburak* struck Vishvasrao dead on his horse *Dilpak* a little before three in the afternoon. This proved the sign for the rot to set in. Bhau Saheb not bearing to see the sight of his dead nephew, placed him on an elephant and rushed headlong with his personal guards into the Afghan ranks until he quickly disappeared. This last half-hour witnessed a frightful carnage round the Peshwa's flag. According to the Hindu scriptures suffering death on the battle field bestows merit on the warrior. From this point of view the Marathas certainly attained it by their supreme sacrifice at this last moment. The disappearance of Bhau Saheb at once created a panic, and before four in the afternoon of that short January day, a general flight commenced with the debacle consequent upon such an occasion. A small proportion of the common fighters and some of their leaders such as Malharrao Holkar, Damaji Gaikwad, Vithal Shivdeo and a few others made their way safely out of the holocaust, when they realized that the day was lost. But the major portion of that vast army with their families and camp followers perished by the cold steel of the pitiless Afghans. The field was littered with the dead and the wounded of the helpless non-combatants, stragglers, bazaarmen, clerks, accountants and others. Several ran back to the camp where there was none to protect them and where the Afghans cut down as many as they could in the early waning moon-light of the 8th night of the bright half of Poush. The carnage continued the next day also. A few of the Marathas escaped towards Delhi, Rajputana and the country of the Jats. The Jat Raja and his Rani Kishori took the utmost care of these fugitives providing them with food, clothes, and residence and comforting them in their unspeakable suffering.