History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c24: Chapter XVIII.
History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v2.c24
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Chapter XVIII.
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THE PURSUIT OF DARA SHUKOH THROUGH THE PANJAB AND SINDH, JUNE—NOVEMBER, 1658.
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We have seen how Dara reached Delhi with about 5,000 troopers on 5th June. Taking up his quarters in the ruined fort of Babar in the Old Town, he turned to his own use the Government property, horses, and elephants in the capital, and also seized the money and goods of some of the nobles. His plan was to raise and equip a new army with these resources and to wait here till he was joined by his eldest son, whom he had ordered to hasten back from Bengal and reach Delhi by the eastern bank of the Jumna, so as to avoid Aurangzib at Agra. He also busily sent off letters to all sides to secure the support of the Imperial officers and nobles, and kept up a correspondence with Shah Jahan for a few days.¹
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¹ *A. N.* 120-121; Aqil Khan, 63 (meagre); Masum, 75*b*.
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But it was soon found that Sulaiman Shukoh could not possibly reach him quickly, and that Aurangzib was not going to let Dara stay in peace at Delhi. The surrender of Agra Fort (8th June) left Aurangzib free to go in pursuit of his defeated brother, and he openly made preparations for marching northwards. At this news Dara at once resolved on flight; with the victorious enemy coming from the south in overwhelming strength and the approach of the rainy season threatening to cut him off from the Panjab, it would have been fatal for him to linger at Delhi. Should he march east, join his eldest son's 22,000 victorious troops, make the impregnable fortress of Allahabad (then held by one of his devoted officers) his stronghold, and then, forming an alliance with Shuja, confront Aurangzib with their united forces? But Shuja was the ally of his foes, Aurangzib and Murad, and was besides smarting under his recent defeat at the hands of Sulaiman. His friendly co-operation was no more to be hoped for than an alliance with Aurangzib. Therefore, for Dara to move from Delhi to Allahabad would be to let himself be crushed between two enemies,—Aurangzib in the west and Shuja in the east. On the other hand, the Panjab strongly attracted him. It was the home of soldiers, and close to the Afghan border where the hardiest mercenaries could be enlisted. The province had long been his vice-royalty and was held by his faithful deputy, Syed Ghairat Khan. Lahore Fort contained much of his property, as well as one *krore* of rupees of Imperial money, and a vast arsenal and magazine. So, Dara turned to Lahore, instructing his son to join him by making a wide detour round Agra and Delhi and crossing the Ganges and the Jumna at the foot of the Himalayas. This decision ruined both father and son.∗
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∗ A. N. 125-126.
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Leaving Delhi after a week's halt, on 12th June, with an army swollen to 10,000 men, Dara reached Sarhind, where he seized the property of the revenue-collector and dug out 12 lakhs of rupees which that officer had buried underground before his flight. Then, after crossing the Sutlej, he destroyed all the boats found at the ferries within his reach, in order to hinder the enemy's passage. Reaching Lahore on 3rd July, he spent there a month and a half in enlisting new men and completing his military preparations in order to meet Aurangzib on equal terms again. Even before leaving Agra he had instructed his Lahore agent, Syed Ghairat Khan, to raise troops and collect guns, and he had also "written to every quarter of this martial province inviting the tribes to enlist, and sent robes of honour to the zamindars...and *faujdars* of the Panjab, Multan and Tatta (then in his vice-royalty) and to the troops near Peshawar, inviting them to join him. After entering Lahore he opened the rich Imperial treasury and began to distribute money lavishly to the soldiery, and to give *mansabs* and titles freely. In a short time 20,000 men were assembled under him. Some Imperial commanders also joined him, such as Rajah Rajrup (zamindar of the Jammu hills) and Khanjar Khan (*faujdar* of Bhera and Khushab). His strength daily increased. He secretly wrote to Aurangzib's officers and to the Rajputs in their homes inciting them to rebel against Aurangzib."*
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At the ferry of Talwan, on the bank of the Satlej, he had left his chief general Daud Khan to oppose the enemy's crossing, and now he sent there a reinforcement of 5000 troops with artillery and material out of his increased resources at Lahore. A second party under Syed Ghairat Khan and Musahib Beg was told off to guard the ferry of Rupar, several miles above Talwan. Letters were also sent to Shuja, urging him to make a diversion against Aurangzib from the east and promising a partition of the empire with him after the fall of their common foe.[*]
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∗ A.N. 142-143, 178-179; Khafi Khan, ii, 33; *Storia*, i. 310.
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Dara had hoped that the exhaustion of Aurangzib's men and horses after their long march from the Deccan and two severe battles, the heavy rainfall of the monsoons, and the many rivers and miry roads of the Panjab would prevent them from following him, and that he would get a long respite at Lahore to organise his power anew. But in hoping thus he had counted without Aurangzib's energy and strength of will, before which every obstacle,—human or physical, gave way. A month after Dara's arrival at Lahore, his dreaded rival's Vanguard crossed the Satlej (5th August) and a few days afterwards Aurangzib himself reached that river with his main army (14th August.)
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That Prince had left Agra on 13th June, and two days afterwards heard of Dara's flight from Delhi. There was no need to hurry on after him, at least for the present, while Murad's open hostility raised a formidable danger nearer at
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∗ A.N. 143, 180. The text has *Izzat Khan* for *Ghairat Khan*. *Tulwun*, 31 N. 75°40 E. is 4 miles north of the battle field of Aliwal (*Ind. At.* 30); *Rupar* is sixty miles east of it (47 S. W.).
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Aurangzib's march from Agra to Delhi;
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hand which cried out for remedy before everything else. So, Aurangzib contented himself with sending Khan-i-Dauran to wrest Allahabad from Dara's men and thus secure the eastern flank of Agra, while he detached Bahadur Khan to follow Dara (21st June). Then he devoted himself to the all-important but delicate task of arresting Murad. This being accomplished he pushed on to Delhi.
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Here urgent affairs of State and uncertainty about Sulaiman Shukoh's movements detained him for three weeks. His army also required some rest after their long marches and strenuous fights, before they could be called upon to undertake a campaign in the Panjab during the rainy season. Therefore, he only sent off Shaista Khan to hold the right bank of the Ganges and Shaikh Mir to bar the Jumna against Sulaiman Shukoh, and reinforced the pursuing army under Bahadur Khan with a fresh division commanded by Khalilullah Khan, the newly appointed Governor of the Panjab. Meantime he set himself to construct a new administration in the place of the old one which his victories over the Imperial Government had shattered. New officers had to be appointed and sent off to their charges; arrangements had to be made for re-establishing authority over districts which had lapsed into lawlessness during the civil war; a thousand details of the public services had to be considered and orders issued on them; the detachments marching to the Satlej had to be furnished with supplies, material, and supports; and lastly the throne left vacant by the imprisonment of Shah Jahan had to be filled. At last the time had come for Aurangzib to throw away the mask and openly realise his long-cherished ambition. The gaoler of Shah Jahan could not pretend that he was only conducting the administration as that Emperor's faithful servant and obedient agent. Aurangzib must assume the crown to give validity to his acts and appointments and to end the last remaining possibility of a conflict of authorities.*
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The astrologers pointed out 21st July as an auspicious day for sitting on the throne. There was no time to make grand preparations for the coronation or to furnish the palaces in Delhi Fort in a style worthy of Mughal tradition.
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Aurangzib crowns himself Emperor.
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∗ A. N. 125, 126, 128, 144—148, 155—159; Kambu, 19a (brief); Aqil Khan, 63-64, 70-71, 72-73; Khafi Khan, ii. 39. The garden in whieh Aurangzib was crowned was then called Agharabad and contained some fine Imperial palaces. Since Khafi Khan's time it has been known as Shalamar. It is situated about 8 miles N. W. of Delhi, close to another Imperial garden named Sahibabad.
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But the lucky day was not to be missed. So, with hurried preparations and curtailed ceremonies he sat on the throne at the appointed hour in the garden of Shalamar outside the city of Delhi, and assumed the title of Alamgir (‘Conqueror of the Universe’) with the usual additions of Padishah and Ghazi (i.e., Emperor and Holy Warrior). Six days afterwards he resumed the march towards Lahore.
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Meantime he had taken every step to expedite the pursuit of Dara and to leave to that unlucky Prince no time to recoup his power. With admirable foresight he made his naval department construct portable boats which were sent on waggons* across country to the Vanguard.
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Bahadur Khan hastened to the Satlej at Talwan, but found the opposite bank held too strongly by the enemy. Then, guided by some friendly zamindars, he made a forced march to the ferry of Rupar, sixty miles further up stream, which was negligently guarded. Here he collected 25 boats,—partly brought on waggons from Delhi and partly secured locally with the help of the zamindars. In the night of 5th August, he crossed the river by means of these, with 800 men
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Aurangzib's Van crosses the Sutlej.
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∗ A. N. 164.
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and some pieces of artillery, and advancing along the opposite bank "charged the slothful enemy like a dashing wave." They fled to Talwan and imparted their panic to its defenders, who all fell back on Sultanpur, on the eastern bank of the Bias.
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All the ferries of the Satlej were at once evacuated, and the second division of the pursuing force (led by Khalilullah), on hearing the news in the night of the 6th, made a forced march and crossed the river at Rupar the next day.*
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Only the Bias now lay between Dara and his enemies, and this river he held strongly. Daud Khan was sent from Lahore with orders to cross the Bias and fight the Imperialists if possible, otherwise to retreat across the river and hold its western bank. He hastened to the ferry of Govindwal and learnt of the exact strength of the Imperial host which had been doubled by the junction of Khalilullah with Bahadur Khan. A battle against such odds was beyond his power. He, therefore, recalled the troops from Sultanpur and held Govindwal, where Sipihr Shukoh (Dara's second son) joined him from Lahore with reinforcements and instructions to engage the enemy. But Aurangzib had ordered Khalilullah Khan to halt for reinforcements, without forcing an action. The Emperor himself reached the Satlej at Rupar on 14th August, and, while he halted there for eight days to take his vast army across in the few boats and to ascertain if the road to the Bias was clear, he sent off Jai Singh and Dilir Khan with the artillery under Saf Shikan Khan to join Khalilullah and make his strength superior to the enemy's. This division reached the Van at Garh Sarang (18th) and there learnt that Dara had fled from Lahore after recalling Sipihr Shukoh from the Bias and ordering Daud Khan to burn his boats and fall back on him when the Imperial army would actually arrive on the left bank at Govindwal.∗
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∗ A. N. 164—166.
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∗ A. N. 182—186; Kambu, 19a; Sultanpur, 31'12 N. 75'15 E, on the eastern bank of the Kalna river, and 5 miles east of the Bias. Govindwal, on the western bank of the Bias, 11 miles N. N. W. of Sultanpur. (Ind. At. 30).
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In fact, when the new Emperor's army crossed the Satlej and he himself arrived at that river, once more Dara's genius quailed before that of Aurangzib. How could he hope to resist a rival, who with inferior forces had conquered Jaswant Singh and Rustam Khan, who had triumphed over fatigue, bad roads, and rain-swollen rivers, and who was now coming up with a large army of veterans that had never known a defeat? Against these Dara's raw recruits and heartless fugitives from Samugarh could make no stand. The traitors in his ranks and the mercenaries whose lukewarm services he had bought, became a source of danger to him as the enemy came nearer and made it easier for them to desert or mutiny. Dara now despaired of success in war and confessed to his confidential advisers, "I cannot resist Aurangzib. If it had been any one else, I should have fought him here." Their leader's despair infected the army; they lost heart and confidence in a chief who had no confidence in himself; most of the newly assembled troops abandoned the losing side and marched off to join the banner of victory and hope that waved over Aurangzib's head. That Prince had been busily sending letters full of temptation to Dara's officers and succeeded in seducing many of them, such as Rajah Rajrup, Khanjar Khan and some others.¹ Worse than the defection of these men, a clever ruse of Aurangzib paralysed Dara's right arm by sowing suspicion in his mind about his bravest and most devoted officer, Daud Khan, “to whom his whole army looked up for encouragement and the example of steadfastness.”
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¹ *A.N.* 181—182; Masum, 88 *b*—89 *a*; Kambu, 19 *a*.
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Aurangzeb wrote the following letter to Daud Khan and contrived that it should be intercepted by Dara’s patrols and placed before him: “I learn from your letter, which has reached me at such and such a place, that you wish for my success beyond limit. I praise and approve of your conduct. As requested by you I am proceeding very quickly towards that side. God willing, you will soon have the honour of waiting on me. The proper course for a devoted servant (like you) is to act in this matter in the way mentioned in your letter, so that my mind may be entirely placed at rest about these affairs and Sipihr Shukoh,—nay, all the enemies of the Prophet’s path, and all deniers of the Prophet’s faith,—may be made prisoners by the troops of Islam.”
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Every word of the letter was false, because the faithful Daud Khan had never corresponded with Aurangzib, still less had he conspired to seize and betray his master and his master’s son. But the lying epistle coming at a time when so many others were turning traitor, did the work intended. “The future grew absolutely dark to Dara as he read it. He sank into grief. Suspicion got possession of his mind." He recalled Sipihr Shukoh from the side of Daud Khan and weakened the party that held the Bias river. Daud Khan on returning to his master found him a changed man, ever turning a clouded face and suspicious looks at him. Hearty co-operation between the Prince and his chief lieutenant ceased.*
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When Daud Khan reported from Govindwal that with his inferior force he could not attack the Imperial Van, then about to be swollen by the union of four high generals—Bahadur Khan, Khalilullah Khan, Jai Singh, and Dilir Khan,—and armed with Saf Shikan’s artillery, Dara yielded to despair, and put into practice the flight he had long meditated and secretly discussed with his confidants. On 18th August he left Lahore with his family and all the treasure of the fort (amounting to more than a krore of rupees) besides the precious articles and stores of Government, and many guns and artillery material. Loading most of them in boats, and a small portion on transport animals, he hastened to Multan. Sipihr Shukoh by a forced march from Govindwal joined him outside Lahore, and so did Daud Khan after destroying the boats on the Bias. Nearly 14,000 troopers accompanied the Prince, “attracted by his hoard of gold.”*
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∗ Masum, 89b—93b. (There is no other authority for this incident except Manucci, *Storia*, i. 311-312.)
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But the pursuer was not far behind. At the news of Dara’s flight from Lahore, Khalilullah, then at Garh Shankar, had sent a party hurriedly to Govindwal to procure boats from the zamindars and raise those sunk by the enemy, and then throw a bridge over the Bias. Another party was sent under Tahir Khan to reach Lahore by forced marches in order to keep order in the masterless city and to save Dara’s abandoned property and the Government stores from being looted. They arrived there on the 25th, exactly a week after Dara had left, and at once took possession of it.
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The Van itself, led by Khalilullah Khan, after making long marches, arrived near Lahore on the 29th, and the very next day, without entering the city, set off towards Multan at the heels of Dara.† Aurangzib himself spent three weeks (from 14th August to 4th September) on the two banks of the Satlej in transporting his vast army, then crossed the Bias on 11th September, and next day reached Haibatpur Pati. Here alarming news arrived from his Van; Khalilullah had reported, "It is expected that Dara will make a firm stand at Multan. The pursuing army has no general high enough to encounter a prince of the blood and to secure the obedience of the entire army. If a battle is precipitated now, a disaster may befall our army. So, we have slackened our pursuit."
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∗ A. N. 186—188 ; Aqil Khan, 73 (meagre); Storia, i. 312. † A. N. 186—188. Garh Shankar, 32 miles N. N. W. of Rupar. The text wrongly reads Garh Sarang.
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At this Aurangzib determined to lead the chase in person. Sending his big camp, heavy baggage and unnecessary troops on to Lahore with his son Azam, he turned south-west towards Multan with a small tent, the indispensable stores and the pick of his soldiery, making forced marches of 14 to 22 miles a day.[*] By way of Qasur, and Shirgarh, he reached Mumanpur on the 17th, and there got the news that Dara had fled from Multan (13th September) southwards to Bhakkar, and that his army was daily decreasing through desertion. There was no need now for Aurangzib to tax the endurance of his men and animals. He henceforth travelled shorter stages, but Saf Shikan Khan with 6,000 men from the Van was ordered to push on after Dara beyond Multan and expel him from the province. Twenty thousand gold-pieces were sent to pay his troops. Khalilullah with the rest of the Van was ordered to stay at Multan till the Emperor's arrival. Aurangzib reached the environs of Multan* on the 25th; but from this point he turned back towards Delhi five days later, because an alarming situation had been developed in the east, which required his presence there, while Dara's power was now so reduced that his pursuit might be safely left to divisional commanders.
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∗ A. N. 189, 192, 197—201; Kambu, 196 (brief.) Patt 31·16 N. 74·55 E., 11 miles north of the battle-field of Sobraon (Ind. At 30).
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We now leave the hunters and take up the history of the object of their chase. After Dara's flight from Lahore, the Imperial Vanguard followed him only twelve marches behind. Every day men deserted the hapless heir to the throne; even his own Paymaster, Khwajah Sadiq, went over to the winning side. On 5th September he reached Multan, but he was in no position to make a firm stand anywhere. Taking from the local Treasury its cash balance of 22 lakhs, he loaded all his wealth in large boats and sent them down the Indus to Bhakkar in charge of the trusty general Firuz Miwati and the eunuch Basant, while he himself started (13th September) by land towards Uch. At Multan most of his officers and men left him. Uch was reached on the 23rd, but there was rest for him nowhere. His pursuers had made up the distance by incessant and long marches: at Lahore their Van was 12 days behind him, at Multan only 8 days, and at Uch the interval had been reduced to four days' march.
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∗ A. N., 201—212; Aqil Khan, 73; Qasur, 32 miles S. of Lahore, is a station on the N. W. R., Shirgarh, 10 miles S. E. of the Satghara Station (Ind. At. 30). Mumanpur is said to be 38 miles from Shirgarh. I can find only a Mumandwala, 4 miles north of Harappa (Ibid. 17.)
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So Dara fled further away and reached Sakkar on the west bank of the Indus (opposite Bhakkar) on 13th October. Here he stayed for five days only and then resumed his painful flight down the river (18th October.)*
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∗ A. N. 203—205; Storia, i. 316.
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Meantime, Aurangzib's Van under Khalilullah had reached Multan on 21st September, eight days after Dara's flight from it. The scouts sent forward lost the trail of the fugitive; they could not learn whether he had gone south-eastwards to Rajputana or south-westwards to Sindh. After following the former route for some days they returned baffled. Soon the news arrived that Haji Khan Baluch, a great zamindar of the province had disputed in vain the passage of Dara's treasure-boats down the river. The route of his flight was now ascertained. On the 22nd a courier arrived at Multan with Aurangzib's instructions and 20,000 gold coins, and immediately afterwards Saf Shikan Khan marched out of Multan in pursuit. On the 26th Aurangzib sent Shaikh Mir and Dilir Khan with a corps of 9,000 men to reinforce the pursuers. By making long marches, Saf Shikan reached Uch on the 30th, four days after Dara's flight from it. The work of bridging the Satlej (probably near Jalalpur) and the need of waiting for stragglers and treasure, delayed the advance. On 2nd October Saf Shikan received a party of musketeers, hatchetmen and water carriers, 80,000 gold coins and many necessary stores sent by the Emperor, and resumed his march. As Shaikh Mir's party was still 60 miles behind, Saf Shikan did not wait for him, but marched on to a place 126 miles north of Bhakkar, where he halted till the 17th, when Shaikh Mir's force joined him. Here scouts brought the news of Dara having crossed to the right bank of the Indus on the 13th and entered Sakkar.∗
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∗ A. N. 205—209, 272—273. Uch, 29.15 N. 71.7 E. (Ind. At. 18 N. W.). Three marches south of Multan the Mughal army had to cross the Bias, which then flowed in its old bed here. (A. N. 272).
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The pursuing force now numbered 15,000, and was too large to march conveniently by the same path in one body. So, it was divided: Shaikh Mir with his division crossed the Indus and marched along the right bank, while Saf Shikan Khan moved along the left bank, towards Bhakkar and Sakkar,—the length of the two routes being 200 and 126 miles respectively.
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On the 18th the two generals parted company near Kan, and while Shaikh Mir halted two days to throw a bridge of boats over the Indus, Saf Shikan pushed on by the left bank, and in three long marches reached Bhakkar on the 21st. Shaikh Mir on the other bank of the Indus covered 160 miles in three days, suffering great hardship from the jungles briars and difficult ground crossed on the way; many transport cattle perished; the camp followers were exhausted; and on the 3rd day of the march the baggage and tents lagged so far behind that the troops had to live on scanty rations. On the fourth day, after travelling 24 miles, he reached Sakkar.*
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Here the Imperialists learnt that their prey had again given them the slip. Dara had left much of his property, many ladies of his harem, some treasure, all his heavy gold and silver plate, and some of his big guns, in the fort of Bhakkar, and entrusted its defence to his eunuch Basant and Syed Abdur Razzaq, with plenty of munition, a body of musketeers, bowmen and barqandazes, together with many European gunners under Manucci. The rest of his property was conveyed down the river in boats, while he moved south (18th October) with his troops by the right bank of the Indus, cutting a way through the jungle. Only 3000 men accompanied him. The 14,000 troopers who had left Lahore with him, had been reduced by desertion to one-half when he abandoned Multan. And now when he refused
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Dara's miserable condition.
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∗ A. N. 273-274. Sakkar is on the western bank and Rohri on the eastern bank of the Indus, while the island-fortress of Bhakkar is in midstream, between the two towns. (Postans's Sindh, ed. 1843, pp. 30-31.)
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to make a stand even in the impregnable fortress of Sakkar, his followers grew sick of their incessant toilsome and inglorious flight, their hopeless cause and their timid leader. As he left Sakkar, he was abandoned by four thousand of his soldiers, including nearly all the chiefs of his army and his most devoted adherents. Some of them returned to their jagirs, but most joined Aurangzib’s army.[*] Even the trusty Daud Khan at last left his cold and suspicious master.
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Daud Khan deserts Dara. Disgusted with the treatment he had been receiving, he had asked Dara bluntly for the cause of his being suspected, and had protested his loyalty. This speech Dara took to be the outcome of hypocrisy, and dismissed Daud Khan from his service, saying, “My circumstances are so bad that even those whom I have brought up are now ungratefully leaving me. On you I have conferred no such benefit that I can ask you to be a fugitive from your home and a wanderer in misery for my sake. It is proper that you should leave me at this point and go wherever your heart desires...Don’t insist on accompanying me beyond it.”
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Daud Khan, astonished to hear such an order, again asserted his devotion and refused to desert his master even at his bidding. He murdered the honourable ladies of his harem, in order to be free from anxiety about them, and then reported to Dara how he had "composed his mind about certain objects which make men hesitate and shrink from (desperate) exertion and fighting at such times (of danger.)" He entreated Dara to banish all doubt of his good faith from his mind, now that he had no family tie which might counteract his constancy and fidelity. But even this proof of devotion did not convince Dara; he sent away Daud Khan from his side. The Afghan general had to leave the army per force, and afterwards joined Aurangzib who raised him to a high rank.*
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∗ A.N. 270-275; Storia, i. 318, 326-327 (siege of Bhakkar.)
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With less than 3,000 men Dara reached a place (probably Larkhanah) 50 miles south of Sakkar, where the road to Qandahar begins. But his servants and wives flatly refused to go to the land of the ferocious and inhospitable Baluches. He had no help but to give up this plan and flee further south. By land he reached Siwistan (Sehwan), while his boats glided down the river.†
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∗ Masum, 93b-96a (for the above details); A.N. 274, 275; M.U. ii. 33 (life of Daud Khan); Storia, i. 317-318.
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† A.N. 275. Sehwan is always mentioned in the Persian histories as Siwistan. (See also Postans, 8).
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Saf Shikan Khan, who had reached Bhakkar on 21st October, only three days after Dara’s flight from the opposite bank (Sakkar), halted one day to take possession of the city, posted a garrison at Rohri and a force at Sakkar to blockade the gates of its fort, and then on the 23rd resumed his march, without waiting for Shaikh Mir who had a longer journey to make and was three days behind.[*] On the 30th he got a letter from the qiladar of Sehwan, which was 26 miles ahead, reporting that Dara had arrived within ten miles of that fort and urging him to hurry up and intercept the enemy’s treasure-boats coming behind. At once he despatched a force of 1000 mounted barqandazes with 14 swivel guns on the backs of camels, and rockets, to outstrip Dara’s boats and entrench on the left bank of the Indus further down, near Sehwan, where the river was narrow, and thus prevent the escape of the boats. That very night he himself made a forced march of 24 miles down this bank and, leaving Dara on the right bank behind him, next noon overtook the barqandazes by the edge of the river, one mile below the fort (which was on the opposite bank).
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∗ A. N. 275-276.
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Entrenching two miles of the river-side, he waited for the enemy’s boats.
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Dara’s men removed their boats on the right bank to a point three miles above the Imperial trenches. Behind them could be seen part of Dara’s army—some 1000 cavalry, 10 elephants, and a few banners.
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Attempt to intercept Dara’s army and boats. This was the most critical stage of the pursuit. Now, if ever, Dara’s flight was to be barred. He had been placed between the two divisions of the Imperial army,—Saf Shikan Khan’s before, and Shaikh Mir’s behind; and these two together outnumbered his force as five to one. His boats had to run the gauntlet of the guns of Sehwan Fort on the right bank and those of Saf Shikan’s light artillery on the left. But one way of escape still remained open: these two divisions of the enemy were posted on the opposite banks of a large swift river, at a great distance from each other, and with no adequate supply of boats for communication with each other. Dara with great promptitude and dash seized this weak point to effect his escape.
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As the Imperialists were very weak in boats, their immense superiority on land could be effectively used to close the river if only the fort and the army co-operated from the two banks. Saf Shikan Khan’s rapid march had left all his boats far behind; and now Dara’s superior flotilla, stationed between, prevented them from passing down the river to his entrenchments. The Khan, therefore, asked for some boats from the fort of Sehwan in order to cross over to the right bank and fight Dara on land. He further instructed the qiladar to sally out and seize a narrow pass which lay in front of Dara’s path, and also to direct the full broadside of the fort guns and muskets on Dara’s boats if they tried to slip down the river along the right bank close to the fort wall. But the qiladar, Muhammad Salih Tarkhan, could not rise to the height of the occasion: he feared to risk a battle on land with his small garrison without reinforcement from Saf Shikan Khan, and yet he durst not take the only step by which such reinforcement could have reached him. His few boats, he said, in crossing the river to Saf Shikan’s trenches would be cut off by Dara’s superior naval power. He further reported that as the river was shallow near the right bank, Dara’s boats would have to hug the left bank where Saf Shikhan’s guns would be easily able to overpower them.
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The day wore on in corresponding with the fort. Saf Shikan could not cross over, but spent
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The qiladar of Sehwan does not co-operate with the army.
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all the night and the next day (1st November), standing on the alert in his trenches. The news reached him that Dara had come to a halt and that Shaikh Mir expected to come upon the enemy on the right bank in two or three days.
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But about 9 a. m. on 2nd November a cloud of dust filled the western sky: Dara’s army was on the move. Soon his boats too were sighted from Saf Shikan’s position. The Imperialists stood armed and watchful on the left bank, waiting for the approach of the hostile flotilla.
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Escape of Dara and his boats. But a cruel disappointment was in store for them. In an hour it became clear that Dara’s boats were passing by the further bank (near the fort) and not coming to the entrenched side. The artillery of Saf Shikan opened fire, but the width of the river was more than their range. Only two of the boats were damaged; all the rest passed safely downstream. The land-force, too, escaped capture. Dara issued from the narrow defile of Sehwan and hastened towards Tatta, which he reached on the 13th.
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On the 3rd Saf Shikan Khan learnt of Dara’s successful flight from Sehwan the day before, and he at once marched down the left bank for two days in the hope of keeping up touch with the enemy. Then he halted for Shaikh Mir, who arrived opposite him on the 6th and ordered a junction of their forces. Some days were taken in ferrying Saf Shikan’s army over to the right bank, as the boats were few. By making forced marches he overtook Shaikh Mir on the way to Tatta (14th November) and was again sent in advance of his colleague. On the 17th he got the news that at Tatta Dara had crossed over to the left bank of the Indus the preceding day, and that the Imperial scouts who had entered the city had had a brush with the remnant of the enemy’s troops in it, but that Dara was still halting on the other side. At this Saf Shikan made a forced march of 28 miles and reached the Indus two miles above Tatta. Next day (the 19th) he halted, took possession of Dara’s abandoned property in the town, and was joined by Shaikh Mir.∗
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∗ A. N. 276—282.
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On the 20th Saf Shikan Khan resumed his march from Tatta, advanced six miles south of the town and halted to collect boats for bridging the Indus. This work being accomplished, he crossed the river on the 23rd and encamped on the left bank. But the bird had flown away; no trace of Dara could be found in Sindh.
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Taking advantage of the Imperialists' enforced halt at Tatta, the Prince had hurried eastwards away from the Indus, reached Badin (the 24th) and was marching along the Rann towards Cutch and Guzerat.
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Just then orders arrived from the Emperor recalling the pursuing force in hot haste to the Court, to repel Shuja's invasion. The troops, utterly exhausted by their incessant marching over long stages through the dreary sands and jungles of Sindh and with most of their remounts and transport animals dead of fatigue, welcomed the command, and set their faces homewards up the Indus (5th December).* They had failed in their quest, but had still won glory. Their supreme feat of endurance had missed success when almost within their grasp, through their lack of boats. The pursuit which had been so relentlessly carried on for three months since Dara left Lahore, now ended. Nor was it any longer necessary; for Dara's ruined condition and the terribly inhospitable region that lay before him promised little that he would ever again threaten the Imperial throne.
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∗ A.N. 282-283. They joined the Emperor at the hunting-lodge of Rupbas on 8th Feb. (295).
Linked texts (2)
- ʿAmal-i Ṣāliḥ — Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ Kambōh 1659, Persian
- Tārīkh-i Shāh Shujāʿī — Muḥammad Maʿṣūm 1659, Persian