Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c26.s3.17

v2.c26.s3.17

But the main task of Malhar was to realize the heavy contributions laid on the Jaipur Rajah,—namely 12 lakhs for 1758 and 9 lakhs for 1759. This was no easy task, because Jaipur was now the strongest power in Rajputana, and its master, safely sheltered within his strongly fortified capital, could laugh an invasion to scorn. Moreover, as Raghunath had found in 1757, in this kingdom most of the villages had protective walls and a martial population. Thus, the Maratha general could only occupy a portion of the country and try to starve the enemy out by stopping cultivation and commercial traffic. At last, in November the Rajputs came out in a body 4,000 strong, under Jot Singh Nathawat, to attack the Marathas. Malhar had been praying for such an opportunity of fighting in the open. With his superior numbers and artillery, he enveloped the Rajputs at Lakhori and completely crushed them, twenty of their captains being slain. Thereafter the Rajputs ceased to confront him, and merely held their outposts at different places.