Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c44.s2.51

v4.c44.s2.51

When the sun began to decline from the meridian, the Rajputs and their Muslim allies retired to their respective camps, undressed, and engaged in cooking their meals and recovering from the heat. The Maratha army held its ground near the mouth of the pass, its generals Gopāl Bhāu and De Boigne sat on a hillock behind the line of their troops, keeping watch on the field and the enemy entrenchments in the distant west. The real battle was precipitated in the evening by an unforeseen skirmish. About three hours before sunset, some Pindharis* from the left wing of the Maratha army, after a detour to Ismail Beg’s rear, seized the transport animals of that general as they were coming back from pasture. A Muslim force hurried out to the rescue of the cattle, and then Bālāji Inglé with 2,000 horsemen fell on the newcomers, and a severe confused fight raged for an hour. Next Ismail Beg, in spite of his fever, which had been doubled by the sun’s heat, took horse, headed a charge and drove the Marathas out of the allied lines, by his reckless personal bravery.