Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c54.s1.1

v4.c54.s1.1

For four days after the defeat and death of his beloved brother and leader Malhār II (Ch. 42 § 7), the forlorn Jaswant Holkar hid himself in Punā, and then on 19th September 1797 issued from that city to seek refuge at the Court of Raghuji Bhonslé of Nāgpur, who had promised his father Tukoji Holkar to befriend him. On the way he took a loan from a Gosāin (monk) and raised a force of two hundred retainers. He was well received at Nāgpur (c. 25 Nov.), but took to a roving life of plunder in the surrounding country for a living. In a few months Daulat Rao Sindhia learnt of his growing strength and lawless activity and wrote to Raghuji Bhonslé to arrest the young rebel. This was effected on 20th February 1798. But on his way to Nāgpur Jaswant had secured a very able and devoted adherent in Bhawāni Shankar (the son of Rāi Brijlal of Delhi, now settled in Bhopāl) who was out in search of employment. To this follower we owe a full account of Jaswant’s early career, based on intimate personal knowledge, which Bhawāni Shankar dictated and Mohan Singh wrote down in his own Persian.¹