| [[45]] News came to Jalandhar... of
the arrival of Hemu in whose brain the ambition of sovereignty was stirring,
and of whom some account has been already given; of his engaging in battle
with the great officers, of their want of steadiness, and of his having
taken possession of Delhi. The short account of these events is as follows:
Battles took place between Hemu and Ibrahim, who was a claimant for the
Sultanate, and the former was always victorious. Sultan Muhammad, who had
assumed the kingly title in Bengal, was also defeated, and was made to
tread the land of annihilation. Hemu also engaged in conflicts with Taj
Kararani and Rukn Khan Nuhani and defeated them. He fought two and twenty
battles with the opponents of Mubariz Khan, and was victorious in all of
them. His victories impressed him with evil ideas, and he did not perceive
that the victory of a futile person over one more futile than himself is
no reason for being bold enough to tilt against a mountain of iron. At
the time when H. M. Jahanbani [Humayun], with the assistance of the armies
of God, conquered India, Hemu was otherwise engaged, and his vain imaginings
did not show themselves. Now that the masnad of the Caliphate was
resplendent from the personality of H. M. the Shahinshah, he turned his
attention from his rivals and, with a large force of men and war-elephants
from the eastern districts, marched towards Delhi....
[[47]] The abundant wealth, and the numbers of soldiers and munitions of war, which had been left by so many rulers of India, added to his boldness and daring, as also did the evacuation by victorious officers of the cities and towns of the dominions. At length he set off on his evil enterprise with 50,000 cavalry, 1,000 elephants, 51 cannon, and 500 falconets.... At length on [6th October,1556], Hemu the wretch arrived near Delhi with all his equipments and encamped in Tughlaqabad; the officers assembled and deliberated. [They decided to fight.] On the day of [7th October 1556] both armies drew up.... [[48]] The heroes on both sides cast the thought of life from their hearts, and did great deeds. The intrepid spirits of the vanguard and left wing of the army of fortune displayed valour, and drove off before them the vanguard and right wing of the enemy, and followed in pursuit of them. Their deeds and valour were such that the souls of Rustam and Isfandiyar sang their praises, and that the voice of the Age and of mankind extolled them a thousand times. Four hundred noted elephants were among the spoil, and Rai Husain Jalwani, a leading man among the enemy, was overwhelmed in the ocean of annihilation. More than three thousand of the ill-fated foe descended in the fight to the dust of non-existence. The proud Hemu, who joined extreme daring to craft, was ever following feline strategems. He collected 300 chosen elephants and a body of life-sacrificing men, and separated them from the rest of his army, and awaited the moment for flight or for fight. At the time when the victorious army had gained such an advantage and were pursuing the fugitives, and while a body of them was busied in plundering and in carrying off the spoil, Tardi Beg Khan, who held the post of honour on this field of bravery, was standing with a small force contemplating the scene. The cunning Hemu saw his opportunity and attacked them. [49] [Tardi Beg Khan and the officers who were with him fled.] Thus when things were so far advanced, and and such a victory had displayed her countenance, there came a catastrophe. [[50]] In fine, Hemu, who was seeing his own large army thrown into confusion and scattered, regarded this strange event (Tardi Beg's flight) as a trick of his enemy, and did not pursue Tardi Beg Khan, but proudly drew up his forces on the very field of battle. The rank-breaking heroes [of the imperial army] who had followed the fugitives were amazed when they returned, and hastened off in the same direction as Tardi Beg Khan. After this Hemu entered Delhi and increased his arrogance, so that his intoxication became madness. When this unnatural occurrence was made known to the sublime Court. H. M. the Shahinshah in the strength of his far-seeing wisdom was not affected by it, and issued orders to the embroiderers of honour's carpet and the battlefield-adorners, that they should set forth in a propitious hour and chastise that arrogant blockhead. He lighted up the face of royal majesty with the colouring of submission and surrender to the Divine will, and cast the shadow of favour on the management of the affairs of world government. ===========
|
== Akbar-nama
vol. 2 == Abu'l-Fazl == Glossary
== fwp's main page ==