battle of panipat ,third phase
first abdali ordered his zamburaks , that is swivel-cannons fitted on camels , to attack the marathas . these were mobile , and therefore more capable of firing than those of the marathas . these produced a toll on the maratha forces.
then he ordered shah pasand khan to attack with his kizilbash troops ,who were iranian troops with distinctive red headgear , to attack with full force in the flank of the the maratha center.
the marathas retaliated with full vigor ,and a titanic battle developed between the rival armies of the two forces .'' there arose such a cloud ,that nothing could distinguish the heavens from the earth '', according to an observer. .nothing could be heard above the din of battle except the clash of arms ,and the battle cries of the two forces.
a close and violent contest developed ,in which both sides fought with swords , spears , battle axes ,and even daggers .......this continued for more than two hours. abdali then sent his own tribe's soldiers , called bashgulls , to engage the marathas ......yet the marathas were unyielding ......rivers of blood began to flow on both sides ......
the peshwa's son ,17 year old vishvasrao , the nominal commander of the expedition , now fought like a true warrior , by the side of his uncle ,on horseback , personally killing many gilchyas, as the marathas called the afghans.
the crisis of the battle occured when he mounted an elephant to bolster his forces. now both armies had muskets , and he should have known from the manner of the death of dattaji scindia ,that this made him a tempting target for musket fire . he was shot dead by an afghan musket......
at this point , bhau lost his head , and forgot his duty as a general ,and commander of the maratha forces.he knew that now he could not show his face in pune ,especially to his sister-in-law , vishwasrao's mother ,who had weepingly put vishvasrao's head on his lap before starting off from pune , as vishwasrao ,being the oldest son of the peshwa ,was heir to the maratha empire. he now ordered his bodyguards , numbering hundreds ,to accompany him as he plunged into the afghan lines ,to fight a desperate battle.
as he disappeared into the afghan lines , word spread among the marathas that he had died in the afghan lines . actually he was alive , but the rumour spread , and many marathas began to flee . some rohillas , and afghans ,who had joined the maratha camp after being captured at kunjpura , and were protecting the non-combatants behind , now threw off their maratha headgear , and began to loot the maratha camp , adding to the confusion.
abdali now ordered a troop of 8,000 khans to attack bhau and his bodyguards , and an obstinate battle developed , but the marathas were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. bhau was identified by the bejewelled sword he held , and his rich clothes, and finally found peace.........
his death precipitated the final defeat of the marathas. they all began to flee , and were mercilessly hounded by the afghans .......to be sent to death......
as they fled into the town of panipat , they were chased , and savagely massacred . the scene of the battle itself was an astonishingly gory sight . every last man among the marathas was hunted down. piles of corpses littered the battlefield . in the camp ,even old people were killed , and women became a prey to the lust of the afghan conquerors.
next day , the survivors were pitilessly put to death ,and women put on sale !! it was verily the doomsday of the maratha people ......
like the mahabharat , an entire generation of warriors died on that day . some 75 ,000 of the 85,000 fighting men lost their lives , and the tragedy was increased by the presence of non-combatants ,who added to the list of dead. in all 2 lakh marathas lost their lives. in maharshtra , not a single home was left which did not have to mourn the loss of a member , and many had lost the head of the house.
damaji gaikwad survived the battle to return to gujrat and recover his hold on that province , so did vitthal shidev . malhar-rao holkar had already escaped.......
generally it was seen that the earlier generation guerilla leaders were able to save their lives , and those who fought bhau's kind of warfare lost their lives.his wife gopikabai ,who used to ride with a unsheathed sword was saved by her bodyguards .....she returned to pune , still kept on wearing a suhagan's clothes , hoping against hope that her husband was alive. her hope was bolstered by the simple people of haryana , who said that a sadhu who appeared in that neighborhood , and who established , a gadhi there , and was giving people military training to protect them from afghan invaders, was bhau himself........that he had not forsaken the people whom he had arrived to protect , but was staying among them to complete his task.......bhau ki gadhi still exists in panipat district !!!
jankoji scindia was captured alive , but buried alive on najib's orders. thus started a blood fued between najib khan and the scindia's , which was ended only when mahadji scindia killed his grandson ghulam qadir ......but not before he had tortured and blinded qadir........
jankoji scindia himself was rumoured to be alive , but actually , both he and bhau had both ascended to heaven , if there is such a place......
shamshar bahadur , the gallant son of the beautiful mastani and the current peshwa's father bajirao , was killed . his dynasty , still muslims , formed a princely state , and still survive , carrying bajirao's genes .......the peshwa's legal heirs are long extinguished....now only if the obnoxious pune brahmins accepted them as one of their own.......
the news reached shrimant peshwa nanasaheb ,son of bajirao , when he was at sironj . an enigmatic letter came saying ,'' two pearls have been lost , so have been 27 gold mohurs , and the count of the copper lost is beyond count !! '' needless to say ,the gold was the sardars ,and the pearls were bhau and vishvasrao !!
shocked by the news ,the peshwa breathed his last......
abdali was not able to hold on to punjab , for holding on to which he had fought such an epic battle .......the sikhs took advantage of his weakened condition due to the losses at panipat ,and wrested it from him in the coming years.
but in bengal ,a race of white men raising a union jack were smiling at their good fortune........!!