पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

PANIPAT 81

the various conquerors in the Shalimar Garden (which depended upon the
canal water) to the north-west of Delhi Raghunathrao Peshwa lived there
in 1754,² Ahmad Shah Abdalı in 1756-7,³ and Sadashivrao Bhau in September,
1760⁴ They would not have preferred the place unless a copious supply of
water was available in the vicinity for a big army We think this to be sufficient
proof for taking the canal as flowing during this campaign When Ahmad
Shah succeeded in terrorizing the Maratha troops into huddling themselves in
the cramped camp at Panipat during the last fortnight before the great bat-
tle, the Marathas seem to have lost their access to the canal water to the west
of their camp, for Kashıraj says that Ahmad Shah was able to make a circuit
round the Maratha camp from a distance, which we think to be correct for
the last fortnight only On account of this, the Maratha army seems to have
suffered terribly for want of water, in addition to want of food This fact is
found mentioned only in the ballad published by us in the Deccan College Bul-
letin Vol IV, p 184 If their access to the canal water was not cut off, we
think the canal to have been cut higher up in the vicinity of Karnal or Kunj-
pura at the head of the canal The ground for such supposition rests on the
fact of the reconquest⁵ of Kunjpura by the Afghans during the Panipat siege
For the first month and a half, the Marathas were receiving their food supply
from the vicinity of Karnal on account of their friendship with Alasingh Jat,
the founder of the Patiala State, but a new army from Afghanistan under Atai
Khan came along that route to the help of Ahmad Shah early in December
Dılir Khan Ruhela made common cause with these new Afghan troops and
took back Kunjpura from its small Maratha garrison, thus closing the
Maratha supply from that side Taking into consideration the Afghan tactics
it is not unlikely that he might have cut the canal at the head after this event
so as to cut the water supply of the Maratha camp at Ahmad Shah's behest
Lest it be forgotten, it should be noted that the old Imperial Canal was
flowing in those days along a different channel than the present New Delhi
branch of the western Jamuna canal It began lower down on the river
Jamuna to the north of Kunjpura It flowed to the east of Karnal and not
to the west as at present Then it did not take a loop to the west before com-
ing to Panipat as at present, but flowed parallel to the west of the Imperial
Road at a distance of three or four miles Dr SPEAR in his article referred to
above, page 327, supplies the following information "The canal on its old
alignment ran along a depression in the apparently flat Jamuna plain In some
places the bed of the canal was above the level of the land at a great seepage,
and waterlogging was the result The distance between Panipat and
Karnal suffered most from this fact" (P 328) 'Then the alignment was
altered to correspond with the lie of the land, and it now sweeps in a great
curve from Karnal to Panipat "
This discussion should convince the reader that the old canal—Shah
Nahar—was flowing along to the west of Panipat at a distance of some three
to four miles during the Panipat campaign

² SPD 27 74
³ Ibid 21 106.
⁴ RAJ 6 404
⁵ Fall 2.307