पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

THE BATTLE 101
of Mian Qutb Shah and Abdus Samad Khan who were beheaded by the
Marathas at Kunjpura with ignominy They sought permission to slaughter
captured men to avenge their fathers' deaths Ahmad Shah gave them the
permit to go upto 20 kos and slaughter for four ghatikas only, but not more
Thus permitted, Qutb Shah's son slaughtered 4,000 fugitives near Sonepat
and Samad Khan's son killed 5 000 near Bahadurgad to the west of Delhi
None of those who were captured alive at Panipat on the next day were
slaughtered Their property was looted but they were allowed to get them
selves freed by paying a ransom Shuja ud daulah and his Hindu officers,
like Anupgir Gosawi and Kashiraj, paid the ransom for many and sent them
back with a safe escort Many of the fugitives possibly lost their lives because
they would not part with what they possessed on their body Only those who
like Nana Fadnis threw away all property and assumed the dress of beggars
were able to return unmolested, unless they were caught in the cold massacres
related above
The loss on the Afghan side can be estimated at some 20,000, practically
all dying on the battle field Three fourths of this number were possibly the
Indian Ruhelas, the rest being Afghans and other foreign allies
THE SPOILS OF THE BATTLE
If it is impossible to estimate the total number of men who died at
Panipat, it is still more impossible to estimate the spoils which came into the
hands of the Afghans and the Ruhelas The definite loss on the Maratha side
as stated by Nana Fadnis¹⁹ was 50,000 horses, the number of all the elephants
and camels and bullocks is nowhere definitely stated 300 elephants, 3,000
camels and about a lakh of bullocks would be, we believe, a fair estimate All
the artillery as well as the weapons possessed by the various soldiers and non-
combatants fell into the hands of the victors and brigands The total number
of cannon, great and small, heavy and light, should be some 300, 25,000 match
locks and muskets of the French pattern wielded by the Gardi troops of Ibrahim
Khan must have fallen into the hands of the Ruhelas and the Durranis One
lakh of swords, shields and spears in the possession of both combatants and non
combatants must have been looted by the victors A similar number of javelins,
axes daggers and knives of many varieties also must have been captured from
the camp by the victors A few thousand armours, worn by some of the noted
Marathas and the Gardis of Ibrahim Khan also must have fallen into the hands
of the various captors This is as far as the war material is concerned Of
these, most of the horses and bullocks and elephants were in a half starved con-
dition, unable to walk even a short distance These were sold by the Afghans
to the Indian soldiers at almost nominal prices Many of these must have
perished before reaching the homes of their buyers as no fodder was available
anywhere in the vicinity of Panipat and Delhi Many of the bullocks must
have been slaughtered for food by the victorious Muslims
¹⁹ Purandare 1 417