पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

THE MARATHAS IN THE PANJAB AND BEYOND 7
Maratha army first approached Sarhind which was governed by Abdus Samad
Khan, a valiant general of Abdali He was at this time on a punitive expedi-
tion against Alasingh Jat, the founder of the Patiala State Hearing that the
Marathas were advancing, he settled accounts with Alasingh, quickly returned
to Sarhind and made preparations for defending it The Maratha troops were
not more than fifty thousand in number, though rumour had swelled it to two
lakhs In the first week of March 1758, they began the siege of Sarhind which
does not seem to have continued long Abdus Samad Khan tried to escape
but was captured along with Jang Baz Khan and other Afghans The Mara-
thas and the Sikhs thoroughly looted Sarhind and afterwards destroyed it
• Hearing of the fall of Sarhind, Jahan Khan, who had advanced from Lahore
to help Abdus Samad, returned precipitately The Maratha forces advanced
further, Adina Beg Khan leading them on the way Seeing them rapidly
advancing with confidence, Jahan Khan and his ward, the boy Timur, lost
heart, as they had not more than twenty five thousand troops with them to de-
fend themselves The valiant captain Manaji Paygude led the vanguard of
the Marathas with ten thousand horse along with one thousand Mughals un-
der Khwajah Mirza On the 20th April, 1758, the Marathas entered Lahore
Prince Taimur and Jahan Khan had already evacuated it on the day previous
and carried all their property beyond the Ravi The Marathas, after taking
charge of the fort, quickly crossed the river and pursued the Afghans upto the
river Chinab Only the Durrani troops of Taimur escaped hurriedly with
Jahan Khan at their head All his other troops, Turkish, Afghan and Indian,
were over powered by the Marathas, who took vast spoils in their camp The
Marathas would have pursued Jahan Khan still further, but fortunately for
him the river was deep and unfordable and all the boats necessary for crossing
the river had been taken to the other side by Taimur Sultan ⁷
Raghoba stayed in Lahore only for a month and then prepared to re-
turn to the Deccan at the express orders of the Peshwa leaving the administra-
tion of the whole province in the hands of Adina Beg who agreed to pay
seventy five lakhs a year to the Marathas An equal revenue was to go to the
Wazir at Delhi as his half share in the bargain The Maratha corps engaged
in this famous campaign were those of Manaji Paygude Gangadhar Bajirao
Retharekar, Gopalrao Ganesh Barve, Rayaji Sakhdeo, Renuko Anaji and
• Bapuji Trimbak, besides the Holkars contingent Hari Raghunath Bhide, a
fast friend and supporter of Raghoba, had also accompanied them Why
Raghoba was not allowed to continue in the Panjab is difficult to say In his
only available letter (Note 6) he writes that he was returning because the
Peshwa had recalled him
As a matter of fact the five years from 1757 to 1761 were the most
critical years in Indian history The Marathas who aspired to take into their
hands the political control of the whole continent, had to keep their attention
on the problems arising in all corners of India The Peshwa had recalled his
brother from Lahore probably because he thought the Deccan politics were
more important, and wished to end the French influence at the court of the
⁷ SPD 27.218, 220 Shinde 3 93, 94