भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

Not Only Attock—Even Beyond It!
1081. सरदार पदरचे कसे कुणि सिंह जसे कुणि शार्दुल गेंडे।
अरे ज्यानी अटकेंत पाव घटकेंत रोविले झेंडे॥
—प्रभाकर
(Of what caliber were the Sardars under (him)? Some were veritable lions,
others were tigers, whereas some others were rhinoceroses indeed! Why,
within a quarter of a ‘Ghataka’ (a period of 24 minutes), they planted their
flags in Attock!’
1082. As has been told in the previous Chapter, while Raghunathrao was
returning to the Deccan after his unprecedented triumph in Punjab, along
with his numerous Sardars and warriors, the tidings of his victory had
already been reaching Maharashtra from time to time. One day, all the
Maratha forces gathered together at Indore, the next day they were
collecting the Chauth and Sardeshmukhi taxes from all over Rajputana;
later on, they were reported to be rushing into the Antarvedi, punishing the
Rohillas and Pathans for joining hands with Abdali; then conquering Delhi
and performing the obsequies, as it were of the vaunted imperial authority
of Abdali and releasing the Moghal Emperor from his captivity and
esablishing him on the throne of Delhi as the puppet in Maratha hands;
then again immediately invading Punjab, routing Abdali’s Afghan army of
ten thousand strong, which was kept there for the protection of Punjab at
Sirhind. Then Abdali’s son Taimurshah and his general Jahankhan were
reported to have fled from the Marathas without giving any battle, and fled
straight to Kabul leaving Lahore to the tender care of the Marathas, and the
armies of Raghunathrao were said to be mopping up Punjab clean of the
Afghan domination and driving the enemy far beyond Attock. Then came
the news of the triumphant entry of Raghunathrao into Lahore! With such
heartening news and reports pouring in daily of the Maratha victories and
the worsting of the enemies at their hands, the mighty heart of Maharashtra
was filled with justifiable pride. Raghunathrao had already earned for
himself a name fit to be ranked with the greatest in the world in his single
victorious campaign right from Poona straight to the Indus! The whole of
Maharashtra began to call him, willingly or unwillingly, but lovingly