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