पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

140 PANIPAT 1761 army We have no quarrel with the comparison, we only wish that Sir Jadu nath had also taken into account the methodology of Abdali's iron discipline and his barbarous methods in his dealings with both friends and foes, Hindus no less than Muslims, for comparison with the methods followed by "the lesser breeds beyond the law," (p 291, Fall, Vol, 2) by which epithet he introduces the Marathas into the comparison Where the Marathas found it impossible to recover even eighty lakhs proffered for their services in going through a politi cal revolution for deposing one Emperor and his Wazir and seating others in their places, after a sojourn of eight months in the Delhi region, Ahmad Shah gained crores from the city of Delhi alone in less than a month by threatening, bastonading of a Wazir and torture to his mother, and digging of (floors) houses, two years later The Marathas suffered historically because they stood on a different moral plane from their competitors 34 Ichalkaranji State History with its original papers edited by V V KHARE, 1913 A few letters giving news of the Panipat campaign and after are found in this collection, which are useful for deciding the point of the Peshwa's responsibility Abdali was intercepting the letters from Panipat to the Deccan and making use of the information for his own purpose As the Peshwa had not received any news from the north for more than a month, his plans naturally went astray Malharrao Holkar's line of conduct is illustrated in Govind Hari Patwardhan's letter (No 66) 35 The Earliest Persian Account of Panipat, translated by Sir Jadu nath SARKAR in the Sardesai Commemoration Volume, 1938 The account is for the most part accurate, and not inaccurate as read by the learned translator It correctly reports as far as it does and, what is more, supplies a few facts not noted in other documents, viz Abdali's crossing between Bagpat and Kheora (wrongly deciphered as Khekra by Sir Jadunath, which puts him on the wrong track), Bhau's posting of troops on the farther side of the Jamuna to stop Abdali's supplies (at Bhau Fort near Isapur?), Chimaji Pandit's raid across the Jamuna, winter rains, famine, Shah's pre carious position at noon, the panic caused by Bhau's getting down from elephant, slaughter and running away of the Marathas, women captives * 36 Vad and others—Selections from the Peshwa Diaries—useful for administrative details with correct dates and the itinerary 37 Itihasa Sangraha A defunct Marathi magazine, Vols I VIII, edited by Parasnis (1909-1917), contain a few stray but primarily important letters about the Panipat campaign, events leading to it and the aftermath They are interspersed under various headings and parts, viz Aitihasika Tipane- Charcha-Sphuta Lekha Goshti, etc Sir Jadunath has overlooked these letters for the most part and hence his treatment has turned defective in certain par- ticular