पानीपत १७६१ (मराठा साम्राज्य एवं पानीपत महायुद्ध इतिहास)

CHAPTER IV KUNJPURA TO UNDERSTAND Sadashivrao Bhau's campaign north of Delhi, it is necessary to acquaint oneself with the terrain on both sides of the river Jamuna The whole of this area is one vast, continuous, sandy plain formed by the silt of the river It is a gradually sloping plain from the north to the south, and just near the river banks very slightly sloping towards the river This plain is between seven and eight hundred feet above the sea level on an average, with practically no hills worth the name The rocky arm of the Aravalli Range, starting from Mount Abu north of Gujarat, extends just up to the north of Delhi city, and ends in the famous Ridge of Mutiny fame This is the last rocky spot in the whole area North of it one can see scarcely a stone any- where The very few elevated spots to be found in this even terrain look more like mounds than hills, being made up of sandy rubble, and one sometimes suspects these of being the handiwork rather, of man than of nature Where such elevated spots occur, they are sure to be occupied by towns if sufficiently large, or otherwise by a temple, a mosque, a Sadhubava or a Pir Sonepat and Panı pat, reputed to be dating from the Mahabharata War, along with Indrapat or the oldest Delhi, are situated on and alongside small hillocks, less than a hun dred feet above the surrounding level plain Both were walled towns with small citadels on the hill tops The main features to be noted for the history of the eighteenth century in this region were that the region was bounded by the river Jamuna on the east, and by the imperial Ali Mardan Khan Canal (Shah nahar) on the west. The imperial road with the Kos minars or pillars at an interval of two and a half English miles passed through the Doab formed by these natural and man- made aqueducts The road ran parallel to the east of the canal at a distance of about five miles on an average, but it passed by the towns of Sonepat, Panı- pat and Karnal The canal ended in the Delhi palace, after supplying the famous Shalimar gardens to the north west of the city with ample water It had been built to meet the needs of the imperial family in the main, but was probably utilized by others also to the extent possible after fulfilling the re quirements of the palace. The area along the canal and beyond was thickly wooded while that by the side of the river was boggy and marshy, overgrown with rushes and other water plants for miles together There are fords at a distance of about five miles on the river at present, but these were probably fewer in former days, when irrigation canals had not drained the river dry There were ferries and bridges of boats, however, at convenient and necessary places The river re- mained unfordable during the rainy season and sometime after At some places where the river had divided itself into several channels with sandy banks and islands between, fording was easier and these places became the high roads of movement and commerce like those near Kunjpura and Budhia Where the [ 52 ]