The Bābur-nāma in English (Memoirs of Bābur)
a two or three months' journey between them and their homes; our affair
was with a foreign tribe and people; none knew their tongue, nor did
they know ours:—
A wandering band, with mind awander;
In the grip of a tribe, a tribe unfamiliar.[1664]
People estimated the army opposing us at 100,000 men; Ibrāhīm's
elephants and those of his amīrs were said to be about 1000. In his
hands was the treasure of two forbears.[1665] In Hindūstān, when work
such as this has to be done, it is customary to pay out money to hired
retainers who are known as _b:d-hindī_.[1666] If it had occurred to
Ibrāhīm to do this, he might have had another _lak_ or two of troops.
God brought it right! Ibrāhīm could neither content his braves, nor
share out his treasure. How should he content his braves when he was
ruled by avarice and had a craving insatiable to pile coin on coin? He
was an unproved brave[1667]; he provided nothing for his [Sidenote: Fol.
265.] military operations, he perfected nothing, nor stand, nor move,
nor fight.
In the interval at Pānī-pat during which the army was preparing defence
on our every side with cart, ditch and branch, Darwīsh-i-muḥammad
_Sārbān_ had once said to me, "With such precautions taken, how is it
possible for him to come?" Said I, "Are you likening him to the Aūzbeg
khāns and sulṯāns? In what of movement under arms or of planned
operations is he to be compared with them?" God brought it right! Things
fell out just as I said!
(_Author's note on the Aūzbeg chiefs._) When I reached Ḥiṣār
in the year I left Samarkand (918 AH.-1512 AD.), and all the
Aūzbeg khāns and sulṯāns gathered and came against us, we
brought the families and the goods of the Mughūls and soldiers
into the Ḥiṣār suburbs and fortified these by closing the
lanes. As those khāns and sulṯāns were experienced in
equipment, in planned operations, and in resolute resistance,
they saw from our fortification of Ḥiṣār that we were
determined on life or death within it, saw they could not
count on taking it by assault and, therefore, retired at once
from near Nūndāk of Chaghānīān.
(_v. Preliminary encounters._)
During the 7 or 8 days we lay in Pānī-pat, our men used to go, a few
together, close up to Ibrāhīm's camp, rain arrows down on his massed
troops, cut off and bring in heads. Still he made [Sidenote: Fol. 265b.]
no move; nor did his troops sally out. At length, we acted on the advice
of several Hindūstānī well-wishers and sent out 4 or 5000 men to deliver
a night-attack on his camp, the leaders of it being Mahdī Khwāja,
Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, `Ādil Sulṯān, Khusrau, Shāh Mīr Ḥusain, Sl. Junaid
_Barlās_, `Abdu'l-`azīz the Master of the Horse, Muḥ. `Alī _Jang-jang_,
Qūtlūq-qadam, Treasurer Walī, Khalīfa's Muḥibb-i-`alī, Pay-master
Muḥammad, Jān Beg and Qarā-qūzī. It being dark, they were not able to
act together well, and, having scattered, could effect nothing on
arrival. They stayed near Ibrāhīm's camp till dawn, when the nagarets
sounded and troops of his came out in array with elephants. Though our
men did not do their work, they got off safe and sound; not a man of
them was killed, though they were in touch with such a mass of foes. One
arrow pierced Muḥ. `Alī _Jang-jang_'s leg; though the wound was not
mortal, he was good-for-nothing on the day of battle.
On hearing of this affair, I sent off Humāyūn and his troops to go 2 or
3 miles to meet them, and followed him myself with the rest of the army
in battle-array. The party of the night-attack joined him and came back
with him. The enemy making no further advance, we returned to camp and
dismounted. That night a false alarm fell on the camp; for some 20
minutes (one _garī_) there were uproar and call-to-arms; the disturbance
died down after a time. [Sidenote: Fol. 266.]
(_w. Battle of Pānī-pat._[1668])
(_April 20th_) On Friday the 8th of Rajab,[1669] news came, when it was
light enough to distinguish one thing from another (_farẓ-waqtī_) that
the enemy was advancing in fighting-array. We at once put on mail,[1670]
armed and mounted.[1671] Our right was Humāyūn, Khwāja Kalān, Sulṯān
Muḥammad _Dūldāī_, Hindū Beg, Treasurer Walī and Pīr-qulī _Sīstānī_; our
left was Muḥammad Sl. Mīrzā, Mahdī Khwāja, `Ādil Sulṯān, Shāh Mīr
Ḥusain, Sl. Junaid _Barlās_, Qūtlūq-qadam, Jān Beg, Pay-master Muḥammad,
and Shāh Ḥusain (of) Yāragī _Mughūl Ghānchī_(?).[1672] The right hand of
the centre[1673] was Chīn-tīmūr Sulṯān, Sulaimān Mīrzā,[1674] Muḥammadī
Kūkūldāsh, Shāh Manṣūr _Barlās_, Yūnas-i-`alī, Darwīsh-i-muḥammad
_Sārbān_ and `Abdu'l-lāh the librarian. The left of the centre was
Khalīfa, Khwāja Mīr-i-mīrān, Secretary Aḥmadī, Tardī Beg (brother) of
Qūj Beg, Khalīfa's Muḥibb-i-`alī and Mīrzā Beg Tarkhān. The advance was
Khusrau Kūkūldāsh and Muḥ. `Alī _Jang-jang_. `Abdu'l-'azīz the Master
of the Horse was posted as the reserve. For the turning-party
(_tūlghuma_) at the point of the right wing,[1675] we fixed on Red Walī
and Malik Qāsim (brother) of Bābā _Qashqa_, with their Mughūls; for the
turning-party at the point of the left wing, we arrayed Qarā-qūzī,
Abū'l-muḥammad the lance-player, Shaikh Jamāl _Bārīn's_ Shaikh `Alī,
Mahndī(?) and Tīngrī-bīrdī _Bashaghī_(?) _Mughūl_; these two parties,
directly the enemy got near, were to turn his rear, one from the right,
the other from the left. [Sidenote: Fol. 266b.]
When the dark mass of the enemy first came in sight, he seemed to
incline towards our right; `Abdu'l-`azīz, who was the right-reserve, was
sent therefore to reinforce the right. From the time that Sl. Ibrāhīm's
blackness first appeared, he moved swiftly, straight for us, without a
check, until he saw the dark mass of our men, when his pulled up and,
observing our formation and array,[1676] made as if asking, "To stand or
not? To advance or not?" They could not stand; nor could they make their
former swift advance.
Our orders were for the turning-parties to wheel from right and left to
the enemy's rear, to discharge arrows and to engage in the fight; and
for the right and left (wings) to advance and join battle with him. The
turning-parties wheeled round and began to rain arrows down. Mahdī
Khwāja was the first of the left to engage; he was faced by a troop
having an elephant with it; his men's flights of arrows forced it to
retire. To reinforce the left I sent Secretary Aḥmadī and also Qūj Beg's
Tardī Beg and Khalīfa's Muḥibb-i-'alī. On the right also there was some
stubborn fighting. Orders were given for Muḥammadī Kūkūldāsh, Shāh
Manṣūr _Barlās_, Yūnas-i-`alī and `Abdu'l-lāh to engage those facing
them in front of the centre. From that same position Ustād `Alī-qulī
made good discharge of _firingī_ shots;[1677]
Musṯafa the commissary for his part made excellent discharge [Sidenote:
Fol. 267.] of _zarb-zan_ shots from the left hand of the centre. Our
right, left, centre and turning-parties having surrounded the enemy,
rained arrows down on him and fought ungrudgingly. He made one or two
small charges on our right and left but under our men's arrows, fell
back on his own centre. His right and left hands (_qūl_) were massed in
such a crowd that they could neither move forward against us nor force a
way for flight.
When the incitement to battle had come, the Sun was spear-high; till
mid-day fighting had been in full force; noon passed, the foe was
crushed in defeat, our friends rejoicing and gay. By God's mercy and
kindness, this difficult affair was made easy for us! In one half-day,
that armed mass was laid upon the earth. Five or six thousand men were
killed in one place close to Ibrāhīm. Our estimate of the other dead,
lying all over the field, was 15 to 16,000, but it came to be known,
later in Āgra from the statements of Hindūstānīs, that 40 or 50,000 may
have died in that battle.[1678]
The foe defeated, pursuit and unhorsing of fugitives began. Our men
brought in amīrs of all ranks and the chiefs they captured; _mahauts_
made offering of herd after herd of elephants.
Ibrāhīm was thought to have fled; therefore, while pursuing [Sidenote:
Fol. 267b.] the enemy, we told off Qismatāī Mīrzā, Bābā _chuhra_ and
Būjka of the _khaṣa-tābīn_[1679] to lead swift pursuit to Āgra and try
to take him. We passed through his camp, looked into his own enclosure
(_sarācha_) and quarters, and dismounted on the bank of standing-water
(_qarā-sū_).
It was the Afternoon Prayer when Khalīfa's younger brother-in-law T̤āhir
Tībrī[1680] who had found Ibrāhīm's body in a heap of dead, brought in
his head.
(_x. Detachments sent to occupy Dihlī and Āgra._)
On that very same day we appointed Humāyūn Mīrzā[1681] to ride fast and
light to Āgra with Khwāja Kalān, Muḥammadī, Shāh Manṣūr _Barlās_,
Yūnas-i-`alī, `Abdu'l-lah and Treasurer Walī, to get the place into
their hands and to mount guard over the treasure. We fixed on Mahdī
Khwāja, with Muḥammad Sl. Mīrza, `Ādil Sulṯān, Sl. Junaid _Barlās_ and
Qūtlūq-qadam to leave their baggage, make sudden incursion on Dihlī, and
keep watch on the treasuries.[1682]
(_April 21st_) We marched on next day and when we had gone 2 miles,
dismounted, for the sake of the horses, on the bank of the Jūn (Jumna).
(_April 24th_) On Tuesday (Rajab 12th), after we had halted on two
nights and had made the circuit of Shaikh Niẓāmu'd-dīn _Auliyā_'s
tomb[1683] we dismounted on the bank of the Jūn over against
Dihlī.[1684] That same night, being Wednesday-eve, we made an excursion
into the fort of Dihlī and there spent the night.
(_April 25th_) Next day (Wednesday Rajab 13th) I made the circuit of
Khwāja Quṯbu'd-dīn's[1685] tomb and visited the tombs and residences of
Sl. Ghiyāṣu'd-dīn _Balban_[1686] and Sl. `Alāu'u'd-dīn [Sidenote: Fol.
268.] _Khiljī_,[1687] his Minār, and the Ḥauẓ-shamsī, Ḥauẓ-i-khaṣ and
the tombs and gardens of Sl. Buhlūl and Sl. Sikandar (_Lūdī_). Having
done this, we dismounted at the camp, went on a boat, and there _`araq_
was drunk.
We bestowed the Military Collectorate (_shiqdārlīghī_) of Dihlī on Red
Walī, made Dost Dīwān in the Dihlī district, sealed the treasuries, and
made them over to their charge.
(_April 26th_) On Thursday we dismounted on the bank of the Jūn, over
against Tūghlūqābād.[1688]
(_y. The khuṯba read for Bābur in Dihlī._)
(_April 27th_) On Friday (Rajab 15th) while we remained on the same
ground, Maulānā Maḥmūd and Shaikh Zain went with a few others into Dihlī
for the Congregational Prayer, read the _khuṯba_ in my name, distributed
a portion of money to the poor and needy,[1689] and returned to camp.
(_April 28th_) Leaving that ground on Saturday (Rajab 16th), we advanced
march by march for Āgra. I made an excursion to Tūghlūqābād and rejoined
the camp.
(_May 4th_) On Friday (Rajab 22nd), we dismounted at the mansion
(_manzil_) of Sulaimān _Farmulī_ in a suburb of Āgra, but as the place
was far from the fort, moved on the following day to Jalāl Khān
_Jig:hat's_ house.
On Humāyūn's arrival at Āgra, ahead of us, the garrison had made excuses
and false pretexts (about surrender). He and his noticing the want of
discipline there was, said, "The long hand may be laid on the Treasury"!
and so sat down to watch the roads out of Āgra till we should come.
(_z. The great diamond._)
In Sultan Ibrāhīm's defeat the Rāja of Gūālīār Bikramājīt the Hindū had
gone to hell.[1690] [Sidenote: Fol. 268b.]
(_Author's note on Bikramājīt._) The ancestors of Bikramājīt
had ruled in Gūālīār for more than a hundred years.[1691]
Sikandar (_Lūdī_) had sat down in Āgra for several years in
order to take the fort; later on, in Ibrāhīm's time, `Aẕim
Humāyūn _Sarwānī_[1692] had completely invested it for some
while; following this, it was taken on terms under which
Shamsābād was given in exchange for it.[1693]