Battle of Paranda | |||||||
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Part of Mughal–Maratha Wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Maratha Empire | Mughal Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Rajaram I Dhanaji Jadhav Ramchandra Dado Malhar |
Bidar Bakht Chin Qalich Khan | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
7,000 cavalry 12,000 men | Unknown |
The Battle of Paranda was a military engagement between the Mughal Army and the Maratha Army led by Rajaram. The Mughals were victorious.
Battle
On October 26, the Maratha Chhatrapati, Rajaram I, escaped from the fort of Satara in order to escape from falling into the hands of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The Maratha generals, Dhanaji Jadhav, Ramchandra, and Dado Malhar escorted Rajaram with 7,000 cavalry to Chandan Fort, leaving Ranuji Ghorpade in Satara with 4,000 troopers. After a three-day halt at Chandan, Rajaram left on October 31, where he was joined by 12,000 men and took the route to Surat.[1][2]
Aurangzeb immediately dispatched orders to the Mughal prince Bidar Bakht to pursue and defeat this marauding force. The prince abandoned his baggage and family in Miraj in order to rapidly advance and attack the Marathas. The Mughal generals Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung and Chin Qilich Khan were ordered to reinforce Bidar, but neither of them arrived at the scene of the first battle.[3]
Four miles beyond the fort of Paranda, Bidar Bakht attacked the Marathas. Rajaram himself stopped 8 miles further east while he sent his generals under Dhanaji Jadhav in order to check the prince's advance. After a fierce battle, the Marathas were broken and driven towards Ahmednagar on the 13th or 14 November, and two days later, he was joined by Chin Qilich Khan and continued the pursuit until they reached Ausa about the 22nd or 23rd.[4][5]
On December 26, Rajaram dismounted his camp some 30 miles from the Imperial camp below Satara, intending to go to Vishalgad. The Mughal general returned to Aurangzeb on the same date. The Maratha King's raid into Berar had been repulsed; however, one Maratha division plundered some places and returned.[6][7]
References
- ↑ Jadunath Sarkar, History Of Aurangzib, Vol V, p. 132
- ↑ The Cambridge History of India, p. 295
- ↑ Jadunath Sarkar, p. 132-3
- ↑ Jadunath Sarkar, p. 133
- ↑ The Cambridge History of India, p. 295
- ↑ Jadunath Sarkar, p. 133-4
- ↑ The Cambridge History of India, p. 295