After the whole of the vile idolaters had been sent to hell, I gave orders that one man out of every ten should be told off to guard the property, and cattle and horses,* which had been captured in the invasion; all the other soldiers were to march with me. At the time of mid-day prayer the signal was given for the march, and I proceeded to the spot selected for crossing the Jumna, and there encamped. The astrologers who accompanied the army consulted their books and almanacs as to the time propitious for battle, and they represented that the aspects of the stars made a short delay advisable. In all matters, small and great, I placed my reliance on the favour and kindness of God, and I knew that victory and conquest, defeat and flight, are each ordained by Him, so I placed no reliance on the words of the astrologers and star-gazers, but besought the giver of victory to favour my arms.
I did not wish the war to be of long continuance; so as soon as night was over and morning came, I arose to my devotions. I said the morning prayers in the congregation, and I repeated my private prayers, then I took the holy book, which I always carried with me, and sought a fál* on the subject of the war. The verse which appeared was one in the chapter of the Bee.* I immediately sought the interpretation of this verse from those who were present, and they replied that the manifest meaning of it was * * * I received this fál as a propitious indication, and acted in full reliance on its command and on the favour of God.
On the 5th of Rabi'u-l ákhir I passed the Jumna by a ford, and pitched my tents on the (other) side of the river. I gave orders to the amírs and other officers to station their men as close as possible round my tent; and I also directed that the ground round the camp should be parcelled out among them, and that each one should have a deep ditch dug in front of his allotment. All the soldiers, great and small, assembled en masse to dig the ditch. In two watches of the day the ditch round the whole camp was complete. I rode round to inspect it, and I ordered that the trees in the vicinity should be cut down, and brought within the ditch; that their branches should be formed into a strong abattis, and that in some places planks should be set up.
It had been constantly dinned into the ears of my soldiers that the chief reliance of the armies of Hindustán was on their mighty elephants; that these animals, in complete armour, marched into battle in front of their forces, and that arrows and swords were of no use against them; that in height and bulk they were like small mountains, and their strength was such that at a given signal they could tear up great trees and knock down strongly built walls; that in the battle-field they could take up the horse and his rider with their trunks and hurl them into the air. Some of the soldiers, in the doubt natural to man, brought some little of what they had heard to my attention, so when I assigned their respective positions to the princes and amírs of the right and left wing and of the centre, I enquired of the learned and good men that accompanied my army, such as * * * where they would like to be placed in the day of battle. They had been with me in many campaigns, and had witnessed many a great battle, but the stories about the elephants of India had so affected them that they instantly replied that they would like to be placed with the ladies while the battle was in progress. So to allay the apprehensions of this class of men I gave orders that all the buffalos which had been taken and placed with the baggage should be brought up; I then had their heads and necks fastened to their legs, and placed the animals inside the abattis.
I gave orders for the camp to be carefully guarded all night to prevent a nocturnal surprise by the enemy, and the night was passed with the caution and care which are necessary in war. When the morn of victory dawned I said my prayers in the congregation, and after I had discharged that duty I gave directions for the drums and other warlike instruments to be sounded. The princes, amírs and núyans, armed themselves completely and marched with their respective forces in regular order. I mounted my horse and rode forth to marshal my array. When I had arranged my right and left wings I placed the right wing under the command of Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír, Amír Yádgár Birlás, etc. The left wing I put under the command of Prince Sultán Husain, Prince Khalíl Sultán, Amír Jahán Sháh, etc. The advance-guard I placed under Prince Rustam, Amír Shaikh Núru-d dín, etc. I took my own place with the centre. When all the forces were arrayed I ordered the advance-guard to go forward and obtain some knowledge of the enemy. One of the advance-guard captured a man belonging to the enemy's van and brought him in to me. When I enquired about the position of the enemy, he told me that Sultán Mahmúd had drawn up his army with the intention of fighting. His right wing was commanded by Mu'ínu-d dín, Malik Hádí, and other officers. His left wing was under Taghí Khán, Mír 'Alí, and others. The Sultán had taken up his own position with the centre, and had appointed a body of troops to act as rear-guard. His whole force amounted to 10,000 veteran horse, and 40,000 warlike infantry. He had also 125 elephants covered with armour. Most of them carried howdas in which were throwers of grenades (r'ad-andaz), fireworks (átash báz), and rockets (takhsh-andáz). Thus they came up to battle.
The enemy's forces now made their appearance, and for better reconnoitering their order I rode to the top of a little hill which was hard by. There I carefully scrutinized their array, and I said to myself that with the favour of God I would defeat them and gain a victory. I alighted from my horse on the top of that hill and performed my devotions. I bowed my head to the ground and besought the Almighty for victory. As I did this I perceived signs that my prayers were heard. When I had finished, I mounted my horse in the full assurance of God's assistance. I returned to the centre and took up my position under the Imperial standard. I then gave orders for 'Alí Sultán Tawáchí, Altún Bakhshí, etc., to march with their regiments to strengthen the right wing. I also commanded the other officers to proceed with their men to the support of the vanguard. It so happened that just at the same time Amír Yádgár Birlás and Sulaimán Sháh, who were with the right wing, and Amír Shaikh Núru-d dín and Amír Sháh Malik, who were with the advance guard, had conceived the idea and had observed to each other that they should look upon any reinforcement received from the centre as a presage of victory. It was just then that the Almighty put it into my mind to send them assistance.
The two armies now confronted each other, the drums were beaten on both sides, shouts and cries were raised, a trembling fell upon that field, and a great noise was heard. At this time Súnjak Bahádur, Saiyid Khwájá, Alláh-dád, and others, separated from the advance-guard, and when they perceived that Sultán Mahmúd's forces had drawn near, they moved off to the right, and getting secretly behind the enemy's advance-guard as it came on unsuspecting, they rushed from their ambush, and falling upon them in the rear, sword in hand, they scattered them as hungry lions scatter a flock of sheep, and killed 600 of them in this one charge. Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír, who commanded the right wing, moved forward his own forces, and with Amír Sulaimán Sháh and his regiments of brave cavalry, fell upon the left wing of the enemy and poured down upon it a shower of arrows. They fell boldly upon this division of the enemy, which was commanded by Taghí Khán; and Prince Pír Muhammad Jahángír with great courage and determination attacked one of the fierce elephants and cut off its trunk with his sword, so that the severed part fell upon the ground. My brave soldiers pressing like furious elephants upon this wing of the enemy compelled it to take flight.
The left wing of my army, under Prince Sultán Husain, Amír Jahán Sháh, Amír Ghiyásu-d dín, and other amírs, bravely attacked the enemy's right wing, which was commanded by Malik Mu'ínu-d dín and Malik Hádí. They so pressed it with the trenchant sword and piercing arrows that they compelled the enemy to break and fly. Jahán Sháh pursued them, and attacked them again and again until they reached the gates of the city (of Dehlí).