CHAPTER LIV.
322 M'AṢŪM K. KABULĪ MAKES A NIGHT ATTACK, AND IS DEFEATED.

At the time when the disturbance caused by 'Arab Bahādur was put down, the victorious army departed from Serāi* Rānī to Bihar in order to settle the affair of M'aṣūm K. Kabulī, and to clear the garden of the land of the weeds and rubbish of rebellion. Owing to the continual occurrence of clouds and rain it halted on the bank of the Pun-pun. When the weather moderated, it proceeded onward on the road of service. The rebel came out of Bihār and proceeded towards the foot* of the northern hill country. On 15 Mihr (end of September 1580) the army reached the town of Gaya. At dawn the enemy left that place and halted at the flourishing city* of Bahīra. Next day the imperialists marched four kos and encamped. On account of the great amount of water the arrangements for encamp­ing were not carried out. The impetuosity of the combatants, and the paucity of the enemy led many into neglect. That sedition-monger was two farsangs off. Though rumours of his evil designs were current, and experienced and alert men spoke about keeping the soldiers in order, they were not successful. But Rajah Todar Mal in his quarters and Ṣādiq 'Alī in his, did not lose the thread of foresight, and remained ready for battle. That night was the watch of Ulugh* K. Ḥabshī and his force. The leader slept on the bed of negligence, and sent his somnolent servants to be watchful! The enemy who had lost courage, recovered it on seeing the ill-timed cautiousness of the imperialists, and their slow-marching, and set themselves to make a disturbance. As they did not find in them­selves the power to fight by day, they thought of behaving like owls and of making an attack in the darkness of night. When a watch of the night had passed, they attacked with a large force. They defeated the neglectful vanguard, and Māh Beg and some Abyssinians were slain. Their presumption increased, and they laid hands on the imperial camp, and the deluge of turbulence reached the quarters of Ṣādiq K. He stood firm and behaved bravely; the heroes who loved their reputation devoted their lives.

Verse.

I'll not call them two armies, but two mountains of Qāf.
They stood drawn up in the arena.
So hot was the engagement
That steel swords made the rocks soft.

At this time when things were in the balance, and loss showed its face from afar, Kamāl K. faujdār brought up two elephants swift as the wind, and imparted lustre to the battle. The evil-doers fell into confusion, and the breeze of victory began to blow on the rosebush of the hopes of the good servants. The roses of the battlefield bloomed from being watered by the cheerful of coun­tenance. Great deeds were done by the courageous, and by the sky-high elephants. Every arrow that reached the elephants was 323 regarded by them as an incitement to activity and increased their spirit. They cast down with their trunks the enemy's horsemen. Eighty-two arrows stuck in one elephant, and fifty-five in another. Many of the imperial servants were wounded, but owing to the Divine protection none were fatally injured. By the help of heaven a great victory revealed its countenance. If the narrowness of their energy had been a little widened, and they had followed up their victory, this would have been the last revolution of the heavens for the enemy. But the country was full of water, and their enterprise was at a low level, and the roads were full of jungle. The victorious troops were on their guard till morning. When the sun took possession of the earth, they came out of camp and halted near the city of Bahīra, and though they knew that the enemy was three kos off they did not pursue them.

One of the occurrences was that the Khān 'Āzim joined the army. Inasmuch as the incomparable Deity increases the fortune of the world's lord, the great rebellion had subsided before the armies effected a junction. The daily increase of dominion was impressed on high and low. The cause of the delay in the arrival of the Kokaltāsh was that when he crossed at Causa, he was detained by the rebellion of Dalpat Ujjainiya. His short-sighted companions represented his power in exaggerated terms, and he listened to them and set himself to punish that presumptuous one. About the same time Shahbāz K. arrived, and the Khān 'Āīm also kept him back, and represented to him the necessity for punishing the landholder. As the celestial superintendents were engaged in displaying* the won­ders of daily-increasing fortune, the plannin s of the imperial ser­vants were not happy, and the effects of their energies were stayed by the performance of this part of their work. Jagdespūr, the seat of the rebel, was plundered. The forests which also contained miry places were a help to the rebels. The imperialists halted there, and tested their valour in daily engagements. Meanwhile babblers caused a dissension between the Khān 'Āim and Shahbāz K. and the light of concord became dark. The Kokaltāsh withdrew his hand from the work, and went off towards the army, on the 18th, i.e. the day after the night-attack, he joined the camp, and a fresh lustre was given to affairs.

One of the occurrences was the death of S'aādat 'Alī K. 'Arab Bahādur and some rebels marched against Shahbāz K. The officers out of caution sent S'aādat 'Alī K., Qamar K., Payīnda and Rustam with auxiliary troops. On their arrival, the rebels dispersed. 324 Shahbāz K. placed troops here and there for the protection of the country, and he assigned the fort of Kant,* which is a dependency of Rohtās, to S'aādat 'Alī K., Payīnda, Rustam and the landholder Rūp Narain. 'Arab and Dalpat had their opportunity and made an attack. A great engagement took place. Though they could not guard the fort, they guarded their honour and staked their short lives in a worthy manner. Though S'aādat 'Alī K. had, at the beginning of the rebellion, been a kindler of strife, yet he spent his last breath in loyalty. 'Arab from his depraved disposition, drank some of his blood. He stained his forehead with some of it, and gave new lustre to villainy.

One of the occurrences was the departure of many rebels from the province of Bihar. When the Khān 'Āim joined the army of fortune there was great rejoicing. The evil-doers relinquished the idea of battle and hastened off in failure to Bengal, though, owing to the evil thoughts of some, they were not pursued, nor was an expedition made into Bengal, so that the ingrates might have had their wings and feathers burnt off and have received the retribution due to their deeds. But proper steps were taken for the reducing Bihar into order, and there was profound peace in that territory. On the* 20th Muḥibb 'Alī K. was sent off and the country was made over to his watchfulness from Shahr Bahira to Rohtās. Saiyid Moaffar and Mīr M'aṣūm* of Bhakar and other servants accom­panied him. On that day the army halted in Gaya, in the neigh­bourhood of Rajgaṛha. Dost Muḥammad* Bābā Dost—who from his evil fate had colluded with the rebels—became, by a happy star, ashamed and repented, and joined with 200 men. When the vic­torious army came near Ghīāpūr, tḥe news arrived that 'Arab had been defeated by Shahbāz K. and was going to the province of Sārangpūr,* and that he was oppressing the weak. Accordingly Shāham K. and a number of men who had fiefs in that part were sent off in order to inflict punishment on him. Ghāzi K. Badakhshī was left with a body of troops in Bihar.* When a report came of the seditiousness of M'aṣūm K. Farankhūdī, Tarson K. was sent off to Jaunpur. Ṣādiq K., S. Farīd Bokhārī, Ulugh K. Ḥabshī, aiyib K. and others were sent off to Monghyr in order to clear that country of rebels, and to give peace to the peasantry. The Khān 'Āim, Rajah Todar Mal and others proceeded to Patna and Ḥājīpūr. At this time Shahbāz K., before the officers joined 325 him, set up a shop of his own. As he had chastised Dalpat and 'Arab, and had taken Ḥājīpūr by force from the servants of Bahādur, he became self-conceited and presumptuous. When M'aṣūm K. Farankhūdī went to Jaunpur, Bahādur had shown activity and taken possession of it (Ḥājīpūr). If his common-sense had not been injured he should have joined the imperial servants and acted in concert with them. By working together they would have carried matters through. Success, which in the pure soul brings with it humility and supplication, had the contrary effect on him, and led him to commit the acts of an enemy. The first thing was that he made some delay in surrendering Ḥājīpūr, which had been assigned from the sublime court to the Kokaltāsh. He was induced to give it up by the tact and skill of Rajah Todar Mal. The Khān 'Āim and the Rajah took up their quarters in Ḥājīpūr, and Shahbāz K. stayed in Patna. The former spent their time in trouble (sirgirānī) and in using blandishments* ('ashūfaroshī), while that newly-infatuated one employed himself in adorning his shop* and in managing matters. From his increasing dignities and giving of fiefs, many of the officers turned towards him. The Khān 'Āim was disgusted with everything (withdrew his heart from everything) and the Rajah postponed* everything. The whole of the affairs of the province devolved upon Shahbāz K. Though right-thinking per­sons intervened, in no way could the thread of unity be duplicated,* or the path of conciliation trodden. Though they represented that by the wondrous working of fate, the imperial troops had been divided into two portions, and had indulged their own wishes and not taken the path of concord and that the indispensable thing now was that one portion should take upon itself the charge of Bengal, and another the guarding of Bihar up to the capital, yet inasmuch as self-interest had let fall a veil over the eyes of truth-seeking, and broad and right-thinking was hidden, the remarks had no effect The Khān 'Āīm and the Rajah and some officers went off to Tirhut. Though the pretext was that they wished to put down Bahādur, but in reality they sought to get away from Shahbāz K. When they had gone a little way, they sent Ghāzī K. in advance. The rebel (Bahādur) made ready for battle, and was defeated, and his home and family were captured. Shāhbāz K. went off with a large army to Jaunpūr. Though he too was moved by a desire for separation, and for being free from daily discussions, yet he gave out that he wished to guide M'aṣūm K. Farankhūdī to service.