The Battle of Kunjapura & Strategic Victory (October 1760)

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Context: Recovering Morale

The Situation:

• Shinde and Holkar armies had been beaten by Abdali's forces
• Morale was severely damaged
• Marathas needed a significant win to restore confidence

The Opportunity:

• Abdali's forces had established garrison at Kunjapura fort (near Delhi)
• Fort held by Kutub Shah (Abdali's commander) and Abdul Samad Khan
• Significant treasure was stored inside
• Represented vulnerable target for Maratha counterattack

The Battle: Kutub Shah's Last Stand

Kutub Shah's Fate:

• He expected no mercy from the Marathas
• Knew capture meant death
• Made no attempt to surrender
• Was beheaded at the flagstaff during the fighting

Abdul Samad Khan:

• Also killed in the battle
• Approximately 10,000 Afghan troops slain
• Major loss for Abdali's occupation force

Maratha Casualties:

• 500-700 of their own forces injured/killed
• Acceptable loss given victory achieved

The Massive Plunder

The Treasure Found:

• Najib Khan's hidden wealth had been stored in the fort
• His son-in-law and father were in the camp; tortured to reveal treasure locations
• Disclosed a cache worth 15 lakhs (1.5 million rupees)
• Entire fort was dug up searching for more hidden treasure

The War Booty:

• 7 lakh rupees in cash taken home
• 2 lakh mounds of wheat and grain
• Thousands of horses
• Several elephants (including Dattaji's prized war elephant)
• Camels
• Guns, ammunition, gunpowder
• Miscellaneous war goods

The Distribution:

• Horses: 4,000-5,000 seized
• Most army paid in kind with grain rather than cash (grain was plentiful)
• Morale boost from both victory AND wealth recovery was enormous

The Artillery Advantage

Ibrahim Khan Gardi's Role:

• His European-style artillery was decisive
• Fort's walls couldn't withstand modern cannon fire
• Otherwise would have been slow, bloody siege

Strategic Insights:

• Battle reinforced Bhau's confidence in artillery
• First time Shinde and Holkar saw this style of warfare in action
• Previously they preferred "ganimikawa" (surgical strikes) tactics
• They hadn't been with Bhau at the Udgir battle where artillery proved effective
• Seeing it work up close changed their perspective

Strategic Mistakes: The Delay

The Decision to Stay:

• Marathas remained at fort for a week
• Used Dassera festival (Oct 19) as celebration point
• Celebrated victory with army morale restored

The Cost:

• Wasted precious time at critical moment
• Abdali was crossing Yamuna on October 25
• Marathas were getting farther from Delhi by delaying
• Time lost = inability to press advantage or pursue Abdali

The Miscalculation:

• Staying to consolidate/celebrate felt right in moment
• But strategically opened window for Abdali to escape/regroup
• Demonstrated occasional tactical blindness to larger strategic situation

Key Themes

1. Morale Recovery Through Victory - Single decisive win restores army confidence after defeats
2. Plunder as Economics - War treasure solved immediate supply problems (grain for army)
3. Technology Advantage - European artillery proved war-changing factor
4. Learning Curve - Shinde/Holkar learning effectiveness of modern warfare from Bhau
5. Tactical vs. Strategic - Good tactical decisions (winning battle) undermined by poor strategic timing (wasting time when enemy vulnerable)

Timeline

Where This Fits: After defeats at Panipat, Marathas needed to rebuild. Kunjapura showed they could still win decisively. The plunder restored supplies and pay. But the strategic mistake of lingering too long—celebrating victory instead of pursuing advantage—would haunt them as Abdali slipped away and regrouped.

Victory is sweet, but it can also be a trap. The Marathas won Kunjapura completely. They got the treasure, the morale boost, the artillery validation. But they stayed to celebrate. And while they celebrated, the enemy escaped. In war, winning yesterday's battle is only useful if you're positioned to win tomorrow's.