The Encirclement Complete: Bhau Surrounded, Final Officers Fall

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Battle Diagram Evolution

The Map Progression: Historians documented the changing battlefield positions throughout the day as forces moved.

The Question of Accuracy:

"These maps must come from historical accounts or books. War is a dynamic thing. After the battle, somebody must have described it. But who would have—Abdali's people or Holkar's people retreating?"

The Sources: Mostly from Abdali's perspective (his people documented their victory). Some from retreating forces.

The Caveat:

"It's not to be taken 100% accurate, but somebody would have gotten the bird's eye view. It's a difficult one."

Maps show approximate positions, not precise battle lines.

The Complete Encirclement

From The Diagram:

  • Bhau (Huzurat) in CENTER
  • Vizier (Shah Wali Khan) in front of Huzurat
  • Abdali's forces coming from THREE SIDES
  • "Completely surrounded"

The Visual: Latest map shows Bhau trapped with Afghan forces converging from:

  • Right side (Najib Khan Rohila, Shah Pasand Khan)
  • Front (Shah Wali Khan's center)
  • Left side (Other Rohila commanders)

What This Meant: No escape route. No retreat path. No reinforcement possible.

Ibrahim Khan Gardi's Fate

His Situation:

  • Wounded but still fighting
  • Trying to continue artillery operations
  • Artillery crew also under fire
  • Surrounded by Rohila forces

His Capture:

"Even though Ibrahim Khan Gardi was injured, he was still fighting. But soon enough, the Rohilas surrounded him and they arrested him."

Not killed immediately, but captured/arrested.

The Significance: Capture of artillery chief = end of Maratha long-range advantage.

The Artillery Unit's Vulnerability

The Critical Problem:

"Artillery unit cannot defend itself. They have to be protected. Otherwise they can be easily taken out."

What Happened:

  • Bhau separated from artillery (1 mile ahead)
  • No infantry/cavalry protecting gun crews
  • Rohilas surrounded them
  • Forced to surrender/abandon guns

The Result: The one weapon that made Marathas competitive was lost.

Bhau's Final Conversation with Officers

First Message - Kaifiyat Account: Bhau telling Bhaskar (some officer):

"This thing is not going to have a positive outcome. I had put a lot of trust in you. You should stand firm and resist."

Bhaskar's Response:

"The people are fleeing our people. So I will go and re-induct them in the battlefield. Where would I go by deserting you? I'm doing everything I can."

Bhaskar volunteered to go rally fleeing soldiers.

His Fate:

"He went to basically get back these fleeing people and re-induct them in the battlefield, but he just vanished. He didn't come back. So he may have been killed or something. Or he just himself fled."

Either:

  • Killed trying to rally soldiers
  • Saw the writing on the wall and fled himself

Nobody knows.

Officer Deaths During Final Stand

Sonji Bhaapkar:

"Sonji Bhaapkar was one of the people who was killed in the battlefield."

Died fighting in central forces.

Tukoji Shinde's Message: After seeing Bhau's refusal to flee, Tukoji Shinde goes to Bhau and says:

"Maharaj, Kshatra Dharma chi sharat (Warrior clan, you have done everything). You have done the maximum a warrior can do. Why don't you get out of the battlefield? There is no point in dying in vain."

Essentially: "You've proven yourself. Time to leave."

Yashwant Rao Pawar: Left side of Bhau, fighting in central plank. Status: dead while fighting.

Bhau's Final Refusal

The Question: When Tukoji advised escape:

"Where should I go and whom should I face? This is a question of my honor. I can save my life but it has no meaning. Who will listen to me? Who will I face knowing I was given this responsibility and didn't do what I was supposed to do?"

The Logic:

  • Escape = survive with shame
  • Fighting = die with honor
  • Both lead to "loss" but one preserves dignity

His Decision:

"There is no life for me if I run away from this battle. At least I will do the honorable thing of dying in the battlefield. That's the only thing I can do."

What He's Saying: "My honor is worth more than my life."

The Honor vs. Pragmatism Paradox

What Could Have Been:

  • Escape with officers
  • Regroup in Deccan
  • Fight again another day
  • Possibly survive

What Actually Happened:

  • Refused to flee
  • Died fighting
  • Became legendary
  • But lost the war anyway

The Cultural Truth: In Maratha culture (Kshatra Dharma), the choice was clear:

  • Fleeing = cowardice = eternal shame
  • Dying fighting = heroism = eternal honor

Not a logical choice, but a cultural one.

The Mystery References

"Rao Sahiban Kade Pahave": Some reference to another person or character. Text is unclear:

"Look at now who is he referring to... Yeah, I don't know, uh, rao rao sahiban kade pahave... Yeah, I don't know, maybe he's someone else from the lore."

Unclear who "Rao" is referring to.

"They Did Work": Incomplete phrase, meaning lost in transcription. Reader himself confused:

"He jumped from his horse, uh, okay. They did work. I didn't follow what is that? Uh, yeah. Oh, I don't know what that means maybe the english version will have a little bit better."

Some action or event described but details unclear.

The Afternoon Summary

The Cascade of Collapse:

  1. Morning (9 AM - 12 PM): Maratha dominance
  2. Afternoon (12 PM - 3 PM): Afghan counter-attack
  3. Late Afternoon (3 PM - 6 PM): Complete encirclement
  4. Evening (6 PM - 7 PM): Final resistance, darkness falls

The Key Moments:

  • 3 PM: Vishwas Rao killed
  • 3 PM: Officer exodus (Holkar, Shivadev, Gayakwar)
  • 4 PM: Jumburak cavalry devastates
  • 5 PM: Complete encirclement
  • 6 PM: Bhau refuses to flee
  • 7 PM: Darkness, battle effectively over

The Numbers:

  • Started: ~75,000 fighting Marathas
  • Lost to desertion: ~13,000
  • Killed/wounded: ~10,000+
  • Remaining: ~50,000 still engaged but trapped

Key Insights

The Diagram's Importance: Shows what contemporaries observed: complete encirclement. Not a open battlefield anymore, but a closing net.

Ibrahim Gardi's Capture: Symbolic end of Maratha technological advantage. Long-range artillery → captured. Only close-range Jumburak left.

Officer Faithfulness vs. Pragmatism:

  • Those who fled: Holkar, Shivadev, Gayakwar (pragmatists)
  • Those who stayed/died: Bhau, Shinde, Pawar, Samshir Bahadur (honorable)
  • No "right" choice, just different values

Bhau's Psychology: By late afternoon, no longer calculating victory. Only calculating how to die well. This shift from strategic to tactical-personal doomed the battle.

The Invisible Turning Point: Not one moment, but a cascade: Vishwas Rao death → officer exodus → Jumburak effectiveness → complete encirclement → refusal to flee. Each moment inevitable given what came before.

Where We Left Off: Bhau completely surrounded by Afghan forces. Artillery captured. Officers dead or fled. Final phase: Bhau holding position until darkness. Kaifiyat accounts (Bhau's records) claims he was winning—obviously propaganda to preserve honor in historical record. Reality: losing, surrounded, choosing honorable death.

By 6 PM on January 14, the maps would have showed what everyone on the battlefield knew: Bhau was surrounded. Three sides of Afghan forces closing in. No escape route. No reinforcements coming. And Bhau—warrior, commander, son of the Peshwa—standing in the center with sword drawn, refusing to leave. Not because he could win. But because leaving would mean he'd failed. And for Bhau, failure was worse than death. So he would stay. He would fight. And when the darkness came, and the Afghans finally overran his position, they would find him there—not running, not begging, but standing. The way a warrior dies when he's lost everything but his honor.