Panipat Aftermath: Desertion, Fall of Heroes & The Maratha Diaspora

Marathi History Book Reading Session Summary

The Final Hours: Collapse & Last Stand

Ibrahim Khan Gardi Captured:

  • Artillery commander defeated and taken prisoner
  • Artillery units disband without leadership
  • Maratha army's main advantage (artillery) lost
  • Line collapses rapidly

Tukoji Shinde's Message to Bhau (After Vishwas Rao's Death):

  • "You have reached the pinnacle of fighting ability"
  • "But no amount of fighting changes foregone conclusion at this stage"
  • "Better to quit and save yourself to fight another day"
  • Recognized battle was lost, urged retreat

Bhau's Response:

  • Refused to leave battlefield
  • "Where does one go? To whom does one show one's face?"
  • Jumped off horse with Mukundji Shinde to fight alongside him
  • Raised Zaripatka (victory flag) on horse, ordered victory music
  • Hoped to inspire army to return and fight
  • Nobody came back. Army fully panicked

The Massive Desertion: Nana Farnavis's Account

The Full Army Collapse:

  • Left wing officers led the retreat (set example of flight)
  • Right wing (Shinde and Holkar) stood aloof, didn't help
  • Royal standard seen retreating
  • By the end: only ~200 soldiers remained with Bhau
  • Of 100,000 soldiers, not a single officer stayed with him

Nana Farnavis's Analysis:

  • Soldiers had sworn in peacetime to "sacrifice 1000 lives" for Bhau
  • Turned out to be "mere companions of prosperity, deserters in adversity"
  • Complete panic and demoralization

Root Cause (As Discussed):

  • Maratha warfare tradition: morale dependent on visible leader
  • When king/commander appears dead/defeated: entire army flees
  • 40,000+ noncombatants (women, children, elderly) also fled battlefield
  • Army couldn't sustain discipline without visible authority figure

Rawlinson's Account: Bhau's Final Hours

The Scenario:

  • Flanks crumbling, Vishwas Rao dead, situation hopeless
  • Mounted favorite Arab horse, charged into Afghan lines alone
  • Killed numerous Afghans in personal combat
  • Surrounded and overwhelmed by superior numbers
  • Eventually killed in the melee

Evacuation Stories: The Women's Escape

Parvati Bhai (Bhau's Wife):

  • Put on horse, sent away by Janu Bhintada
  • Horse tired after 20-25 miles
  • Janu Bhintada carried her on his back the rest of way
  • Met Malhar Rao Holkar, taken to Gwalior Fort for safety
  • Eventually survived and reached safety

Malhar Rao's Justification (Controversial):

  • Claimed Bhau ordered him to save the women when battle turned south
  • Got thousands of women and noncombatants to safety
  • BUT: Author notes this doesn't align with other evidence
  • Nana Farnavis's mother and wife: no trace of them (disappeared)
  • Malhar Rao needed good excuse for leaving battlefield early (honor issue)
  • Likely: saved some women but not all, story partly self-serving

Casualties & Captured Warriors

Killed in Battle:

  • Vishwas Rao (shot in head)
  • Ibrahim Khan Gardi (initially captured, later died from wounds)
  • Many named officers and sardar (leaders)

Severely Wounded & Captured:

  • Ibrahim Khan Gardi (artillery commander)
  • Jankoji Shinde
  • Samasheer Bahadur (Bajirao I's son) - captured but reached Jaat territory (friendly), died from wounds

Fled the Battlefield:

  • Damaji Gaye
  • Akwad Vithal Shivadev
  • Malhar Rao Holkar (left early with women)

Killed Outside the Battle:

  • Antaji Mankeshwar - near Farrukhabad, killed by Baluch fighters

Post-Battle: The Diaspora

Abdali's Return to Kabul:

  • Took thousands of Maratha prisoners of war
  • In Baluchistan: Baluch warlords had helped him entering India
  • Paid them back: gifted Maratha prisoners as slaves
  • Thousands of Marathas left in Baluchistan

The Maratha-Baluch Communities (Modern Legacy):

  • Descendants still exist in Baluchistan (now Pakistan)
  • Converted to Islam over generations
  • BUT: still maintain Maratha identity as "Maratha-Baluch"
  • Celebrate festivals, follow rituals, revere Shivaji
  • Still speak some Marathi, retain traditions for marriages/births/deaths
  • Under-developed region (mountainous, no water), but intelligent population
  • Fully integrated yet maintaining roots (5th-10th generations)

Other Diaspora Groups:

  1. Haryana Marathas ("Road Marathas"):

    • Fled to Haryana (today's northern India)
    • Never returned to Maharashtra after war
    • Integrated into Haryana society but maintain Maratha traditions
    • Chose not to return even after Afghan threat passed

  2. Kabul Marathas:

    • Women and others taken to Kabul by Abdali
    • Integrated into Afghan society
    • Descendants remember their Maratha origins (generations later)

The Deeper Issue: Military Doctrine Failure

The Maratha Structural Weakness:

  • Built on individual warrior prowess and cavalry
  • Depended on visible leadership for morale
  • When leader fell or was absent: entire system collapsed
  • No institutional continuity outside of personal authority

Compared to Abdali's Model:

  • Positioned remotely but with messengers (continuous authority)
  • Could survive death of leader (system continues)
  • Maratha system couldn't - completely personality-dependent

Where We Left Off: Battle lost, army destroyed, leadership killed, survivors scattered across three continents as diaspora. The immediate aftermath shows not just military defeat but complete collapse of command structure. What was once 100,000-strong force is now refugees, slaves, and scattered survivors. The price of Panipat goes far beyond the battlefield.

In one afternoon, an empire of 100,000 became ghosts. Bhau died charging at impossible odds. His wife rode horses and human backs to escape. His soldiers became slaves in Baluchistan, exiles in Haryana, captives in Kabul. The Marathas won the morning. The Afghans won the day. But the real loser was the idea that an army could hold together without seeing its commander. When Bhau's elephant stood empty, the entire structure fell. And it fell forever.