Second Battle of Panipat
Hemchandra emerged from Rewari as an old Hindu associate of Sher Shah Suri. He climbed from humble circumstances to become Adil Shah's Chief Minister and general of the Suri army. When Humayun died on the 27th of January 1556, Hemchandra was in Bengal. The Mughal emperor's death provided an ideal opportunity for him to reclaim lost territory. Hemchandra started a rapid march from Bengal and drove the Mughals out of Bayana, Etawah, Bharthana, Bidhuna, Lakhna, Sambhal, Kalpi, and Narnaul. In Agra, the governor evacuated the city and fled without a fight upon hearing of Hemchandra's impending invasion. He reached Tughlaqabad, a village just outside Delhi where he ran into the forces of the Mughal governor of Delhi, Tardi Beg Khan. He defeated them in the Battle of Tughlaqabad and took possession of Delhi after a day's battle on the 7th of October 1556. He claimed royal status assuming the title of Vikramaditya or Bikramjit.
On hearing the disastrous news from Tughlaqabad, Humayun's successor, the 13-year-old Akbar and his guardian, Bairam Khan, soon set off for Delhi. Ali Quli Khan Shaibani had been sent ahead with a 10,000-strong cavalry force. He chanced upon Hemchandra's artillery which was being transported under a weak guard. He could easily capture the entire train of artillery from the Afghans who abandoned the guns and fled without making a stand. That proved to be a costly loss for Hemu. The two armies clashed at Panipat not far from the site of the First Battle of Panipat of 1526. Akbar and Bairam Khan stayed in the rear eight miles from the battleground when the main engagement began.
Hemu's army was numerically superior counting among its ranks a 30,000-strong cavalry force consisting of Afghan horse riders. An elephant contingent numbered 500 war elephants protected by plate armour mounted by musketeers and crossbowmen. Each war elephant was mounted by musketeers and crossbowmen. Hemchandra led his army himself into battle atop an elephant named Hawai. His left was led by his sister's son Ramya and the right by Shadi Khan Kakar. His army was an experienced and confident lot and Hemu had been victorious in 22 battles from Bengal to Punjab. In this specific battle however Hemchandra had no artillery. The Mughal army was led by Ali Quli Khan Shaibani with his 10,000 cavalry in the centre Sikandar Khan Uzbak on the right and Abdulla Khan Uzbak towards the left. The vanguard was led by Husain Quli Beg and Shah Quli Mahram including Bairam Khan's detachment of Turks.
Hemchandra began the attack himself and loosed his elephants among the right and left wings of the Mughals. Those soldiers who were able to escape the rampage chose to veer to the sides and attack the flanks of Hemu's cavalry pelting them with their superior archery. The Mughal centre also advanced and took up a defensive position before a deep ravine. Neither Hemchandra's elephant nor his horse units were able to cross the chasm to reach their opponents and were vulnerable to projectile weapons fired from the other side. Meanwhile the Mughal cavalry on their swift mounts made inroads into the Afghan ranks from the flanks and rear targeting the elephants either slashing at the legs of the great beasts or taking out their riders. Hemchandra pulled back his elephants and the Afghan attack relented. Seeing the Afghan attack slackening Ali Quli Khan led his cavalry out circling around and falling upon the Afghan centre from the rear. Hemu monitoring the battlefield from his howdah atop Hawai immediately hurried to counter this charge. Even after seeing Shadi Khan Kakar and another of his able lieutenants Bhagwan Das go down he continued to lead counterattacks against the Mughals running down any who challenged his elephants.
It was at this point that Hemchandra possibly on the cusp of victory was wounded when struck in the eye by a chance Mughal arrow. He collapsed unconscious. Seeing him going down triggered a panic in his army which broke formation and fled. The battle was lost with 5,000 dead lying on the field of battle and many more killed while fleeing. The elephant carrying the unconscious and almost dead Hemchandra was captured after several hours of finishing the battle and led to the Mughal camp. Bairam Khan asked the 13-year-old Akbar to behead Hemchandra. According to Akbar's later courtier Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak he refused to take the sword to a dead man. However this is not attested by contemporary writer Muhammad Arif Qandhari composed Tarikh e Akbari who mentioned that Akbar followed Bairam Khan's advice and himself beheaded Hemchandra and took the title of Ghazi. The account of Akbar's refusal to kill Hemu is probably a later invention of his courtiers. Hemchandra's head was sent to Kabul to be hanged outside Delhi Darwaja while his body was gibbeted on a gate in Purana Quila Delhi where he had his coronation on the 6th of October.
Several supporters and relatives of Hemchandra were beheaded and a minaret was later erected. The painting of this minarette is one of the popular 56 paintings of Akbar's life in his copy of the Akbarnama. A memorial for Hemchandra was erected at the spot in Panipat where he was beheaded. It is now known as Hemu's Samadhi Sthal. With the passing of Hemchandra Adil Shah's fortunes also took a turn for the worse. He was defeated and killed by Khizr Khan son of Muhammad Khan Sur of Bengal in April 1557. The spoils from the battle at Panipat included 120 of Hemu's war elephants whose destructive rampages so impressed the Mughals that the animals soon became an integral part of their military strategies.
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Common questions
Who was Hemchandra in the Second Battle of Panipat?
Hemchandra emerged from Rewari as an old Hindu associate of Sher Shah Suri who climbed from humble circumstances to become Adil Shah's Chief Minister and general of the Suri army. He claimed royal status assuming the title of Vikramaditya or Bikramjit after defeating Mughal forces at Tughlaqabad on the 7th of October 1556.
When did the Second Battle of Panipat take place?
The battle occurred shortly after the 7th of October 1556 when Hemchandra took possession of Delhi following his victory at Tughlaqabad. The engagement itself happened later that same month during the Mughal conquest of the Sur Empire.
Where did the Second Battle of Panipat occur relative to previous battles?
The two armies clashed at Panipat not far from the site of the First Battle of Panipat of 1526. The location featured a deep ravine where neither Hemchandra's elephant nor horse units could cross to reach their opponents.
How did Hemchandra die during the Second Battle of Panipat?
Hemchandra was wounded when struck in the eye by a chance Mughal arrow which caused him to collapse unconscious on the battlefield. His death triggered panic in his army and led to the capture of the elephant carrying him before he was beheaded according to contemporary writer Muhammad Arif Qandhari.
What military assets did Hemu lose during the Second Battle of Panipat?
Ali Quli Khan Shaibani captured an entire train of artillery from the Afghans who abandoned the guns and fled without making a stand. This loss proved costly for Hemu as his army had no artillery during the specific battle despite counting among its ranks a 30,000-strong cavalry force and 500 war elephants.