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Second Battle of Panipat | HearLore
Second Battle of Panipat
On the 5th of November 1556, a thirteen-year-old boy named Akbar stood eight miles away from the bloodiest field of the Indian subcontinent, while a man named Hemchandra, riding atop a war elephant named Hawai, fought for the crown of India. This was not a distant skirmish but the defining moment of the Second Battle of Panipat, where the fate of the Mughal Empire hung in the balance against the rising power of the Sur Empire. Hemchandra, who had crowned himself Vikramaditya just weeks prior, was a former associate of Sher Shah Suri who had risen from humble origins in Rewari to become the Chief Minister and General of the Sur army. He had already defeated the Mughal governor Tardi Beg Khan in the Battle of Delhi and driven the Mughals out of multiple cities including Bayana, Etawah, and Agra. While Akbar and his guardian Bairam Khan marched to reclaim their lost territories, Hemchandra had assembled a massive force of 30,000 cavalry and 500 war elephants, each protected by plate armor and mounted with musketeers and crossbowmen. The Mughal army, though smaller, possessed a disciplined cavalry and had recently captured Hemchandra's artillery train, a loss that would prove costly to the Afghan forces. The stage was set for a clash that would determine whether the Mughals would remain a footnote in history or rise to become the dominant power of the region.
The Fall of The Sur Empire
The collapse of the Sur Empire began with the death of its founder Sher Shah Suri in 1545, leaving a power vacuum that his son Islam Shah Suri briefly filled before his own death in 1554. The empire fractured into a succession battle, with provinces seceding and rebellion spreading across the land. Humayun, the Mughal emperor who had been chased out of India by Sher Shah, seized this opportunity to recapture Delhi and Agra on the 23rd of July 1555, defeating Sikandar Shah Suri. However, the true threat emerged from the chaos when Adil Shah Suri, who had murdered the rightful heir Firoz Khan, took the throne but neglected state affairs, leaving them to Hemchandra. This old Hindu associate of Sher Shah Suri, who had been in Bengal when Humayun died on the 27th of January 1556, launched a rapid march that drove the Mughals out of numerous cities. In Agra, the governor fled without a fight, and Hemchandra pursued him to Tughlaqabad, where he defeated Tardi Beg Khan in the Battle of Tughlaqabad. He took possession of Delhi after a day's battle on the 7th of October 1556 and claimed royal status, assuming the title of Vikramaditya. His victory streak was unbroken, having won 22 battles from Bengal to Punjab, yet he faced a formidable opponent in the young Akbar and his experienced guardian Bairam Khan.
The Second Battle of Panipat took place on the 5th of November 1556. This battle occurred when a thirteen-year-old Akbar stood eight miles away from the field while Hemchandra fought for the crown of India.
Who was Hemchandra and what title did he assume?
Hemchandra was a former associate of Sher Shah Suri who rose from humble origins in Rewari to become the Chief Minister and General of the Sur army. He crowned himself Vikramaditya just weeks prior to the battle and claimed royal status after taking possession of Delhi on the 7th of October 1556.
How did the Mughal army defeat Hemchandra's forces at Panipat?
The Mughal army defeated Hemchandra's forces by capturing his artillery train and using a deep ravine as a natural barrier to protect their center. The turning point occurred when a chance Mughal arrow struck Hemchandra in the eye, causing his army to panic and flee the field.
What happened to Hemchandra after the Second Battle of Panipat?
Hemchandra was struck in the eye by a Mughal arrow and collapsed unconscious before being captured and beheaded by Akbar. His head was sent to Kabul to be hanged outside Delhi Darwaja, while his body was gibbeted on a gate in Purana Quila, Delhi.
What were the consequences of the Second Battle of Panipat for the Sur Empire?
The Second Battle of Panipat marked the end of the Sur Empire's resistance and solidified the Mughal hold over Delhi and Agra. Adil Shah Suri was defeated and killed by Khizr Khan in April 1557, ending the dynasty's ability to challenge Mughal authority.
A stroke of luck turned the tide before the armies even met, as Ali Quli Khan Shaibani, sent ahead with a 10,000-strong cavalry force, chanced upon Hemchandra's artillery train. The artillery was being transported under a weak guard, and the Afghans abandoned the guns and fled without making a stand, allowing the Mughals to capture the entire train. This proved to be a costly loss for Hemu, who entered the battle without any artillery to counter the Mughal forces. The Mughal army was led by Ali Quli Khan Shaibani with his 10,000 cavalry in the centre, while Sikandar Khan Uzbak commanded the right and Abdulla Khan Uzbak the left. The vanguard was led by Husain Quli Beg and Shah Quli Mahram, including Bairam Khan's detachment of Turks. Hemu's army, though numerically superior and confident, lacked the heavy firepower that had been stolen from them. The Mughal centre advanced and took up a defensive position before a deep ravine, creating a natural barrier that Hemchandra's elephants and horse units could not cross. This tactical disadvantage left the Afghan forces vulnerable to the projectile weapons being fired from the other side, setting the stage for a desperate struggle that would hinge on the mobility of the Mughal cavalry and the leadership of Hemchandra.
The Elephant Charge and The Arrow
Hemchandra began the attack himself, loosing his elephants among the right and left wings of the Mughals, creating a terrifying spectacle of armored beasts and mounted musketeers. Those Mughal soldiers who escaped the rampage chose to veer to the sides and attack the flanks of Hemu's cavalry, pelting them with superior archery. The Mughal centre advanced and took up a defensive position before a deep ravine, where neither Hemchandra's elephant nor his horse units could cross to reach their opponents. Meanwhile, the Mughal cavalry, on their swift mounts, made inroads into the Afghan ranks from the flanks and the rear, targeting the elephants by slashing at their legs or taking out their riders. Hemchandra pulled back his elephants, and the Afghan attack relented, but the advantage seemed to have tilted in his favor as he moved his contingent of war elephants and cavalry forward to crush their centre. It was at this point, when Hemchandra was possibly on the cusp of victory, that he was struck in the eye by a chance Mughal arrow and collapsed unconscious. Seeing him going down triggered a panic in his army which broke formation and fled, leaving 5,000 dead on the field of battle and many more killed while fleeing. The battle was lost, and the elephant carrying the unconscious and almost dead Hemchandra was captured after several hours of finishing the battle and led to the Mughal camp.
The Beheading of Vikramaditya
The aftermath of the battle saw the elephant carrying the unconscious and almost dead Hemchandra captured and led to the Mughal camp, where Bairam Khan asked the thirteen-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, but this account is not attested by contemporary writer Muhammad Arif Qandhari, 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, with the painting of this minaret being 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, now known as Hemu's Samadhi Sthal. With the passing of Hemchandra, Adil Shah's fortunes also took a turn for the worse, as he was defeated and killed by Khizr Khan, son of Muhammad Khan Sur of Bengal, in April 1557.
The Legacy of War Elephants
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. The Mughal army, which had initially struggled against the elephant charge, learned to adapt and incorporate these powerful beasts into their own ranks, transforming the nature of warfare in the region. The battle marked the end of the Sur Empire's resistance and solidified the Mughal hold over Delhi and Agra, setting the stage for Akbar's future conquests. The death of Hemchandra, who had been victorious in 22 battles, was a turning point that allowed the Mughals to reclaim their lost territories and expand their influence. The minaret erected in his memory and the memorial at Panipat stand as testaments to the man who had nearly reclaimed the empire for the Sur dynasty. The battle also highlighted the importance of leadership and the fragility of military success, as the death of a single commander could lead to the collapse of an entire army. The Second Battle of Panipat remains a pivotal moment in Indian history, where the fate of empires was decided by the courage of a boy king and the tragedy of a fallen hero.