Lehal Library

138 The Agrarian Uprising city. Widow Mughlani kept her word, She led the Afghans from one palace to another and told I.hem what each noble's family was worth in gold and jewels. The author of Siyar-ul-Mutakherin records: 'They [the Afghans) dragged away people's wives and daughters with such cruelty that numbers, overcome by the delicacy of their feelings, rather than fall into their abominable hands, made away with themselves.' 11 For one month Delhi was ruthlessly pillaged. Then came the turn ofMathura and Brindaban, where the Afghans' love of Joot was further whetted by the fact that these towns were held sacred by the infidel Hindus. The orgy came Lo an end when the beat anrl a cholera epidemic made life difficult for the mountaineers. Abdali provided himself with a sixteen-year-old princess, a daughter of the late emperor, Mohammed Shah; bis son, Prince Taimur, took the daughter of Alamgir II. With them went troupes of concubines and female slaves. Abdali added Sirhind to bis domains, and appointed lmad-ul-rottlk as Wazir and Najihuddaulah as his personal representative at the Mughal coun. Mughlani Begam got nothing for her pains. The Afghans left Delhi on their homeward journey. Prince Taimur led the van: bis father followed dose behind. A contemporary account states that 'Abdali's own goods were loaded on twenty-eight thousand elephants. camels, mules, bullocks and carts, while two hunclrt:d camel-loads of property were taken by Mohammed Shah's widows. who accompanied him and these too belonged to him. Eighty Lhousand horses and foot followed him, each man carrying away spoils. His cavalry returned on foot, loading their booty on their chargers. For securing transpmt, the Afghan king left no horse or camel in any one's house, not even a donkey. · 1~ The time for action bad come. Sikh bands closed in from both sides. Prince Taimur was relieved of much of his booty. A Maratha newsletter records: 'At the end of March 1757 wht>n the front division of Abdali's army under Prince Tairnur was 17 m. 54. 18 Tarikh-i-Alamgir Semi, 89-1 I 5; J. N. Sarkar, Fall ofthe Mughal Emj,i ,·. u, 93; H. R Gupta, Hiswry of tht Sikhs, I, 98.