On the battlefield they lived up to their fame. Saluting the Ganas of the Battlefield, saluting the Rannbhairava, every stirrup drew out a weapon.
Courage surged through their veins as they outfitted themselves like Vīrshri Bhairava... And adorned themselves with the glory of their valour.
Helmets, Chainmail, Cuirass, Vambraces, Gauntlets, Greaves, Shemaghs, were equipped! Swords, Maces,Axes,Daggers,TigerClaws, Lances, Rods, Scythes,Sickles, Slingshots,Clubs,Javelins,Pistols, Muskets, Rockets were gathered as their bodies charged with bloodlust and hunger for war!
The army with the valorous machismo warriors ever ready to give and take lives, the Maratha Kshatriyas from the Shahnav Kulas of renown, bedecked themselves in their war-gear and galloped out in rank and file on their caparisoned steeds.
The landscape was stormed by the myriads of their House Banners; Viridescent, Scarlet, Ochre, Amaranthine, Ashen, Stygian, and the Holy Saffron.
As one cast their eyes on them,
The army appeared like the ocean at high tide of a full Moon, that has surged forward... breaking it's barriers..."
— Description of Shahnav Kulin Mahrattas from Panipatāche Bakhār (1761)
⚔️🚩 Feats of Valour from the 3rd Battle of Panipat, 1761⚔️🚩:-
After being outnumbered, overburdened, minimally armoured and famished for months, surviving for weeks on sips of sugared water, the 45,000 strong Maratha army burdened with the exodus of 500,000 Hindu civilians mounted an assault against roughly 3,35,200 Afghan hordes.
The roar of "Har! Har! Mahadev!" and "Jai Shahu Maharaja!" pierced the air.
A series of quotes that help one imagine the Battle of Panipat as it was fought on 14th of January, 1761:
"The Mahrattas possess an extraordinary skill in horsemanship, and so intimate an acquaintance with their horses, that they can make these animals do ANYTHING even in full speed, in halting, wheeling, etc.;
They likewise use the spear with remarkable dexterity, sometimes in full gallop, grasping their spears short and quickly sticking the point in the ground still holding the handle, they turn their horse suddenly round it, thus performing on the point of a spear as on a PIVOT the
The Marathas emerged out against the Durrani-Rohilla hordes.
The Fateful day's battle commenced with gunfire, rocket-fire, cannon bombardment and finally as Ibrahim Khan Gardi's contingent came under threat, the Maratha Huzurat Cavalry charged.
The thunderous roar of "Har! Har! Mahadev!" rent the air and a vast cavalcade of ~13,500 Huzuratis charged in a resistless sweep against the Durrani Lines.