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Machine transcription
73
cavalry alone harass the Afghans, who, in their
opinion, could not stand the intense heat of India.
The rainy season of the country, they argued,
would soon compel the Afghans to retire to their
homeland. But the haughty Marhatta chief,
puffed up by his recent successes in other parts of
India, rejected this counsel and looked down on
victory thus achieved as below his dignity. He
boldly marched on Delhi, then held by a small
detachment of the Afghans. The Marhattas had
no difficulty in besieging the city, which surrendered
after a stubborn resistance. The Marhattas on
entering the Mughal capital put the entire garrison
to the sword.
Ahmad Shah, who had encamped on the left
bank of the Jamna with a view to pass the rainy
season could not come to the assistance of his
men ; the swollen river made crossing impossible.
The Marhattas looted the city to their heart's
content. They defaced palaces, tombs and shrines
for the sake of the ornaments with which they
had been decorated. Bhao even proposed to
proclaim Viswas Rao emperor of India, but others
advised him to postpone it until the Durranis
were driven across the Indus.
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.