HYDRABAD AND BIDUR. 
171 
By these arrangements the district of Gondbere 
was left altogether without protection, and Venkut- 
putti, taking immediate advantage of this oversight, 
became, in his turn, the aggressor. He sent the Raja 
of Udgherridroog to make a diversion upon the rear 
of the enemy’s forces, by laying waste the country; 
and Afzul Kahn, the governor of Gondbere, finding 
that he had not a sufficient force to oppose the 
advance of the Hindoos, sent off such cavalry as lie 
could muster, to retaliate, by an inroad, upon the 
U dgherridroog jaghir. Tills manoeuvre had the de- 
sired effect ; the Hindoos withdrew to protect their 
own country, and, coming up with Afzul Kahn, 
they surrounded his little force. At this juncture, 
according to a preconcerted scheme, Aga Kahn, 
with a party of five hundred cavalry, came stealthily 
upon the rear of the Hindoo army, and making a 
sudden charge, before the enemy could discover the 
weakness of his numbers, he put them completely 
to the rout ; then Afzul Kahn, joining in the pur- 
suit, succeeded in capturing the camp equipage, and 
took many prisoners. Upon this memorable occa- 
sion, the Hindoos actually lost no less than three 
thousand men, a number double the entire force of 
the Mohummedans. 
The monsoon having set in, Y enkutputti found an 
opportunity of augmenting his forces ; so that when 
the floods abated, he took the field with an army 
amounting to a hundred thousand men. Having 
