322 W. Irvine —The Ban gash Nawdhs of FarruJchdbad. [No. 4, 
country of Umatwarah.* There was a further force of twelve thousand 
men which had not crossed the Narbada. Another army, supposed to num¬ 
ber ten to twelve thousand men, was directing its steps towards Malwa by 
way of Gadh.f Eighty or ninety thousand of the enemy were thus advan¬ 
cing on all four sides. 
As soon as the Malirattas crossed the Narbada, the zamindars sent 
agents to fix the amount of black-mail (khandali) to be levied The money 
was then paid, and the Rajahs, no longer anxious about their own territories, 
stayed at home. The zamindar of Shiupuri and Kalaras and others gave 
hostages for the punctual payment of the annual tribute. The Rajah of 
Orchha, the Bhadauriya Rajah, the sons of Chattarsal, and the Rajah of 
Datiya fixed what they had to pay. The zamindars of Malwa exchanged 
turbans with the Mahrattas and entered into alliance with them. 
Muhammad Khan tried to open negotiations direct with Rajah Sahu 
at Puna, but the only answer received was, that Baji Rao Pandit Pardhan, 
who was of high dignity and power in his State, was his sole and only 
adviser in all matters. A written document should be given as demanded ; 
Pilaji Jadon and Mulhar Holkar were subordinates of the Pandit Pardhan, 
and must act according to his wishes. 
On hearing that the enemy were approaching Khimlasa, Muhammad 
Ivhan left Lodah-Dongar, J and after continuous marching for three days and 
nights he arrived at Sironj. It was decided that next morning they would 
attack the enemy, who were reported to be thirty thousand strong. Then 
intelligence was received that Mulhar had left Umatwarah with fifty thou¬ 
sand horse, and after levying black-mail from the Maharao (of Kotah) had 
arrived within fifteen or sixteen miles of Sironj. Twenty thousand men 
were also scattered about Mandeshwar, Ujain, and Shahjahanpur, to the 
south and west of Sironj. 
It was obvious that if Muhammad Khan went on to Khimlasa, it 
would take him ten to fifteen days to defeat and pursue the enemy. While 
he was absent, a second Mahratta leader would plunder Sironj, Bhilsa and 
other towns. Muhammad Khan thought it best to succumb. He therefore 
sent for both the Mahratta leaders, gave them presents, with horses and an 
elephant, by way of “ Jcliila't." After an agreement had been made, they 
went away by Gadh and crossed the Narbada in boats. After the Mah- 
* Umadwara, a small district in the province of Malwa, of which it occupies the 
centre, it is bounded by the Kali Sind and Parbati rivers. The principal towns are 
Chaunchra, Itajghar and Kujnir. Hamilton’s Hindustan, I, p. 357. See also Aitchi- 
son’s Treaties, Ed. 1876, Yol. Ill, p. 446. 
f Perhaps Garh Mandala, 90 miles S. E. of S&gar. 
X From the remarks of the author of the Hadilcat-ul-AJedUm, in describing- the 
campaign of the English south of Gwaliar in 1782, it seems that this place must bo 
quite close to Ivalaras. 
