the Narmada.[1] For a long time Murad had been
uncertain as to which route the Imperial armyMurad marches from Guzerat
would take in approaching Guzerat,—whether by way of Ajmir
in his north or from Malwa in
his east. At the end of January his spies brought
him news that Jaswant had arrived near Ujjain
with only three or four thousand troopers. So,
Murad made light of the enemy and set out from
Ahmadabad (25th February) north-eastwards by
Modasa, crossed the frontier of his province on
13th March, and reached Mandesor on the 14th,
occupying the villages of Malwa on the way.[2]
We next hear of him a good deal southwards at
Dohad, on 4th April. In the meanwhile he had
learnt that Jaswant's force was many times stronger than his own, and so he had hurriedly retreated towards his own territory to wait for news of
Aurangzib, of whom he had not heard anything
during the entire month of March.[3]
Jaswant had issued from Ujjain westwards by the Banswara road, and taken post six miles from Kachraud, to wait for Murad. That prince was then 36 miles away, and on learning of the ene-