How a stray arrow at Panipat decided the fate of the Mughal Empire
In 1556, the Mughal Empire hung by a thread. Hemchandra, a commoner-turned-general, had seized Delhi and crowned himself king. Victory seemed certain until a chance arrow struck him down, turning a near-certain conquest into a decisive Mughal triumph that cemented Akbar’s rule and transformed their military strategy forever.
The Second Battle of Panipat, fought on 5 November 1556, was the climax of a chaotic power struggle following the death of Mughal Emperor Humayun. Hemchandra, a Hindu general serving the Sur Empire, had rapidly conquered Delhi and Agra, declaring himself Vikramaditya. The young Mughal emperor Akbar, only 13 years old, marched to reclaim his inheritance alongside his guardian, Bairam Khan. The conflict was nearly decided before it began; Mughal forces captured Hemchandra’s entire artillery train in a surprise raid, leaving his massive army—which included 30,000 cavalry and 500 armored war elephants—without heavy support.
During the battle, Hemchandra’s elephants initially overwhelmed the Mughal wings. However, the Mughals utilized a deep ravine as a defensive barrier, forcing the Afghan forces into a vulnerable position where they were pelted by archers. As the tide turned, Hemchandra personally led counterattacks from atop his elephant, Hawai. Just as he appeared to be on the verge of victory, an arrow struck him in the eye, rendering him unconscious. His army, witnessing their leader collapse, panicked and disintegrated. The Mughals captured the wounded Hemchandra, and Akbar—following the counsel of Bairam Khan—beheaded him, assuming the title of Ghazi.
The aftermath of the battle was total. Hemchandra’s head was sent to Kabul, and his body was displayed in Delhi. The Mughals seized 120 of his war elephants, which proved so effective in combat that they were immediately integrated into the Mughal military machine. While later courtly accounts suggested a young Akbar refused to execute a wounded man, contemporary records indicate he followed Bairam Khan’s advice, marking a brutal but definitive end to the Suri threat. This victory secured the Mughal hold on Northern India, effectively ending the succession crises that had plagued the region since the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1545.
The battle remains a pivotal moment in Indian history, commemorated by the Samadhi Sthal memorial at the site of the execution. The event is also immortalized in the Akbarnama, which features a painting of the minaret erected to mark the victory. By 1557, the remaining Suri resistance had collapsed, leaving the Mughals as the undisputed masters of the territory.
Source: Second Battle of Panipat
