Hemchandra Vikramaditya—known widely as Hemu—was a 16th-century warrior-king who briefly ruled Delhi in 1556. He climbed from a modest life as a market vendor to lead armies and confront the Mughal Empire. Many remember him as the last indigenous Hindu ruler to hold Delhi’s throne before Mughal power took firm root. His journey—full of bold decisions, battlefield nerve, and a tragic twist—unfolds like a tense adventure. What follows traces his life step by step, from the first struggles to the moment he faced destiny on the field.

Early Years and Ascent in the Sur Court

Hemu was born into a poor family around 1501 in Alwar, in what is now Rajasthan. His community was the Dhusar Bhargava, and his father, Puran Das, served as a Hindu priest before later following the saint Harivansh in Vrindavan. The family moved to Rewari, a town southwest of Delhi, where Hemu spent his childhood. There he learned languages—Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic—and trained in wrestling and horse-riding.

Because money was tight at home, Hemu began earning early. He started as a small trader, dealing in food grains and saltpetre (a key ingredient for gunpowder) that he supplied to local armies. Some Mughal chroniclers, dismissive of his origins, even described him as a greengrocer in the Rewari market. This beginning did not hold him back. He became known for a sharp mind, comfort with mathematics, and a growing interest in military skills. By the 1530s, his abilities drew the notice of officials connected to Sher Shah Suri, bringing him into the wider Sur network.

Sher Shah Suri founded the Sur Dynasty in 1540 after defeating the Mughal emperor Humayun. When Sher Shah died in 1545, his son Islam Shah (Jalal Khan) took the throne. Islam Shah saw that Hemu was strong in trade and administration and brought him into service. Hemu first became Shahna-i-Bazar, the Superintendent of Markets in Delhi, where he tightened controls on supplies and trade. The job also exposed him to military work, since Islam Shah often placed Hindu officers alongside Afghan commanders to balance the administration. Impressed by Hemu’s diligence and “soldierly qualities”, Islam Shah kept promoting him. Hemu was made Daroga of Dak Chowki—Chief of Intelligence and Posts—and was also trusted with important provinces; sources note he served as Governor of Punjab and Delhi at points in the early 1550s. Islam Shah further gave him sensitive military duties, such as tracking the movements of the Mughal prince Kamran Mirza near the Punjab frontier to guard against any threat to Sur authority.

This period shaped Hemu into a calm administrator and a firm tactician. By the time Islam Shah died in October 1553, Hemu was essential at court. Islam Shah’s 12-year-old son briefly succeeded as Sultan Firoz Shah, but he was murdered days later by his rival Adil Shah Suri. In that turmoil, Hemu’s loyalty and ability opened the door to an even larger role.

Wazir and Warlord under Adil Shah

Adil Shah Suri (earlier Muhammad Mubariz Khan) took the throne in 1553 after removing his young nephew. Adil was indulgent and ineffective, more interested in pleasure than rule. Real power began shifting to Hemu, who supported Adil to keep the state from falling apart. Adil appointed him Wazir (Chief Minister), placing the business of the empire in his hands. As the court historian recorded, Hemu “undertook all appointments and dismissals, and the distribution of justice” for Adil Shah. In reality, Hemu led the Sur forces and ran the administration day to day.

Adil’s rule immediately faced uprisings from within the divided Sur house. Hemu met these challenges with energy and a soldier’s focus. Between 1553 and 1555, he led campaign after campaign to put down Afghan chiefs who refused Adil’s authority. Records say he fought and won 22 battles in this time—without a single defeat. His opponents included Ibrahim Shah Suri (Adil’s brother-in-law who declared himself ruler in Agra) and Muhammad Shah of Bengal, along with other governors in revolt. Hemu beat these forces repeatedly. He drove out Ibrahim Suri in battle, faced the Bengal Sultan’s troops and prevailed, and put down the armies of Taj Khan Karrani and Rukn Khan Nuhani while restoring order across North India.

These victories made Hemu a figure of legend in his own day. Even writers loyal to the Mughals, like Abu’l-Fazl and Badauni, grudgingly noted his battlefield success. One summary of the time states that Hemu “fought twenty battles with the opponents of Mubarez (Adil Shah) and was victorious in all of them”. His control of logistics—likely aided by his earlier work supplying provisions—and his bold tactics earned him a reputation as the finest commander on the Afghan side after Sher Shah Suri. By 1555, Hemu’s influence was at its height, even as the Sur state was weakening from internal feuds.

Events elsewhere now opened a fresh path. In July 1555, the exiled Mughal emperor Humayun returned with Persian support and defeated Sikandar Shah Suri, retaking Delhi and Agra. The Sur rule of 16 years was collapsing. Adil Shah retreated east to Chunar in Bihar, and Hemu was occupied fighting rebels in Bengal. The Mughal return was brief: about six months later, on 26 January 1556, Humayun died suddenly. The throne passed to his teenage son Akbar, who was in Punjab, and a regency under Bairam Khan began. This moment of change set the stage for Hemu’s boldest move—to try for the empire himself.

The Battle of Delhi, October 1556 (Tughlaqabad)

News of Humayun’s death and a fragile succession convinced Hemu that the time had come to strike the Mughals and try to restore Sur (or Afghan) rule in Hindustan. Still formally serving Adil Shah, who remained far away in Bihar, Hemu raised a large army and marched from Bengal. On the way, he defeated or forced submission from Mughal stations one after another. In quick order his troops took Bayana, Etawah, Sambhal, Kalpi, and Narnaul, towns that had acknowledged Akbar. At Agra, the Mughal governor fled without fighting when he heard Hemu was near. Hemu entered Agra in mid-1556 and seized its huge treasury and war supplies. With money and momentum, he advanced on Delhi.

Bairam Khan grasped the danger at once. Akbar and the main Mughal force were still in the north, dealing with Sikandar Suri’s remains. Bairam sent his top lieutenant, Pir Muhammad Khan Sharwani, to reinforce Delhi. Inside the city, the governor Tardi Beg Khan scraped together all he could—Mughal nobles and their contingents nearby—to defend the capital. The Mughals chose to stand just outside Delhi, on the plain of Tughlaqabad to the south, instead of letting Hemu walk in. Hemu, after chasing the fleeing Agra governor, arrived there with his war elephants and seasoned ranks. A major clash in early October 1556 was now inevitable.

The Battle of Tughlaqabad (also called the Battle of Delhi) was fought on 6 October 1556 (some accounts note 7 October). The Mughal army was smaller but battle-trained and better supplied with guns and cannons. They formed four divisions: the van led by Abdullah Uzbeg, the left by Iskandar Beg, the right by Haidar Muhammad, and the center by Tardi Beg. Hemu’s army was larger, with a war-elephant corps—estimates range from 300 up to 1000 elephants—and tens of thousands of cavalry. He also had artillery, though likely fewer pieces than the Mughals.

The Mughals struck first, hard. Their vanguard and left wing charged, tearing into Hemu’s lines and even capturing about 400 of his elephants. Roughly 3,000 of Hemu’s soldiers were killed in the first phase of the fight. Thinking the day was theirs, many of Tardi Beg’s cavalry broke ranks to loot Hemu’s baggage—an error that opened a fatal gap.

Hemu had waited for such a slip. He had kept 300 elite elephants and a picked cavalry in reserve at the center. Seeing disorder ahead, he led the reserve in person and launched a sudden counter-charge. Huge armored elephants, with his close cavalry behind, slammed into the thinly held Mughal center. The shock caused panic. Officers wavered, nerves failed, and many fled “without waiting to offer a defence”. Watching his army collapse, Tardi Beg Khan also deserted the field and rode toward Delhi, leaving his men to their fate. When the Mughal advance guard came back from the rear, they found their leaders gone and gave up the fight.

By day’s end, Hemu had won a stunning victory. The Mughal formations at Tughlaqabad were shattered, and Hemu’s army entered Delhi as conquerors on 7 October 1556. Both Tardi Beg and Pir Muhammad had fled north, and Hemu held the imperial city in his own right—no longer simply a general for another, but a ruler who had taken Delhi by force of will and war.

The Crown of Vikramaditya: A Return to Native Sovereignty

Hemu’s capture of Delhi was far more than a military victory; it stood as a civilizational milestone. For the first time in roughly 350 years, a native Hindu sat on the throne of Delhi. The last such instance had been before the Delhi Sultanate, when Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in 1192. To mark this triumph, Hemu proclaimed himself Raja Vikramaditya (also recorded as Bikramjit). The name was not chosen at random—it was a title carried by legendary emperors of India, a symbol of courage, prosperity, and victory. By assuming it, Hemu announced the revival of indigenous authority in Hindustan.

Soon after victory, he underwent a grand Rajyabhishek (coronation) at Purana Qila, Delhi, performed with full Vedic rituals and pomp. Afghan nobles who had backed him and Hindu Rajput chiefs were present, acknowledging his authority in courtly fashion. While Persian-language Mughal chronicles gave little detail about this ceremony, they did record his elevation to royal status. Evidence suggests that coins were struck in his name, a clear act of sovereignty. The Afghan writer Ahmad Yadgar specifically noted that Hemu “raised the royal canopy over him, and ordered coin to be struck in his name”.

Although he now ruled independently, Hemu was aware that much of his army was Afghan and still carried loyalty to the Sur dynasty. For this reason, he maintained the fiction of serving Adil Shah, who remained in Bengal, even while exercising full power in Delhi as emperor. For 29 days, Hemchandra Vikramaditya managed Delhi’s affairs with both authority and tact. He kept Sher Shah’s Afghan officers in their positions to ensure stability, reorganized the army, placed loyalists in key posts, and began reforms. Chroniclers record how he strengthened the mercantile system, drawing on his background in trade, and dismissed corrupt officials. As a Hindu ruler, he also acted in ways that resonated with the people, most notably by banning cow slaughter in Delhi, a measure warmly welcomed by Hindus.

Though his rule was short, historian R. C. Majumdar called it “a unique episode in the history of India during the Muslim rule”. For a brief moment, a Hindu kingdom returned to Delhi after centuries of Turkic and Afghan domination. Later observers noted that by adopting the title Vikramaditya, Hemu aimed “to present his rule as a continuum of the ancient traditions of India”. In popular imagination, he became a liberator who nearly ended foreign domination. Decades later, a patriotic lithograph from the 1910s celebrated him as “Maharaja Hemu Bhargava – the Victor of Twenty-Two Battles, Pride of 22 Crore Hindus, and the Last Hindu Emperor of Hindustan.” His short-lived reign lived on as a symbol of courage and resilience in Indian memory.

Panipat: The Day Fate Turned (November 1556)

Hemu’s spectacular success at Delhi could not last unchallenged. In the Mughal camp, the young Akbar and his regent Bairam Khan quickly regrouped. Many Mughal nobles were shaken by Hemu’s victory; some even suggested that the 13-year-old Akbar retreat to Kabul for safety. Bairam Khan refused and urged a direct confrontation to recover Hindustan. With determination, the Mughal army marched south toward Delhi.

Fortune soon favored them. An advance column under Ali Quli Khan Shaibani intercepted Hemu’s artillery train, which was poorly guarded on its way from Delhi. The Mughals captured the guns and ammunition, leaving Hemu without heavy firepower. Yet he remained undeterred. He assembled an army of 30,000 cavalry and 500 war elephants, many taken from earlier battles. Leaving Delhi under garrison, he marched north to face the Mughals at Panipat, the same plain where Babur had won a decisive battle three decades earlier in 1526.

The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on 5 November 1556. Akbar, being young, stayed about eight miles from the front while Bairam Khan directed from the rear. The Mughal line was commanded by seasoned officers including Ali Quli Khan Shaibani and Sikandar Khan Uzbeg. Hemu, by contrast, led from the front, mounted on his elephant Hawai. His army’s wings were commanded by his nephew Ramya and his ally Shadi Khan Kakkar.

The battle began at dawn with fierce fighting. Hemu’s elephants and cavalry hit hard, pushing both Mughal flanks back. Pressing the advantage, Hemu directed his elephants and musketeers at the Mughal center, causing havoc. Contemporary reports said the battle was tilting in Hemu’s favor, and Akbar’s handlers were even preparing to whisk him away in case of defeat.

Then came the fateful moment. Hemu, still at the forefront, was struck by an arrow (some say a musket-ball) in the eye. The missile lodged in his socket. He collapsed unconscious in his elephant’s howdah, bleeding heavily. His fall stunned his army. With their commander gone, the troops lost morale and began to break. The Mughals seized the chance, regrouping and counterattacking. Hemu’s army, once close to victory, fell into panic. Many fled, others were cut down, and by the end of the day, about 5,000 of his men were dead, with thousands more killed or captured. Though the Mughals also suffered losses, they had destroyed Hemu’s bid for the throne.

Historians later reflected on how close Hemu had come. Scholar V. A. Smith wrote, “Probably he would have been the victor but for the accident”, emphasizing how a single strike altered history. Even the Mughal historian Badauni admitted that Hemu was “on the verge of victory” before fortune suddenly turned. On that foggy November morning, the dream of a restored Hindu empire in Delhi collapsed with the fall of one man.

The Fall of a Brave King: Defeat and Death

The unconscious Hemu was seized alive by Shah Quli Khan, one of Akbar’s officers. He was taken into the Mughal camp after the bloody encounter. At this point, accounts diverge on how his end was carried out. The most widely accepted version records that Bairam Khan urged Akbar to personally kill Hemu, saying that the boy-king would thus symbolically slay the “infidel” and earn the title of Ghazi (a champion of Islam). Akbar, only thirteen at the time and reportedly shaken by the carnage, hesitated. According to Abu’l-Fazl, Akbar refused to strike Hemu, believing it unworthy to kill a helpless man. Other sources, however, including Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Qandhari, claim that Akbar, on Bairam’s insistence, did strike Hemu—either by beheading him or at least wounding him—before Bairam finished the act. In any case, Hemu was executed in cold blood. His head was sent to Kabul to be displayed at the Delhi Darwaza, proclaiming the fall of a would-be king, while his headless body was gibbeted on a Delhi gate for the public to see. Thus ended the life of the man who had come within a hair’s breadth of overturning the Mughal Empire.

Aftermath of Panipat: Retribution and Terror

The Mughal victory at the Second Battle of Panipat was followed by merciless retribution. Determined to crush any revival of support for Hemu, Akbar’s forces unleashed terror. Among the victims was Hemu’s elderly father, who had been living as a monk. A detachment under Pir Muhammad marched into Alwar, Hemu’s homeland that had briefly accepted his rule. They captured the old man, named in some sources as Rai Puran Das. Pir Muhammad ordered him to convert to Islam to save his life. The octogenarian firmly refused, declaring that he had worshipped his God in the Hindu way for eighty years and would not betray his faith out of fear. Furious at this defiance, the Mughal officer had the old man executed by the sword. Other members of Hemu’s family and close followers were also hunted and punished.

The vengeance did not stop there. The victors turned their wrath on what they called Hemu’s “community.” Hemu, a Dhusar Hindu (Bhargava), had drawn supporters from among Hindus and Afghans of his region. The Mughals massacred thousands of locals suspected of backing him. In a chilling act of brutality, they built towering pyramids of severed heads from the corpses of Hemu’s fallen officers and soldiers. These skull minarets stood as warnings. It is said that one such gruesome tower at Panipat was still visible sixty years later, when traveler Peter Mundy, during Jahangir’s reign, noted the horrifying remnants. The goal was clear: to instill dread so that no future rebellion could rise.

Historians on Hemu’s Fate

Hindu accounts of Hemu’s fall were silenced or lost, but later historians did not forget. The respected scholar R. C. Majumdar reflected: “Such was the noble end of the family of Hemu, a great Hindu who was born in humble life, but made his way to the throne of Delhi.” The cruel sequence—struck down by chance, executed while helpless, and his memory desecrated—left a scar on Indian historical memory.

Legacy and Impact

Though his reign was brief, Hemu’s story lived on as a powerful reminder of ambition and valor. He is remembered as a folk hero who dared to challenge foreign domination. His rise from a shopkeeper’s son to emperor defied the caste and class structures of his age. Indian historians and public memory often call him the “last Hindu Emperor of Hindustan”—the last native sovereign of Delhi before the Mughal dynasty and later the British Raj cemented their power.

Had Hemu won at Panipat, the subcontinent’s history might have shifted dramatically. Historian Satish Chandra observed that if not for the fateful arrow, Hemu “could have restored a Sanskritic monarchical tradition” in northern India that had been suppressed for centuries. Even Mughal voices acknowledged his worth. Writing in the Akbarnama, Abu’l-Fazl praised Hemu’s “lofty spirit, courage, and enterprise” and regretted that such a man had not been spared, believing that “he would surely have distinguished himself” in service to the empire. That grudging respect from an enemy chronicler reveals the depth of Hemu’s ability.

Memory in Modern India

In today’s India, Hemu’s name still carries resonance. At Panipat, a memorial called Hemu’s Samadhi Sthal marks the site where his headless body was cremated by loyalists. Within Panipat city, a statue of Hemchandra Vikramaditya honors him as “the great warrior of the Second Battle of Panipat.” The statue’s plaque recalls his valor and recognizes his role as a local and national hero. Popular novels, dramas, and patriotic accounts also celebrate him as an unsung hero who nearly changed India’s destiny.

The Mughals went on to rule for two more centuries, but Hemu’s tale remains a striking “what-if” of history. It is a saga of breathtaking rise and sudden fall, of brilliance dimmed by chance. From selling vegetables in Rewari to ascending Delhi’s throne, his life shows the heights that determination can reach, and how swiftly fortune can turn. Had that arrow not pierced his eye on the battlefield, the entire story of the Mughal Empire and Delhi’s history might have been written differently.

Sources

The narrative of Hemu’s life and fall is preserved in both contemporary chronicles (including the Akbarnama of Abu’l-Fazl, the works of Badauni, and writings of Nizamuddin Ahmad) and modern scholarship. Key references include R. C. Majumdar’s analysis, Satish Chandra’s Medieval India, and the Panipat district records of Haryana. Encyclopedic summaries also authenticate the sequence of events. Together, these accounts confirm the extraordinary journey of Hemchandra Vikramaditya, from obscurity to the throne of Delhi, and his near-success in reshaping Indian history.