Battle of Patan The Battle of Patan was fought on 20 June 1790 between the Maratha Empire and the Rajputs of Jaipur and Jodhpur . Background . With the decisive defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat , imperial ambitions of Marathas had suffered a serious setback . But by 1783 , with the conquest of Gwalior , Maratha chieftain Mahadji Scindia had managed to reassert Maratha influence over much of Northern India , especially Rajputana . Many Rajput kingdoms like those of Jaipur and Malwa were threatened by the Marathas . After the failure of Lalsot campaign of July 1787 , Marathas of Scindia had evacuated the Jaipur territory . In early 1790 , hoping to completely rid the Rajputana off Maratha interference . The Pursuit . Intending to prevent the junction of Ismail Beg with his Rajput allies , Mahadji Scindia , dispatched an army under his generals Gopal Rao Bhau and Benoît de Boigne . On the morning of 10 May , Marathas came upon Ismail Beg at Patan . Stakeholders . The forces of Rajputs had 12000 Rathore cavalry , 6000 from Jaipur , 5000 Mughals under Ismail Beg , 2000 under Allyghar Beg Khan , 12000 men on foot with 100 Pieces of Artillery , 5000 foot soldiers with Ismail Khan with 21 pieces of artillery , 4000 Rohilla s , 5000 Fakir s ( religious fighting mendicants ) called Attyles and Brakys and Rajput Sybundess ( irregular infantry ) with 8 cannon and 4000 Meena ( hill tribals ) soldiers . DeBoignes French army was 10 , 000 strong with additional Maratha soldiers on the outer flanks . The battle . De Boigne ' s disciplined brigade and artillery guns formed the spearhead of Maratha attack and occupied the central position in the Maratha lines . The Maratha captains Ambaji Ingle and Balaji Ingle commanded the left wing ( opposite Ismail Beg ) whilst Holkars commanded the right wing . Gopal Bhau commanded the Deccan cavalry which formed the centre . The armies faced each other in east - west direction along a straight line . Ismail Beg ' s contingent formed the southern wing of Rajput - Mughal combine . It was followed by Rathore horsemen and Abdul Mtalab ' s ( Ismail Beg ' s lieutenant ) battalions . Bulk of the Rajput cavalry was concentrated in the centre of wing . The left wing was formed entirely by Jaipur Nagas ( fighting monks ) . The alliance had over 125 artillery pieces at its disposal . They were placed in three rows , one before Ismail Beg , one before Matlab and the remaining one the trenches of Jaipur Nagas . Maratha artillery under de Boigne ' s brigade , though smaller in number , was more rapid , accurate and mobile than the one in possession of their adversaries . Battle of Patan began in the form of sporadic skirmishes and evolved into an all out battle only at its end . The command of Rajput - Mughal army was disunited and had no concrete plan of action . It was this lack of organisation that was instrumental in a decisive Maratha victory as the Marathas had the initiative and the element of surprise on their side . At the onset of the battle , neither side was in haste to come to grips . The Maratha army took up arms at the daybreak and advanced four miles westwards from their camps to the mouth of the pass leading to Patan . But it took their adversaries over a quarter of a day to take up positions on the hill over overlooking the pass . However hostilities didn ' t break out for six more hours . It was " ekadashi " , an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar . Hindu soldiers on both sides were observing a religious fast . Exchange of fire during this period occurred only between the Muslim soldiers on both sides . Ambush by the Maratha ' s . At dusk , Rajput s and their Muslim allies , retired to their respective camps . The Maratha army however held its positions at the mouth of the pass . The real battle however precipitated in the evening by an unforeseen skirmish . Some Maratha Pindaris from the left wing of Maratha lines , managed to seize animals that were a part of Ismail Beg ' s contingent . This inevitably led to a small skirmish with Ismail Beg ' s men . General de Boigne then directed his guns on Ismail Beg ' s contingent . Caught on unawares , the murderous fire of Maratha guns proved to be deadly . Gopal Bhau and de Boigne , sensing victory , went for the kill . Marathas descended upon enemy camps . Taken aback by the suddenness and the ferocity of the Maratha attack , Rajput resistance capitulated . The Jaipur Nagas held on to their positions before finally being overwhelmed at around 9 pm in the night . The aftermath . Pitted against European armed and French trained Marathas , Rajput states capitulated one after the other . Marathas managed to conquer Ajmer and Malwa from Rajputs . Although Jaipur and Jodhpur remained unconquered . Battle of Patan , effectively ended Rajput hopes for independence from external interference . Sir Jadunath Sarkar notes : From the day of Patan ( 20th June 1790 ) to the 2nd of April 1818 when Jaipur entered into protective subsidiary alliance with the British government , lay the gloomiest period in the history of Jaipur kingdom . His victory increased Scindia ' s influence with the Peshwas ( Maratha Prime Ministers ) in Pune , the seat of Maratha government . The Battle of Patan along with the subsequent gains helped Marathas regain lost influence and morale , which had been badly shaken by the Panipat debacle .