In this second battle of Panipat, the Mughals were saved by a lucky accident after a hard fight which looked more than likely to go against them. An arrow hit Hemu in the eye and although it did not kill him it had pierced the cerebral cavity enough to make him unconscious. In a battle of this period, as per Vedic tradition, the death of the leader meant an end of the fight, and the sight of Hemu slumped in the howdah of his famous elephant, Hawai was enough to make his army turn tail. Shah Quli Khan captured the Hawai elephant with its prized occupant, and took it directly to Akbar. Hemu was brought unconscious before Akbar and Bairam. Bairam pleaded with Akbar to perform the holy duty of slaying the infidel and earn the Islamic holy title of ‘Ghazi’.