हिंदीOn this day

Battle of Arnee (Arni)

VictorEast India Company, with Maratha horse under Basin RaoRobert Clive
1751vs
Chanda Sahib’s army and French troopsRaza Sahib, son of Chanda Sahib

Fresh from holding Arcot, Clive caught Raza Sahib’s retreating army near Arni and broke it in the paddy fields.

Date: 3 December 1751Where: Arni, Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil NaduType: Battle
Photo: Pragya Sharan · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Cite

MLA

“Battle of Arnee (Arni).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-arnee-1751/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Arnee (Arni). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-arnee-1751/

Result

Clive routed Raza Sahib’s larger force, and several of his sepoys came over to the English.

01After Arcot

Raza Sahib gave up the siege of Arcot on 14 November 1751 and drew off toward Vellore and Arni, where the French had a post. Clive came out after him with his small garrison and a body of Maratha horse sent by Murari Rao of Gooty under Basin Rao. He learned that Raza Sahib meant to join fresh French troops, and moved to cut him off before they met.

02The fight by the causeway

On 3 December Clive drew up with marshy rice fields covering his front and a village and grove on his flanks. Raza Sahib’s cavalry and the French tried to cross the wet ground and were cut up by Clive’s guns and musketry. When their attack faltered Clive pushed forward along the causeway and the enemy fled. Clive then took the nearby fort of Timeri and returned to Madras with his reputation made.

Why it matters

Arni turned the defence of Arcot into a campaign, and showed the value of Maratha light horse working beside Company infantry.

Places near the battlefield 8

Vedapureeswarar Temple, Tiruvothur (Cheyyar)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Vedapureeswarar Temple, Tiruvothur (Cheyyar)

Tiruvothur, the place where Shiva taught the Vedas, on the Cheyyar river. Here Sambandar’s hymn turned barren male palms into fruit-bearing ones.

Jalakandeswarar Temple, Vellore FortRebuilt
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Jalakandeswarar Temple, Vellore Fort

A Vijayanagara temple inside the moated Vellore Fort, famous for the carving of its kalyana mandapa. It stood without worship for long years while the fort passed from hand to hand, and puja was restored in 1981.

Vilwanatheswarar Temple, TiruvallamStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Vilwanatheswarar Temple, Tiruvallam

A temple on the Ponnai river whose walls hold records from the Pallava age, among them one of the earliest inscriptions to speak of the Tevaram singers. Sambandar sang it.

Talapureeswarar Temple, Tiruppanangadu (Vanparthan Panangattur)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Talapureeswarar Temple, Tiruppanangadu (Vanparthan Panangattur)

The palm-forest shrine near Kanchipuram with two Lords and two Devis side by side. Sundarar sang it.

Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple, ThiruputkuzhiStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple, Thiruputkuzhi

Here Shri Rama performed the last rites of Jatayu, the vulture king who fell fighting Ravana. Pul is a bird, kuzhi a pit: the name of the village is the grave of Jatayu.

Valeeswarar Temple, KuranganilmuttamStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Valeeswarar Temple, Kuranganilmuttam

The village name holds three worshippers: kurangu, the monkey Vali; anil, the squirrel Indra; muttam, the crow Yama. Sambandar sang the shrine.

Tirumetraleeswarar Temple, Kachi Metrali, KanchipuramStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Tirumetraleeswarar Temple, Kachi Metrali, Kanchipuram

One of five Tevaram shrines inside Kanchipuram. A second linga here, Othavurugeesar, is the Lord who melted on hearing a hymn, and the linga bears the form of Vishnu’s feet.

Yoga Narasimha Temple, Thirukkadigai (Sholinghur)Standing
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Yoga Narasimha Temple, Thirukkadigai (Sholinghur)

A ghatika is twenty-four minutes, and the temple says that one ghatika on this hill is worth a lifetime of prayer elsewhere. Narasimha sits here in yoga at the top of 1,305 steps, and Hanuman faces him from the smaller hill.