हिंदीOn this day

Battle of Damalcheruvu

VictorMarathasRaghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur; Fatehsingh Bhonsle
1740vs
Nawab of ArcotNawab Dost Ali Khan

A Maratha army sent by Shahu into the Carnatic, partly at the call of the Hindu rulers of the south, met the Nawab of Arcot in a pass on the road to Chittoor and killed him.

Date: May 1740Where: Damalcheruvu pass, Chittoor district, Andhra PradeshType: Battle
Photo: Anonymous · Public domain
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Cite

MLA

“Battle of Damalcheruvu.” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-damalcheruvu-1740/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Damalcheruvu. Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-damalcheruvu-1740/

Result

Dost Ali Khan was killed and his army routed; his son Safdar Ali bought peace and the Marathas went on to take Trichy.

01The Marathas come south

The Nawabs of Arcot had grown rich and aggressive in the 1730s, and Chanda Sahib’s seizure of Trichy alarmed the Maratha Raja of Thanjavur, a kinsman of Shahu. Shahu sent Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur and Fatehsingh Bhonsle with a large cavalry army in 1740. Nawab Dost Ali Khan, whose son-in-law Chanda Sahib was away, tried to block them in the Damalcheruvu pass on the eastern edge of the plateau, where the road from the Mysore country drops to the Chittoor plain.

02Death of the Nawab

The Marathas found a way round and fell on the Nawab’s army in May 1740. It broke under the Maratha charges, and Dost Ali Khan was killed fighting along with one of his sons. His son Safdar Ali, who had stayed in Vellore fort, agreed to pay a large indemnity. The Marathas then marched on Trichy, besieged Chanda Sahib, and in March 1741 took the fort and carried him off a prisoner to Satara.

Why it matters

Damalcheruvu brought Maratha power to the far south for a decade and weakened the Arcot nawabs on the eve of the Anglo-French wars.

Places near the battlefield 5

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Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple, Kanipakam

A self-manifest Ganesh who rose from a well in a field on the Bahuda river, and before whom disputes are still settled by oath. The murti, devotees say, keeps growing.

Chandragiri FortRuined
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Chandragiri Fort

The last seat of the Vijayanagara emperors, near Tirupati. From its Raja Mahal the grant was made in 1639 that let the English build Fort St George, the start of Madras.

Sri Venkateswara Temple, TirumalaStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala

The hill shrine of Venkateswara on the seventh of the Seshachalam hills, where Bhagwan stands in this Kali Yuga to grant refuge. More pilgrims climb to it than to almost any shrine on earth.

Govindaraja Swamy Temple, TirupatiStanding
The long resistance: Sindh to Tarain

Govindaraja Swamy Temple, Tirupati

The great temple in the heart of Tirupati town, round which the town itself was laid out. Sri Vaishnava tradition holds that Ramanujacharya consecrated it in 1130 CE.

Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, TiruchanurStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, Tiruchanur

The temple of Padmavathi, Venkateswara’s consort, at the foot of the Tirumala hills. Tradition says a pilgrimage to Tirumala is complete only after her darshan.