हिंदीOn this day

Battle of Katwa (1742)

VictorNawab of BengalAlivardi Khan
1742vs
Marathas of NagpurBhaskar Pandit (Bhaskar Ram Kolhatkar)

In 1742 Raghuji Bhonsle’s general Bhaskar Pandit overran western Bengal and made his camp at Katwa, where he celebrated the Durga Puja. Alivardi crossed the river by night and broke up the camp.

Date: September 1742Where: Katwa, on the Bhagirathi, Purba Bardhaman district, West BengalType: Battle
Photo: Anonymous · Public domain
1 min read WhatsApp
Cite

MLA

“Battle of Katwa (1742).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-katwa-1742/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). Battle of Katwa (1742). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/battle-of-katwa-1742/

Result

Alivardi surprised the Maratha camp and drove the Marathas out of western Bengal for the season.

01The Bargis in Bengal

Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur claimed chauth from Bengal, and in the spring of 1742 sent Bhaskar Pandit with a large body of horse through the Odisha and Chota Nagpur country. Alivardi was caught at Burdwan. The Marathas, called bargis in Bengal, raided across the country west of the Bhagirathi and even plundered the suburbs of Murshidabad. In the autumn Bhaskar Pandit set up his headquarters at Katwa and celebrated the Durga Puja there with great display.

02The night crossing

Alivardi gathered his forces at Murshidabad and, in late September 1742, crossed the Bhagirathi and the Ajay by a bridge of boats in the dark. At dawn his troops fell on the Maratha camp at Katwa. Surprised in the middle of the festival, the Marathas fled, and Bhaskar Pandit drew off towards Odisha. Alivardi pursued and cleared western Bengal by the end of the year. The Marathas came back in 1743, and the raids went on for nine more years.

Why it matters

Katwa won Alivardi a season’s respite but did not end the Maratha raids, which closed only with the treaty of 1751.

Places near the battlefield 7

Bahula Devi Shakti Peetha, KetugramStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Bahula Devi Shakti Peetha, Ketugram

Ketugram near Katwa keeps the Bahula Shakti Peetha, where the Peetha Nirnaya Tantra says Sati’s left arm fell. The Devi is Bahula and her Bhairava is Bhiruk.

Jogadya (Yogadya) Shakti Peetha, KshirgramStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Jogadya (Yogadya) Shakti Peetha, Kshirgram

At Kshirgram the Peetha Nirnaya Tantra places the right big toe of Sati. The Devi’s black stone murti lives under the water of the Kshirdighi tank and comes out for worship once a year, on the eve of Baishakh Sankranti.

Plassey (Palashi)Standing
Company rule and the war of 1857

Plassey (Palashi)

The village on the Bhagirathi, named for its palash trees, where on 23 June 1757 Robert Clive’s small army defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah because the Nawab’s own commanders had been bought. From here the East India Company took Bengal, and from Bengal, Bharat.

Mangal Chandi Temple, Ujani (Kogram)Standing
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Mangal Chandi Temple, Ujani (Kogram)

On a high bank of the Ajay at Kogram, once part of the old town of Ujani, Mangal Chandi is worshipped as the Ujani Shakti Peetha. Kapilambar, her Bhairava, shares the shrine.

Nabadwip and MayapurStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Nabadwip and Mayapur

The twin towns on the Bhagirathi where Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in 1486. Before that Nabadwip was the last capital of the Sena kings and the seat of Navya-Nyaya, the new logic.

Phullara Devi Temple, Attahas (Labpur)Standing
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Phullara Devi Temple, Attahas (Labpur)

Near Labpur in Birbhum the Phullara temple is worshipped as Attahas, where the Peetha Nirnaya Tantra places Sati’s lips. A second Attahas, at Dakshindihi near Katwa, also claims the peetha.

Kankalitala Shakti Peetha, BolpurStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Kankalitala Shakti Peetha, Bolpur

On the bank of the Kopai, 9 km from Bolpur, is the kund where Sati’s waist is said to have fallen. The kund itself is worshipped; the main shrine has no murti.