Taking advantage of this situation, Malik Ambar attacked the allied camp, and achieved a decisive victory, imprisoning several Bijapuri and Mughal generals.

The generals of the Ahmadnagar army included Shahaji, whose son Shivaji subsequently established a kingdom that evolved into the Maratha Empire.

The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was a major kingdom in the Deccan region of India; it was officially ruled by the Nizam Shahi dynasty, but its de facto ruler was the powerful minister Malik Ambar.

[9] The Maratha officers who fought on Malik Ambar's side at Bhatvadi included Shahaji, Sharofji, Maloji, Parsoji, Mambaji, Nagoji, Trimbakji, Kakoji, Hambir Rao Chavan, Madhji, Nar Singh Raj, Ballela Tripul, Vithal Raj Kavata, Dattaji, Naganath, Nar Singh Pingle, and Sunder Jagdev.

The Bijapuri king Ibrahim Adil Shah II asked his general Mullah Muhammad Lari to come to Bijapur, and also secured support of the Mughal viceroy Sarbuland Rai by offering 200,000 huns to him.

[13] Malik Ambar retreated to his own territory, and encamped at a place described as the "fort of Bhatavdi" by the near-contemporary text Futuhat-i-Adilshahi.

[11] The records of the colonial British government, which repaired this dam in the mid-19th century, suggest that it could store at least 4.22 million cubic meters of water.

[13] Sijahdar Khan, the commander of the Mughal troops, recommended that the Bijapur-Mughal force leave Bhatvadi and retreat to the Mughal-controlled Ahmadnagar city.

The disagreement led to a verbal argument between the two generals, with Ikhlas Khan blaming Muhammad Lari for the misfortunes of the Bijapur-Mughal force.

Meanwhile, Malik Ambar's cavalry feigned retreat, but then launched a surprise attack on the Bijapuri troops, bypassing the Mughal contingent.

In the subsequent decades, Shivaji - a son of Malik Ambar's subordinate Shahaji - established a kingdom that covered much of former Ahmadnagar territory, and that ultimately evolved into the Maratha Empire.

[21] The event also finds a mention the Marathi language records, including the Jedhe Shakavali (17th century) and a Brihadisvara Temple inscription (1803).