History Of Maharana Pratap. Maharana Pratap was born on May 9, 1540 AD, in the Kumbhalgarh fort of Rajasthan. Maharana Pratap’s birth anniversary is celebrated on the Shukla Paksha Tritiya of Jyestha month yearly in keeping with the Vikram Samvat calendar.
History Of Maharana Pratap And His Bravery
Family
Her father was Maharana Uday Singh, and her mother, Jeevat Kanwar or Jaywant Kanwar. He was the grandson of Rana Sanga. In childhood, everybody used to name Maharana Pratap with the title ‘Kika.’ Mewar has its unique place in the Rajputana states in which the pride of history has been born by Bappa Rawal, Khuman I, Maharana Hammir, Maharana Kumbha, Maharana Sanga, Uday Singh, and Veer Shiromani Maharana Pratap.
kul devata
Maharana Pratap was the king of the Sisodia dynasty in Udaipur, Mewar. Their absolute deity is Ekling Mahadev. Aaradhadeva Ekling Mahadev of the Ranaas of Mewar has great significance in the historical past of Mewar. The temple of Ekling Mahadev is situate in Udaipur. Bappa Rawal, the founding father of Mewar, constructed this temple within the eighth century and installed the idol of Ekling.
The Sultanate of Delhi
During the era of Pratap, Delhi was ruled by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who wanted to hoist the Islamic dominion throughout India by establishing the Mughal Empire under all the kings and emperors of India. Regardless of 30 years of continuous effort, Maharana Pratap didn’t settle for the subordination of Akbar, for which he left this world.
History Of Maharana Pratap’s Pledge
Maharana Pratap vowed to Lord Eklingji that for the whole of his life, only Turks would come out of Akbar for Akbar, and they would never accept Akbar as their emperor. Akbar had sent peace messengers four times to convince them, but Maharana Pratap rejected every offer of Akbar.
History Of Maharana Pratap and His Horse
Maharana Pratap had his favorite horse, ‘Chetak.’ The horse that Maharana Pratap used to sit on was one of the best horses in the world. It is said that Maharana Pratap then wore 72 kg of armor and kept 81 kilograms of the spear in his hand. The weight of the spear, armor, and shield-sword was 208 kg in total. Rana landed on the battlefield with a weight of 208 kg. Think what his power would have been then.
History: Coronation of Maharana Pratap
The coronation of Maharana Pratap came about in Gogunda. Amidst the war’s fury, Rana Uday Singh abandoned Chittor, camped on the Aravalli mountain, and established a new city called Udaipur, which also became his capital. Uday Singh handed over the throne to his younger son Jagmal due to his attachment towards Bhatiyani Rani at his death. Whereas, Pratap being the eldest son, was the natural heir. The Sardars and Jagirdars also opposed the decision of Uday Singh at that time.
On the other hand, the subjects of Mewar also loved Maharana Pratap. Public opposition and disappointment arose when Jagmal got the throne. Due to this, the Rajput chieftains jointly installed Vikram Samvat 1628 Falgun Shukla 15, i.e., on March 1, 1576, Maharana Pratap ascended the throne of Mewar. Jagmal became his son with this incident and joined Akbar.
Udaipur was the capital of Mewar of Maharana. He ruled from 1568 to 1597 AD. Thinking that Yavan, Turks could quickly attack Udaipur, and with the advice of the feudal, Pratap left Udaipur to make Kumbhalgarh and Gogunda hill areas his center.
Jagmal Story
Jagmal got angry and went to Emperor Akbar, and the emperor gave him the area of Jahazpur in Jagir and made it in his favor. After this, the emperor granted Jagmal half the kingdom of Sirohi state. Due to this, Jagmal became enmity with King Surtan Deora of Sirohi, and finally, in the war of 1583, Jagmal was kill.
When Maharana Pratap Singh took the throne of Mewar, Rajputana was going through a very delicate phase. Many Rajput kings bowed their heads in front of Emperor Akbar’s cruelty. Many heroic kingdoms’ successors forgot the honor of their total dignitfull established matrimonial relations with the Mughal dynasty. Maharana Pratap was adamant about protecting his forefathers’ dignity along with some proud princely houses. Hence, he always used to knock in the eyes of the Ottoman emperor Akbar.
Akbar’s invasion of Mewar
Akbar made a number of attempts to beat Mewar. Akbar began a army campaign in opposition to Pratap, making Ajmer his center. Maharana Pratap clashed with the army of Emperor Akbar of the Mughals for a few years. Pratap’s bravery was such that even his enemies were satisfied of his fighting abilities. Generosity was such that the captured Mughal Begums of others had been respectfully sent again to them.
After his vast Mughal army, unmatched gunpowder, consultants with new warfare methods, and a long list of detectives, Akbar failed to bow down to Maharana Pratap even after tact. He made Mansingh, nephew of Maharaja Bhagwandas of Amer (whose aunt was Jodha Bai Akbar Sent with a large army), intending to force the rulers Dungarpur and Udaipur to accept subjugation. The state of Dungarpur could not resist much before Mansingh’s army.
After this, Mansingh reached Udaipur to convince Maharana Pratap. Mansingh advises him to accept Akbar’s subjugation, but Pratap resolutely declares to maintain his independence and face war. The emperor took an empty hand from Mansingh to Udaipur as a decisive defeat and sent his vast Mughalia army led by Mansingh and Asaf Khan to attack Mewar. Finally, on May 30, 1576, a fierce battle broke out in Haldi valley’s plain on Wednesday morning.
Akbar’s Famous Generals
A large army of Mughals swarmed towards Mewar-land like a locust. It also had tremendous artillery with Mughal, Rajput, and Pathan warriors. Shahzada Salim (Jahangir) and Akbar’s famous generals Mahavat Khan, Asaf Khan, and Mansingh were also operating the Mughalwahini, which historians number from 80 thousand to 1 lakh.
In this war, Pratap cut the Mughal army’s teeth with unprecedented bravery and courage and killed hundreds of Akbar’s soldiers. Jala Sardar Mansingh took his crown and parasol on his head in a difficult situation. The Mughals considered him to be great, and they ran after him. Thus he allowed Rana to leave the battlefield. Akbar got very angry due to this failure.
Simultaneously, Akbar himself arrived in the area with his military force on the pretext of hunting in Vikram Samvat 1633 and suddenly attacked Maharana Pratap. Pratap understood the prevailing conditions and limited resources, established himself in the mountainous regions, and discouraged the enemy army through small and guerrilla warfare. The king thought it prudent to get out of the situation.
In a one-time war, Maharana Pratap introduced his religion. Once in the war, when the commander of the royal commander Mirza Khan surrendered, he was accompanied by royal women. Maharana Pratap respectfully sent them to Mirza Khan, securing the honor of all of them.
War with Jahangir
Later, in the Haldi valley battle, Maharana Pratap faced an army of 80 thousand Mughal Sardar King Mansingh with about 20 thousand Rajputs. In this, Akbar sent his son Salim (Jahangir) to battle. Jahangir, too, had to eat his mouth, and he also fled the battlefield. Later, Salim gathered his army and again attacked Maharana Pratap, and this time, a fierce war took place. Chetak, the beloved horse of Maharana Pratap, was injured in this battle.
The Rajputs bravely fought the Mughals, however the whole might was fruitless in the face of a vast army of enemies armed with field cannons and shooters. Out of 22 thousand Rajput soldiers present on the battlefield, only 8 thousand surviving soldiers could somehow escape from the battlefield. Maharana Pratap needed to take shelter within the forest.
Maharana Pratap’s exile
Pratap’s time after Haldi valley’s battle was spent in the mountains and forests. Through his guerrilla warfare policy, he defeated Akbar many times. Maharana Pratap left Chittor and started living in the woods. The nobles, Sukumar Rajkumari and Kumar, were force to live on the grass rot and the forest pools’ water somehow. The Aravalli caves were now their abode, and the rock was Shaya. Maharana Pratap was now worried about his family and small children.
The Mughals wanted Maharana Pratap to accept Akbar’s subjection somehow and adopt the ‘Din-i-Ilahi’ religion. He also sent many temptation messages to Maharana Pratap, but Maharana Pratap remained firm on his determination. That emperor of Pratap Rajput, the pride of Hindutva – the sun stood firm in this crisis, sacrifice, tenacity.
Many younger kings requested Maharana Pratap to remain in his kingdom. Still, Maharana Pratap pledge to stay in the jungles until Mewar was free, to save the land of Mewar from Mughal domination. Discarding tasty food will fill the stomach with root-fruits and fruits, but will never accept Akbar’s suzerainty. While staying in the forest, Maharana Pratap recognized the power of the Bhils and had often brought the Mughal army into difficulties with the guerrilla warfare. Pratap did not bow his head in front of the enemy even when the means were limited.
The help of Bhamashah
Later, the pride of Mewar Bhamashah placed all his wealth at the feet of Maharana. Bhamashah provided 20 lakh Ashurfian and 25 lakh rupees to Maharana. The Maharana rejoined the army with this abundant wealth. Encouraged by this unique help, Maharana reorganized his military force, and there was a revival of new life in his army. Maharana again established his occupation of Kumbhalgarh and continued his attack on the police stations and bases set by the royal forces.
Looting of Akbar’s army
Mughal emperor Akbar sent another massive army to Mewar under Shahbaz Khan’s leadership in Vikram Samvat 1635. This vast army captured Vaishakh Krishna 12 at Kumbhalgarh and Kelwara and looted the Gogunda and Udaipur areas based on some local help. In such a situation, Maharana Pratap continued to compete with the vast army and finally took refuge in the mountainous regions and captured Chawand again. Shahbaz Khan eventually returned empty-handed to Akbar in Punjab.
Except for Chittor, Maharana redeemed all his fortifications from the enemy. He made Udaipur his capital. Owing to the diminishing influence of the disenchanted Mughalia’s army and his self-power, Maharana re-established his kingdom over Chittorgarh and Mandalgarh, as well as the whole of Mewar.
After this, the Mughals challenged Maharana Pratap several times, but the Mughals had to face it. Finally, Maharana Pratap died on January 29, 1597, in Chawand due to injuries sustained during war and hunting. Even after 30 years of struggle and fight, Akbar could neither take Maharana Pratap captive nor bow down. Excellent does not compromise and struggles to protect his country, caste, religion, and culture. Such people are always alive in the hearts of people.
Today we learn about the History of Maharana Pratap,
Comment below, tell who was the greatest king. Maharana Pratap or Muhammad Akbar?
