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Maharana Pratap

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Pratap Singh
Maharana
Maharana Pratap Singh
Maharana of Mewar
Reign1 March 1572 - 29 January 1597 (24 years, 327 days)
Coronation1 March 1572
PredecessorUdai Singh II
SuccessorAmar Singh I
Born(1540-05-09)9 May 1540
Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan
Died29 January 1597(1597-01-29) (aged 56)
Chavand, Rajasthan
Burial
Cremated in Vandoli village
SpouseMaharani Ajabde
IssueAmar Singh I
Bhagwan Das
Names
Maharana Pratap Singh Sisodia
DynastySisodiya
FatherUdai Singh II
MotherMaharani Jaiwanta Bai
ReligionHinduism
Sisodia Rajputs of Mewar II
(1326–1971)

Pratap Singh (pronunciationⓘ) or Pratap Singh (9 May 1540 – 29 January 1597) was the ruler of Mewar, a region in north-western India in the present day state of Rajasthan. His birth anniversary (Maharana Pratap Jayanti) is celebrated as a full-fledged festival every year on the 3rd day of the Jyestha Shukla phase. He was the eldest son of Maharani Jaiwanta Bai and Udai Singh II, founder of Udaipur.[1][2] He belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs.[3][4] Maharana Pratap Singh is widely regarded as a fearless warrior and ingenious strategist, who successfully fought the Mughals and safeguarded his people until his death. In popular Indian culture, he is hailed as an inspirational figure for exemplifying gallantry and resourcefulness.[citation needed] He was succeeded by his eldest son Amar Singh I.[5]

Accession

In 1568 during the reign of Rana Udai Singh II (Maharana Pratap's father) Chittorgarh Fort was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar after the third Jauhar at Chittor.[citation needed] However, Udai Singh and the royal family of Mewar had left before the fort was captured and moved to the foothills of the Aravalli Range where Udai Singh had already founded the city of Udaipur in 1559.[6] Rani Dheer Bai wanted her son Jagmal to succeed Udai Singh[7] but the seniors in the royal court preferred Pratap, as the eldest son, to be their king. The desire of the nobles prevailed.[citation needed]

Conflict with the Mughals

Chittorgarh Fort which Rana wanted to reclaim. Also seen is Vijay Stambha along with Gaumukh Reservoir

Nearly all of Pratap's fellow Rajput chiefs had meanwhile entered into the vassalage of the Mughals. Even Pratap's own brothers, Shakti Singh, Jagmal and Sagar Singh, served the Mughal emperor, Akbar.[citation needed] Indeed, many Rajput chiefs, such as Man Singh I of Amer (later known as Maharaja of Jaipur) served as army commanders in Akbar's armies and as members of his council. Akbar sent a total of six diplomatic missions to Pratap, seeking to negotiate the same sort of peaceful alliance that he had concluded with the other Rajput chiefs.[citation needed] The first three missions were led by Jalal Khan Qurchi, the fourth by Raja Man Singh, the fifth by Raja Bhagwan Das, and the sixth by Todar Mal.[citation needed] The fifth mission of Bhagwan Das was fruitful in that the Rana agreed to put on a robe presented by Akbar and he sent his son Amar Singh I to the mughal capital.[citation needed] The missions failed, however, since the Rana refused to personally present himself in the mughal court. Since no agreement could be reached at, all out war between Mewar and the Mughals became inevitable.[8][page needed]

Battle of Haldighati

Main article: Battle of Haldighati

In 1576, Akbar deputed Man Singh I and Asaf Khan I to lead a force against Maharana Pratap.[citation needed] The Rana advanced with a force numbering almost half the Mughal numbers and took a position near Haldighati which was at the entrance of a defile.[citation needed] In Pratap's army the main commanders were Gwalior's Ram Shah Tanwar and his three sons,Rawat Krishnadasji Chundawat, Maan Singhji Jhala and Chandrasenji Rathore of Marwar. His army also included Afghans lead by Hakim Khan Sur and a small contingent of Bhil tribals headed by Rao Poonjaji fighting alongside him.[9] Anticipating the mughal attack, the Rana had also devastated the entire region up to Chittor to prevent the Mughal forces access to food and fodder.[citation needed] The Mughals were then guided by Pratap's brother Shakti Singh that what was the way they could face Pratap in open and with minimum casualties.

The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 for around 4 hours.[10] It was primarily fought in the traditional manner between cavalry and elephants since the Mughals found it difficult to transport artillery over the rough terrain. In a traditional fight, the Rajputs were at an advantage; their impetuous attack led to a crumbling of the Mughal left and right wings and put pressure on the center until more reserves of the Mughal army arrived and resulted in a Rajput retreat. The heat, and fear of ambush in the hills, resulted in the Mughals deciding not to pursue the Rajputs into the hills. Thus this battle failed to break the existing stalemate. This fight can be viewed as an assertion of local independence arising from local and regional patriotism.[8][page needed] Maharana Pratap and his forces were heavily outnumbered by the Mughals and to change the odds to his side, Pratap mounted on his horse Chetak, attacked Raja Man Singh. Raja Man Singh ducked and hence this final gamble of Mewar turned against them as Chetak's leg got deeply wounded in the process of attack on Raja Man Singh's war elephant and Pratap got injured and fell unconscious due to the blow by the elephant. The Mewari enthusiasm was shattered. Man Singh Jhala understood the situation and so he exchanged his armour with Pratap's armour to confuse the Mughals. Chetak ran very fast and seeing the Mughals following him, he crossed the famous pass of Haldighati with a big and a long leap for which he is also remembered. He succumbed to his injuries. Maharana Pratap is said to have been heartbroken at the demise of his stallion and his best friend Chetak who had saved his life and also the future of Mewar. Meanwhile, when Pratap was mourning Chetak's death, his brother Shakti Singh who had defected towards the Mughals, gave his horse to Pratap so that he could escape the Mughal soldiers who were chasing him. Man Singh Jhala who wore Pratap's royal chhavri was misunderstood as Rana Pratap by Mughal soldiers who killed him. They thought they had managed to kill Pratap. Man Singh was shocked to see that it was not Pratap but his chieftain Man Singh Jhala who was killed. In the next three days he overran other parts of Mewar. Subsequently, the whole of Mewar except some of the Aravallis fell in Mughal hands.

After the Battle of Haldighati

On the third day after the Battle of Haldighati, i.e. on 23 June 1576, Man Singh I conquered Gogunda[11] which was later recaptured by Pratap in July 1576.[12] Pratap then made Kumbhalgarh his temporary capital.[13] After that, Akbar decided to personally lead the campaign against Pratap.[citation needed] In the process, Gogunda, Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh were occupied by the mughals, forcing the Rana deeper into the mountainous tracts of southern Mewar.[citation needed] Mughal pressure was exerted on the Afghan chief of Jalor, and the Rajput chiefs of Idar, Sirohi, Banswara, Dungarpur, and Bundi. These states, situated on the borders of Mewar with Gujarat and Malwa had traditionally acknowledged the supremacy of the dominant power in the region. Consequently, the rulers of these states submitted to the Mughals. A mughal expedition was also sent to Bundi where Duda, the elder son of Rao Surjan Hada, had collaborated with Rana Pratap to take control over Bundi and adjacent areas. Both Surjan Hada and Bhoj, the father and younger brother of Duda, took part in this conflict in support of the mughals. After a mughal victory, Duda escaped to the hills and Bundi was conferred upon Bhoj. At this point Rana Pratap found himself isolated and marginalized in Rajput affairs.[8][page needed]

Resurgence

Mughal pressure on Mewar relaxed after 1579 following rebellions in Bengal and Bihar and Mirza Hakim's incursion into the Punjab. In 1585, Akbar moved to Lahore and remained there for the next twelve years watching the situation in the north-west. No mughal expedition was sent to Mewar during this period. Taking advantage of the situation, Rana Pratap recovered many of his lost territories including Kumbhalgarh,Udaipur,gogunda,Ranthambore and the areas around Chittor (but not Chittor itself). During this period, he also built a new capital--Chavand, near modern Dungarpur.[8][page needed] His successful defiance of Mughals using guerrilla strategy also proved inspirational to figures ranging from Shivaji to anti-British revolutionaries in Bengal.[14] Maharana got a lot of money from Bhamashah who was given the title of DanShiromani Bhamashah. He used that money to rebuild his army. He conquered Gogunda, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore and at last Udaipur from Jagannath Kachhawa. He built up a force of 40000 soldiers and he consolidated his position.

Royal Court

Maharana Pratap had a cabinet of able ministers / advisors and commanders including Bhamashah (treasurer) and Rao Poonja.

Personal life

Maharana Pratap's had 11 wives, out of whom, his first and favourite wife was Maharani Ajabde Punwar. Maharana pratap loved her throughout his life. She was the big support to Maharana pratap. She was the shadow of Maharani Jaiwanta Bai mother of Maharana pratap. Maharani ajabde loved Maharana pratap unconditionally throughout her life. She was just like a backbone of Maharana pratap. Unfortunately she died at the age of 48 and her death was the biggest shock for Maharana pratap.[1][2][15] He had 17 sons[16] and 5 daughters. Of his children, Amar Singh, who was born to Maharani Ajabde, was the eldest and who later succeeded him.[17] The list of Queens and Sons is as follows:[18]

S. No. Queen Son
1 Maharani Ajabde Amar Singh I
2 Solankhinipur Bai Sasha
Gopal
3 Champabai Jhali Kancha
Sanwaldas
Durjan Singh
4 Jasobai Chauhan
5 Shahmatibai Hada Pura
6 Khichar Ashabai Hathi
Ram Singh
7 Alamdebai Chauhan Jaswant Singh
8 Ratanawati Bai Parmar Maal
9 Amarbai Rathore Natha
10 Lakhabai Rathore Raibhana
11 Phool Kunwar

Death

Pratap died of injuries sustained in a hunting accident[19] at Chavand, which served as his capital,[20][21] on 29[22][23] January 1597, aged fifty-seven.[24][25] A chhatri, commemorating Pratap's funeral, exists at Chavand and is an important tourist attraction.[26] after his death, Amar Singh I succeeded him. He made Amar Singh I vow never to submit to the Mughals and win Chittorgarh back.Amarsingh, however, signed a treaty with Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1615.[27]

TV Serial Depictions

Year TV Series Channel Country Played by
2011-2014 Jodha Akbar Zee TV India Anurag Sharma
2013-2015 Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap Sony TV India Sharad Malhotra and Faisal Khan (Young)

Notes

  1. ^ a b Rana 2004, p. 28.
  2. ^ a b Rana 2004, p. 105.
  3. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur. p. 48. ISBN 9788125003335.
  4. ^ Daryanani, Mohan B. (1999). Who's who on Indian Stamps. p. 302. ISBN 9788493110109.
  5. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1994). A History of Jaipur : c. 1503 - 1938. Orient Longman. p. 83. ISBN 9788125003335.
  6. ^ Mathur, Pushparani (1994). Costumes of the Rulers of Mewar. p. 22. ISBN 9788170172932.
  7. ^ Lal, Muni (1980). Akbar. p. 135. ISBN 9780706910766.
  8. ^ a b c d Chandra, Satish (2006). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals (1206-1526). Vol. 2. Har-Anand Publications.
  9. ^ Rana 2004, p. 54.
  10. ^ Chundawat (9 December 2014), Haldi Ghati War
  11. ^ Rana 2004, p. 69.
  12. ^ Rana 2004, p. 72.
  13. ^ Rana 2004, p. 76.
  14. ^ Bandyopadhyay, Brishti (2007). Maharana Pratap : Mewar's Rebel King. Rupa Co.
  15. ^ Sharma, Dashrath (1990), Rajasthan Through the Ages: From 1300 to 1761 A.D, vol. 2, p. 274
  16. ^ Meininger, Irmgard (2000), Chittaurgarh, p. 38, ISBN 9788124601501
  17. ^ Shashi, S.S (1996), Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Volume 100, p. 185, ISBN 9788170418597
  18. ^ Rana 2004.
  19. ^ Sharma, Sri Ram (2005). Maharana Pratap. p. 91. ISBN 978-8178710037.
  20. ^ Chandra, Satish (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II. p. 122. ISBN 8124110662.
  21. ^ Niraj, Jaysimha (1991). Splendour Of Rajasthani Painting. p. 15. ISBN 8170172675.
  22. ^ plaque at Maharana Pratap Smarak Samiti, Udaipur
  23. ^ "Maharana Pratap - History of Chittorgarh". chittorgarh.com.
  24. ^ Gupta, R.K.; Bakshi, S.R. (2008). Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages The Heritage Of Rajputs (Set Of 5 Vols.). p. 46. ISBN 9788176258418.
  25. ^ "Maharana Pratap History - How did Maharana Pratap Die". Speaking Tree. 17 March 2015.
  26. ^ "Maharana Pratap Ki Chhatri". Indira Gandhi National Centre for the arts. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  27. ^ Mathur, Pushpa Rani (1994). Costumes of the rulers of Mewar : (with patterns and construction techniques). Delhi: Abhinav. p. 23. ISBN 978-81-7017-293-2. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

References

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Maharana Pratap
Born: 9 May 1540 Died: 19 January 1597
Preceded by Sisodia Rajput Ruler
1572–1597 		Succeeded by
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