Many of you have read my fan fiction as well as historical representations of the life and times of Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar. I provided small details of his life in many articles. But never have I ever made a separate historical post on him. It is very difficult to put together his life without the help of folklore because historical evidence is scarce. This one was requested, and hence here it goes. Needless to say, this one is very special. This is a blend of history and folklore. Leave your love. ❤️
Background and Birth:
The year was 1540. Mewar was under a cloud of uncertainty. Banbir, their ruler for four years now, was a very incompetent ruler who always spent his time in luxury, drinking and dancing with girls. The crown prince Udai Singh was rumoured to have been killed by him. Chittorgarh was in darkness. Around March 1540, Mewar once again saw hope as some trusted generals, along with Kunwar Udai Singh, attacked Chittorgarh, taking Banbir by surprise. He was soon to realise he had killed not Udai but Chandan, Dhai Panna's son. Eighteen-year-old Udai Singh was fighting his first war.
In the fort of Kumbhalgarh, about fifty-seven kilometres away, tucked in a small room with a dim lamp shining, his queen consort, Jaivanta Bai Songara, was pregnant and waiting eagerly, hoping for a son. Mewar was unaware of the news. The heir needed security. It was past midnight on Jestha Tritiya, the hot weather making the Queen sweat in her contractions. The hot summer of May was indeed unbeatable. Beside her were her trusted sakhis, maids, daima and perhaps Udai Singh's second queen, Sajja Bai Solanki. Everyone was praying for the smooth delivery of the heir. On the month of Jyestha Sudi on the third day of Vikram Era 1597, Sunday at 47 Ghati 13 Pal past sunrise, the midnight silence was broken by the cries of a newborn. It was a boy. Mewar had a crown prince. The future was hopeful.
The news made an ecstatic Udai Singh leave his court in Chittorgarh and come to see his heir immediately in Kumbhalgarh.
"Partap, his mother had whispered in his Naam Karan. Everyone smiled as the baby approved. Holding him in her arms, Maharani Jaivanta Bai knew it was just the beginning of a long battle. The battle of a mother to teach her son right and wrong, a Rajputani to teach her son bravery and a queen to teach him to serve his soil.
(On Jestha Tritiya, the purest day of Akshay Tritiya, he was born somewhere between 12.49a.m. and 1:45 a.m. Some sources debate it as 30th May, 1540, while Todd says it's 9th May, 1540.)
Childhood:
Kunwar Partap, or Patta as he was lovingly called by friends, lived in Kumbhalgarh for the first three years of his life. Away from the court and politics of Chittorgarh, his mother taught him and his younger brother Shakta, son of Sajja, the stories of Mythology and Ramayana. Kunwar Pratap was an intelligent and active child. At the mere age of three, he would impress his Ranima with his eager questions.
Chittorgarh had welcomed its soon-to-be favourite crown prince with joy. Udai Singh had decided it was now safe to move his family into Chittorgarh after he had made a peace treaty with the Afghans and given them a portion of the fort to encamp in. Ignorant of such political moves, Kunwar Pratap was happy with his new home. He had started practising swords with Shakti as part of their play. The wooden swords swayed so bravely that Jaivanta decided they needed lessons. The brothers were ready.
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Around ten years of age, he had seen his father and mother fall out. The dignified and self-respecting Jaivanta Bai was never to compromise on her son's safety and lessons. She was perhaps disturbed by her husband's inclination towards the newly married and sly Dheerbai Bhattiyani, his third queen from Jaisalmer. The rumours were not accurately known, but the difference was so huge between the Queen Consort and the King that she moved out of Chittorgarh with the clueless young prince in tow, leaving the Rana rather furious.
They stayed in Jallore for some time. Here, for the first time, from his grandfather, he had heard stories of his forefathers. The influential Rana Kumbha and his grandfather Rana Sanga, their sacrifices and bravery, made an impression on the young prince. Jaivanta Bai was not a person to stay dependent for long. The lack of response from Udai Singh prompted her to move out of Jallore.
There are two versions of the story here. One says she lived in the foothills of Chittorgarh, and Kunwar Pratap and Udai Singh knew about her whereabouts. In another, she lived in disguise in Bhilwara, in the forests of the bhils. They were not in favour of the Royals, and that made Jaivanta Bai choose Bhilwara, knowing Kunwar Pratap would be safe there. For the next two years, he lived among the Bhils and learned about life in the jungle. The bhils called him Kika and taught him the arts of guerrilla tactics and the bow and arrow. Their identity was well hidden until Kunwar Pratap managed to kill a Tiger with his Khanjar. That prompted the bhils to question his identity and eventually offer him help and support as their friend. Udai Singh wanted his son and queen back in the palace now. The support of the Bhils for his son could perhaps be a peace treaty with them.
With Jaivanta Bai's eagerness, his education and warfare lessons started. On getting into the warrior mentality, he was the first to question the Afghan dominance in Chittorgarh. A war with the Afghans followed, and he managed to kill General Shams Khan and prove his worth as Mewar's future at the mere age of thirteen.
Meeting his Queen:
At the Gurukul, Kunwar Pratap had befriended many princes and chieftain royals. One of his friends was Kunwar Surjan Singh of Sirohi near Bundi. It is said that his marriage was fixed to Pratap's sister, who was probably Sajja Bai's daughter, and the two princes went to each other's palaces regularly. On the way to Sirohi and Bundi, Kunwar Pratap, now a valiant warrior, just at fourteen, had stopped by Bijolia. Bijolia was Mewar's border with Bundi and a stop for the night for most travellers. Here, he met and befriended Rajkumari Ajabdeh Punwar, the daughter of his father's Chieftain, Rao Ramrakh Punwar. Two years younger and a worshiper of Lord Krishna, Ajabdeh reminded him of his own Ranima. Their worlds were different. She learned about war and politics from him while he learned about life from her. Within two years and many visits, Kunwar Pratap had decided that she was definitely the one.
In 1556, when the Mughals were showing dominance in Agra, Mewar was in a war with Marwar. Senapati Pratap Singh was having a personal battle as well. Fighting over his choice of a bride against his father. Finally, in 1557, his father gave in, and a seventeen-year-old Kunwar Pratap married a fifteen-year-old Kunwarani Ajab Deh Punwar. Although he had 11 wives (2 after her death) and 17 sons with 5 daughters, all the alliances were no match for the love and respect he shared with his friend and consort, Ajab Deh. His firstborn and heir, Amar Singh, was born to her on 16th March 1559 at Chittorgarh.
Some say they lived separately from the Ranimahal owing to differences with his father. In the same year, Udai Singh had laid the foundations of Udaipur and Kunwar Pratap and his brothers were looking after the construction of the new city. He never approved of how, in a war-like situation with Mughal danger, his father was wasting a lot on building a city. He also travelled to Kumbhalgarh to make sure the borders were safe.
Chittorgarh Siege:
In 1562, the constructions were complete. And the royal family was being shifted to Udaipur. This is the first time that the difference between father and son became public. Kunwar Pratap decided to leave for Kumbhalgarh and Kelwara with his family and mother, although Udai Singh had allotted him quarters in Udaipur. This was probably because he could sense some impending danger after Mewar refused Mughal Alliances. It was also during this time at an animal fair near Bijolia that Kunwar Pratap had chosen a Marwari stud as his war horse and named him Chetak.
There are many legends surrounding the Chittorgarh siege. Along with Chittorgarh, all major forts also received threats that were successfully guarded by the Mewaris. One popular legend is that of Ram Prasad. While Kunwar Pratap had partnered with Ram Prasad on all his major wars, including the one with the Afghans, he could not take Ram Prasad with him to Kumbhalgarh. Ram Prasad, much like Chetak, could fight without a mahout. On the final day of the siege, he refused to let anyone sit on him, so Commander Patta decided to set him free and fight his own battle. Ram Prasad had managed to stampede Mughal foot soldiers. He was finally captured using other elephants and taken to Akbar's camp. The emperor decided to take Kunwar Pratap's beloved elephant with him to Agra as his prize. But he was in for a surprise. For the next twenty-one days, Ram Prasad showed his loyalty to his master. He refused even a sip of water at the Mughal camp and died being force-fed by the Mughal soldiers in vain. People say it was Kunwar Pratap's love and treatment of animals that made them so loyal to him. Akbar had left Chittor in ruins, killing all its men, 30,000 civilians, and the women who committed Jauhar. His army destroyed five hundred temples across the fort.
Crowning:
The Chittorgarh siege had affected Pratap like no other incident ever had. His brother Shakti had already had a fallout with his father, and Udai Singh was completely under Dheerbai's influence. In 1572, Udai Singh died of prolonged illness at Gogunda, and before he could even reach the funerals to do the rights of the eldest son, to his shock, Jagmal, the 9th son of his father, and first to Rani Dheerbai, had announced himself the king. Dheerbai had stated, keeping her brother Raimal as a witness, that Udai Singh, on his deathbed, wished for Jagmal's ascendance to the throne.
As people cried folly, Kunwar Partap gracefully accepted his brother, saying it was his duty to serve his motherland and that he would continue to do so. But Jagmal had done the unexpected. He had announced that Pratap would leave his court and also that he would make an alliance with the Mughals. The shocked and angry Chieftains had had enough. What followed was a first in Mewar's history as the sixteen Rawats of Mewar pulled a scared Jagmal off the royal throne, as he clung on scared and shouted for mercy while a reluctant Partap was crowned. On 1st March 1572, at Gogunda on the day of Holi, Mewar was coloured with hope as he was crowned Rana Pratap Singh. And a new journey in his life had begun. On his oath, he had mentioned how if he ruled after Rana Sanga, no invaders would have dared to make his motherland unholy with their footfall. He had ordered Shakti Singh to send Dheerbai to Vrindavan while Jagmal escaped to Agra and was granted the Jagir of Ajmer by the emperor.
Now, there are two versions of what happened to Kunwar Shakti. His closest brother is believed by many to be his spy in the Mughal court, whom he had to send to join the Mughals after the repeated attempts at a peace treaty, as he could predict an impending war. Another version says Shakti, who was equally brave as Partap, was unhappy with his brother's succession, much like his sibling Vikram, who had joined the Mughals. Upon Succession, he shifted his capital to Kumbhalgarh, his birthplace.
War and Peace:
Rana Pratap's first successful war was against Rao Maldeo's second son Udai Singh, who was famously called "Mota Raja" of Marwar. Upon this win, Marwar promised to stay neutral if a war broke out between their respective sides of Mewar and the Mughals. Three peace treaties and alliances arrived in the next few years from Jalaluddin Mohammad. A peace treaty was sent by Akbar each time, by a different Rajput, in 1573, 1574 and 1575. Raja Bharmal was the first to come, and Rana Pratap treated him with great hospitality and refused his offers politely. What troubled the Rana was the thought that Akbar did not want a war with Mewar; without war, it was impossible to win back the places they had lost to the Mughals. He knew just what to do.
When the last Mughal treaty arrived via Maan Singh, Ranaji sent his son and heir, Amar Singh, who was a mere sixteen years old and was his father's shadow. Amar Singh had met Maan Singh on the banks of the Udai Sagar. When Maan Singh asked the young prince why Ranaji himself didn't come to greet him, Amar bravely said, it was a Senapati's duty to meet a Senapati, and he was no king. One thing led to another as Amar Singh's blood boiled and he questioned the adopted Maan Singh's pedigree and Rajput blood. Humiliated, Maan Singh had sworn to come back and meet the Mewaris at the battlefield they chose. This was the opportunity Pratap had waited for.
It was time for alliances, and the first help arrived from the Bhil Rana Punja and his men. Rana Pratap had strategically befriended the Afghan leader Hakim Khan Suri, who was also Sher Shah Suri's nephew and a Mughal enemy. Rana Pratap had understood that to defeat the Mughals, one needed to adopt the use of cannons and guns, and only the Afghans could provide that. He had learned the use of guns as well. Hakim Khan was also honoured with the post of commander-in-chief of his army. This, if you ask me, was a very clever political move to establish that neither he nor Mewar was against a particular religion or mass, but just the Mughals as Mewaris. He was as secular a ruler as Akbar claimed to be.
The next move was to choose the battleground. Haldighati, as he called it, the land of the yellow soil, was a land just beside the river Banas. He chose the fields on either side of the river, knowing that the forests and narrow passes would be perfect for his plan. Dewair is locally known as a hilly area with a lot of narrow passes and caves in the forests, best known to the Bhils.
Haldighati
On the morning of 21st June 1576, dawn arrived as the armies gathered at either side of the Banas. The orange flag matched the red tilak, and chants of "Har Har Mahadev" deafened the ears. Maan Singh was sitting on his elephant. The Rana, on Chetak, proudly wore his trunk and accessories. The war began with the blow of conch shells. Within a few minutes, the Mewaris started falling back. This was a pleasant surprise to the Mughals, who chased them to the grounds, known as the Rakt Talai. They had no idea that this was indeed a plan. While some Bravehearts like the Tanwars fell to the ground, the others, including Amar Singh, had managed to reach the pass. The pass was so small that no elephant could enter it. The foot soldiers followed. The Bhils immediately started their attack from the top of the cliffs using stones and arrows. The foot soldiers were trapped in the narrow pass. On the other side, Rana Pratap faced Maan Singh.
Chetak falls:
Chetak had managed to jump on the elephant's trunk, taking Maan Singh by surprise as Rana Pratap's spear pierced through the body of his elephant mahout. Maan Singh fell to the ground. Immediately, his soldiers surrounded the Rana, and he failed to notice that the elephant's trunk had injured Chetak's legs. Severe blood loss made Rana weak, as everyone insisted he should leave the field. Reluctantly, he had given his headgear to a similar-looking Jhalla Maan Singh of Basidri, whom the Mughals killed, thinking of him as Ranaji.
Chetak had limped his way to the Banas, nearly 2KM away, and collapsed trying to cross the river that was very turbulent in the rainy season. Rana Pratap was injured, trapped and hurt at the loss of his friend. He was mourning Chetak, not aware of the fact that two Mughal soldiers were about to attack him. Shakti Singh came to the rescue, as he killed these people and reunited with his brother, offering him his own horse. Shakti then went back to the Mughal camp to confirm that Rana was dead, while Pratap escaped to the cave hiding nearby, where he united with his family. Maan Singh had taken possession of Kumbhalgarh. It is here that he took the famous oath to not stay in Palaces, not eat on gold and silver, not shave his beard and not sleep in a soft bed until he freed Mewar. His family had chosen life in the forest with him.
Folklores:
It is here that Rana had once thought of changing his mind when his family was starving, and one young prince was crying over his lost piece of bread. Folktales also talk of the death of his beloved daughter, Champavati, probably the daughter of Ajabdeh, who died trying to eat a poisonous fruit out of hunger in the forest. Here, he had also written his famous letter to cousin Prithviraj of Bikaner, on his quitting his dreams (details in the series Pratap Ajabdeh) and the incident of Hari Ghas ki roti. Also mentioned here is the incident where Amar Singh had taken some women captive, and he, showing his great character, scolded his son and freed them with respect, reminding them that true Rajputs never dragged their ladies into politics.
Regaining Power:
Rana Partap was low on cash and men and needed aid to start over again. It is here that the famous Bhahma Shah decided to donate all his money to Rana's great cause. This was a major boost for Mewar as well as his spirit. With a whole new aim and inspiration, for the people who called him their saviour, he started building an army from scrap. In the years 1579 and 1580, guerrilla war techniques helped the Rana win back major camps across Mewar. Also, the news of his death had made Akbar shift his glance to the Deccan. He utilised this opportunity well and again met the Mughal army at the second battle of Dewair, also called Haldighati, in 1581. Most textbooks do not mention this war that the Mewaris won. Rana Pratap had cut the Mughal commander Bahlol Khan in two with his sword. The Mughals were forced to retreat as even Prince Salim was injured. Akbar, knowing how Bahlol died, had now realised that the Rana was alive and well, and he ordered the imprisonment of Shakti Singh at the Agra Fort, from where the prince managed an escape. Rana Pratap had regained Kumbhalgarh but refused to settle there as the quest for Chittorgarh was yet to be fulfilled. Also, he felt that Kumbhalgarh was now vulnerable to the Mughal attack. His choice of capital had surprised everyone. But before moving, he had reconstructed the destroyed walls of the fort and restored Kumbhalgarh to its glory.
Chavand: His Home
The year was 1582 CE. His choice of capital was now Chavand. A forest near Bandroli Lake, which derived its name from an ancient Chamunda Temple. The forests were a perfect camouflage for the capital. It is said that a severe drought hit the land in the coming years just after peace returned to Mewar. The Rana gave away his remaining wealth and stopped collecting taxes that made him his people's "Maharana" In the coming years, with the demise of Ajabdeh and the birth of his grandson Karan Singh, son to Amar and Aarti Bai, peace had returned to Mewar, but not in Rana's heart. He had mourned his wife and lost interest in administration for about two years. The only thing that kept him going was the plan to revive Chittorgarh.
Last Days:
Seeing his father so disturbed, Amar Singh had decided to take him out on a hunting trip. The lover of animals, Pratap, was never a hunter for pleasure but decided to join his son that day. Some historians call it a conspiracy, but I prefer to think of it as fate. In January 1597, he was severely injured as the bowstring he was trying to tie had hit his leg, and the infection spread. On the eleventh day of Magh Shukla Paksh, Vikram Era, 1653 (29th January, 1597 CE), after a ten-day battle with his wounds, Maharana Pratap breathed his last, at the age of fifty-seven, leaving behind an unfulfilled dream of winning back Chittorgarh. Maharana Pratap breathed his last on a grass bed, leaving behind a country of orphan children who called him their father and Amar Singh, who had promised him his last wish to never give in and regain Chittorgarh.
With Unfulfilled dreams and an inspiration to thousands, the first freedom fighter left the earth with his tales and history immortalising him. The countrymen were inspired by his stories. Many like Shivaji, Subhash Chandra and Bhagat Singh followed his ideals towards freedom. And Mewar still believes that from the ruins of the lost capital of Chavand, in the flickering lamp at his white cenotaph at the lake, he sees them, protects them and still looks after his motherland, forever.
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Parting Words:
Maharana Pratap of Mewar can be one paragraph in your history books, a Hindu king from a western province of Akbar's Empire and probably not as important as the emperor himself to many. For me, he is beyond that. He is a leader who inspires, a warrior who chased his dreams against all odds. He is a father to the people of Mewar and a protector of them. He was a man of honour, morals and values. He was someone who led a dream for many. He was a father, a husband, a son and a grandfather who played each role very significantly. He is and always will be my inspiration.
Ps Most date references are taken on the earlier source basis (i.e. the earliest mentioned date in contemporary sources)
Bibliography
- Maharana Pratap by M.P.Kamal
- Maharana Pratap by B.N.Rana
- Maharana Pratap by Rima Hooja
- War Strategies of Maharana Pratap by L.P.Mathur
- Mewar and Mughals
- Akbarnama by Abul Fazl
- Tuzk-E-Jahangiri
- Annals of Mewar by James Todd
- Vir Vinod (one of the primary sources for court records of Amar Singh, Raj Singh)
- Maharana Pratap by Amar Chitra Katha
