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Maharana Pratap - Mewar

Published on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 by Chittorgarh.com Team | Modified on Friday, March 20, 2020

Maharana Pratap - Mewar
  • Born: May 9, 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan
  • Father Name: Maharana Udai Singh II
  • Mother Name: Rani Jeevant Kanwar
  • Died: January 29, 1597 in Chavand

Maharana Pratap was born on 9th May 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. His father was Maharana Udai Singh II and his mother was Rani Jeevant Kanwar. Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor. Maharana Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons and hence given the title of Crown Prince. He was destined to be the 54th ruler of Mewar, in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

In 1567, when Crown Prince Pratap Singh was only 27, Chittor was surrounded by the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar. Maharana Udai Singh II decided to leave Chittor and move his family to Gogunda, rather than capitulate to the Mughals. The young Pratap Singh wanted to stay back and fight the Mughals but the elders intervened and convinced him to leave Chittor, oblivious of the fact that this move from Chittor was going to create history for all times to come.

Maharana Pratap

In Gogunda, Maharana Udai Singh II and his nobles set up a temporary government of the kindom of Mewar. In 1572, the Maharana passed away, leaving the way for Crown Prince Pratap Singh to become the Maharana. However, in his later years, the late Maharana Udai Singh II had fallen under the influence of his favorite queen, Rani Bhatiyani, and had willed that her son Jagmal should ascend to the throne. As the late Maharana's body was being taken to the cremation grounds, Pratap Singh, the Crown Prince decided to accompany the dead body of the Maharana. This was a departure from tradition as the Crown Prince did not accompany the body of the departed Maharana but instead prepared to ascend the throne, such that the line of succession remained unbroken. Pratap Singh, in deference to his father's wishes, decided to let his half-brother Jagmal become the next king. However, knowing this to be disastrous for Mewar, the late Maharana's nobles, especially the Chundawat Rajputs, forced Jagmal to leave the throne to Pratap Singh. Unlike Bharat, Jagmal did not willingly give up the throne. He swore revenge and left for Ajmer, to join the armies of Akbar, where he was offered a jagir - the town of Jahazpur - in return for his help. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Pratap Singh became Maha Rana Pratap Singh I, 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.

The year was 1572. Pratap Singh had just become the Maharana of Mewar and he had not been back in Chittor since 1567. His old fort and his home beckoned to him. The pain of his father's death, and the fact that his father had not been able to see Chittor again, troubled the young Maharana deeply. But he was not the only one troubled at this time. Akbar had control of Chittor but not the kingdom of Mewar. So long as the people of Mewar swore by their Maharana, Akbar could not realize his ambition of being the Jahanpanah of Hindustan. He had sent several emissaries to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to sign a treaty but the letter was only willing to sign a peace treaty whereby the sovereignty of Mewar would be intact. In the course of the year 1573, Akbar sent six diplomatic missions to Mewar to get Rana Pratap to agree to the former's suzerainty but Rana Pratap turned down each one of them. The last of these missions was headed by Raja Man Singh, the brother-in-law of Akbar himself. Maharana Pratap, angered that his fellow Rajput was aligned with someone who had forced the submission of all Rajputs, refused to sup with Raja Man Singh. The lines were completely drawn now - Akbar understood that Maharana Pratap would never submit and he would have to use his troops against Mewar.

With the failure of efforts to negotiate a peace treaty in 1573, Akbar blockaded Mewar from the rest of the world and alienated Mewar's traditional allies, some of whom were Maharana Pratap's own kith and kin. Akbar then tried to turn the people of the all-important Chittor district against their king so they would not help Pratap. He appointed Kunwar Sagar Singh, a younger brother of Pratap, to rule the conquered territory, However, Sagar, regretting his own treachery, soon returned from Chittor, and committed suicide with a dagger in the Mughal Court. Shakti Singh, Pratap's younger brother now with the Mughal army, is said to have fled the Mughal court temporarily and warned his brother of Akbar's actions.

 

Maharana Pratap

 

In preparation for the inevitable war with the Mughals, Maharana Pratap altered his administration. He moved his capital to Kumbhalgarh, where he was born. He commanded his subjects to leave for the Aravali mountains and leave behind nothing for the approaching enemy - the war would be fought in a mountain terrain which the Mewar army was used to but not the Mughals. It is a testament to the young king's respect amongst his subjects that they obeyed him and left for the mountains. The Bhils of the Aravalis were completely behind him. The army of Mewar now raided Mughal trade caravans going from Delhi to Surat. A section of his army guarded the all important Haldighati Pass, the only way to get into Udaipur from the North. Maharana Pratap himself undertook several penances, not because his finances forced him to do so, but because he wished to remind himself, and all his subjects, why they were undertaking this pain - to win back their freedom, their right to exist as they wished. He foreswore that he would eat from leaf-plates, would sleep on the floor and would not shave. In his self-inflicted state of penury, the Maharana lived in mud-huts made from mud and bamboo.

In 1576, the famous battle of Haldighati was fought with 20,000 Rajputs against a Mughal army of 80,000 men commanded by Raja Man Singh. The battle was fierce though indecisive, to the Mughal army's astonishment. Maharana Pratap's army was not defeated but Maharana Pratap was surrounded by Mughal soldiers. It is said that at this point, his estranged brother, Shakti Singh, appeared and saved the Rana's life. Another casualty of this war was Maharana Pratap's famous, and loyal, horse Chetak, who gave up his life trying to save his Maharana.

 

Maharana Pratap in Battle of Haldighati

 

Maharana Pratap in Battle of Haldighati

 

After this war, Akbar tried several times to take over Mewar, failing each time. Maharana Pratap himself was keeping up his quest for taking Chittor back. However, the relentless attacks of the Mughal army had left his army weaker, and he barely had enough money to keep it going. It is said that at this time, one of his ministers, Bhama Shah, came and offered him all this wealth - a sum enabling Maharana Pratap to support an army of 25,000 for 12 years. It is said that before this generous gift from Bhama Shah, Maharana Pratap, anguished at the state of his subjects, was beginning to lose his spirit in fighting Akbar.

 

Maharana Pratap

 

In one incident that caused him extreme pain, his children's meal - bread made from grass - was stolen by a dog. It is said that this cut into Maharana Pratap's heart deeply. He began to have doubts about his resolute refusal to submit to the Mughals. Perhaps in one of these moments of self doubt - something each and every human being goes through - Maharana Pratap wrote to Akbar demanding 'a mitigation of his hardship'. Overjoyed at this indication of his valiant foe's submission, Akbar commanded public rejoicing, and showed the letter to a literate Rajput at his Court, Prince Prithiraj. He was the younger brother of Rai Singh, the ruler of Bikaner, a State established some eighty years earlier by the Rathores of Marwar. He had been compelled to serve Akbar because of his kingdom's submission to the Mughals. An award-winning poet, Prithiraj was also a gallant warrior and a longtime admirer of the brave Maharana Pratap Singh. He was astonished and grieved by Maharana Pratap's decision, and told Akbar the note was the forgery of some foe to defame the Mewar king. 'I know him well,' he explained, 'and he would never submit to your terms.' He requested and obtained Akbar's permission to send a letter to Pratap, ostensibly to ascertain the fact of his submission, but really with a view to prevent it. He composed the couplets that have become famous in the annals of patriotism.

The hopes of the Hindu rest on the Hindu; yet the Rana forsakes them. But for Pratap, all would be placed on the same level by Akbar; for our chiefs have lost their valour and our females their honour. Akbar is the broker in the market of our race: he has purchased all but the son of Udai (Singh II of Mewar); he is beyond his price. What true Rajput would part with honour for nine days (nauroza); yet how many have bartered it away? Will Chittor come to this market ...? Though Patta (an affectionate name for Pratap Singh) has squandered away wealth (on warfare), yet he has preserved this treasure. Despair has driven man to this market, to witness their dishonour: from such infamy the descendant of Hamir (Hamir Singh) alone has been preserved. The world asks, from where does the concealed aid of Pratap emanate? None but the soul of manliness and his sword ... The broker in the market of men (Akbar) will one day be surpassed; he cannot live forever. Then will our race come to Pratap, for the seed of the Rajput to sow in our desolate lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may again become resplendent.

The now-famous letter led to Pratap reversing his decision and not submitting to the Mughals, as was his initial but reluctant intention. After 1587, Akbar relinquished his obsessive pursuit of Maharana Pratap and took his battles into Punjab and India's Northwest Frontier. Thus for the last ten years of his life, Maharana Pratap ruled in relative peace and eventually freed most of Mewar, including Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh, but not Chittor. Bhagwat Singh Mewar: 'Maharana Pratap Singh (was) called the light and life of the Hindu community. There were times when he and his family and children ate bread made of grass.' Maharana Pratap became a patron of the Arts. During his reign Padmavat Charita and the poems of Dursa Ahada were written. Palaces at Ubheshwar, Kamal Nath and Chavand bear testimony to his love of architecture. These buildings, built in the dense hilly forest have walls adorned with military-style architecture. But Pratap's broken spirit overpowered him in the twilight of his years. His last moments were an appropriate commentary on his life, when he swore his successor, Crown Prince Amar Singh to eternal conflict against the foes of his country's independence. Maharana Pratap was never able to win back Chittor but he never gave up fighting to win it back.

In January 1597, Rana Pratap Singh I, Mewar's greatest hero, was seriously injured in a hunting accident. He left his body at Chavand, aged 56, on January 29, 1597. He died fighting for his nation, for his people, and most importantly for his honor.

 

Horse Chetak

Maharana Pratap

 

Horse Chetak

Maharana Pratap

 

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap

 

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap
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16 Comments

16. Rana Ali Hamza   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|April 8, 2020 1:00:04 AMReply
I am muslim Rajpoot.In short fact is that rajpoots fought bravely but Mughal crush every thing by the grace of God.....
16.7. raman sharma   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|June 9, 2022 8:56:33 AM
lagta hain tumne durgadas rathore ka naam nahi suna tumne chatrapati shivaji maharaj ka naam nahi suna tumne peshwa baji rao 1 ka naam nahi sunaa mughal inke dar ke maare delhi se bahar nahi aate thay phattu kahi ke.
16.8. Harsh Singh Rajput   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|April 9, 2023 11:13:02 AM
Ithihas Ka pana Palto Yeh baat apko Likha hua milega hmhesa hrwaqt Kayar pichey say var krte h sher smne say....
Aur yeh baat Syd bolna nhi pdega mughlo ki suruwat aur say lekr akhri tak Chalawa aur pith pichey var say jeeta h.
15. Varun Sharma   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|September 20, 2021 6:51:38 PMReply
तू भी है राणा का वंशज,
मार यहाँ तक भाला जाए।
One of greatest Indian soul.
Jai Rana, jai Bharat.
14. Burela Laxminarayana PhD   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|May 9, 2021 3:48:22 PMReply
🕉️🙏🙏🙏🚩

Namaste Bandhu

Maharana Pratap Singh Sisodia, a real Hero who faught for Hindu against the mughals. Though several Kings accepted the authority of mughals, Maharana faught for Life time for the esteem of Bharat. The present generation should read, learn and inspire from Maharana.

Not only Maharana and his people, but, his horse 🏇, Chetak and elephant 🐘, Ramprasad were having akhand Desh bhakti. Understand this reality of true devotion for Bharat, which I feel lacking in present generation.

Dhanyavaad
Aapka
Burela Laxminarayana PhD
13. Harsh Saini   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|May 28, 2018 1:47:42 AMReply
This very detail is not completely true. You are telling that in the Battle of Haldighati the Mughal army has 80,000 and pratap's army has 20,000 but in reality Mughal army has 10000 men and pratap has 3000 rajputs and 400 bhil archers. The Battle was decisively won by The Great Mughals and whole Mewar was occupied by Mughals including Gogunda,Kumbhalgarh and Udaipur.
13.3. Aditya   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|June 5, 2020 10:29:44 AM
Mental improve your language
13.4. Sullathrasher   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|April 24, 2021 11:37:25 PM
you must be brainwashed by ncert or some books
reality is far different
12. Mudit   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|September 30, 2020 2:16:33 PMReply
One thing is clear about us Hindus that We are Idiots that we are still allowing these Muslims to live in India..
We must attack their dignity and honour that will be true revenge..
11. S N Damodaran   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|July 19, 2020 2:44:32 PMReply
Great Rana Pratap. I wondered about his desh bhakti and fight against mughals even in his life long. Jai mewad. Jai eklinghji.
10. T SATYA VENKAT   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|April 29, 2020 9:12:36 PMReply
MAHARANA PRATAP myself and my children would visit and bow our HEADS on his and chetak samadhi, rather visiting stupid places of ghats and burial grounds of the infidels.
9. Reena   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|March 16, 2020 8:23:44 AMReply
Maharana Pratap is one Man of army he is real hero of all India
8. Priyanshu Mishra   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|January 27, 2020 7:01:41 PMReply
Mugals are not great because they kill Hindu rudly
7. Dharm Kasana   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|September 27, 2019 1:51:12 PMReply
Maharana partap ko shahi tlvar kisne bent ki thi & ye shahi tlvar kis shasak ki thi
6. Dharm Kasana   I Like It. 2|Report Abuse|  Link|September 27, 2019 1:50:12 PMReply
Maharana partap ko shahi tlvar kisne bent ki thi & ye shahi tlvar kis shasak ki thi
5. Team Chittorgarh.com   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|June 6, 2019 2:19:42 PMReply
नाम - कुँवर प्रताप जी (श्री महाराणा प्रताप सिंह जी)
जन्म - 9 मई, 1540 ई.
जन्म भूमि - कुम्भलगढ़, राजस्थान
पुण्य तिथि - 29 जनवरी, 1597 ई.
पिता - श्री महाराणा उदयसिंह जी
माता - राणी जीवत कँवर जी
राज्य - मेवाड़
शासन काल - 1568-1597ई.
शासन अवधि - 29 वर्ष
वंश - सुर्यवंश
राजवंश - सिसोदिया
राजघराना - राजपूताना
धार्मिक मान्यता - हिंदू धर्म
युद्ध - हल्दीघाटी का युद्ध
राजधानी - उदयपुर
पूर्वाधिकारी - महाराणा उदयसिंह
उत्तराधिकारी - राणा अमर सिंह

अन्य जानकारी -
महाराणा प्रताप सिंह जी के पास एक सबसे प्रिय घोड़ा था,जिसका नाम 'चेतक' था।

राजपूत शिरोमणि महाराणा प्रतापसिंह उदयपुर,मेवाड़ में सिसोदिया राजवंश के राजा थे।

वह तिथि धन्य है, जब मेवाड़ की शौर्य-भूमि पर मेवाड़-मुकुटमणि राणा प्रताप का जन्म हुआ।

महाराणा का नाम इतिहास में वीरता और दृढ़ प्रण के लिये अमर है।

महाराणा प्रताप की जयंती विक्रमी सम्वत् कॅलण्डर के अनुसार प्रतिवर्ष ज्येष्ठ, शुक्ल पक्ष तृतीया को मनाई जाती है।

महाराणा प्रताप के बारे में कुछ रोचक जानकारी:-

1. महाराणा प्रताप एक ही झटके में घोड़े समेत दुश्मन सैनिक को काट डालते थे।

2. जब इब्राहिम लिंकन भारत दौरे पर आ रहे थे तब उन्होने अपनी माँ से पूछा कि हिंदुस्तान से आपके लिए क्या लेकर आए| तब माँ का जवाब मिला- "उस महान देश की वीर भूमि हल्दी घाटी से एक मुट्ठी धूल लेकर आना जहाँ का राजा अपनी प्रजा के प्रति इतना वफ़ादार था कि उसने आधे हिंदुस्तान के बदले अपनी मातृभूमि को चुना " लेकिन बदकिस्मती से उनका वो दौरा रद्द हो गया था | "बुक ऑफ़ प्रेसिडेंट यु एस ए 'किताब में आप यह बात पढ़ सकते हैं |

3. महाराणा प्रताप के भाले का वजन 80 किलोग्राम था और कवच का वजन भी 80 किलोग्राम ही था| कवच, भाला, ढाल, और हाथ में तलवार का वजन मिलाएं तो कुल वजन 207 किलो था।

4. आज भी महाराणा प्रताप की तलवार कवच आदि सामान उदयपुर राज घराने के संग्रहालय में सुरक्षित हैं |

5. अकबर ने कहा था कि अगर राणा प्रताप मेरे सामने झुकते है तो आधा हिंदुस्तान के वारिस वो होंगे पर बादशाहत अकबर की ही रहेगी| लेकिन महाराणा प्रताप ने किसी की भी अधीनता स्वीकार करने से मना कर दिया |

6. हल्दी घाटी की लड़ाई में मेवाड़ से 20000 सैनिक थे और अकबर की ओर से 85000 सैनिक युद्ध में सम्मिलित हुए |

7. महाराणा प्रताप के घोड़े चेतक का मंदिर भी बना हुआ है जो आज भी हल्दी घाटी में सुरक्षित है |

8. महाराणा प्रताप ने जब महलों का त्याग किया तब उनके साथ लुहार जाति के हजारो लोगों ने भी घर छोड़ा और दिन रात राणा कि फौज के लिए तलवारें बनाईं| इसी समाज को आज गुजरात मध्यप्रदेश और राजस्थान में गाढ़िया लोहार कहा जाता है| मैं नमन करता हूँ ऐसे लोगो को |

9. हल्दी घाटी के युद्ध के 300 साल बाद भी वहाँ जमीनों में तलवारें पाई गई। आखिरी बार तलवारों का जखीरा 1985 में हल्दी घाटी में मिला था |

10. .महाराणा प्रताप को शस्त्रास्त्र की शिक्षा "श्री जैमल मेड़तिया जी" ने दी थी जो 8000 राजपूत वीरों को लेकर 60000 मुसलमानों से लड़े थे। उस युद्ध में 48000 मारे गए थे जिनमे 8000 राजपूत और 40000 मुग़ल थे |

11. महाराणा के देहांत पर अकबर भी रो पड़ा था |

12. मेवाड़ के आदिवासी भील समाज ने हल्दी घाटी में अकबर की फौज को अपने तीरो से रौंद डाला था वो महाराणा प्रताप को अपना बेटा मानते थे और राणा बिना भेदभाव के उन के साथ रहते थे| आज भी मेवाड़ के राजचिन्ह पर एक तरफ राजपूत हैं तो दूसरी तरफ भील |

13. महाराणा प्रताप का घोड़ा चेतक महाराणा को 26 फीट का दरिया पार करने के बाद वीर गति को प्राप्त हुआ | उसकी एक टांग टूटने के बाद भी वह दरिया पार कर गया। जहाँ वो घायल हुआ वहां आज खोड़ी इमली नाम का पेड़ है जहाँ पर चेतक की मृत्यु हुई वहाँ चेतक मंदिर है |

14. राणा का घोड़ा चेतक भी बहुत ताकतवर था उसके मुँह के आगे दुश्मन के हाथियों को भ्रमित करने के लिए हाथी की सूंड लगाई जाती थी । यह हेतक और चेतक नाम के दो घोड़े थे|

15. मरने से पहले महाराणा प्रताप ने अपना खोया हुआ 85 % मेवाड फिर से जीत लिया था । सोने चांदी और महलो को छोड़कर वो 20 साल मेवाड़ के जंगलो में घूमे |

16. महाराणा प्रताप का वजन 110 किलो और लम्बाई 7'5" थी, दो म्यान वाली तलवार और 80 किलो का भाला रखते थे हाथ में।

महाराणा प्रताप के हाथी की कहानी:

मित्रो आप सब ने महाराणा प्रताप के घोड़े चेतक के बारे में तो सुना ही होगा, लेकिन उनका एक हाथी भी था। जिसका नाम था रामप्रसाद। उसके बारे में आपको कुछ बाते बताता हुँ।

रामप्रसाद हाथी का उल्लेख अल- बदायुनी, जो मुगलों की ओर से हल्दीघाटी के युद्ध में लड़ा था ने अपने एक ग्रन्थ में किया है।

वो लिखता है की जब महाराणा प्रताप पर अकबर ने चढाई की थी तब उसने दो चीजो को ही बंदी बनाने की मांग की थी एक तो खुद महाराणा और दूसरा उनका हाथी रामप्रसाद।

आगे अल बदायुनी लिखता है की वो हाथी इतना समझदार व ताकतवर था की उसने हल्दीघाटी के युद्ध में अकेले ही अकबर के 13 हाथियों को मार गिराया था

वो आगे लिखता है कि उस हाथी को पकड़ने के लिए हमने 7 बड़े हाथियों का एक चक्रव्यूह बनाया और उन पर 14 महावतो को बिठाया तब कहीं जाकर उसे बंदी बना पाये।

अब सुनिए एक भारतीय जानवर की स्वामी भक्ति। उस हाथी को अकबर के समक्ष पेश किया गया जहा अकबर ने उसका नाम पीरप्रसाद रखा। रामप्रसाद को मुगलों ने गन्ने और पानी दिया। पर उस स्वामिभक्त हाथी ने 18 दिन तक मुगलों का न तो दाना खाया और न ही पानी पिया और वो शहीद हो गया।

तब अकबर ने कहा था कि जिसके हाथी को मैं अपने सामने नहीं झुका पाया उस महाराणा प्रताप को क्या झुका पाउँगा। ऐसे ऐसे देशभक्त चेतक व रामप्रसाद जैसे तो यहाँ जानवर थे।
4. mohit   I Like It. 1|Report Abuse|  Link|July 17, 2018 5:56:52 PMReply
great mughals ,really? how many hindus they had killed and how many temples were destroyed by them.
3. Dr. Vikram Singh   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|July 5, 2018 11:52:20 AMReply
haldighati battle was won by Great Maharana Pratap. if any one has doubt about it then read the research papers
3.1. Shourya jaiswal   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|November 25, 2018 7:01:06 PM
Please can you provide the links for that research papers? I also think that pratap won that battle.
2. midula   I Like It. |Report Abuse|  Link|September 11, 2018 8:05:20 PMReply
do not upload wrong information it leaves a black mark over their character. Udaisingh II had 6-7 children not 25.
1. Desai Jaydeep   I Like It. 1|Report Abuse|  Link|September 7, 2018 12:01:37 AMReply
AKBAR always fear from MAHARANA PRATAP SINGH beacuse he know that, that he can never defeat MAHARANA PRATAP SINGH BY 1 on1 battle