Introduction of Maharana Pratap
Maharana Pratap Singh Sisodia (Jyeshtha Shukla Tritiya Sunday Vikram Samvat 1597 corresponding to 9 May 1540 – 19 January 1597) was the king of the Sisodia dynasty in Udaipur, Mewar.His name is immortal in the history for his heroism, valour, sacrifice, courage and determination.He did not accept the suzerainty of Mughal Emperor Akbar and fought for many years, ultimately Akbar failed in subjugating Maharana Pratap.
Place of birth
Pratap was born on the third day of the bright half of the month of Jyeshtha in the year 1597 in Pali, Marwar.There are two beliefs on the question of Maharana Pratap's birthplace. First, Maharana Pratap was born in Kumbhalgarh Fort because Maharana Udai Singh and Jayavantabai were married in Kumbhalgarh Palace.The second belief is that he was born in the royal palaces of Pali. Maharana Pratap's mother's name was Jayawanta Bai, who was the daughter of Sonagara Akheraj of Pali.Maharana Pratap spent his childhood with the Bhil community, he learned the art of war from the Bhils, Bhils call their son Kika, hence the Bhils used to call Maharana by the name Kika.
History of Life
The most interesting fact about the reign of Maharana Pratap is that Mughal emperor Akbar wanted to bring Pratap under his control without a war. Therefore, Akbar appointed four ambassadors to convince Pratap, out of which Jalal Khan first went to Pratap's camp in September 1572 AD, followed by Mansingh (in 1573 AD), Bhagwandas (in September, 1573 AD) and Raja Todarmal (in December, 1573 AD).All the four reached to convince Pratap but Rana Pratap disappointed them and thus Rana Pratap refused to suzerainty of the Mughals which resulted in the historic Battle of Haldighati
Battle of Haldighati
This war took place between Mewar and the Mughals on 18 June 1576 AD. In this war, the army of Mewar was led by Maharana Pratap.The only Muslim chieftain who fought on the side of Maharana Pratap in this war was Hakim Khan Suri.The site of the battle was a narrow mountain pass at Haldighati near Gogunda in Rajasthan. Maharana Pratap fielded a force of about 3,000 horsemen and 400 Bhil archers.The Mughals were led by Raja Man Singh of Amer, who commanded an army of about 5,000–10,000 men.After a fierce battle that lasted for over three hours, Maharana Pratap found himself wounded while some of his men bought him time, he managed to escape to the hills and lived to fight another day.Mewar casualties numbered around 1,600 men. The Mughal army lost 3500–7800 men, with another 350 wounded.Maharana Pratap of Mewar was victorious in this war, as soon as the attention of the empire shifted elsewhere, Pratap and his army came out and recaptured the western regions of his dominion.Historians believe that there was no victory in this war. But if seen, Maharana Pratap Singh was victorious in this war.How long could a handful of Rajputs hold out against Akbar's massive army? But nothing of that sort happened.This war lasted for a whole day and the Rajputs defeated the Mughals and the biggest thing is that the war was fought face to face.Maharana's army forced the Mughal army to retreat and the Mughal army started running away.
Akbar's reaction to the death
Akbar was the biggest enemy of Maharana Pratap, but their fight was not the result of any personal hatred but was a fight for their principles and values.One was the one who wanted to expand his cruel empire, while on the other side was Maharana Pratap ji who was fighting for the independence of his motherland India.Akbar was deeply saddened by the death of Maharana Pratap because he was a fan of Maharana Pratap's qualities from the heart and Akbar knew that there is no one as brave as Maharana Pratap on this earth.Hearing this news, Akbar became mysteriously silent and tears came to his eyes.
