10 things to know about Maharana Pratap in 30 seconds
- Maharana Pratap is revered as one of the strongest warriors India has ever seen. He was born on 9th May 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan.
2. His father Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor.Since Pratap was the eldest of twenty-five sons, he was given the title of Crown Prince.
3. Crown Prince Pratap Singh became Maha Rana Pratap Singh I, 54th ruler of Mewar in the line of the Sisodiya Rajputs.
4. In 1576, Akbar deputed Man Singh I and Asaf Khan I to lead a force against Maharana Pratap, This led to The Battle of Haldighati which was fought on 18 June 1576.
5. On the third day after the Battle of Haldighati, Man Singh I conquered Gogunda which was later recaptured by Pratap in July 1576.Pratap then made Kumbhalgarh his temporary capital.
6. 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.This led to death of his beloved horse.
7. Maharana Pratap’s had 11 wives, out of whom, his first and favourite wife was Maharani Ajabde Punwar.
8. 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.
9. His son, Amar Singh, who was born to Maharani Ajabde, later succeeded him.
10. Because of his fight for freedom against the Mughals, Maharana Pratap is widely regarded as India’s first freedom fighter.
Disclaimer : The photos has been collected from various sources on Internet.
