Maharana Pratap Singh was a Rajput king and one of the greatest warriors that India has seen. He was the king of Mewar which currently comes under the territory of Rajasthan in India. His father was Uday Singh II who is also the founder of the famous white city of Udaipur.
His mother was Maharani Jaiwanta Bai. He was an excellent strategist and combat who successfully kept the Mughals away from the Mewar region. He is still cherished in Rajasthan,and his legends and stories are popular amongst the children there.
Here are some amazing facts about Maharana Pratap Singh that are not much known to everyone. Let’s check them out!
1. Maharana Pratap was 7 feet and 5 inches in height and is considered one of the strongest warriors in Indian history. He could easily wear the armor of 72 kilos, an 80 kilos spear along with two swords and shoes that weighed 208 kilos in total. He was so strong that some people even referred to him as “Mountain Man.”
2. Maharana Pratap Singh did not get his throne easily because his step-mother wanted her son Kunwar Jagmal to take over the throne after Akbar defeated their father, Udai Singh. In 1958, when Akbar took over the fort of Chittorgarh, the royal family moved to Udaipur. Finally, after a long debate and conflict, Kunwar Jagmal was declared unfit,and Maharana Pratap Singh took over as the king.
3. Maharana Pratap also has to face the pressure from other Rajput rulers who had already shaken hands with the Mughals and held important positions in the Mughal empire. Before Maharana Pratap fought the Mughals directly, six diplomatic missions came to him in order to sign peace treaties and form alliances between the two very mighty rulers.
4. Maharana Pratap refused to sign any peace treaty and did not visit the Akbar in person. This offended the Mughal Emperor, and he waged war against Maharana Pratap.
5. This was when the famous battle of Haldighati took place in the year 1956 where Maharana Pratap Singh proved his prowess in the battle against Man Singh and Asaf Khan whose army size was almost half of that of the Mughals total army.
6. During the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap Singh’s brother Shakti Singh turned out to be a traitor and told the Mughals about one of the secret passes. This led to the injury of both Pratap and his famous warhorse named Chetak. As a result of the injury, Chetak died and filled Pratap with remorse. Sakti Singh realized his mistake and offered his horse to Maharana Pratap that helped him escape.
7. Maharana Pratap also formed allies with the king of Gwalior named Ram Shah Tanwar and his three sons. He also formed alliances with Hakim Khan Sur who was the Afghan leader and with a small tribe of people known as Bhil tribe that was led by Rao Poonja.
8. Maharaja Pratap Singh is known to have never given up against the Mughals even when the entire Mewar region including Udaipur, Chittor, Gogunda,and Kumbhalgarh were completely captured.
9. In 1579, Maharana Pratap took advantage of the weak noose of Akbar in Mewar due to the rebellions in Bihar, Bengal,and Punjab. During this time, gathered most of his territory in the Mewar region back and assembled an army of 40,000 soldiers to conquer Ranthambore, Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, and Gogunda.
10. Maharana Pratap is also referred to as one of the first native freedom fighters of India because he fought against the Mughals until his last breath and never formed alliances with them.
Final Words
Maharana Pratap and his horse Chetak are famous in Rajasthan even in current times. There is no doubt that he made India proud with his stories of bravery.
