Remembering the MahaRana..

As many of you would remember, today is the birth anniversary* of MahaRana Pratap of Mewar. On this occasion, some inspiring excerpts detailing the exploits of the one who never gave up…The first excerpt is about the famous “Battle of Haldighati” as described by a historian** (see note below):

On June 21, 1576 (June 18 by other calculations), the two armies met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda in present-day Rajasthan. While accounts vary as to the exact strength of the two armies, all sources concur that the Mughal forces greatly outnumbered Pratap’s men (4:1). The battle of Haldighati, a historic event in the annals of Rajputana, lasted only four hours. In this short period, Pratap’s men essayed many brave exploits on the field. Folklore has it that Pratap personally attacked Man Singh: his horse Chetak placed its front feet on the trunk of Man Singh’s elephant and Pratap threw his lance; Man Singh ducked, and the mahout was killed.

The historian mentions that:

The Rajputs inflicted heavy casualties on the Mughals despite having a considerably smaller force, Rajputs proved that none equaled them as warriors even when heavily outnumbered on the battlefield. It is estimated that a mere 20,000 Rajputs slaughtered 1,50,000 Mughals.

However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery began to tell[1]. Seeing that the battle was not in their favor, and to make matters worse Pratap suffered a grave injury and fainted on his horse Chetak which then rushed to take Pratap to safety, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan, donned Pratap’s distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield. He was soon killed. Meanwhile, riding his trusty steed Chetak, Pratap made good his escape to the hills[1].

…The impact of the battle on the Mughal army was..significant. In terms of numbers the Mughal army suffered heavier losses. This was also because of the intensive arrow showers by the Bhil tribes of the surrounding mountains who had sided with Pratap. To honour their contribution, a Bhil warrior was placed next to Pratap in the Royal Coat of Arms of Mewar.

The battle of Haldighat is considered to be the first Major breakthrough of Rajputs against the Mughals since the Second Battle of Khanwa in 1527, which was fought between Rana Sanga grandfather of Maharana Pratap, and the Mughal Babur grandfather of Akbar. It is regarded with a degree of significance by many Rajput families.

One of the lesser known heroes of Haldighati was the Jhala Sardar, Man Singh.

When Jhala Sardar saw his king wounded and his steed faltering, he donned the royal garmets (including the Crown and royal emblem) of MahaRana Pratap, thus confusing the enemy ..and took the entire attack of the Mughal hordes upon himself.

The Jhala Sardar did not live to see the results of his valour and extraordinary courage…but it was his sacrifice that let MahaRana Pratap live for another day and continue his fight against the Mughals, eventually liberating all of Mewar except Chittorgarh.  His descendants in Udaipur still proudly carry the emblem of Mewar as their coat of arms.

According to Sh P N Oak, Akbar’s “victory” in the Battle of Haldighati was a pyrrhic victory:

Out of the 20,000 of the Rana’s troops only 8,000 survived. The Moghuls lost nearly 40,000 men. That was a superficial victory for Akbar, almost as bad as a defeat.

MahaRana Pratap now made the Aravalli mountains his base and began a long and debilitating guerilla campaign against the Mughals. The MahaRana’s hatred towards Akbar ran deep – at least partly (if not largely) explained by the ruthless massacre by Akbar of ~ 30,000 peasants and artisans that lived within the walls of Chittor after the third seige of the fort in 1567 (I doubt if this is mentioned in any official textbooks and narratives; don’t be suprised if you had never read this before; A figure of 30,000 massacred is mentioned on Pg 131, “A Comprehensive History of India: Comprehensive history of medieval India” by B.N. Puri, M.N. Das). Over the next 20+ years, Akbar planned several campaigns to Rajputana to capture or kill Pratap. They all failed.

The MahaRana’s exploits in the ravines and the hard struggle for survival in the wild are now the stuff of legends..For several years, he and his family survived on wild berries and by hunting and fishing for food. Legend has it that he even ate chapatis made of grass seeds during those dark days. And it is known that he did not sleep on a bed till his very end because of a vow to not rest until Chittor was free from foreign occupation.

I wonder who tells these stories to our children these days? Are they even taught these things in school? Does the MahaRana get the treatment and time he deserves or is he dismissed as a Rajput king who fought against the “Great Mughals”? Is there anyone who tells our young what happened…and how the times were back then?  At least once this year, I hope I have the opportunity to tell this story to a group of young children… and sometime during the next few months, I am making a promise to myself to read a book or two about the MahaRana.

To close off, I would like to reproduce these immortal lines from a response by the MahaRana to a question posed by Prithviraj Rathod on hearing that the MahaRana had agreed to address Akbar as “Badshah” and bow before him (loose English translation below):

राजपूताने में यह जनश्रुति है कि एक दिन बादशाह ने बीकानेर के राजा रायमसिंह के छोटे भाई पृथ्वीराज से, जो एक अच्छा कवि था, कहा कि राणा प्रताप अब हमें बादशाह कहने लग गए है और हमारी अधीनता स्वीकार करने पर उतारू हो गए हैं। इसी पर उसने निवेदन किया कि यह खबर झूठी है। बादशाह ने कहा कि तुम सही खबर मंगलवाकर बताओ। तब पृथ्वीराज ने नीचे लिखे हुए दो दोहे बनाकर महाराणा प्रताप के पास भेजे-

पातल जो पतसाह, बोलै मुख हूंतां बयण।
हिमर पछम दिस मांह, ऊगे राव उत॥
पटकूं मूंछां पाण, के पटकूं निज जन करद।
दीजे लिख दीवाण, इण दो महली बात इक॥

आशय : महाराणा प्रतापसिंह यदि अकबर को अपने मुख से बादशाह कहें तो कश्यप का पुत्र (सूर्य) पश्चिम में उग जावे अर्थात जैसे सूर्य का पश्चिम में उदय होना सर्वथा असंभव है वैसे ही आप के मुख से बादशाह शब्द का निकलना भी असंभव है। हे दीवाण (महाराणा) मैं अपनी मूंछों पर ताव दूं अथवा अपनी तलवार का अपने ही शरीर पर प्रहार करूं, इन दो में से एक बात लिख दीजिये।

इन दोहों का उत्तर महाराणा ने इस प्रकार दिया-

तुरक कहासी मुख पतौ, इण तन सूं इकलिंग।
ऊगै जांही ऊगसी, प्राची बीच पतंग॥
खुसी हूंत पीथल कमध, पटको मूंछा पाण।
पछटण है जेतै पतौ, कलमाँ तिस केवाण॥
सांग मूंड सहसी सको, समजस जहर स्वाद।
भड़ पीथल जीतो भलां, बैण तुरब सूं बाद॥

आशय : भगवान एकलिंगजी इस शरीर से तो बादशाह को तुर्क ही कहलावेंगे और सूर्य का उदय जहां होता है वहां ही पूर्व दिशा में होता रहेगा। हे वीर राठौड़ पृथ्वीराज जब तक प्रतापसिंह की तलवार यवनों के सिर पर है तब तक आप अपनी मूछों पर खुशी से ताव देते रहिये। राणा सिर पर सांग का प्रहार सहेगा, क्योंकि अपने बराबरवाले का यश जहर के समान कटु होता है। हे वीर पृथ्वीराज तुर्क के साथ के वचनरूपी विवाद में आप भलीभांति विजयी हों।

Rough English translation:

The mouth of Pratap has begun to say “Badshah”. O Rao! has the sun started rising in the West, as well? Should I keep my hand over my mustache or should my body fall with my own hands? Write, O Deewan! to give an answer choosing between the two.

MahaRana Pratap replied to this letter like this:

Lord Eklingji will always make my mouth call him “Turk”. The sun will rise in the east always. O Prithviraj Rathod be happy and put your hand over your mustache. Till Pratap stands on his feet, his sword will keep hovering over the heads of the invaders.

* Birth Anniversary as per “tithi” (i.e. the Hindu lunisolar calendar). Image courtesy: Portrait of Maharana Pratap by Raja Ravi Varma, courtesy Wikipedia

** The source of this passage & following excerpts was earlier mentioned as “The History of India: The Hindú and Mahometan Periods” by Mountstuart Elphinstone. This may not be true. I am cross-checking the references (May ’14).

Related: An uneven battle, the heroes of Haldighati and forgetting history 

Somewhat related: “Colonial Myths and Battered Narratives in Indian History” by Rohini Singh on the myths and misconceptions surrounding Raja Jaichand and Rana Sanga