Maharana Pratap was the great Hindu ruler of Mewar in India. He was born to Queen Jayawanti and was the eldest son of Maharana Udai Singh. Maharana Pratap grew up as a worthy prince and had mastered the art of using weapons and horse riding. He was destined to be the ruler of Mewar and was given the tile of crown prince.

Maharana Pratap : The First Freedom Fighter

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap succeeded Rana Udai Singh and became the king of Mewar. Maharana Pratap fought Akbar throughout his life and never accepted his sovereignty in India. Akbar used diplomacy to make Maharana Pratap his ally but could not succeed. Maharana Pratap did not want to bow down to Akbar or accept his rule over him.

Soon Akbar realized that Maharana Pratap will never submit and decided to use his army against Mewar. Maharana Pratap wanted to reconquer Chittorgarh from the Mughals. Finally, on 21^st of June, 1576, Maharana Pratap and his army met with the armies of Akabr at Haldighati. Haldighati is situated near Gogunda which is a town near Udaipur, Rajasthan. This is where the epic battle of Haldighati was fought.  Although Maharana Pratap’s men were significantly outnumbered by Akbar’s men, but they fought valiantly for their honor and motherland. It is said that in this battle Pratap attacked Man Singh by throwing a lance at him.

Man Singh somehow managed to duck and survived. The battle lasted for four hours and loss was inevitable for Pratap’s army. Pratap’s generals convinced him to flee in order to fight again in the future. One of his trusted men got into his distinctive garments and fought in the battle field as Pratap. Soon he was killed but till then Pratap managed to escape riding his trusted horse Chetak into the hills. Chetak was deeply wounded on his left thigh and collapsed few kilometers away from the battle field. Pratap was being chased by couple of Turk knights, but Shakti Singh seeing his brother’s life in danger followed the Turks and killed them. Both the brothers embraced each other and broke into tears. Read the rest of this entry »

Hadighati is a small village situated at a distance of 44 km from Udaipur. It is a place of great historical relevance where Haldighati war between great Maharana Pratap and Mughal forces took place in antiquity. In this war the great Maharana Pratap and his Brave Rajput warriors showed true valor and courage against the bigger army of Akbar.

Haldighati the thermopile of mewar:

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap was declared King of Mewar in 1572. Mughals had captured Dungarpur, Chittorgarh and Ranthambor. He was determined to continue his war against Akbar, who was a Mughal Emperor. All the Rajput kingdoms were forced by Akbar to be bought under his rule, except Mewar. Maharana Pratap did not consider Akbar as the ruler of India and had denied all attempts of Akbar to make peace with him.

Akbar realized that Maharana Pratap will never bow to his wishes and decided to rage war against him. On 18^th of June 1576, the two rival armies clashed with each other in the famous Haldighati war. The Mughal army was commanded by Raja Man Singh of Amber. Maharana Pratap and his men were largely outnumbered by Akbar’s army, but with true will and valor the great Maharana Pratap and his Brave Rajput warriors fought gallantly with their enemies. Maharana Pratap personally attacked Man Singh, but he was somehow able to duck his attempt.

Totally outnumbered and overwhelmed by the number of their enemies, Maharana Pratap and his men were about to loose the battle. Pratap’s general intervened and convinced him to get away to safety so that he can stay alive to continue his struggle against Mughals. One of his loyal officers, a brave Jhala man took the Sun-God banner from Pratap and charged against the enemies. Pratap and his horse Chetak were badly injured. Pratap had till now fainted due to blood loss and Chetak somehow managed to take him to a safer place, but collapsed due to heavy injuries sustained during Haldighati war. Read the rest of this entry »

Gogunda, located on Aravalli hills is a small town of Jhala Rajputs situated at a distance of 35 kilometers from Udaipur. This is a historical place which is famous for the Battle of Haldighati, also known as the Battle of Gogunda, which was fought in June 1576 between Maharana Pratap and the Mughal army.

Gogunda Mewar:

Gogunda is home to many Hindu and Jain temples. Maharana Udai Singh 2, the founder of Udaipur died in Gogunda in 1572. Maharana Pratap was crowned as a king in 1572 at Gogunda. Gogunda was the estate of Jhala clan and was a strategically significant place for Maharana Pratap.  Gogunda was then the temporary capital of Mewar. He later made Kumbhalgarh his new seat of government. From Kumbhalgarh he began using guerilla war tactics against his enemies.

Just before the Battle of Haldighati, the final war council was held by Maharana Pratap in Gogunda. This war was fought between

Rana Pratap

Maharana Pratap and the Mughal army. Maharana Pratap was accompanied by his brave and loyal Rajput Generals and warriors. They were hugely outnumbered in comparison with Mughal army led by Man Singh. Maharana Pratap and his men fought valiantly against their enemies, but lost due to the overwhelming number of their enemies. Maharana Pratap was deeply wounded in the battle and fell unconscious, but it was his faithful horse Chetak who saved his life by taking him away from the battle zone.

Gogunda was captured by Man Singh, the Mughal commander of Amber. He made Gogunda his temporary headquarters. In 1611, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir invaded Gogunda and captured it. He was desperate to eliminate Mewar resistance and was successful in capturing other areas of Udaipur. In 1615, a peace treaty was agreed between Amar Singh and Mughal Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan). This treaty was later sacked by Emperor Shah Jahan.

The town of Gogunda is also the site for another significant battle in which the Crown Prince Jai Singh was successful in capturing the army of Akbar.