Bharat ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap Legend lives on

Anupama Nair

www.mediaeyenews.com

In the last two parts, I spoke about the greatness of Chittor and one of her greatest sons Maharana Pratap and his beloved horse Chetak. Now I am going to talk about his later life.

After the Battle of Haldighati, Akbar tried several times to take over the kingdom of Mewar but  failed each time. Maharana Pratap tried many times for capture Chittor. However, the relentless attacks of the Mughal army had left his army weaker, and he barely had enough money to keep it going. It is said that at this time, one of his ministers, Bhama Shah, came and offered him all this wealth — a sum enabling Maharana Pratap to support an army of 25,000 for 12 years. It is said that before this generous gift from Bhama Shah, Maharana Pratap, anguished at the state of his subjects, was beginning to lose his spirit in fighting Akbar.

An incident that caused him extreme pain was that his children's meal – bread made from grass – was stolen by a dog. He began to have doubts about his resolute refusal to submit to the Mughals. Perhaps in one of these moments of self-doubt which is something each and every human being goes through. Maharana Pratap wrote to Akbar demanding “a mitigation of his hardship”. Overjoyed at this indication of his valiant foe's submission, Akbar commanded public rejoicing, and showed the letter to a literate Rajput at his Court, Prince Prithvi Raj. He was the younger brother of Rai Singh, the ruler of Bikaner, a kingdom established some eighty years earlier by the Rathores of Marwar. He had been compelled to serve Akbar because of his kingdom's submission to the Mughals. Prithvi Raj was also a gallant warrior and a long-time admirer of the brave Maharana Pratap Singh. He was astonished and grieved by Maharana Pratap's decision, and told Akbar that the note was the forgery of some foe to defame the Mewar king. “I know him well, he would never submit to your terms”, he said. He obtained Akbar's permission to send a letter to Pratap, apparently to ascertain the fact of his submission, but really with a view to prevent it. He composed the couplets that have become famous in the annals of patriotism. It said:

“The hopes of a Hindu rest on the Hindu; yet the Rana forsakes them. For our chiefs have lost their valor and our females their honor. Akbar is the broker in the market of our race; he has purchased all but the son of Udai, as he is beyond his price. What true Rajput would part with honor for nine days, yet how many have bartered it away? Will Chittor come to this market …? Though Patta (an affectionate name for Pratap Singh) has squandered away wealth (on warfare), yet he has preserved this treasure. Despair has driven man to this market, to witness their dishonor, from such infamy the descendant of Hamir (Hamir Singh) alone has been preserved. The world asks, from where does the concealed aid of Pratap emanate? None but the soul of manliness and his sword … The broker in the market of men (Akbar) will one day be surpassed; he cannot live forever. Then will our race come to Pratap, for the seed of the Rajput to sow in our desolate lands. To him all look for its preservation, that its purity may again become resplendent”.

The now-famous letter led to Pratap reversing his decision and not submitting to the Mughals, as was his initial but reluctant intention. Akbar relinquished his obsessive pursuit of Maharana Pratap and took his battles into Punjab and India's Northwest Frontier.

For the last ten years of his life, Maharana Pratap ruled in relative peace and eventually freed most of Mewar, including Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh, but not Chittor. “Maharana Pratap Singh called the light and life of the Hindu community. There were times when he and his family and children ate bread made of grass.”

Maharana Pratap was a great patron of arts and literature. During his reign Padmavat Charita and the poems of Dursa Ahada were written. Palaces at Ubheshwar, Kamal Nath and Chavand bear testimony to his love of architecture. These buildings, built in the dense hilly forest have walls adorned with military-style architecture. However, Pratap's broken spirit overpowered him in the twilight of his years. “His last moments were an appropriate commentary on his life”. His successor, Crown Prince Amar Singh made a promise to wage a war against the foes of his country's independence. Maharana Pratap was never able to win back Chittor, but he never gave up fighting to win it back.

Rana Pratap Singh, Mewar's greatest hero, was fatally injured in a hunting accident in 1597. He died fighting for his nation, for his people, and most importantly for his honor.

In 2007, a statue of Maharana Pratap was unveiled in the Parliament of India. There were many shows made to honor him. My favorite is “Bharat ka veer putra—Maharana Pratap” released in 2014 by Sony TV starring Sharad Malhotra. The question is, do we remember him enough? Please leave your answers in the comment session