Categories
History and Culture

14 Less Known Facts About Maharana Pratap that Will Shock You!

  • Maharana Pratap had 11 wives from which Maharani Ajabde Punwar was his favorite. With those 11 wives, he had 17 sons and 5 daughters. (Though various historical records vary the number of wives and daughters)
  • He stood at a magnificent height of 7 feet and 5 inches.
Source: Wikipedia
  • At the battlefield, he used to carry a weight of around 360 kg which included a spear weighing 80 kg, two swords weighing 208 kg and his armor was around 72 kg heavy. His own weight was more than 110 kg.

    Source: bobhata
  • He was the eldest son of Maharana Udai Singh amongst his other 32 children. Also his father – Maharana Udai Singh was the founder of Udaipur.
  • Rani Dheer Bai, the stepmother of Maharana Pratap initially wanted Kunwar Jagmal Singh to become the king of Mewar after Udai Singh was defeated by Mughal emperor Akbar. But after a long debate and conflict the court found Kunwar Jagmal to be unfit for the position and so Maharana Pratap was made the ruler.
  • Kunwar Jagmal Singh later served the Mughal emperor Akbar along with his two brothers Shakti Singh and Sagar Singh.
  • It is been said that in the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap sliced one of the Mughal opponent Behlol Khan into two along with his horse into two.
Source: Quora
  • During a battle, Jhala Maan who had a close resemblance to Maharana Pratap wore the crown of Maharana Pratap and the Mughals attacked Jhala Maan misunderstanding him to be Maharana Pratap and in that battle, Jhala Maan was killed. Jhala Maan was the one himself who advised Pratap to leave the battlefield.
  • It was Akbar’s dream to capture Maharana Pratap but he couldn’t succeed in his lifetime. Even after all the Rajput dynasties which included Gogunda, and Bundi had surrendered to Akbar, Pratap never bowed to Akbar.
  • It was his dream to free Chittor and so he made a pledge that he would eat in a leaf plate and sleep on a bed of straws until he doesn’t win Chittor back. Even today some Rajputs place a leaf under their plate and straw under their bed in the honor of the legendary Maharana Pratap.
Source: Tavamithram
  • When he was struggling in the jungle, he had nothing to eat and he had rotis made from grass and one time the cat stole even the grass roti made for his daughter. Then he thought to surrender in front of Akbar and wrote a letter to him regarding the same. Akbar was very happy reading the letter and gave it to the Prithviraj who was the Rajput poet and warrior. In a poetic way, he said in his letter to Pratap to not quit or accept defeat from Akbar.
  • We all know about Chetak, the loyal horse of Maharana Pratap who sacrificed his life while saving his master after rescuing from the battle. But Maharana Pratap owned an elephant too who is said to have crushed the Mughal army in a battle. After Ramprasad, the elephant killed two war elephants, Akbar ordered his force to capture Ramprasad at any cost and for the same 7 war elephants were sent to catch Ramprasad. But its loyalty always belonged to his master, Maharana Pratap and so he didn’t eat anything nor drank any water and on the 18th day after his imprisonment, he died.
Source: Quora
  • Once Kunwar Amar Singh launched an attack on the camp of Abdur Rahim Khankhana who was the general of the Mughal army and took away his wives and women as trophy hostages. When Pratap came to know about his deed, he rebuked him and ordered to release all the women. Abdur was very thankful of the act of Maharana and pledged not to raise a single weapon against Mewar from then onwards. Abdur Rahim Khankhana is none other than the Rahim whose dohe and poems we have been reciting since our childhood.

    Source: Free Press Journal
  • He survived n number of battles in his lifetime but died of an injury from the hunting accident while tightening the string of a bow with an arrow. The news of Maharana’s death made even Akbar cry.
Source: Zee News

Do you have any feedback for the article or an interesting story you want to share with us, then write to me at juhee@udaipurblog.com. 

Categories
News

Maharana Pratap Khel Gaon

For Encouraging Sports in the city and even for encouraging International Sports in this ‘City of Lakes’.A step has been put forward by establishing ‘Khel Gaon (village)’ or Maharana pratap khel Gaon in Chitrakoot Nagar.

It would be committed to 12 sports presently like Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Handball, Archery, Rifle shooting, Judo – Karate, Boxing, Swimming, Squash.

The mam stadium will have the work done of about 7.53 crores. At present it would have a capacity of including  15000 visitors.

It is estimated to complete till this winter- December 2009.

Categories
Udaipur Speaks

Udaipur History

Udaipur’s history began with the construction of the Nouchouki palace on the banks of a pond dug by a gypsy in the 15th century. Udai Singh extended this pond and dug a massive manmade lake and christened it Pichola after a tiny village Picholi, located close by.

A suryavanshi and a descendant of the Sisodia Rajputs who are the oldest ruling family in the world with a traceable history of over 26 generations, Maharana Udai Singh created a dream city that is an oasis with lakes, wildlife, flora and fauna in the midst of desert Rajasthan.

According to common legend the city of lakes or Udaipur was established by Maharana Udai Singhji after he was advised by a hermit to do so. It is believed that Udai Singhji was on one of his hunting tours when he had an encounter with a meditating hermit on the banks of the Lake Pichola who inspired him to establish the city of Udaipur in the midst of a valley surrounded by the Aravali hills and ornamented with three massive lakes. The royal Sisodia’s reigned supreme in Udaipur that became the capital city of the state of Mewar after the fall of Chittorgarh. Sisodia’s are believed to be the oldest ruling family in Rajasthan and can trace their lineage for more than 67 generations.

Udaipur is quite like a fairy tale destination with its pure marble forts and palaces, lakes, pavilions and gardens. A favorite haunt with newly weds, Udaipur is soaked in a dreamy romantic mist that is full of sweet promises.

The land of the brave Rana Pratap and Rana Sanga, Udaipur has seen many a battle that was fought for the valor and pride of the proud Sisodia Rajputs. Several women from the royal house of Mewar were married of to Mughal rulers for promoting political relations.


After the death of Udai Singh, his valiant son Maharana Pratap took over the royal throne and was engaged in constant power skirmishes with the Mughals with an aim to recapture the erstwhile capital of Mewar, Chittor.

A landmark in the history of Udaipur, the fierce battle of Haldighati was fought in between Akbar and Maharana Pratap. Till date you can see a delightful shrine that was constructed in the memory of Chetak, Maharana Pratap’s beloved horse, who in spite of suffering fatal injuries had brought its master to safety from the battlefield.