battle of haldighati
Battle of Haldighati
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Preparation for war is such a thing, which was not possible to keep secret in any period. Everyday Rana Pratap was getting information about the preparations being made by the Mughals. Similarly, all the information about the preparation of Rajputs was reaching Akbar as well. Akbar was also aware of which Rao-Rawals were ready to help Rana Pratap from outside in the war. He wanted to find out the combined power of all of them, but it could not be possible. So he prepared his army on the basis of estimation.
Rana Pratap had come to know that a large army of Mughals under the leadership of Mansingh was about to march to attack Mewar. To find out or guess how much it was probably did not matter to them. Whether the army is five thousand or fifty thousand – Mewar had to face it to protect its independence. Whatever power Rana could muster, he had gathered. Now there was a need to make a war strategy and decide where to face the Mughal army.
Differences of strategy emerged clearly in the consultation room. It is not easy to change the strategy that is going on from tradition. Whatever may be the subject, even the common people are not easily ready to do something contrary to what is going on. Till now the tradition of Rajputs was that no matter how big the army was in number, they used to attack it and as long as a single warrior was alive, they used to try their best to stop the enemy from moving forward. The history of Rajputana is full of stories of such bravery. If defeated, an entire young generation of Rajputs would have been sacrificed. The youth in the second generation were confined till they were fit enough to face the enemy.
An English writer has made a very good comment that the one who fights, seeing his defeat is certain, runs away from the battlefield. He lives to face the enemy ever again, but he who does not retreat and dies when the enemy has the upper hand, can never again stand to avenge his defeat. This used to happen with the Rajputs, but they were not ready to understand this fact.
A similar mood came to the fore in the consultation meeting held for the Battle of Haldighati. Some senior feudal lords, in whom Ramsingh Tanwar was the chief, who had gone through the harsh experiences of many small and big wars in the past, were of the mind not to take a direct fight with the Mughals. They should be allowed to attack first and in the difficult and narrow mountainous terrain, our army should be engaged while fighting them.
In such a situation, the main force of the Mughal army, its elephants and artillery would be of no use. They also had the advantage of being more in numbers in the field. Some of the mountain paths were so narrow that even two soldiers could not walk on them at the same time. In such a situation, it would be easy for the Rajput army stationed there to face them. Even the biggest army will remain helpless in front of the almost invisible Bhils’ accurate shots and poisoned arrows under the cover of mountains. He said that according to the strategy of guerilla war, if necessary, the policy of retreating from one front and then attacking the enemy from the other side can also be adopted. ,
This was a new thinking, which was not understood by the fighters of the traditional style. He was of the opinion that the open enemy should be attacked with full force. Where is the bravery in fighting by taking cover of mountain caves? Due to this, the deadly attack on the enemy will not be possible, which is necessary. Some of these over-enthusiastic nobles requested the Rana to keep them in the vanguard squad. He will uproot the enemy’s feet with his initial attack.
After much deliberation, Rana Pratap decided to adopt an almost mixed strategy. It was decided that the war would be fought in Haldighati. It would not be easy for the Mughals to fight in this narrow and rocky area. They were used to fighting in the plains. The soldiers of the state would have been protected from the fire of the Mughal artillery and the huge army of elephants. It was a strategy between traditional and guerilla warfare, i.e. a combination of both, in which guerilla tactics clearly had a higher stake.
Earlier, Maharana Pratap himself and some of his other feudatories were in favor of facing the Mughals in the open area of Mandalgarh, but after reconsidering the whole situation and fighting in Dalnimani, it was considered best to fight in guerilla style. Here Akbar appointed Mansingh as the commander-in-chief of the army sent to attack Mewar. Some Muslim soldiers were also told this, but they remained silent. Akbar wanted that the army that goes against Rajput Rana Pratap should be led by a Rajput. This does not send a wrong message to other Rajputs supporting him. When Mansingh came to negotiate, he considered Pratap’s absence as an insult and he also told Akbar that he should be given an opportunity to avenge this insult when the time comes. Apart from this, Mansingh was the winner of many wars, skilled and experienced commander. Akbar had full faith in his bravery and strategy.
Akbar had full faith in Mansingh’s battle skills, but he did not consider it proper for one Rajput to have complete trust on him while fighting with another Rajput. Therefore, to help Mansingh, he also joined his chosen Muslim warlords Ghazi Khan, Mahabal Khan, Mujahid Khan, Mihtar Khan, Arshad Khan, Khwaja Muhammad Rafi, Asaf Khan, Mir Bakshi and Syed Hamim Barha. Apart from this there were also Hindu generals Rai Lunkaran, Madho Singh and Jagannath Kachwaha. The wars which were discussed by the Rajputs for strategy were also discussed in the council of the Mughals. Its summary was also that it would not be easy to defeat the army of Mewar in the inaccessible mountainous region. Neither artillery nor the army of elephants would be useful there, on which the Mughals had a lot of faith. Everyone in the Mughal army was an experienced warlord of many big wars. They unanimously accepted this argument of Rai Loonkaran. The strategy was decided that somehow the Rajputs should be provoked and brought to the field and defeated in a face-to-face fight. If there is a war in the inaccessible mountainous region, the Mughal army will probably be stuck there for an indefinite period.
There was another trick behind sending Mansingh as the commander-in-chief. After Rana Kumbha took Amer under his control, the Kachwaha Rajputs of Amer used to attend the court of Chittor. Mansingh’s father Raja Bhagwandas also attended the court of Maharana Pratap’s father Rana Uday Singh for some time, but after the defeat of Rana Sanga at the hands of Babur, he was getting attracted to the increasing power of the Mughals. In between Humayun’s time of disorganization and due to the establishment of Sher Shah Suri’s kingdom in Delhi, he could not take any decision, then in the time of Akbar, the power of Mughals increased a lot. Akbar wanted to unite some Rajputs with him. The Kachwahas of Amer were also waiting for this opportunity. He not only accepted their submission, but also strengthened this relationship by sending Mansingh’s aunt Jodhabai’s doula to grace Akbar’s harem.
It is obvious that Uday Singh and after him Rana Pratap did not forget this betrayal. Akbar believed that Rana Pratap’s blood would boil seeing Mansingh conducting the war against him. It was decided that seeing the right opportunity, Mansingh should bring his elephant in front of Rana Pratap’s horse and if still Rana is not agitated, he should challenge him to fight. On this, Pratap would lose his temper and attack Mansingh. Mansingh riding on an elephant will outnumber Pratap on a horse. He may try to mount his horse on the elephant. That’s why it was decided that sharp double-edged swords should be tied to the elephant’s trunk, which would injure Rana’s horse Chetak. Around Mansingh’s elephant, a strong squad of selected brave soldiers was deployed, who were instructed to surround and kill Maharana Pratap when such an opportunity came, which was very likely. Rajputs will be demoralized seeing their Maharana dying and then it will be easy to win the rest of the war. As we shall see later, the Mughals followed this strategy, which was largely successful.
How important was the victory of Mewar for Akbar, it can be estimated from the fact that Emperor Akbar himself came to Ajmer in March 1576 after the war strategy was decided. He bowed his head at the Khwaja’s dargah and made a lot of offerings and prayed for success in the war. Sitting in Ajmer, Akbar personally supervised the activities related to the future war. Apart from this, he used to get information about the activities happening in the areas of Mewar easily here.
It would also be relevant to mention another fact here. In the history of Rajputana, Colonel Tod and influenced by his description, some other writers have also written that Akbar had sent his son Salim to the war along with Mansingh. Salim was born in August 1559. The Battle of Haldighati took place in June 1576. It is clear from this that Salim was seventeen years old at the time of this war. Would a sensible emperor like Akbar ever commit the mistake of sending his seventeen-year-old son to the battlefield, and that son, who was given to him after great vows?
There are many figures about how much army Mansingh had brought. According to the legends of Mewar, Mansingh had brought a huge army of 80 thousand, while Rana Pratap had a total of 20 thousand soldiers to face him. It seems that the reason for the defeat of the Rajputs in the Battle of Haldighati was their encounter with such a large army. It is obvious that this was done to glorify the bravery of the Rajputs and show their courage to face such a huge army despite their defeat. Along with this, it is also said that out of these 14 thousand Rajputs attained Veergati while fighting with the Mughals, but from the investigation of the facts, it is concluded that these figures have been greatly exaggerated. Actually Mansingh had brought an army of five thousand. Rana Pratap had three thousand horsemen to counter him. Apart from this, there was an army of Bhils, the exact number of which is not available. It is definitely said that their number was not very large. All historians also agree that the number of Mughal army was much more than Maharana Pratap’s army, which seems quite logical.
Akbar tried his best to find out through his spies that how much army Rana Pratap had in total. He probably did not get the exact number, but it was only natural for him to send more army than the estimated number. The fact of Mansingh bringing an army of five thousand is also confirmed by one more thing. When Akbar made Mansingh the commander-in-chief of the army going against Mewar, he was also given the rank of five thousand mansabdar.
The chief commanders in Rana Pratap’s army were Ramsingh Tanwar of Gwalior, Rao Krishnadas, Jhala Mansingh, Purohit Jagannath, Bida Jhala, Ramdas Rathore, Charan Jassa, Hakim Khan Sur, Shankardas and Bhil Sardar Punja. Haldighati was chosen for the battle, whose soil was named Haldighati due to the color of turmeric. It was one of the very narrow gorges of Mewar. Fighting in this valley surrounded by mountainous forest region was highly favorable for the Rajputs. Even a small force guarding its narrow passes could hold back the advance of a large army and inflict considerable damage on it. If the Rajputs had to retreat, they could engage the enemy for a very long time, almost indefinitely, fighting on these narrow mountain passes.
The Rajput army marched from Gogunda and reached Haldighati and as per the strategy, started waiting for the enemy by forming fronts there. Another factor that suited the Rajputs was the intense June heat, which they were used to enduring, but for an attacking army, fighting for a long time in this intense heat would have battered it. The Mughals, though outnumbered, found it difficult to face the Mewar army under these circumstances. It is clear from this that Maharana Pratap had no Rajput arrogance in refusing to submit to the Mughals and showing courage to face them, as some people think. He had solid reality behind him, he had full faith in the valor of his army, the natural security of Mewar and his strategy that no matter how big the army Akbar sent, he could face it to protect his independence.
On April 3, 1576, with his blessings, Akbar sent out ‘Farzand’ (son) Mansingh with his army from Ajmer to attack Mewar. Apart from infantry and cavalry, his army also had elephants and artillery. Mansingh stopped at Mandalgarh with his army. He was encamped here for two months. Perhaps he thought that Rana Pratap would lose his patience with this long wait and attack him at Mandalgarh itself. He wanted to face the Mewari army in the open field as far as possible. Even though he was not very familiar with the geography of the mountainous region of Mewar, he definitely knew that it would be almost impossible to defeat the Rajputs in the inaccessible mountainous region where his artillery and elephants would prove useless. Some historians also say that after getting full information about Rana Pratap’s preparations for the war, Mansingh found his army insufficient and requested Emperor Akbar to send more army. Now he was waiting for the arrival of that additional army by stopping at Mandalgarh. There may be truth in this, because almost all historians agree about the Battle of Haldighati that the army of the Mughals was much more than that of the Rajputs. Akbar also wanted to win Mewar at any cost. Therefore, it is not a big deal if he has sent more army at the behest of Mansingh.
However, whether the reason was waiting for more army or the attack of Rajputs, after two months in the beginning of June, Mansingh left Mandalgarh and camped at Mahi village. He found this whole area completely deserted, in which there was not even a blade of grass. To prevent the invader from getting any local help, all the routes of that army were cleared, fields were set on fire and water bodies were poisoned. Mansingh was familiar with this. Therefore, he had carried enough supplies and water for his army, and as soon as the attack was planned, he had made elaborate arrangements for the supply and communication from the rear. While moving from Mandalgarh, wherever he halted, he had made adequate security arrangements by setting up posts there, so that the Rajputs could not raid and loot the logistics etc. coming from that route. He finally came to Molela village and set up an army cantonment to give rest to his soldiers and animals suffering from the fierce heat of June. The Versus river used to flow about half a kilometer away from here. Therefore, Mansingh found this place suitable for the camp of the army. Due to the heat, its water had dried up and the river had become like a thin stream, but still this water source was sufficient for them. The mouth of Haldighati was at a distance of about one and a half kilometer from here. Mansingh had adopted the policy of increasing his army along the Vishnu river, so that the benefit of this natural water source would be given to his soldiers and animals. ,
Mansingh remembered the days of coming to Mewar for his treaty negotiations, then he had gone hunting in such a forest region in the hospitality of Amarsingh. He took some of his chosen bodyguards with him and went hunting in the nearby forest. He had made a huge mistake considering this forest region as safe. He did not know that every nook and corner of the forest was under the watch of the forest dwellers, whose keen eyesight and sharp arrows no one could escape. It was very easy for him to surround this small group and kill him, but without the permission of his Rana, he did not think it appropriate to take such a step. A Bhil youth was immediately rushed to inform Maharana Pratap about this. After listening to him, Rana Pratap contemplated the whole situation for a moment and giving his decision said that even though Mansingh is our enemy, it would be cowardice to surround and kill him in such a situation. If Lord Ekling wishes, he will challenge and kill him in the battlefield.Not only this, according to the legend, on the orders of Rana Pratap, Mansingh was thrown near the hunting party with a small message written on the back of an arrow, in which he was warned not to hunt in this area, it proved fatal for him. It is possible Mansingh immediately realized his mistake. He saddled the horse with his companions and died straight after coming to his camp.
It is said that some Bhil youths got angry on this decision of Maharana, but they could not disobey their Rana’s orders. Most of the Rajput feudal lords praised this decision of Rana Pratap. After all, this decision was in accordance with Rajputi Aan. To kill Mansingh in this way would have been to kill him by deceit, which the Rajputs never did. Everything is fair in war and love, this policy was made by the British, not the Rajputs. Had the Rajputs taken advantage of that opportunity to kill Mansingh, then it is possible that the Mughals would have attacked the Mewari army encamped in the narrow mountainous region of Haldighati to punish the Rajputs who were enraged by the murder of their commander-in-chief. It would have been otherwise. True, upholding high morals sometimes comes at a very high cost.
The Battle of Haldighati started on June 21, 1576 at around 8 am. The chief generals of both sides, Maharana Pratap and Kunwar Mansingh, had combined their armies in the traditional battle style, in which vanguard, rearguard, south and left flanks are there. Vanguard is the advance part of the army, rear part. As it is clear from the name itself, the right and left wing are called the south and left flank army respectively. The commander-in-chief himself is in their center. Maharana Pratap Singh had deployed his most trusted commander Hakim Khan in the avant-garde squad of his army. Chudawat Krishnadas, Bhimsingh, Rawat Sanga etc. were there to help him. The southern wing was headed by Raja Ram Singh Tanwar of Gwalior. He was assisted by his three sons, Bhamashah, another trusted general of Pratap, and his brother Tarachand. The left wing was under the leadership of Mansingh Jhala and he was accompanied by Jhala Man, Mansingh Songara and some other feudatories. The leader of the Chandaval or the rear of the army was Rana Punja. He was accompanied by Pratap’s chosen general and Charan Keshav. In the center was Maharana Pratap riding on his favorite horse Chetak. The Bhils, who were led by the Bhil Sardar Punja, were assigned by the Rana to protect the surrounding area with their bows and arrows and raid the enemy as needed.
Kunwar Mansingh also organized his army in the same way. He placed Raja Jagannath, Asaf Khan and Ghiyasuddin in his vanguard. The leader of the right wing was Syed Ahmed Khan and the left wing was led by Ghazi Khan and Rai Lone Karfa. Mansingh handed over the leadership of Chandawal squad to Mihtar Khan and made another trusted and capable commander Madho Singh the leader of the reserve army. The Mughals had a large artillery and a few small cannons mounted on carts, which could be moved quickly as needed. This was his great strength. In a one-on-one field battle, it was almost impossible for an army to survive artillery fire.
Mewar’s army did not have any such artillery. If he had two or four cannons, then by placing them on the height of the mountain, destructive firing could be done on the Mughal army from there. Resources and better weapons are very important in war. In Kui wars, even large armies were seen to be uprooted in front of cannon fire. That is why an English writer very rightly remarked that God is always on the side of a large and powerful army. Now if there was any way to avoid these fire-breathing artillery, it was only to sit in the passes of the valley and face the enemy from there. This was the plan, which was correct, but unfortunately it did not happen.
Preparations started early in the morning on 21st June. All the animals were fed their fodder. The soldiers had breakfast and drank cold drinks to relieve the heat, then everyone took care of their respective fronts. Everyone had extraordinary enthusiasm to face the enemy. Many of them were youths whose fathers or close relatives had died in the battle of Chittor or in the subsequent massacre. They were getting restless to take revenge from the Mughals. Most of the army was newly recruited and trained in a short time. He had no practical experience of war, but there was no lack of bravery in him.
Mansingh and his warlord experienced in many battles knew very well that it was extremely difficult to fight with Rajputs in the inaccessible mountainous region. They wanted to provoke them and bring them to the ground. Mansingh moved forward from Molela with his army. He stopped at the narrow mouth of Haldighati. It was a small ground, which is now called Badshah Bagh. It was not very convenient for the Mughal army to fight even on the rough ground ahead of this plain surrounded by arched hills.
But it was much better than fighting the Rajputs entrenched in the hills. Mansingh stopped here and waited for the attack of Rajputs. He hoped that the Rajputs would get excited on seeing the enemy army and would definitely make the mistake of attacking it leaving their strong positions in the mountain passes.
Mansingh was successful in his trick. The Rajputs lost their temper. Couldn’t wait any longer. Ranbheri echoed from his side, an elephant hoisting the flag of Mewar emerged from the valley. Simultaneously, Hakim Khan Sur appeared with his vanguard squad and hurriedly broke into the front line of the Mughals. A terrible fight broke out. The place of Badshah Bagh, where Mansingh’s main army had gathered, was relatively flat, but the ground ahead was rocky and bumpy, on which the Mughal soldiers were not used to fighting. This was not a problem for the Rajputs.
The attack of Pratap’s avant-garde squad was so intense that the feet of the Mughal army were uprooted in no time. Many soldiers were killed because of not being able to maintain their balance on the rocky ground. Seeing this, the enthusiasm of the Rajputs doubled. Rana Pratap also had no experience of any big war. Encouraged by the success of his vanguard army, he forgot all the strategy made by the experienced generals and leaving the safe front of the hill, came to the field with his entire army. It was a huge mistake, which Rajputs had to pay in the form of defeat.
As soon as the main army arrived, it attacked the Mughal corps standing in front on the flat land of Badshah Bagh. Although this place was also favorable for the Mughals for the battle, yet the attack was so intense that it became difficult for them to hold their positions. There was tremendous pressure from the Rajputs on Mansingh’s right flank. Rai Lunkaran and his fellow commanders ran away after saving their lives. It was becoming difficult for Mansingh’s main army to gain a foothold. Some of his soldiers also ran away in panic to a distance of 10-12 kos. It seemed that the victory of the Rajputs was certain.
The Mughal army was retreating. There was no question of the Rajputs returning to their hill positions. They were following him enthusiastically. If he returned or stayed, there was a possibility of reorganization of the Mughals. While fighting, they reached a place behind which is called the pool of blood. It is on the banks of the river Vs. The Mughal army was disintegrating. There was a huge fight. The Mughals were bravely fighting the Rajputs. The main army under Mansingh also stood under his leadership. Although some of his soldiers were also running away. Asaf Khan had stopped the flood of Rajputs in his position by continuous shelling of cannons. Where the Rajputs were under heavy pressure, his small mobile cannons were trying to disintegrate it by shelling it, yet the Rajputs were dominating the Mughals.
Seeing this plight of his army, Mihtar Khan, the chief of the Chandaval squad of the Mughals, came forward with his troop. Mihtar Khan, a veteran of many wars, had understood that it is impossible to win unless the running army is stopped. He played a trick, immediately made a false announcement by playing drums that Emperor Akbar himself had reached the war with a large army. Due to this, the feet of the running army got frozen again. The safe frontiers of the mountainous region were left far behind. The battle had reached the edge of Vs from Badshah Bagh. The Rajputs were getting tired of fighting the Mughals with all their might. In such a situation, the foothold of the fleeing Mughal army and the attack of Mihtar Khan’s fresh squad showed its effect. The shelling of cannons which was wreaking havoc was different. The perfect archery of the Bhils did not deter the Mughals any less. He was fighting valiantly for his Rana, although he too did not have the facility to shoot arrows from the protection of the mountains.
After some stability in the war and seeing the success of Mihtar Khan’s move, Mansingh implemented his second well-thought-out move. Moving his elephant forward, he reached in front of Rana Pratap. Rana Pratap’s blood boiled on seeing him. He proceeded swiftly to punish the traitor. At the behest of Rana Pratap, his stable horse Chetak fixed both his front legs on the head of Mansingh’s elephant. Rana Pratap attacked Mansingh with his spear, but Mansingh soon hid in the cover of the hoda. Wounded by the blow of the spear, his mahout fell down and his life became extinct. Without the mahout, the elephant ran away screaming. A tragic incident happened in this war when one of Chetak’s legs was badly injured by a double-edged sword tied to its trunk while trying to set its feet on the elephant. Now he could not fight as quickly as before, yet he was obeying his master’s orders as much as possible.
Mansingh ran away, but according to the pre-planned strategy, his bodyguard squad of selected soldiers surrounded Rana Pratap from all sides. Mansingh had made this plan because if Rana Pratap was killed in the war like this, he would get revenge for his insult. Along with this, seeing the death of their Maharana, the courage of the Rajput army will also be defeated and it will run away from the battle field. On the other side, Hakim Khan Sur and Jhala Maan had their eyes fixed on Rana Pratap, when they saw their Rana in trouble, they attacked Mansingh’s bodyguard. They were continuously moving forward tearing the enemy’s defense line while creating fierce fighting. Jhala Maan reached near Rana Pratap fighting very bravely. As soon as he reached, he urged, “Food giver, you give me your umbrella and flag and leave the war zone safely.”
“That would be cowardice.” Pratap spoke.
“Mewar needs you. You leave now to continue the struggle for the freedom of your motherland, not for yourself.” Saying this, he himself took away the flag and umbrella of Rana Pratap without giving him a chance to say anythingPratap turned the injured Chetak, looked at Jhala once in gratitude and left the battlefield dejected.
Mughal soldiers mistook Jhala for Rana Pratap after seeing the flag and umbrella. They pounced on him. Jhala and the soldiers with him fought with great valor, but fighting with a large number of Mughals finally attained Veergati. Along with this, the Maharana’s canopy and flag also fell.
It was not only the Mughal soldiers who made the mistake of considering Jhala Maan as a Rana. The Rajput soldiers also understood that Maharana Pratap was killed in the war after seeing the horseman falling with the flag and ensign. This demoralized them. The rumor of Akbar bringing a large army had reached the ears of the Rajputs, they too were disappointed. They felt that the competition was going to be the first. Now it will not be possible to face the new army. Rajputs started lagging behind in no time. The Rajput soldiers who had seen their chief commander Maharana Pratap going on Chetak. They also started withdrawing from the battlefield. Pratap, who was sitting on the injured horse, was not even in a position to give him any instructions at that time. The disintegrated Rajput army retreated. By noon the Mughals had won the battle, but as is often the case, did not pursue the retreating army. After that day’s tough fight, he did not have enough strength left to run after them. Besides, Mansingh knew that the retreating Rajputs would take refuge in the safety of their hill fronts. To send our exhausted army after them was to invite death. Already by showing the jewels of his bravery, he had destroyed the Mughal army no less.
Both rider and horse were injured. Chetak had a deep sword wound in one of his legs. There were wounds on Rana Pratap’s body at many places, from which blood was flowing. He was very tired. He turned his boat towards the village of Balia, which was about two miles from the blood-pond.
Two Mughal horsemen had seen Jhala Sardar carrying Rana’s umbrella and flag and Maharana leaving from there. He started following them. He was greedy for a huge reward for being successful in killing Rana Pratap. Emperor Akbar had also ordered that Rana Pratap should not be killed alive in this war. He had no difficulty in killing Pratap who was injured. Rana’s angry brother Shaktisinh also came with him in this battle on the advice of Mansingh. Mansingh had brought him saying that the time has come to avenge the insult done to me and you by the Rana, but he was feeling guilty after coming to the battlefield. He could not understand how to raise his sword against his elder brother who was fighting for the independence of Mewar. He was not lacking in personal valour, but instead of attacking the Rajputs in battle, he used his sword only to defend himself.
Shaktisinh’s eyes were on his injured elder brother while leaving the battlefield. He saw that two horse riders of the Mughal army were following them. Shaktisinh immediately made his horse run after him. They had reached a short distance from Pratap. Rana had also seen that he was being followed. Meanwhile, he saw that a horse rider came fast. He had some conversation with them. After this, that horse rider suddenly attacked and beheaded one of the unwary Mughal soldiers. The other faced him cautiously, but both were no match. This horseman changed his maneuver and attacked in a short while and the head of that Mughal soldier also started rolling on the ground.
When Maharana Pratap started moving forward on his way, that horse rider called out, O rider of the blue horse, stop. ,
Rana Pratap turned the Chetak and stood with his sword drawn, but he came near and quickly dismounted from his horse and placed his sword at the feet of the Rana.
“Shaktisinh, you?” suddenly came out of Maharana’s mouthHe could not recognize his brother from a distance. Immediately got off the horse. In reply Shaktisingh’s mouth only said, “Brother!” Everything else was said by his tears and sore throat.
The two brothers, separated for years, hugged each other.
“Don’t stop here, maybe some more Mughal soldiers will come looking for you.” Shaktisinh spoke. Till then Chetak fell on the ground with a bang. He died in a short while. Shaktisinh gave his horse to the Rana and once again asked him to leave quickly. He took the horse of one of the dead soldiers and quickly started towards the Mughal camp. It is said that after going there, Shaktisinh clarified that Rana Pratap killed both the horsemen who were chasing him. He attacked me, due to which my horse died due to injury. I escaped and came here riding on the horse of a dead soldier. Mansingh may not have digested this story, but he did not say anything. Perhaps he was praising Shaktisinh in his heart for helping his brother.
Mansingh accepted the suspicious story of Shaktisinh for whatever reasons. Akbar was very dissatisfied with him. It didn’t take him long to understand the reality, but he also didn’t want to anger Shaktisinh. Even if the king wanted to punish him, then on what basis? There was only suspicion, no solid proof. He ordered that Shaktisinh should be separated from the army.
The guilt of joining the enemies after quarreling with his brother over a small matter was gnawing at Shaktisinh inside. Eventually he decided to return to Mewar from there with his selected Rajput companions. He felt that it would not be fair to meet the Maharana empty-handed. Therefore, collecting a small army, he attacked the fort of Minasaur and took it under his authority. After coming to Mewar and meeting Maharana Pratap, he gifted this fort to him.
Rana Pratap, who was polite by nature and loved everyone, did not banish Shaktisinh because of a dispute over boar hunting or the suicide of the Vice-Chancellor as a result. They used to be apprehensive because of his fierce jealousy towards him that he would never hatch any big conspiracy. The way Shaktisinh had helped him while returning from the Haldighati field, it was proved that his mind was free from filth. Pratap embraced his brother with love and returned the fort he had won as a jagir. The brothers who had developed so much enmity that one got angry and went to the enemy’s camp, now they have love like real brothers. When Rana Pratap planned to wage a guerilla war against the Mughals by changing his places in the mountains, he kept his son Amar Singh’s family and other relatives with him. But thinking that his old mother Jaivantabai should not suffer from wandering like this, he sent him to Shaktisinh in Minesore fort. Shaktisingh was the son of Sajjabai, the second queen of Uday Singh, but he respected his mother-in-law Jawantabai and made all arrangements for her comforts. It is said that Jaivantabai was also very happy to come there, because she loved her son Shaktisinh as much as Pratap.
