It was a mid-monsoon afternoon in 1582 A.D. in the dense forestland of the Aravalli. In front of the clearly displeased Maharana stood his twenty-two-year-old heir to the throne of Mewar, head bowed. A whisper ran through the chieftains who exchanged clueless glances.
“Where are they?” The Maharana’s gruff voice led to silence. He stared at his son from the corner of his eye. He asked a little louder.
“They... they.... in the palanquins.” He pointed at a line of palanquins, standing heavily guarded in the clearing.
“What did I instruct you to do?” He looked up at his father’s words.
“Tell me!” His voice echoed through the forest.
The lady inside the biggest looked scared and gasped as she held her daughter close, unsure of her future. Mah Banu Begum, wife to Khan E Khana and her daughter, the nine-year-old Jana's future was in the hands of the Maharana, along with the other ladies of the harem.
“Dajiraj Hukum, I...” Kunwar Amar Singh stopped at his father’s stare.
“I told you to distract the Khan E Khana at Sherpura while I move...”
“Daata Hukum, when I reached Sherpura, he had already left for Dholan and was going your way. So I sent the army to find him and distract him, and I only found his Harem there, so I...”
“So you forgot your code of conduct and captured them?” The Maharana looked visibly angry. Kunwar Amar fell silent. The courtiers watched.
“What difference does it make you from the enemies?” He said almost like a rebuke. “Is this what we taught you?” Amar Singh shook his head in silence.
“What did we teach you?” He asked again.
“To honour the women and our motherland equally.” Amar Singh whispered the line his mother made him repeat as a child. He suddenly realised how disappointed she would be when she came to know of his deed.
“You will make amendments for your mistakes.” Everyone stared at the king at his words.
It was then that the eager Jana Begum had peeped across the palanquin towards the Banyan tree. Beneath it sat a man, in kingly posture, his moustache twirling like the Rajputs she often saw in Lahore, his complexion wheatish, his eyes brave and chivalrous enough not even to look in their direction when she was sure that he knew she was watching him. His broad shoulders were covered with armour, his spear sat beside him, the swords tucked in his belt, and in the afternoon sun, the red Safa with a bright golden sun shone on his head, just above the saffron tilak on his broad forehead. She had never seen such a personality.
Doubt shrouded Abdul Rahim’s mind as he scanned the abandoned encampments of his harem. He had just escaped a sudden attack at Dholan and reached his Harem. There was no sign of struggle, but he knew how frequently the Mewari soldiers scaled the area. He was the new subedar of Ajmer; surely, the news of his taking command of Mewar expeditions had reached the Maharana through his spy network. Rahim was scared of the uncertainty that now shrouded the life of his wife, children and most importantly, Jana Begum, the future bride of Prince Daniyal. He was answerable to them and to his Emperor.
The soldier came in a great hurry, prompting him to look up from the floor. The soldier shook his head in silence as Rahim’s heart skipped a beat.
“We have to search the forests deeper. If we don’t find them by nightfall, send a messenger to the Mewaris that I am willing to talk to the Maharana. Nothing should happen to my wife and...”
“ Mirza!” His chief commander made him stop as he came into the empty tent in urgency. “The palanquins are back.”
“What?” Abdul Rahim could not believe his ears as he rushed out after his men, only to find Jana running to him with joy. He stared at his wife and the harem ladies in disbelief.
“The Maharana sends his apologies to the Khan E Khana on behalf of his son for acting in a way not befitting a Rajput Royal. The Maharana assures the Khan E Khana that no harm had been done to his Harem and they have been returned with full honour, dignity and apologies by Kunwar Amar Singh, heir to the throne. Also, the Maharani sends her blessings to Shehzadi Jana with these gifts of apology.” The messenger read out the message indicating the gifts while the Mughal chief stood in silence. His wife smiled at him reassuringly.
“He had been so dignified in his manners as not to let a single man even stare at us all the while in court, while rebuking his son for his actions.” She told him.
“He also ordered an apology from him.” Jana chirped at her father, “Have you seen him?”
“Whom, my child?” Rahim asked his eager child, thanking the Almighty for her life.
“Maharana Pratap”, Jana spoke as her mother smiled, cuddling her son to sleep.
“No, I haven’t.” Abdul Rahim nodded.
“He is such a chivalrous king, so powerful.” Jana’s eyes lit up, “More than our Emperor.” Her parents exchanged a glance at each other, a little alarmed at her innocent words.
That night, a single lamp shone in the tent where Rahim watched his daughter sleep peacefully. He read the message that had accompanied them from the Mewaris and sighed. He had heard of the king and his chivalry. Today, his respect for him has increased. He penned down a letter to the Emperor telling him about the incident and requesting him to send another chief on the Mewar mission, as he would, probably in his gratitude, not be able to justify his enmity toward Mewar.
Later in his life, around ten years after this incident, Abdul Rahim quit the warrior life, took the name of Rahim Das, and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to preaching peace and poetry. His Dohas (two-liners) are still popular across India. He never forgot his gratitude to the Maharana, who changed his vision of enmity and wrote poems in honour of the Maharana while still being the chief of Ajmer.
“Dharm Rahsi, Rahsi Dhara,
Khas Jaro Khursan,
Amar Visambhar Uparon
Rako Naho Jo Ran”
being the most popular.
Many historians attribute the continuation of these lines to:
“All is Unstable in this world,
Land and Wealth will disappear
But the virtue of a great name lives forever.
Patta abandoned wealth and land
But never bowed the head
Alone of all the Princes of Hind,
He preserved the honour of his race.”
Interestingly, the poet refers to him as Patta, his pet name attributed to him by his cousin Prithviraj of Bikaner, who was also a courtier of Akbar and a poet contemporary to Rahim Das.
This incident of chivalry and honour, as well as respect towards women and not making them a pawn of politics or warfare, serves as a landmark folklore in the medieval history of India, which is full of women being exploited and mistreated by men in power, for politics and warfare. Maharana Pratap proved why he was a pioneer reformer in the truest sense.
This is not the only incident of public review and rebuke of Amar Singh's actions, if folklore is to be believed. When Amar Singh was newly married, the family was stationed somewhere around the still-in-construction Chawand, in huts provided by Bhils for their hideout. A storm and torrential downpour broke out one night, and it rained so heavily that the thatched roofs of the hut, made with dried hay, began to leak. The Maharana sat awake and vigilant in the hut where his queens and children stayed while Amar Singh guarded his wife in another hut. The silence of the night carried their voices to the Maharana's ears. The new Kunwarani asked her husband, "When is our sorrow ever going to end?" to which Amar Singh replied that it was not up to him. "It's Daajiraj's decision." That worried the Maharana that after him, Amar Singh would, like other Rajputs, choose a life of luxury by bowing to the Timurid emperor. All his struggles would go in vain.
The next day, as the chieftains gathered in the open court under the sky in the forestland of the Aravallis, the worried Maharana did not mince his words. He expressed how he contemplated Mewar's future after he was gone. How he was sure that the future king would surrender to the enemies for the comforts of life that he sought. The clueless chieftains were shocked at this sudden revelation, and Amar Singh realised what his father must have heard. Remorseful at his words, Amar Singh pledged in front of the chieftains of Mewar to never surrender to luxury. He pledged to carry forward the work and aim of his father to keep Mewar's freedom alive. It is uncertain if Pratap, who found it difficult to trust his kin, trusted his son's words. But he did leave certain administrative decisions on Amar from then onwards, while he concentrated on rebuilding an army for attacking Chittorgarh.
The more the Maharana concentrated on building an army to regain Chittor, strategising with his chieftains about the guerrilla attack they could carry out on the fort, the more he realised winning back Chittor was a tough task, especially with a newly rebuilt army. From time immemorial, Chittorgarh had been known to fall only to huge armies and sieges, neither of which they could afford. It was as if luck was not by his side, and the dream of regaining Chittorgarh and restoring it to its former glory as the capital of Mewar was not to be fulfilled. It did not help that Mewar suffered a drought, severe as recorded in most accounts, and Pratap's first priority was to his loyal subjects. Whatever was left of the royal treasury and the wealth of Tarachand and Bhahma Shah was allotted to rationing food, carrying out aid to farmers who had been unable to plough their lands and helping them build canals to their farmland from the water sources like Banas, Gambhiri and natural lakes. While Udai Singh's Dam and Udai Sagar Lake helped restore some of the farmland, most of the destroyed land was where fields had been burnt to prevent the Timurids from getting ration and in the long term, it affected Mewar's farmers. The Maharana was guilty of the constant turmoil his ambition for freedom had cost his loyal subjects, but he did not back down from helping them. The poor were fed with the ration from the royal treasury for three months till the rains brought relief to the Aravallis. This incident made the subjects give him the title Maharana instead of Rana, which was used by his forefathers till then. A title that his dynasty carries with pride even today.
The realisation of not being able to regain Chittorgarh soon did not reduce his enthusiasm. He made strategies to win the fort back, along with Mandalgarh, the only other place where Timurid camps still existed in Mewar. He started repairing the places where the Timurids had left extensive damage. In between the strategising and the personal sorrow of losing the Maharani, Amar Singh found his father burnt out. He suggested a hunt, something they never had the pleasure of going on together, since his father took the throne of Mewar. The Maharana agreed.
In the forest of Mewar, the land he so deeply loved, Maharana Pratap took out his bow and strung it, getting ready for the hunt. In a moment of carelessness, he had strung the bow too hard, and the string detached from the bow, hurting his leg. The hunt was cancelled, and he was brought back to the palace at Chawand for treatment. But the weight of a lifelong battle was taking a toll on the health of the fifty-seven-year-old king. The injury was infected despite the best efforts of the medic, and he began to slip away. He still refused to rest on the bed, a promise he had made to himself to keep until he regained Chittor, as he struggled in his last days. He declared Amar Singh the heir, in front of his chieftains, asking him for a last promise to regain Chittorgarh and fulfil his father's dream. Amar Singh promised to regain Chittorgarh. He divided the Jagirs of Mewar among his other sixteen surviving sons. This led to a lot of speculation in the enemy camps about Amar Singh's hand in his father's accident and that he might surrender to the Timurids, all of which was laid to rest by the actions Rana Amar Singh took during his short but significant reign.
On the eleventh day of Magh Shukla Paksh, Vikram Era, 1653 (29th January, 1597 CE), after a ten-day battle with his wounds, Maharana Pratap breathed his last, at the age of fifty-seven, leaving behind an unfulfilled dream of winning back Chittorgarh. Akbarnama mentions Akbar praising him as a worthy opponent and mourning the loss of this great warrior in his court.
Maharana Pratap left behind an inspiration for many after him, who, even hundreds of years after his death, turned to his strategies of guerrilla warfare to save their motherland from the British Raj. He became the symbol of freedom in a country that struggles every day with its fundamental rights to freedom. Such was Pratap's significance even in death and defeat. He was a dreamer, steadfast and impulsive, often scrutinised for his short temper and emotional choices. As Kika, he loved to roam the forests of Aravalli with the Bhils, and as Patta, he enjoyed throwing a spear and was best friends with a horse (Chetak) and an elephant( Ram Das). As Yuvraja, he chose the battlefield for the sake of Mewar at any chance he got. As Kunwar Pratap, he chose his first rebellion by choosing the princess of Bijoliya. As Rana Pratap, he definitely never asked people's religion before making them his closest allies and knew that family doesn't always mean well. Rebellious, passionate and chivalrous, he was grounded enough to know the price of his lofty dreams and wanted to go ahead in the path less chosen. He was not perfect. He is not always a winner. But he was definitely a hands-on leader, rebel and king.
Rana Amar Singh regained Mandalgarh almost immediately after he acceded to the throne and carried out seventeen successful operations against the Timurid camp. However, he found it difficult to attack Chittorgarh and fulfil his father's dream. When Jahangir ascended the throne in 1605, one of his first orders was to send a peace treaty to Rana Amar Singh, requesting the end of an enmity that lasted three generations. Amar Singh weighed his options. Mewar was not strong enough to oppose another surge of Timurid attacks. But he was not ready to submit. At the suggestion of Jaivanta Bai, his surviving grandmother, he laid down a set of conditions for the Timurids. They were not to send help or fight on behalf of the Timurids; they were to be given back Chittorgarh; they would not have marital alliances with the Timurids or their aides, like Marwar or Amer; and most importantly, the Rana would not be present in the Timurid court to bow to the Emperor. Jahangir was too happy to accept the conditions, and in 1608CE, Kunwar Karan Singh attended Jahangir's court in Agra to carry forward the peace treaty. Amar Singh wanted to shift his capital back to Chittorgarh, but after the scars the fort had suffered in the massacre of 1658CE, the citizens and chieftains refused to settle there. With a heavy heart, Amar Singh, who had only partially fulfilled his father's wish, shifted his capital to Udaipur and built the Amar Mahal by Lake Pichola for his stay.
The Timurid and Mewari struggle was far from over, if you think it was. Karan Singh, much to his father's detest, befriended and aided Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) in his rebellion and treated him as a friend, forgetting age-old enmity. He went hunting with the prince and supported his claim to the throne. However, when Rana Karan Singh tried to rebuild a damaged wall in Chittorgarh that had fallen during Akbar's attack, Shah Jahan intervened, refuelling the age-old enmity. Rana Raj Singh, the grandson of Karan, was the first to defeat Aurangzeb's army when they destroyed the temples at Menal near Bijoliya, where his chief queen was from. It was a message from Aurangzeb to accept his supremacy and pay taxes to him that did not go down well with Rana Raj Singh. The Timurids and Mewar never saw eye-to-eye, but Timurid texts time and again mention and praise Maharana Pratap for being a pioneer of his times. Such was his respect even among enemies. The Shah Jahan Nama by Inayat Khan, as well as Tuzk E Jahangiri, describes Mewari kings as descendants of the great Rana, whose legacy is beyond the mere icon he is reduced to today. He was a secular, independent thinker ahead of his time and hence survives in history despite having a life full of struggle.
The story ends here, unless later on in life, I read and discover some more stories to share with you and continue the series the way I did. However, if you read it, have some thoughts or questions, feel free to comment them here. Would love to hear your thoughts.