Haldi Ghati Battle

Maharana Pratap & The Battle of Haldighati

The Mughals marched south towards the village of Haldighati where a pass accessed the terrain of Pratap Singh and his temporary capital of Kumbhalgarh. Emperor Akbar decided to fight a battle and invaded Mewar. Emperor Akbar sent Man Singh as a Chief of his Imperial army and this incident is popularly known as the battle of Haldighati. It took place on 18 June 1576. In the month of June with boiling temperature, battle started in the narrow path of valley. Pratap attacked on Man Singh but he hid himself under the shelter of seating stands on elephant rider, thereby only rider was killed. In this battle Hakim Khan Suri, Rawat Netsingh, Jhala Maan, Jhala Bida, Gwalior’s king Raamshah Tanwar, Nalwahan, Shaliwahan were killed as martyrs. Here Pratap was surrounded by Mughal imperial army, at the same time Jhala Maan traded the crown with Pratap. Jhala Maan set a unique example of loyalty, bravery and courage by sacrificing his life to save the life of Pratap. Jhala Maan holding royal insignia urged Pratap to leave the battlefield. Pratap’s horse Chetak was wounded by the sword, which was hidden in the trunk of Man Singh’s elephant. Ultimately Chetak died while crossing the terrain. Chetak equally shares the respect that has been given to the legendary warrior Maharana Pratap in the history. In the textbooks the battle ends within three hours of a short span, but the fact is that the battle of Haldighati which started on 18 June 1576, actually carried about a month long and ended at Gogunda. The battle was truly a symbol of the raw courage, an epitome towards nation’s love, spirit of sacrifice and loyalty of the Rajputs towards the defence of their motherland. It was one of the toughest times for Mughal army as they were compelled to eat unripe mangoes and horse’s meat and were forced to leave Mewar at last. Maharana Pratap displayed indomitable courage and bravery in the battle of Haldighati, he won the battle of Haldighati finally displaying the apocalyptic and splendiferous attitude of a true knight. Akbar invaded the land of Mewar many times but Rana Kika (Pratap) never surrendered in front of him. Under the leadership of Shahbaz Khan, Mewar was invaded umpteen number of times but Pratap escaped from every attempt of Mughals. In the Diwer valley, enormous battle took place between Mughals and Mewar. Maharana Pratap confronted 40 Mughal’s cantonment and Mughal army faced extreme defeat. At the end Maharana Pratap established the capital of Mewar named ‘Chawand’ in Mewar area and promoted agriculture, music and art. Further leading towards success in his serene, sublime and peaceful kingdom. There came an immense tragic and disheartening day in the life of Pratap when while tightening the string of a bow with arrow, a muscle contracted in the intestine causing internal bleeding. Pratap fell down on the surface and died in Chawand.