Bappa Raval, Rana Sanga, Rana Pratap

 

Bappa Rawal, also spelled as "Bappa Raval", (c. 8th century) was a ruler of the Mewar region in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila (Gahlot) clan of Rajputs (and thus an ancestor of the Sisodia dynasty), and some of these consider him as the founder of the Guhila dynasty. Different historians have identified him with various rulers of the Guhila dynasty, including Kalabhoja, Shiladitya, and Khumana.

 

One day, he met the sage Harit Rashi.^[2] The sage agreed to initiate him into a Shaivite order, and to grant him immortality and supernatural powers. When Bappa reached the initiation site, he saw the sage ascending to the sky. The sage spit at him, and asked Bappa to receive the spit in his mouth in order to become immortal. Bappa hesitated in disgust, because of which the sage's spit fell on his foot. Therefore, he could only obtain immunity from weapons instead of immortality. With this power, he defeated his father's killers, and established the Mewar Kingdom.^[1]

Indologist David Gordon White notes that there is a similar legend involving the sage Gorakhnath and the Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah: Gorkhnath spits yogurt into the king's hands to make him a universal emperor. However, the king removes his hands, and the yogurt falls on his feet, because of which he was only able to conquer the earth as far as his feet could take him. The 11th century writer Al-Biruni has also recorded a similar legend involving the alchemist Vyadi and the king Vikramaditya..

The exact period of Bappa Rawal is not certain. According to the Ekalinga Mahatmya, Bappa Rawal established the Mewar Kingdom in 728 CE, and abdicated the throne in 753 CE. 

According to legends, he captured the Chitrakuta (Chittor) fort, either from the mlechchhas (identified by modern historians with the Arabs) or the Moris.

Rana

Maharana Sangram Singh Sisodia (12 April 1472 – 30 January 1528) commonly known as Rana Sanga, was an Indian ruler of Mewar and head of a powerful Rajput confederacy in Rajputana during the 16th century.

Rana Sanga succeeded his father, Rana Raimal, as king of Mewar in 1508. He fought against the Afghan Lodhi dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, and later against the Turkic Mughals of Ferghana.

Rana Sanga was a grandson of Rana Kumbha. Sanga became the ruler of Mewar after a battle for succession with his brothers.

As ruler of Mewar he united the warring clans of Rajputana and formed a powerful confederacy, uniting the Rajputs after 300 years. The Rana expanded the boundaries of his Kingdom through war and diplomacy with the goal of forming an empire which was governed by a confederacy of ethnic Indian kings, irrespective of their religion.

First taking the advantage of internal strife in the Delhi Sultanate, he expanded into North East Rajasthan after defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Khatoli and Battle of Dholpur. Mewar attempted to vassalise Idar by reinstating Raimal onto the throne by defeating Bharmal who was supported by Gujarat. This led to a Mewar-Gujarat war and the Battles of Idar. He defeated the Gujarat Sultanate during Rana Sanga's invasion of Gujarat. Sangram Singh also defeated the joint forces of Gujarat and Malwa Sultanates in the Siege of Mandsaur and the Battle of Gagron. In 1526 A.D. the Rana gave protection to the fleeing Gujarat princes, the Sultan of Gujarat demanded their return and after the refusal from the Rana, sent his general Sharza Khan Malik Latif to bring the Rana to terms. In the battle that followed Latif and 1700 of the Sultans soldiers were killed, the rest were forced to retreat to Gujarat.^[4] Rana Sanga was at the peak of his power at this time, with a revenue of nearly 10 million sterling.^[5]

Following the victory of Babur over the Lodhi Dynasty, Sangram Singh gathered a coalition of Rajputs from the kingdoms of Rajasthan. They were joined by Muslim Rajputs from Mewat and Afghans under Mahmud Lodhi, the son of Sikandar Lodhi of Delhi. This alliance fought against Babur in the Battle of Khanwa to expel Babur from India. The Rana attacked the Mughal advance guard on 21st february 1527 and completely decimated it. Reinfocements sent by Babur met the same fate.

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Maharana Pratap was born in a Hindu Rajput family. He was born to Udai Singh II and Jaiwanta Bai. His younger brothers were Shakti Singh, Vikram Singh and Jagmal Singh. Pratap also had 2 stepsisters: Chand Kanwar and Man Kanwar. He was married to Ajabde Punwar of Bijolia. He belonged to the Royal Family of Mewar.

After the death of Udai Singh in 1572, Rani Dheer Bai wanted her son Jagmal to succeed him but senior courtiers preferred Pratap, as the eldest son, to be their king. The desire of the nobles prevailed.

The bloody Siege of Chittorgarh in 1567-1568 had led to the loss of the fertile eastern belt of Mewar to the Mughals. However, the rest of the wooded and hilly kingdom in the Aravalli range was still under the control of the Rana. The Mughal emperor Akbar was intent on securing a stable route to Gujarat through Mewar; when Pratap Singh was crowned king (Rana) in 1572, Akbar sent a number of envoys entreating the Rana to become a vassal like many other Rajput leaders in the region. When the Rana refused to personally submit to Akbar, war became inevitable. The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 between Maharana Pratap and Akbar's forces led by Man Singh I of Amer. The Mughals were victorious and inflicted significant casualties among the Mewaris but failed to capture Maharana. The site of the battle was a narrow mountain pass at Haldighati near Gogunda, modern day Rajsamand in Rajasthan. Maharana Pratap fielded a force of around 3000 cavalry and 400 Bhil archers. The Mughals were led by Man Singh of Amber, who commanded an army numbering around 5000-10,000 men. After a fierce battle lasting more than six hours, Maharana found himself wounded and the day lost. The mughal were unable to capture him. He managed to escape to the hills and lived to fight another day.

Haldighati was a futile victory for the Mughals, as they were unable to capture Maharana Pratap, or any of his close family members in Udaipur. As soon as the empire's focus shifted north-west, Pratap and his army came out of hiding and recaptured the western regions of his dominion.

Mughal pressure on Mewar relaxed after 1579 following rebellions in Bengal and Bihar and Mirza Hakim's incursion into the Punjab. In 1582, Maharana Pratap attacked and occupied the Mughal post at Dewair (or Dawer). This led to the automatic liquidation of all 36 Mughal military outposts in Mewar. After this defeat, Akbar stopped his military campaigns against Mewar. The victory of Dewair was a crowning glory for Maharana Pratap, with James Tod describing it as the "Marathon of Mewar". In 1585, Akbar moved to Lahore and remained there for the next twelve years watching the situation in the north-west. No major Mughal expedition was sent to Mewar during this period. Taking advantage of the situation, Pratap recovered Western Mewar including Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur and Gogunda. During this period, he also built a new capital, Chavand, near modern Dungarpur.

Reportedly, Pratap died of injuries sustained in a hunting accident on 19 January 1597, aged 56. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Amar Singh I.

Historian Satish Chandra notes that

Rana Pratap's defiance of the mighty Mughal empire, almost alone and unaided by the other Rajput states, constitute a glorious saga of Rajput valour and the spirit of self sacrifice for cherished principles. Rana Pratap's methods of sporadic warfare was later elaborated further by Malik Ambar, the Deccani general, and by Shivaji Maharaj.