One of the bravest warriors in the Indian history, Maharana Pratap Singh was born on May 9, 1540. He was a Rajput king of Mewar, a region of south-central Rajasthan state in India. Maharana Pratap was born to Udai Singh II and Jaiwanta Bai. Popular as a fearless warrior and an excellent battle strategist the ruler protected his region from repeated onslaughts by the Mughals. It is the 478th birth anniversary of the Rajput warrior and is worshipped by many royal families in Rajasthan. On the occasion of Maharana Pratap Jayanti, here we bring you some less known facts about the strong and pride of Rajputs, Maharana Pratap Singh.

Maharana Pratap was the only ruler of India that did not give up to the Mughal invasion. Despite losing the Battle of Haldighati to Mughal Emperor Akbar, he did not surrender and continued to fight till the end. It is for this reason he is attributed as the most distinguished ruler of India. He was a standalone fighter who fought all his life to guard his homeland from the Mughals. Here are the facts about one of the bravest Rajput warriors, Maharana Pratap Singh:

1. The great warrior Maharana Pratap stood at 7 feet 5 inches and weighed around 110 kilograms.

2. The Rajput warrior had 11 wives of which Maharani Ajabde Punwar was his favourite. It is said that the reason he married to many Rajput princesses was to strengthen the Rajput unity.

3. The heroic Battle of Haldighati fought in June 1576 witnessed about 22,000 Rajput warriors fighting against more than two lakh Mughals. Despite of numeric strength on their side, Mughals could not imprison Rana as he fled through a 40-kilometre long pass.

4. Maharana Pratap is the only Rajput who did not surrender in front of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and continued to fight to save his homeland.

5. Apart from the Rajput King, his faithful horse named Chetak also became immortal as he jumped over a big canal to save Rana Pratap. In fact, Chetak had blue eyes and that is why Maharana is often referred known as ‘Rider of the Blue Horse’.

6. Maharana Pratap rebuilt his capital and spent most of his life there. Because of his fight for freedom against the Mughals, Maharana is widely regarded as India’s first native freedom fighter.

Mughal pressure on Mewar relaxed after 1579 following revolts in Bengal and Bihar. In 1582 Maharana Pratap won the battle of Dewair against Akbar. Right after three years, Akbar moved to Lahore and remained there for twelve years understanding the situation in the north-west. No Mughal expedition was sent to Mewar during this period. And during this time, Pratap recovered Western Mewar including Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur and Gogunda. Reportedly, Pratap died of injuries sustained in a hunting accident at Chavand on January 19, 1597 at an age of 56. Till date, Maharana Pratap Singh’s bravery is praised as he plays a significant role in the Rajput history.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2018 04:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).