We have gone through 6 articles in the Chittor Battle Series. This is the Part -7 & the last post in that series, which was started last year.
It also compares the resources - weapons, soldiers, etc. of the two combating sides.
In addition, it talks about how this war paved the path for an unceasing struggle against Mughals by the Mewar Rajputs, spearheaded by Maharana Pratap.
It also contains LOTS of pictures of the weapons used by the combating parties and also portraits of Kumbhalgarh and Udaipur.
You can skip the bitter Fatehnama from this post, if you want {though it has been explained very nicely}. But do NOT skip reading the assessment of this blog post, at the end.
It contains some very FINE details and observations about Akbar and Maharana Pratap.
Link of present Post:
-> We have also seen the Mughal account of this war, which showed the tenacious ferocity with which both man & beast engaged in a do-or-die battle for the control of the pride of Rajputana - Chittorgarh. { Link : Battle of Chittor Part-5 }
-> Before that we saw the LONG post about the 5 months struggle between Mughal Rajput forces which talked about the course of entire BATTLE. {Link : Battle of Chittor Part-4 }
Entire Post can be read on the BLOG.
1. Contents of The Fathnama-i-Chittor / Fatehnama-i-Chittor
a. Motivation for War:
b. Rana Udai Singh & his Son Refuse to Kiss the Royal Threshold or Make 'Peshkash' to Akbar:
c. Angered by Rana's Refusal to Submit, Akbar Decided to Attack Chittor:
d. Jaimal and Patta Equated to a 1000 Horsemen, But With a Tinge of Bitterness:
e. Mughal Emperor Akbar Arrives in Chittor:
f. Difficult Task to Capture Chittorgarh:
g. Interesting Account of the Massive Weaponry Present with the Rajputs:
h. Weapons of the Mughals and Their Mode of Warfare:
i. Mughal Troops Appointed to Capture 'Worthless Infidels' and Sack Udaipur & Rampur:
j. Rajputs Proposed Ceasing of This 'Fruitless War' but NOT at the Cost of Surrender:
k. One-to-One Combat of Mughal - Rajput Warriors Using Daggers:
l. The Struggle Continued:
m. For 3 Days and Nights, the Fight Continued:
n. Jaimal Takes Part in the Ongoing Action to Personally Encourage His Soldiers:
o. Blow to Raja Jaimal Rathore..A Great Loss to the Defending Rajputs
p. Jaimal .."Proceeds to the Abode of Perdition"
q. The 'Last' Morning of Chittorgarh - Saka Occurs:
r. Prayers for Victory...
s. Rajput Civilians..Dispatched to the "Lowest Parts of Hell"..As per Fathnama
t. Orders for Massacre Given..Men Killed & the Women/Children Taken as Captives / Booty:
u. Celebrations of Victory:
v. Thanksgiving for Victory:
2. Assessment
a. The discrepancy between the heavy religious undertone of the Fathnama-i-Chittor and the secular image of Mughal Emperor Akbar is shocking and yet, a creation of Akbar himself.
b. This document was written at his behest to celebrate the victory at Chittor and as part of his thanksgiving at the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chisti at Ajmer.
3. A few take-aways from the series on the Battle of Chittor:
a. Akbar {In the context of Chittor}
b. Modus Operandi of Attack on Rajput States & Fate of Women and Children at Chittor
c. Comparison of Weapons & Soldiers:
d. Re-imposition of Jaziya & Mughal-Mewar Struggle related to Ajmer Dargah:
e. Why Maharana Pratap Resisted Mughal Subjugation:
f. Let's Analyze Akbar and Maharana Pratap on Moral Grounds:
g. Legacy of the Struggle between Akbar and Maharana Pratap:
4. Epilogue:
a. Till this day, Chittorgarh remembers the sacrifice of those men and women.
b. An annual Jauhar festival is STILL held in Chittorgarh to pay homage to those brave women.
c. The "sin of the slaughter of Chittor" is still remembered in the native language as "Chittor Marya ra Paap".
d. The last blog post in this series mentioned that the banker's note in Rajputana carried the number 74.5, considering it be inauspicious. This is because 74.5 pounds was the weight of the sacred threads, which were taken from the dead bodies of the slain Rajputs in Chittor, on the orders of Akbar, to assess how GREAT was his victory.
5. List of Pictures in the Post:
a. Patta's Lake - Fort of Chittor
b. Hazrat Naugaj Peer - Fort of Chittor .. Held Sacred by all faiths
c. Schmitar - Zulfikar Sword
d. View of the Hill Fort of Kumbhalgarh in the Aravalli Hills
e. Depicts sappers laying mines during the siege of the fortress of Chitor in 1567.
f. Initial Enthusiasm of the Mughal Force:
g. Swivel Guns Used by Rajputs in the Battle of Chittor
h. Weapons of India from Ain-e-Akbari:
i. Medieval Weapons on Display in the Delhi Museum
j. Illustration from Akbarnama of an incident when a mine exploded during the Mughal attack on the Rajput Fort of Chittor (Chittaurgarh) on 17th December 1567, killing many of the besieging Mughal forces.
k. Short range Weapons on Display
l. Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots Jaimal - Rajput commander of the Fort of Chittor from his matchlock called Sangram.
m. Rajput Women Performing Jauhar During the 3rd Siege of Chittor
n. Pillars of Dead Men's Heads Made After Winning the 2nd Battle of Panipat. The same was done in Chittor. The same type of pillars were seen by Mundy during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, details of which were posted in the preceding part of this series.
o. Fort of Kumbhalgarh.. A Painting.. 1819
p. Lake of Kankrauli in Udaipur .. Hills in the Background..1868
q. Statue of Hakim Khan Suri Pathan near a canon , in Udaipur
r. A well planned Street in Udaipur .. An Oil Painting by M. North.. 1878
s. The View of the Majestic Temple of Jagganath at Udaipur, 1867 (British Library)
t. Picture of Lake Picholla in Udaipur .. An Old Photograph of 1870's
Link of present Post:
Other Posts in this Series:
Here are the links to the previous parts of the Chittor Battle Series. Please do read these before reading the present post.
1. Why did Akbar attack Chittor ? | Part-1
2. Preparation of Rajputs - Battle of Chittor | Part-2
3. Battles BEFORE the Battle of Chittor - At Kumbhalgarh, Rampur, Udaipur, Mandalgarh | Part-3
History of Jaimal and Patta | HEROes of the 3rd Siege of Chittor
Chittor is hardly remembered for the victory of Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is remembered more for the sheer difference in ideology of the combating sides and the attitude with which they fought.
The war which took place in Chittor is a lesson for future generations and it is hoped that we all will learn something constructive from this sad part of history. That will be a true tribute to all those brave people who fell there. Many problems faced in today's world have their roots in the past.
Unless we face our past honestly, we won't be able to work upon a solution to the problems of the present.
This is the concluding part of the series on the Battle of Chittor. The purpose of this series was ONLY to present history in a balanced manner, taking both Mughal and Rajput accounts into consideration. This is the Part -7 & the last post in that series, which was started last year.
Discussions can now be conducted on the battle and its aftermath, as the battle has been been described in its entirety, right from the run-up to it to the gory consequences of the battle.
Link of present Post:
PS :
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