Some of the greategreatest Indian rulers were
as follows :
Prithvi Raj Chauhan:
Prithviraj is considered to be the greatest warrior of India, and also one of the greatest in the world. He succeeded to the throne of Ajmer at the age of thirteen, in 1179,when his father died in a battle. His grandfather Angam, ruler of Delhi, declared him heir to the throne of Delhi after hearing about his courage and bravery. He once killed a lion on his own without any weapon. He was known as the warrior king. Chauhan was the last independent Hindu king, before Hemu, to sit upon the throne of Delhi. He succeeded to the throne in 1169 CE at the age of 20, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi.
He defeated the mighty Bheemdev, ruler of Gujarat, at the mere age of thirteen. He was trained in Archery and could aim at target while being blind folded (Shabdabhedi Ban Vidya).
His love story with his enemy, Jaichand's daughter, Samyukta/Sanyogita is very famous. He rode off with her on the day of her 'Swayamwara'.
Death of Ghori and Prithviraj:
As a prisoner in Ghor, Prithiviraj was presented before Muhammad, where he looked Ghori straight into the eye. Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithiviraj scornfully told him how he had treated Ghori as a prisoner and said that the eyelids of a Rajputs eyes are lowered only in death. On hearing this, Ghori flew into a rage and ordered that Prithviraj's eyes be burnt with red hot iron rods. He was tortured by Ghori but he died an undefeated warrior, taking Ghori down before he could die.
The blind Prithviraj avenges the injustice done to him. The two got an opportunity when Ghori announced a game of archery. On the advice of Chand Bardai, Prithviraj, who was then at court said he would also like to participate. On hearing his suggestion, the courtiers guffawed at him and he was taunted by Ghori as to how he could participate when he could not see. Whereupon, Prithiviraj told Mahmud Ghori to order him to shoot, and he would reach his target. Ghori became suspicious and asked Prithviraj why he wanted Ghori himself to order and not anyone else. On behalf of Prithiviraj, Chand Bardai told Ghori that he as a king would not accept orders from anyone other than a king. His ego satisfied, Mohammed Ghori agreed.[9]
On the said day, Ghori sitting in his royal enclosure had Prithiviraj brought to the ground and had him unchained for the event. On Ghori's ordering Prithviraj to shoot, we are told Prithiviraj turned in the direction from where he heard Ghori speak and struck Ghori dead with his arrow. This event is described by Chand Bardai in the couplet, "Char baans, chaubis hasta, angul ashta praman, Ete pai Sultan hai (Taa Upar hai Sultan). Ab mat chuko Chauhan." (Ten pole measures, twenty four arm's length & eight fingers width away, is seated the Sultan, do not miss him now, Chouhan). In order to escape death at the hands of enemies he and his friend Chand Bardai stabbed each other.
He defeated the mighty Bheemdev, ruler of Gujarat, at the mere age of thirteen. He was trained in Archery and could aim at target while being blind folded (Shabdabhedi Ban Vidya).
His love story with his enemy, Jaichand's daughter, Samyukta/Sanyogita is very famous. He rode off with her on the day of her 'Swayamwara'.
Death of Ghori and Prithviraj:
As a prisoner in Ghor, Prithiviraj was presented before Muhammad, where he looked Ghori straight into the eye. Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithiviraj scornfully told him how he had treated Ghori as a prisoner and said that the eyelids of a Rajputs eyes are lowered only in death. On hearing this, Ghori flew into a rage and ordered that Prithviraj's eyes be burnt with red hot iron rods. He was tortured by Ghori but he died an undefeated warrior, taking Ghori down before he could die.
The blind Prithviraj avenges the injustice done to him. The two got an opportunity when Ghori announced a game of archery. On the advice of Chand Bardai, Prithviraj, who was then at court said he would also like to participate. On hearing his suggestion, the courtiers guffawed at him and he was taunted by Ghori as to how he could participate when he could not see. Whereupon, Prithiviraj told Mahmud Ghori to order him to shoot, and he would reach his target. Ghori became suspicious and asked Prithviraj why he wanted Ghori himself to order and not anyone else. On behalf of Prithiviraj, Chand Bardai told Ghori that he as a king would not accept orders from anyone other than a king. His ego satisfied, Mohammed Ghori agreed.[9]
On the said day, Ghori sitting in his royal enclosure had Prithiviraj brought to the ground and had him unchained for the event. On Ghori's ordering Prithviraj to shoot, we are told Prithiviraj turned in the direction from where he heard Ghori speak and struck Ghori dead with his arrow. This event is described by Chand Bardai in the couplet, "Char baans, chaubis hasta, angul ashta praman, Ete pai Sultan hai (Taa Upar hai Sultan). Ab mat chuko Chauhan." (Ten pole measures, twenty four arm's length & eight fingers width away, is seated the Sultan, do not miss him now, Chouhan). In order to escape death at the hands of enemies he and his friend Chand Bardai stabbed each other.
Hem Chandra
(Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, Hindu emperor Hemu, who was supplier of Food items, Cannons and Gun Powder to Sher Shah Suri, chief Advisor to his son Islam Shah from 1545 to 1553, Prime Minister-cum-Chief of Army of Adil Shah Suri, a virtual king from 1553-56, established Hindu Raj in North India from Delhi on 7th Oct. 1556, was defeated and killed in the Second Battle of Panipat, in 1556. Here (bazaar art, 1910's) he's reimagined in very Mughal courtly style, and glorified in Hindi, Persian (from the Akbar-namah), and English, as "the last Hindu emperor of Hindustan"-- with his genius certified by the Imperial Gazetteer. )
His achievements notwithstanding, he is not a household name in India. His name does not ring any bells in the collective memory of indians. I am not even sure if any physical memorial of this Indian Hero exists. Anecdotally, Prithvi Raj Chauhan is considered as the last Indian ruler of Delhi. It is incorrect to think that Indians made no efforts to liberate Delhi in medieval India. Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya made one such effort that succeeded – albeit for a brief interlude.
Early Childhood
Not much is known about his childhood and early life. In fact, historians disagree about both his birth name and birth place. K.K. Bhardwaj claims that perhaps his original name was Basant Rai, Hem Rai, Hem Raj or Hem Chandra Bhargava. R.C. Majumdar writes that “he was born in a poor family of Dhansar section, living in a town in the southern part of Alwar”. Muslim historian Badayuni has described him as a resident of a small town called Rewari in the taluk of Mewat, and began his life as a green vendor. Others believe that he was a hawker in the town of Mewat . Historians mention that brought up in a religious environment, he was educated in Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Arithmatic. He was also trained in Horse riding and was fond of wrestling (Kushti) . His rise to fame did not begin until late 1530s when he came in contact with the officers of Sher Shah Suri. But events that happened in north India during his youth were not as dull!
Hem Chandra’sYouth
In the early 1500s, huge portions India were under afghan occupation. South India(vijayanagara’s), Rajputana, Orissa and Assam were the only parts of India that remained free. In Delhi, Lodi dynasty was ruling large parts of north India. Independent sultanates ruled Gujarat and Central India. Under the afgan occupation, Indians was already burdened by the crushing Jizya tax. At such point in 1526, a Central Asian tribal warrior named Babur attacked India. His armies marched from Kabul to Delhi via Punjab. In the first battle of Panipat (April 21, 1526) Babur defeated the joint armies of Ibrahim Lodi and Raja Vikramjit – king of Gwalior – and captured the throne of Delhi. Now Rajputs under the leadership of Rana Sangramsingh of Chittor challenged Babur. They were also supported by Hasan Khan Moe. But unfortunately their joint forces too were defeated by Babur in the battle of Khanwa. With this victory Babur now controlled north-western India as well as parts of Gangetic Plains.
“]
Babur’s March to Delhi from Samarkand in present day Uzbekistan
Mercifully, Babur died (January 1531) before he could consolidate his hold on India and was succeeded by a weak son – Humayun. Sensing an opportunity, Sher Khan Suri – an Afghan commander of the Lodis – who was stationed in Bihar during Ibrahim Lodi’s rule, attacked Humayun. He defeated the Mughals in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj and drove them out of Delhi . He captured Delhi in May 1540, declared himself the emperor and took the name of Bappa Rawal
(Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, Hindu emperor Hemu, who was supplier of Food items, Cannons and Gun Powder to Sher Shah Suri, chief Advisor to his son Islam Shah from 1545 to 1553, Prime Minister-cum-Chief of Army of Adil Shah Suri, a virtual king from 1553-56, established Hindu Raj in North India from Delhi on 7th Oct. 1556, was defeated and killed in the Second Battle of Panipat, in 1556. Here (bazaar art, 1910's) he's reimagined in very Mughal courtly style, and glorified in Hindi, Persian (from the Akbar-namah), and English, as "the last Hindu emperor of Hindustan"-- with his genius certified by the Imperial Gazetteer. )
His achievements notwithstanding, he is not a household name in India. His name does not ring any bells in the collective memory of indians. I am not even sure if any physical memorial of this Indian Hero exists. Anecdotally, Prithvi Raj Chauhan is considered as the last Indian ruler of Delhi. It is incorrect to think that Indians made no efforts to liberate Delhi in medieval India. Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya made one such effort that succeeded – albeit for a brief interlude.
Early Childhood
Not much is known about his childhood and early life. In fact, historians disagree about both his birth name and birth place. K.K. Bhardwaj claims that perhaps his original name was Basant Rai, Hem Rai, Hem Raj or Hem Chandra Bhargava. R.C. Majumdar writes that “he was born in a poor family of Dhansar section, living in a town in the southern part of Alwar”. Muslim historian Badayuni has described him as a resident of a small town called Rewari in the taluk of Mewat, and began his life as a green vendor. Others believe that he was a hawker in the town of Mewat . Historians mention that brought up in a religious environment, he was educated in Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Arithmatic. He was also trained in Horse riding and was fond of wrestling (Kushti) . His rise to fame did not begin until late 1530s when he came in contact with the officers of Sher Shah Suri. But events that happened in north India during his youth were not as dull!
Hem Chandra’sYouth
In the early 1500s, huge portions India were under afghan occupation. South India(vijayanagara’s), Rajputana, Orissa and Assam were the only parts of India that remained free. In Delhi, Lodi dynasty was ruling large parts of north India. Independent sultanates ruled Gujarat and Central India. Under the afgan occupation, Indians was already burdened by the crushing Jizya tax. At such point in 1526, a Central Asian tribal warrior named Babur attacked India. His armies marched from Kabul to Delhi via Punjab. In the first battle of Panipat (April 21, 1526) Babur defeated the joint armies of Ibrahim Lodi and Raja Vikramjit – king of Gwalior – and captured the throne of Delhi. Now Rajputs under the leadership of Rana Sangramsingh of Chittor challenged Babur. They were also supported by Hasan Khan Moe. But unfortunately their joint forces too were defeated by Babur in the battle of Khanwa. With this victory Babur now controlled north-western India as well as parts of Gangetic Plains.
“]
Babur’s March to Delhi from Samarkand in present day Uzbekistan
Mercifully, Babur died (January 1531) before he could consolidate his hold on India and was succeeded by a weak son – Humayun. Sensing an opportunity, Sher Khan Suri – an Afghan commander of the Lodis – who was stationed in Bihar during Ibrahim Lodi’s rule, attacked Humayun. He defeated the Mughals in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj and drove them out of Delhi . He captured Delhi in May 1540, declared himself the emperor and took the name of Bappa Rawal
''Bappa Rawal was one of the most powerful and famous rulers of the Mewar Dynasty.''
Ring a bell
The same Mewar dynasty that produced heroes like Maharana Pratap.
While Maharana Pratap fought against Akbar.
You know what Bappa Rawal fought against.
Ring a bell
The same Mewar dynasty that produced heroes like Maharana Pratap.
While Maharana Pratap fought against Akbar.
You know what Bappa Rawal fought against.
Don't die of the surprise. This is one of the largest Empire world has ever seen. Massive it is and the similarity it has with the present day world is that almost every part covered under this empire is a Muslim majority region now a days.
Now look at this man
Exactly what did he do??
He stopped the same Empire depicted above. Fought the Battle of Rajasthan aimed at capturing India (National Humiliation- nobody knows it ). The Invasion was Actually an extension of the campaign to capture Persia.
The outcome of the Battle ( or the series of battle ) was that the Expansion of the Islamic Caliphate was restricted to sindh only. He succeeded in defending India
Means this man is the saviour of Hinduism. He Saved the very existence of Hinduisim. He saved the very Identity of 850 million Hindus living in this country
.
Here's my two cents on who the greatest Indian king is and why:
Chandragupta II aka Vikramaditya
- The Gupta period is often called the Golden Age and it reached its zenith during the reign of this guy. He encouraged arts and sciences. Fa Hein visited India during his reign and states:
"The people were rich and prosperous and seemed to emulate each other in the practice of virtue. Charitable institutions were numerous and rest houses for travelers were provided on the highway. The capital possessed an excellent hospital."
- He had Navratna (his small council) with stalwarts like Kalidas, Dhanvantri and Varahamihir.
- Another perk of being under his reign: no capital punishment, no land tax, no poll tax.
- Not to forget, that the Iron Pillar at Mehrauli was built, as per some accounts, by him after defeating Vahilakas. That's the prowess of the Gupta dynasty in metallurgy.
- Much said about Akbar, the only reason I nominate him is for the stability he provided to the Indian subcontinent economically and culturally.
- Agreed, he had a lot of wars, but that was the price that had to be paid to bring the subcontinent under one rule, the bitter pill.
- With a Navratna of his own, he is often described as a just king who had an extremely elaborate and well laid out system of governance.
CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA :
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the great Mauryan Empirewhich was undoubtedly the first such big empire by an Indian Ruler. Trained in Takshshila University of Gandhar Kingdom at that time under the guidance of one of the greatest Acharya (Teacher) in Indian history, Chandragupta Maurya is credited with doing what was believed to be impossible by many learned during that period.
Alexander and his army were on a road to conquer the whole world and he was moving very aggressively towards the Hindukush Mountains (now Pakistan) . Chanakya, one of the most brilliant Political Science expert of all times, a Master at the Takshshila University and the father of the art of modern world Politics proposed a Unified Bharat(modern day India) to stop the advances of Alexander's army. But most experts during that period didn't agree with that because :
- The whole Bharat was divided into around 20 small and large kingdoms and that included the very powerful Magadha and Gandhar Kingdoms. It was always near to impossible to unify so many kingdoms.
- The two largest kingdoms viz. Gandhar Kingdom and Magadha Kingdom were at opposites of each other and the only way they could be unified was through Magadha because it was the center of India.
- Magadha Empire was ruled by a cruel king Dhanananda who was more interested in Madira(Alcohol) and left most of his matters to his Prime Minister Mudra Rakhasa.When Chanakya went to Dhanananda with the proposal of a Unified India, Chanakya was mocked and thrown out by Dhanananda's Sainiks (soldiers).
Chanakya then decided that it has to be someone from the outside who would unify the land, be good towards the people and lead like a king is expected to. He picked up Chandragupta from a village as a kid knowing well that his father was a very able warrior who had to die revolting against the cruel Nanda Empire. He took Chandragupta to Takshshila and trained him in matters of Political Science, Economics and most importantly Warrior-ship. Chandragupta coming from a normal family didn't have the privileges of a prince or any army and that's were he faced the toughest challenge. Most of the great kings we talk had some army or a legacy to begin with but Chandragupta did all this from scratch.
- Saam (To advise and ask)
- Daam (To offer and buy)
- Dand (To punish )
- Bhed (Exploiting the secrets)
Points 1 and 3 were prevalent from the past but coupled with 2 and 4 which more importantly form the part of what modern day politics is, Chanakya started conquering small kingdoms for Chandragupta by brain rather than by blood. At the age of 20, the greatest emperor to be had already raised an army and that in all is very significant considering that he achieved so much in such a less time period. Chandragupta looted the Nanda Empire's gold with a huge conspiracy which involved Chanakya deliberately sending Chandragupta to Dhanananda's mines as a prisoner where his Gold was stored. Chandragupta lost his mother who was also a prisoner in the mines after Dhanananda found out about his conspiracy but instead of choosing to save his mother, Chandragupta decided to follow his Acharya's orders for the success of the mission he was on. After conquering Nanda dynasty, Chandragupta along with with the king of Himalayas, defeated the combined army of Alexander and Gandhar causing one of the greatest upsets in the history. There are some instances which point towards Chanakya being involved in the demise of Alexander by food poisoning him.
As a result of all this, a kid aged 12 whose father had been brutally killed , whose family was living as peacock keepers in jungles to save themselves from the Nanda soldiers, taken by Chanakya to Takshshila went on to become the first true Emperor of Modern day India. This might not seem too much to some but for me conquering such a lard land with nothing initially is a feat. That same kid defeated the army of the greatest ruler of all times and didn't let him conquer Indian Subcontinent. The greeks sent Selucus to learn about the Mauryan Empire and prepare a study over it. Selucus was so impressed by the ruling that he defined Chandragupta Maurya as one of the best rulers he had ever met.
Yes Ashoka was great but he inherited a great Empire which was made possible by the greatest Teacher Student Pair of Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya.
Mauryan Empire defined the modern day development of India.
This was when he started his empire. Just see the magnitude of his reach.
Balaji Viswanathan and Gaurav Khairnar have just about covered most of the great Indian emperors.
Kanishka
Kanishka was one of the greatest rulers of the Kushan dynasty, a warrior, a patron of arts, and along with Ashoka, Harshavardhana was responsible for the spread of Buddhism in India. Consider this his empire extended from Central Asia( Uzbekistan) upto Mathura in Northern India, covering large swathes of India's North and North West regions.
Ranjit Singh
Kanishka
Kanishka was one of the greatest rulers of the Kushan dynasty, a warrior, a patron of arts, and along with Ashoka, Harshavardhana was responsible for the spread of Buddhism in India. Consider this his empire extended from Central Asia( Uzbekistan) upto Mathura in Northern India, covering large swathes of India's North and North West regions.
Ranjit Singh
A man who had lost one eye, an arm, and yet built one of the greatest empires in India, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh empire. He drove out the Durranis from Punjab, captured Multan, Peshawar, annexed the whole pf Punjab. His kingdom extended right up to the foothills of the Sulaiman Mountains, and conquered Kasur from the fierce Pathans. His empire consisted of undivided Punjab( extending till Multan now in Pakistan), Jammu and Kashmir till Gilgit now in POK, North West frontier till Khyber Pass and even parts of Western Tibet. And he had some formidable generals like Hari Singh Nalwa, Dewan Mokham Chand, Zorawar Singh along with Europeans like Jean Francois Allard.
The following are the best kings apart from Emepror Ashoka (nobody can ever match his greatness)
1) Shivaji he is the greatest king and most successful general in Indian history; he is the father of Indian navy nobody else recognised the importance of a navy except him. he is the first general in Indian history to have used the geographical terrain to his advantage. he kept the dream of swaraj (self rule) above everything else; his successful military adventures; his escape from Agra; his escape to vishalgad; his military expeditions in karnataka are legends moreover he was a very inspiring general almost none of his cheiftains ever decieved him. also he was inspired by king bali this theological character is said to have established a kingdom of farmers; shivaji was a very kind ruler. he established laws that were responsible for social integrity of state. he even established mosque on raigad for muslim slodiers. cases against women were dealt with death penalty.
2) Sambhaji: not a lot of people know about him; he was son of the great king Shivaji. he came to rule after the death of his father and just when Aurangazeb was marching with 5 lakh soldiers to win all of deccan; there is a famous story that when Aurangazebs wajir asked him how much time will it take to defeat sambhaji the empror raised a single finger to indicate 1 month then he sent his best cheiftain to win a very small fort and the cheiftain said to the emperor that he will read his morning namaz below the fort and his evening namaz on the fort under the green flag yet it took 7 years to win the single fort of Sambhaji; although he betrayed his father and eloped with enemy whie young he returned to his father later; in the history of world there is not a single ruler who can match sambhajis record of winning battles ; he is said to have fought 120 battles in his life and losing none. he fought for 9 long years with aurangazebs mighty army he was captured trecherously off gaurd just as he was planning a major assault on aurangazeb and was murderd brutally.
3) Bajirao peshwa 1:
bajirao peshwa was a very heroic general he is said to have fought 41 battles losing none; it is said that his army used no tents because in battle feilds he would sleep with his general and his soldiers in open feilds under the sky. he took an army from pune to delhi in just 4 days (when rajputs attacked delhi they took 13 days to reach from rajputana to delhi) he was a great swordsman and an excellent rider his acts in battalefeild have won him accolades from the enemy too. he was a great reader of battle feilds. he fought portugese and put restrictions on mislitary capablities of europeans. he took the martha empire to its peak althought his affair with mastani ruined his influence in maratha politics.
4) Peshwa Madhavrao:
Madhavrao came to rule after the fall of marathas on panipath ; the state was in debt having incurred such losses in panipath almost 2 lakh soldiers died in the battle feild; state treasury went down and other players in the politics of deccan started to ravage maratha territories in karnataka; madhavrao peshwas even being just 16 year old solved economic problems of the state and regained the importance of pune in indian politics. he defated the nizam and brought peace to deccan. he died at the age of 35 but was very successful in checking british military influence in decaan. he bought peace with nizam he was so revelant to indian politics that had he survived a few more years India would never be colonised and India would have gained a name in international politics. James Grant Duff puts his death this wasy "And the plains of Panipat were not more fatal to the Maratha Empire than the early end of this excellent prince…"
bajirao peshwa was a very heroic general he is said to have fought 41 battles losing none; it is said that his army used no tents because in battle feilds he would sleep with his general and his soldiers in open feilds under the sky. he took an army from pune to delhi in just 4 days (when rajputs attacked delhi they took 13 days to reach from rajputana to delhi) he was a great swordsman and an excellent rider his acts in battalefeild have won him accolades from the enemy too. he was a great reader of battle feilds. he fought portugese and put restrictions on mislitary capablities of europeans. he took the martha empire to its peak althought his affair with mastani ruined his influence in maratha politics.
4) Peshwa Madhavrao:
Madhavrao came to rule after the fall of marathas on panipath ; the state was in debt having incurred such losses in panipath almost 2 lakh soldiers died in the battle feild; state treasury went down and other players in the politics of deccan started to ravage maratha territories in karnataka; madhavrao peshwas even being just 16 year old solved economic problems of the state and regained the importance of pune in indian politics. he defated the nizam and brought peace to deccan. he died at the age of 35 but was very successful in checking british military influence in decaan. he bought peace with nizam he was so revelant to indian politics that had he survived a few more years India would never be colonised and India would have gained a name in international politics. James Grant Duff puts his death this wasy "And the plains of Panipat were not more fatal to the Maratha Empire than the early end of this excellent prince…"
- RANI LAKSMIBAI:
Laxmi Bai, (born Nov.19, 1835) the Queen of Jhansi is unparalleled in the history of India. She was only 18 years old when her husband Gangadhar Rao, the king of Jhansi died. As the first born child of Rani had died, the couple was childless. They adopted a child whom the English refused to accept as the legal heir to the throne of Jhansi. Instead the English offered her a pension of Rs. 60,000 per year and ordered her to leave the fort of Jhansi. Rani however refused and decided to fight for her rights. She raised a volunteer army where both men and women were recruited. In March 1858, English army laid siege to the fort of Jhansi and took Jhansi after fighting for two weeks. Rani escaped in guise of a man with few of her supporters, riding a horse with her son tied behind her back and a sword in her hand. She regrouped her forces in Kalpi, about 100 miles from Jhansi and advanced into Gwalior. Three weeks later on June 18, 1858 she was martyred by bullets of the English army in a combat battle. Super human courage, convictions and velour displayed by such a young girl in nineteenth century India to take up English army in armed combat and to give up her life fighting for her rights, became a source of inspiration for generations of Indians in their fight for independence.
Following poem by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was taught to us in class 8th.
Quora doesn't allow answers in hindi. So I had to upload photographs.
Tipu Sultan
A great warrior wrecks havoc and terrorizes his opponents, has the ego to go up against and conquers a stronger foe, dictates terms to the enemies, innovates battle formations and weapons and dies on the battle field, weapon in hand. And the finest warrior of India who did all these things is not mentioned so far. It is the Tiger of Mysore - Tipu Sultan.
Let us see some of his exploits:
Tipu was cruel and not a worthy King because of how he treated his prisoners and humiliation of defeated enemies. But as a warrior, he is unparalleled and is the Indian equivalent of "Last Samurai" as he was the last king to defeat the British at battle. That makes him a strong contender for this title.
Let us see some of his exploits:
- Won small battles against British with 1:1 forces, while suffering small losses before he was 30. He was crown prince at the time. became King with a proven track record.
- The last Indian King to dictate terms to the British after defeating them in battle.
- Lord Charles Cornwallis, after mixed results in American war of Independence thought that he can improve his military record by coming to India. What a miscalculation a battle against Tipu turned out to be:
- Tipu practically invented usage of rockets in warfare. They were present during his fathers time, but Tipu refined it for use in battle. The rockets were inefficient by modern terms, but they were meant for chaos and commotion to disperse the enemy. Tipu had a good laugh after unleashing his rocket infantry:
- The Royal Arsenal procured samples and took them back to Britain to refine and put them in a production line, which led to the use of modern rocket propelled artillery that we see today.
- He was a shrewd negotiator - he offered the post of Admiral to a French Admiral - Pierre André de Suffren and built the first Church in Mysore just as a part of the employment deal. This led to advancements in the Mysore Kingdom's Navy with many innovations.
- Tipu established contact and negotiations with Persian, Mughal and French rulers.
- Tipu was obsessed with quality of weaponry. For instance, he had a dedicated gun smith to maintain his private arsenal.
- And as mentioned earlier, he died commanding his army after refusing surrender and going up against a army 1:3 ratio.
Tipu was cruel and not a worthy King because of how he treated his prisoners and humiliation of defeated enemies. But as a warrior, he is unparalleled and is the Indian equivalent of "Last Samurai" as he was the last king to defeat the British at battle. That makes him a strong contender for this title.
MAHARANA PRATAP OF MEWAR.
The map narrates the story itself.
Nearly all of Pratap's fellow Rajput chiefs had meanwhile entered into the vassalage of the Mughals. Even Pratap's own brothers, Shakti Singh and Sagar Singh, served Akbar. Indeed, many Rajput chiefs, such as Raja Man Singh of Amber (later known as Maharaja of Jaipur) served as army commanders in Akbar's armies and as members of his council.
Akbar sent a total of six diplomatic missions to Pratap, seeking to negotiate the same sort of peaceful alliance that he had concluded with the other Rajput chiefs. Each time, however, Pratap politely refused to accept Akbar's suzerainty, arguing that the Sisodia Rajputs had never accepted any foreign ruler as their overlord, nor will he. It is worth noting that both these rulers' grandfathers, Rana Sanga and Babur, had previously fought against each other. Thus the enmity was not only political, but was also a bit personal.
Pratap maintained that he had no intention to fight with Akbar but he could not bow down to Akbar and accept him as the ruler. Some scholars argue that there was some possibility that Maharana could have become friends with Akbar but in the siege of Chittor when Akbar killed 30,000 civilian, unarmed residents of Chittor, because they refused to convert to Islam, left a lasting impression on Maharana's mind and he decided he cannot bow to such an unjust and cruel human being as Akbar was.
Akbar felt insulted and thought of teaching this Rajput ruler a lesson.
Battle Of Haldighati:
On June 21, 1576, the armies of Maharana Pratap & Akbar met at haldighati.
Maharana Pratap has some 10,000 soldier at his command, but they were outnumbered 1/8 against the mighty mughal army consisting of some 80,000 soldiers.
The battle of Haldighati, a historic event in the annals of Rajputana, lasted only four hours. In this short period, Pratap's men essayed many brave exploits on the field.
When he was fighting, he saw Man Singh, a rajput prince who was fighting as a commander from Mughals side. Maharan was so angry that he personally attacked Man Singh: his horse Chetak placed its front feet on the trunk of Man Singh's elephant and Pratap threw his lance; Man Singh ducked, and the mahout was killed.
However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery finally began to tell. Seeing that the battle was lost, Pratap's generals prevailed upon him to flee the field so as to be able to fight another day. To facilitate Pratap's escape, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan, donned Pratap's distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield. He was soon killed.
Chetak was severely injured in the attack, but he still managed to take Pratap away from the battle, two turkish soldiers were following Maharana Pratap. The moment they started chasing him Pratap’s younger brother Shakti Singh, who was fighting from the Mughal side (he had some disputes with Pratap at the time of Pratap’s coronation; hence he had defected and gone over to Akbar’s court) realized that his own brother was under threat.
Pratap's army general's sacrifice had already been discovered by him. He could not help but react against a threat to his own brother. He followed the Turks, engaged them in single combat and killed them. In the meanwhile, Chetak collapsed and Pratap saw his brother Shakti Singh killing the two Mughal riders. Saddened by the loss of his beloved general and horse, he embraced his brother and broke into tears. Shaktisingh also cried and asked for his brother's pardon, for having fought as his enemy. Pratap pardoned him (later on he was given a huge estate near Chittor). Shaktisingh then offered him his own horse and requested him to get to a safe place.
The map narrates the story itself.
Maharana Pratap was a Hindu rajput ruler of Mewar Kingdom.
Nearly all of Pratap's fellow Rajput chiefs had meanwhile entered into the vassalage of the Mughals. Even Pratap's own brothers, Shakti Singh and Sagar Singh, served Akbar. Indeed, many Rajput chiefs, such as Raja Man Singh of Amber (later known as Maharaja of Jaipur) served as army commanders in Akbar's armies and as members of his council.
Akbar sent a total of six diplomatic missions to Pratap, seeking to negotiate the same sort of peaceful alliance that he had concluded with the other Rajput chiefs. Each time, however, Pratap politely refused to accept Akbar's suzerainty, arguing that the Sisodia Rajputs had never accepted any foreign ruler as their overlord, nor will he. It is worth noting that both these rulers' grandfathers, Rana Sanga and Babur, had previously fought against each other. Thus the enmity was not only political, but was also a bit personal.
Pratap maintained that he had no intention to fight with Akbar but he could not bow down to Akbar and accept him as the ruler. Some scholars argue that there was some possibility that Maharana could have become friends with Akbar but in the siege of Chittor when Akbar killed 30,000 civilian, unarmed residents of Chittor, because they refused to convert to Islam, left a lasting impression on Maharana's mind and he decided he cannot bow to such an unjust and cruel human being as Akbar was.
Akbar felt insulted and thought of teaching this Rajput ruler a lesson.
Battle Of Haldighati:
On June 21, 1576, the armies of Maharana Pratap & Akbar met at haldighati.
Maharana Pratap has some 10,000 soldier at his command, but they were outnumbered 1/8 against the mighty mughal army consisting of some 80,000 soldiers.
The battle of Haldighati, a historic event in the annals of Rajputana, lasted only four hours. In this short period, Pratap's men essayed many brave exploits on the field.
When he was fighting, he saw Man Singh, a rajput prince who was fighting as a commander from Mughals side. Maharan was so angry that he personally attacked Man Singh: his horse Chetak placed its front feet on the trunk of Man Singh's elephant and Pratap threw his lance; Man Singh ducked, and the mahout was killed.
However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery finally began to tell. Seeing that the battle was lost, Pratap's generals prevailed upon him to flee the field so as to be able to fight another day. To facilitate Pratap's escape, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan, donned Pratap's distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield. He was soon killed.
Chetak was severely injured in the attack, but he still managed to take Pratap away from the battle, two turkish soldiers were following Maharana Pratap. The moment they started chasing him Pratap’s younger brother Shakti Singh, who was fighting from the Mughal side (he had some disputes with Pratap at the time of Pratap’s coronation; hence he had defected and gone over to Akbar’s court) realized that his own brother was under threat.
Pratap's army general's sacrifice had already been discovered by him. He could not help but react against a threat to his own brother. He followed the Turks, engaged them in single combat and killed them. In the meanwhile, Chetak collapsed and Pratap saw his brother Shakti Singh killing the two Mughal riders. Saddened by the loss of his beloved general and horse, he embraced his brother and broke into tears. Shaktisingh also cried and asked for his brother's pardon, for having fought as his enemy. Pratap pardoned him (later on he was given a huge estate near Chittor). Shaktisingh then offered him his own horse and requested him to get to a safe place.
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