Ramprasad (elephant) explained

Ram Prasad (meaning: Gift from Lord Rama)^[1] was an elephant of Maharana Pratap’s army mentioned in the scripts of Al-Qadir Badayuni.^{[2] [3]} Ramprasad was trained in the Kingdom of Mewar and fought the Mughal army in the Battle of Haldighati on 18 June 1576.^{[4] [5] [6]}

Life

Maharana Pratap had a deep love for his horse Chetak and also for an elephant whose name was Ramprasad.^{[7] [8]}

Al-Qadir Badayuni says that when Akbar attacked the Kingdom of Mewar, he wanted two things to be captured: Maharana Pratap and Ram Prasad. He says that Ramprasad was a brave and smart elephant of the Mewar army.^{[9] [10]} He further says that when the Battle of Haldighati started, Ramprasad with his mahout and Chieftain (Pratap Singh Tanwar) started attacking the Mughal army.^[11] Ramprasad is said to have killed 13 elephants of the Mughal army, along with their mahouts. However, Ramprasad’s mahout was shot with an arrow by the Mughal forces and downed.^{[12] [13]}

After Mansingh received news that one elephant was killing his soldiers rapidly, he formed a Chakravyuh comprising of seven mightiest royal elephants of the Mughal army, with 14 strong men holding each elephant. The forces surrounded Ramprasad,^[14] allowing Mansingh to capture him. Ramprasad was sent to Agra under intense security.^[15]

In Agra, Ramprasad got huge hospitality and was kept on royal watch by Akbar. Akbar renamed him Peerprasad and offered him sugarcanes, fruits and water, which he refused. Ramprasad died after 18 days without taking the Mughal food and water.^{[16] [17] [18]}

Akbar’s comment on Ramprasad is also mentioned In the scripts of Al-Qadir Badayuni, Akbar is recorded as saying: “The one's whose elephant didn’t bow down in front of me, how would I be able to slain Maharana Pratap."^{[19] [20]} The mughals were stunned by the loyalty of an animal towards its master.^[21]

See also

• Chetak
• Battle of Haldighati

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2022-07-07 . The name of Maharana Pratap’s elephant was a.Ram Prasad b.Chetak c.Mardana d.Veer Prasad - Brainly.in . 2024-12-03 . brainly.in . en-IN.
2. Book: Rana, Bhawan Singh “There was an extremely able and trained elephant called Ramprasad in Maharana's army. Emperor Akbar has also heard praises of this elephant. It is said that he had asked the Maharana for this elephant many times.” . Maharana Pratap . 2014-03-24 . Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd . 978-93-5083-869-3 . en.
3. Book: Sharma, Parvati . A Lamp for the Dark World: Akbar, India's Greatest Mughal . 2023-05-15 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-5381-7790-7 . en.
4. Book: Shelat, Jayendra Manilal . Akbar . 1959 . Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan . en.
5. Book: Ratnawat, Shyam Singh . Kachhawan Ri Vanshavali . 1981 . Centre for Rajasthan Studies, University of Rajasthan . en.
6. Book: Sarkar, Jadunath . Military History of India . 2022-01-01 . Abhishek Publications . 978-93-5652-020-2 . en.
7. Book: Singh, Pratap Narayan . The Helios of the Aravalis (Novel) . Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd . 978-93-5684-631-9 . en.
8. Web site: 2024-06-09 . Maharana Pratap Jayanti: ऐसा ‘हाथी’ जिसने नहीं की अकबर की गुलामी स्वीकार, तड़प-तड़पकर दे दी अपनी जान Maharana Pratap Jayanti Swami devotee Elephant RamPrasad did not accept Akbar's slavery sacrificed his life in agony for 18 days . 2024-12-04 . Patrika News . hi.
9. Book: Bhatt, Rajendra Shankar . Maharana Pratap . 2005 . National Book Trust, India . 978-81-237-4339-4 . en.
10. Book: Vinzi, Isaac . THE LION OF HIND: Power, Passion, Patriotism. One Man's Guts Sends Shivers Down the Mughal Spine! . Clever Fox Publishing . en.
11. Book: Eraly, Abraham . Emperors Of The Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls . 2007-09-17 . Penguin Books Limited . 978-93-5118-093-7 . en.
12. Book: Sharma, Manimugdha . Allahu Akbar: Understanding the Mughal in Today's India . 2019-10-18 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-93-86950-54-3 . en.
13. Book: Mathur, Laxman Prasad . War Strategy of Maharana Pratap: Its Evolution and Implementation . 2004 . Publication Scheme . 978-81-8182-016-7 . en.
14. Book: Javed, Ajeet . Heritage of Harmony: An Insight Into Medieval India . 2002 . Gyan Publishing House . 978-81-212-0817-8 . en.
15. Book: Prasad, Ishwari . The Mughal Empire . 1974 . Chugh Publications . en.
16. Book: Mathur, M. N. . Battle of Haldighati . 1981 . R. Granthagar . hi.
17. Book: Das, Debasish . Red Fort: Remembering the Mughals . 2019-12-16 . BecomeShakespeare.com . 978-81-943941-7-4 . en.
18. Book: Maharana Pratap & His Times . 1989 . Maharana Pratap Smarak Samiti . en.
19. Book: Munshi, Kanaiyalal Maneklal . Indian Inheritance . 1956 . Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan . en.
20. Book: Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal . Political history, 1542-1605 A.D . 1962 . Shiva Lal Agarwala . en.
21. Book: Sharma, Dasharatha . Rajasthan Through the Ages: From 1300 to 1761 A.D. . 1990 . Rajasthan State Archives . en.