Hey! Thank you!
I have to admit I didn’t know the story of Chetak, but he seems just as legendary as Bucephalus :
Among some of the heroic horses remembered from down the history,
Chetak, the horse of Rana Pratap Singh is a strikingly memorable one.
Some awesome characteristics of this horse account for it unique merits
as a valorous fighter as well as a faithful and loyal servant to its
master.
[…] As described in the different folk songs sung in the Mewar region,
it appears that Chetak’s coat had a distinctive blue tinge. We may
recollect the lines in the ballads that describe Maharana Pratap Singh
as the ‘Rider of the Blue Horse’.
As a horse, Chetak was
aggressive, arrogant and difficult to control. It could be controlled
only by Pratap to whom it demonstrated the highest degree of loyalty and
submissiveness.
The heroism and loyalty
of Chetak are best illustrated by the incident that happened in the
Haldighati battle.
When Rana Pratap attempted to try the life of
Raja Mansingh, the commander of the imperial Mughal army, Chetak made
its way through the tough army of the opponent and reached near the
elephant on which Man Singh was seated. Chetak reared its forelegs and
planted the hooves on the face of the elephant. Rana Pratap attempted a
frontal charge and threw his lance, which misfired and killed the
elephant driver.
Chetak’s loyalty towards his owner was
more than the Rajput kings of his time. He not only remained loyal to
his owner till he breath his last, but also rescued him from the
battlefield to a safe place in spite of having a fatal wound himself.
Eventually, Chetak received a fatal wound in one of its legs. Though its
was under excruciating pain, it realized the danger awaiting its master
and carried him from the battlefield.
On the way, with
its wounded legs, it even jumped over a flowing river. Having saved the
life of its master, it fell down and died at the laps of Rana Pratap,
who got a small monument erected in the same place where the faithful
companion breathed its last. To this day, the memorial in Haldighati
reminds us of the wonderful feat achieved by the valiant and loyal
horse. (x)