Rana Pratap and his chieftains were certain that Moguls would move against them sooner or later. He had made up his mind never to accept the domination of Moguls come what may. The fate of Chittaur served as a warning signal against the Moguls. They knew that the battle with Moguls was inevitable.
Udaipur was situated near the plains. It was not safe. Large armies could march in and the battles had to be fought on plateau and flat grounds which did not suit Rajputs who were fewer in numbers always getting outnumbered by the enemy. Battles in hilly terrains suited Rajputs where a small band could battle up bigger armies.
Rana Pratap and his commanders decided to found a new capital at Kumbhalgarh which was situated in hills difficult to access.
Before that Maharana made every warrior, chieftain, courtier and citizen to take oath that till Chittaur was not liberated everyone will live a frugal life and forget about internal differences. The warriors stopped shaving and cutting hair. Everyone looked charged with a determination.
All the people of Udaipur were ordered to move to the new fort capital. Remaining in Udaipur was made a crime punishable with capital punishment. As a result in a short time Udaipur become a desolate place and the new capital Kumbhalgarh became a bustling place but little facilities. Every citizen was expected to get used to harsh life. There would be no joy as long as Chittaur was in the enemy hands.
The city was situated inside a huge high walled fort. Access to it was through narrow and deep ravines that could be easily defended. Young men were under military training. The women folk helped the man folk in preparation for war that could come any time. The citizens on their own saved money and contributed to the royal treasury.
To set an example Maharana lived a simple life himself. He had given up eating food in gold or silver ware. It had infused a great spirit of sacrifice among the citizens.
But the tragedy was that Maharana could not win the confidence of his brothers. Rana Pratap tried his best to accommodate Jagmal and make him feel resettled. But it did not work. He remained inconsolable for the loss of the throne and always wore a humiliated look.
He could not stay in Mewar for long and departed for Jahajpur along with his family. Jahajpur was under Ajmer district of Mogul empire. The district commander arranged for his stay there.
Through his efforts Jagmal met Emperor Akbar.
Emperor Akbar was pleased to know that he was the deposed brother of Rana Pratap. Jagmal could be a valuable asset. Akbar knew how important it was to befriend every Rajput he could. It had taken a huge army of Moguls six months to capture Chittaur fort which was defended by only a few thousand Rajput soldiers.
The best thing about Jagmal was that he hated Rana Pratap. The emperor warmly welcomed Jagmal and gifted Jahajpur state to him. In return Jagmal was to stay loyal to Emperor Akbar and extend every cooperation to him.
Meanwhile Devra Surtan and Devra Beeja had quarrel over succession of Sirohi state. They went to Raja Rai Singh who happened to be a protege of Emperor Akbar. He decided in favour of Surtan because he had agreed to give half of the state to Akbar. Akbar gave that half part to Jagmal.
Surtan did not like the deal. He tried to attack Jagmal area. Beeja came to Jagmal’s help. They got together and drove out Surtan.
Later Beeja left the company of Jagmal. Surtan moved against Jagmal who got killed in the ensuing battle which also claimed the life of Rai Singh.
It was infact the grandiose plan of Akbar to make Rajputs fight amongst themselves and destroy each other. He had thrown the bone of half Sirohi state among rival Rajputs and made them fight for it and get destroyed. In one deft move he destroyed four enemy chieftains.
