When Man Singh attacked Mewar with his Mughal force, Prat and his army met them in the Haldighati. Both sides showed bravery in the battle. The popular belief is that Pratap suddenly attacked Man Singh with his horse Chetak. Pratap placed a false elephant trunk in Chetak’s head so that the elephant of Man Singh chariot would mistakenly think it is an elephant kid and would not attack on it. Though Pratap could successfully attack Man Singh with Chetak, Man Singh quickly moved and saved himself. However, the mahout of Man Singh got killed. One of Chetak’s hind legs got injured by the sword hanging from the elephant's trunk.
Seeing that the battle is difficult to win, Jhala Maan, one of Pratap’s chiefs, took the royal badge from Pratap and asked him to leave. Chetak was already heavily wounded, but to save his master, Chetak continued running. Reaching the Balicha village Chetak jumped a stream and took his master to a safer place. Only then he was relieved that his master was safe and breathed his last. Chetak was the favourite horse of Pratap Singh and he never rode any other horses except him. The loyalty Chetak showed is really very rare and that’s why Chetak’s memory is honored in the history. In Haldighati, there is still the tomb of Chetak, which is regarded as a holy place here.
