Pasupatas, perhaps the earliest Hindu sect to worship the god Shiva as the supreme deity.

patal-duna, (Hindi) a plate made from leaves. When Maharana PRATAP SINGH I (1572-1597) quit the luxuries of Udaipur to fight the invading Mughals in the hills around Kumbhalgarh, he also renounced eating from the customary silverware. His vari (chief cook) was charged with collecting suitable leaves and fashioning them into plates on which food was served.

Pataleshwar Mahadeo (Mahadev) Temple, Chittorgarh; a Shiva temple near the Archaeological Department, with a Shiva lingam in its central shrine. The temple consists of three shrines and a large common corridor in front of them. It was built in 1565 during the reign of Maharana UDAI SINGH II, two years before the ultimate fall of Chittor.

Patel Circle, in the southern sector of Udaipur on the eastern side of Machhala Magra hill, near the Railway Station. From this roundabout, Highway No. 8 heads south to Dungarpur and Ahmedabad; the circle was named after Vallabhai Jhaverbhai Patel (b. October 31, 1875, Gujarat-d. December 15, 1950, Bombay); a barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress during the struggle for Indian independence.

Pathans (Pashtuns), the name applies to southeastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan tribes of farmers, herdsmen and warriors many of whom invaded and settled in western India between the 13^th and 16^th centuries.

pathsala, (Hindi) a primary school.

patralata, (Hindi) a decorative motif in Indian art.

Patta Memorial, Chittor, just inside the main gate (Ram Pol); in memory of the teenage hero PATTA who died there during the third sack of the fort.

Patta, a colloquial contraction of the name of the hero of Haldighati, Maharana PRATAP SINGH I (1572-1597).

Patta, from Amet, the 16-year-old son of the chief of the CHOONDAWAT branch of the royal family from SALUMBAR, who had come with his family to help defend Chittorgarh against Emperor AKBAR (1567). Before Akbar arrived, Maharana UDAI SINGH II quit the fort to establish an exterior force-and to preserve the royal lineage, leaving control of the fort to several Rajput chiefs, including Jaimal, Kalla, and Sain Dass. When they were either killed or severely wounded, and Patta's father was killed in an early action at Suraj Pol (Chittor's original entrance, the eastern 'Sun' gate), Patta's mother commanded him to take over leadership of the fort. She also armed his young bride with a lance and the two women joined the final suicide charge to the plain below, where both fell fighting. Patta himself fought bravely until a Mughal elephant caught him in its trunk and dashed him to the ground where he died. Later, Akbar was so taken with the youths' gallantry he erected a statue of Patta, and another of his fellow hero, JAIMAL. Located at the main entrance to his palace in Agra, it showed the two young heroes each seated upon an elephant.

pattakars (pattawalas), (Hindi) attendants.

pattawalas: see PATTAKARS.

Pattawats, one of the clans of Mewar.