Lion Heart; Valour & Pride

In the name of ALLAH, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Lion Heart; Valour & Pride

Not long ago, the terms like Lion heart,, valour and pride were meant for narrations or story telling about great humans. Lion heart was used to be a person of exceptional courage and bravery. Lion heart wasn't just a title; it was a call to action; was the bravery to face discomfort and overcome challenges by trusting in one’s ability to win and emerge victorious. Lion heart possessed super strength, speed, stamina, reflexes and reactions, endurance, senses, and flight. The Sword of might in one hand and a shield in other, gave the lion heart the ability to display energy blasts as required.

Valour is defined as great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. Any human was awarded the status of lion heart in recognition of his valour during the battle. Valor comes from the Latin "valorem" for “strength and moral worth,” with the sense of “courage”. The valour therefore was the quality of a hero or heroine exhibiting exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger; especially in battle.

Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s achievements; the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. Pride is a feeling of joy and success leading to humility. The family, the tribe, the nation and the country used to take pride in those lion hearts that exhibited great acts of valour in battle against enemy and made them proud by emerging victorious. The individual acts of lion hearts changed the pattern of a battle that helped families, tribes, nations and countries to gain superiority over its rival and to command over the lands they habituated as ruler.

Before we go on more about this topic, let’s first read about the "Lion" from animal kingdom itself. The lion is a big and strong animal known as the "King of the Jungle." It has a large body and a beautiful mane around its head. Lions live in Africa and a few places in India. They live in groups called "prides," where they help each other. The most common traits of lions are: majesty, strength, courage, justice, and military might. Male lions are commonly referred to as "the king of the beasts," as a symbol of Kingly power and might, but as the lioness it is commonly related to the Great Mother and protection. A pride is a group of lions that live together. The members of a pride spend days in several scattered groups that meet to hunt or share a meal. Each pride has its own territory that it defends, ranging from 20 square km (8 square miles) if food is abundant to 400 square km (around 150 square miles) if food is sparse.

The following has been taken from a post on FaceBook; it tells that we humans love telling stories. This narration is about a pride of lions as shown in above Image:-

The Mapogo Coalition was a legendary group of six powerful male lions that ruled South Africa’s Sabi Sands region in Kruger National Park from 2006 to 2012, changing the dynamics of lion pride takeovers. The coalition—made up of Makhulu, Pretty Boy, Rasta, Mr. T, Kinky Tail, and Scar—was feared for its sheer strength and aggression. Unlike typical male lions, who usually form smaller coalitions, the Mapogos banded together in an unusually large group, allowing them to dominate vast territory. They became infamous for their brutal tactics, eliminating more than 100 rival lions to expand and secure their reign. Their teamwork extended beyond fighting; they often hunted large prey like buffalo together, demonstrating extraordinary strength and coordination.

At the height of their power, the Mapogo lions controlled nearly 170,000 acres, ruling over multiple prides and fathering countless cubs. Their unmatched dominance and ruthless survival strategies made them legends in lion history, forever shaping the way we understand coalition dynamics in the wild.

In a pride of lions there could be more than one lion with exceptional power but it will always be one with more than others when it comes to display or employ the power at the time of hunt. Born in 2007, Scarface (as shown in image below) was one of the most legendary lions to roam Africa’s Maasai Mara. Instantly recognizable by the deep scar over his right eye—a battle wound that gave him his name—he became a symbol of strength, resilience, and dominance.

As a leader of the Marsh Pride, Scarface and his brothers controlled vast territories, ruling with unmatched power. According to reports and local accounts, he killed over 400 hyenas and defeated 130 rival male lions, a testament to his incredible fighting ability. While most male lions are overthrown within a few years, Scarface defied the odds, holding onto power far longer than expected.

But he was more than just a warrior—he was a survivor. He endured countless battles, recovered from serious injuries, and even survived a spear attack from local herders. Unlike many wild lions, he lived an extraordinary 14 years, eventually passing away peacefully in 2021 from natural causes—an incredibly rare fate for a dominant male. His legacy lives on through documentaries, photographs, and the stories of those who witnessed his reign. Scarface wasn’t just a lion—he was the king of kings.

The human civilization moved through several eras; and last era before the current technological era was the age of lion hearts that displaced great acts of valour on horse's back with might of sword. This era comprised many thousands of years of the past through the known realm of human history. If one reads the historical legacy of the past; lion hearts kings and generals emerge from the pages of history with attributes of valour, courage, chivalry, bravery, gallantry, fearless tenacity, determination and brave heart became the desired qualities among all humans. The individuals possessing the above said attributes displayed them during battles and won the day for their families, tribe, nation and countries and thus became the pride of their time and folklores were generated about them by all concerned.

The history of the world depicts such lion hearts as figures that changed the world as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc and many others during Bronze Age era. Such individuals rose among their peers, who were as much lion hearts as others, but they were less "Intelligent" than the above mentioned greats. The intelligence factor elevated the lion hearts to the status of generals and kings who lived through history and folklores. They were great individuals who eliminated their rivals in the battle ground in a fair dual witnessed by scores of valiant soldiers. There are no controversies. Read the story of Famous Salah ad-Din al-Ayubi (Saladin), a Kurdish leader, and Richard the Lion heart, King of England who was prominent figures during the Third Crusade. The leadership style was simple and easily comprehendible and workable. The lion hearts, intelligent and humane became noble kings as Charlemagne also known as Charles the Great, and lion hearts, intelligent and cruel became notorious kings as Ghengis Khan.

The human civilization took turn some five hundred years ago. The Europe and the Western Civilization under went through “Renaissance" a period in European history, roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, characterized by a "rebirth" of classical learning, wisdom and art, following the Middle Ages. Key tenets of Renaissance included; the belief in the inherent dignity and worth of the individual; the importance of reason and critical thinking and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. This ushered in the era of technology which changed the very ideas and methods of battles. The era of lion hearts kings and generals ended and new age demands leaders to be intelligent and modern in a so called democratic era. 

Modern Leaders excel through qualities like integrity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, vision, self-awareness, courage, respect, compassion, resilience and the ability to empower and inspire their teams, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment. Some say that essential qualities of Modern Leaders are authenticity, curiosity, analytical prowess, adaptability, creativity, and comfort with ambiguity, resilience and empathy. If one Google searches about the modern successful leadership in democratic or otherwise regimes, he will face an endless data that will take months to read and decades to comprehend and work upon. However, a cursory glance of available leadership on the map of the world will make the reading and arguments simple. The modern leadership is all about the story of "The Prince" by "Niccolo Machiavelli" or "Chanakya's Arthashastra."

In the ancient times during the age of lion hearts the leadership was about valour, intelligence and humane attributes; whereas, the modern leadership is about cunningness, cleverness, data smartness with awareness of latest tech tools and shameless smiling face. 

 In the age of lion hearts generals and kings, the society was male dominated for obvious reasons. However, scores of women became famous and inked their name in history with golden words by their shear courage and show of valour during the times of crisis or battles. They also wielded sword and displayed great act of heroinism. The method of superiority was simple and concept of "male chauvinism" and "feminism" didn't exist. For example Saint Joan of Arc, Rani of Jhansi and Sultana Razia etc. Men and women married each other and formed families which included lion hearts men of valour and women of grace and dignity. The modern times have changed cultures and dynamics of societies have moved to various competing concepts and one such concept is equality of genders. The modern concepts have thrown the legacies and learnt cultural values of past in the dustbin of history and the world is still in process of writing new paradigms of existence between man and woman as two individuals forming a matrimonial "Family." 

This write up has taken example of lion-the king of jungle as a base story to describe lion hearts, valour and pride. The above Image depicts a lion and a lioness in jovial encounter. It's lion's family. It almost feels like a scene straight out of a storybook! The lioness strides forward confidently, head held high, while the lion follows closely, gently holding her tail in his jaws. It’s easy to imagine this as a playful game, or perhaps the lion’s subtle way of showing affection — as if he doesn’t want her to wander too far.

The contrast is striking: this king of the savannah, a symbol of strength and majesty, appears tender and willing to be led. Maybe it’s a reminder that even the most powerful creatures can be guided by their bonds with others. It’s a heartwarming profound image, showing that nature always finds ways to surprise us with moments of pure connection. Why can't we humans, despite our technological progress and human emancipation, learn from the animal world as to how to from a "Family" and build relations to form a "Pride". After all, we take pride in personal glory and the glorious past of our ancestors. A man may be bread earner but still can be guided by female partner as wife in family affairs for better bonding and connection.

Isn't this the time that we learn that a human society shall always take pride in its lion hearts who take up the challenge of the time and fight against all odds with valour and don't succumb to personal desires and glory and earn pride for the nation and country? Shall the modern times be not about developing and investing all individual faculties in personal growth in such a manner to be fruitful for national cause to earn national glory? Such lion hearts or heroes and heroines shall emerge on all stages of life, in all sections of society, in all cadres of institutions and all fields of organizations so as to earn national glory in Olympics, UNO, Nobel Prizes, Scientific, Art and Literary World.