Prithviraj Chauhan

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Statue of Prithvi Raj Chauhan at Ajmer

Prithvi Raj III, commonly known as Prithvi Raj Chauhan, (1149-1192 CE) was a
king of the Hindu Kshatriya Chauhan (Chauhamana) dynasty, who ruled the
kingdom of Ajmer and Delhi in northern India during the latter half of the 12th
century.

Prithvi Raj Chauhan, who according to several scholars, was originally Gurjar
(or Gujjar) by caste[1][2], belonged to the Agnikula clan of Rajputs. Prithviraj
Chauhan was the last independent Hindu king to sit upon the throne of
Delhi[citation needed]. He succeeded to the throne in 1169 A.D. at the age of
20, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi which he received
from his maternal grand-father Ballal Sen of the Sen Dynasty in Bengal. He
controlled much of present-day Rajasthan and Haryana, and unified the
Rajputs against Muslim invasions. His elopement with Samyukta (Sanyogita),
the daughter of Jai Chandra Rathod, the Gahadvala king of Kannauj, in 1175,
is a popular romantic tale in India, and is one of the subjects of the Prithviraj
Raso, an epic poem composed by Prithviraj's court poet and friend, Chand
Bardai.

Prithvi Raj defeated the Muslim ruler Sultan Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghauri
in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 CE. Ghauri attacked for a second time
next year, and Prithvi Raj was defeated and captured at the Second Battle of
Tarain in 1192 CE. Sultan Ghauri took Prithvi Raj to Ghazni, where he was
executed. After his defeat, Delhi came under the control of Muslim rulers. Qila
Rai Pithora in Delhi, also known as Pithoragarh, is named after him.
Contents [hide]

1 Biography

1.1 Lineage

1.2 Early Battles

1.2.1 The battle against Bhimdev Solanki of Gujarat.

1.2.2 The battle against Mahoba.

1.3 First Battle of Tarain 1191

1.4 Defeat and death in the Second Battle of Tarain, 1192

2 References

[edit]Biography

Prithviraj Chauhan's succession was not secure since the death of Vigraha-
raja in 1165; Prithviraj re-consolidated control over the Chauhan kingdom and
conquered several neighboring kingdoms, making the Chauhan kingdom the
leading Hindu kingdom in northern India. He campaigned against the
Chandela Rajputs of Bundelkhand and his kingdom included much of present-
day northwest India including Rajasthan, Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh, and
Punjab. The princely state of Nabha had close relations with Prithviraj
Chauhan.

Coin of Prithiviraj Chauhan or Chahamanas of Ajmer/Delhi , circa 1179 AD

-1192 AD. Minted in Ajmer

Obv: Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right. Devnagari

Legends : Sri Pr/thvi raja Deva'. Rev: Recumbent bull facing left, trishula on
bulls rump, Devnagari Legends : Asavari / Sri Samanta Deva.

Prithviraj Chauhan, also called Rai Pathora, was the ruler of Ajmer and Delhi,
and was the strongest ruler of Northern India toward the end of the twelfth
century. He was known to be brave, powerful, and was the essence of Rajput
chivalry. Prithvirajs' first cousin Jaichand (Raja of Kanauj), had strained
relations with Prithviraj because their grandfather Ajaya Deva (father of both
their mothers) made Prithviraj heir to the throne of Delhi.
[edit]Lineage

Ballal Sen, the King of Delhi and Gaud (Bengal), had two daughters,
Roopsundari and Kamaladevi. Roopsundari was married to Vijaypal, King of
Kannauj and had a son Jai Chandra. Jai Chandra's daughter was named
Sanyogita. Kamaladevi was married to Someshwar Chauhan, the King of
Ajmer and had a son Prithviraj and a daughter Pratha. Prithviraj later married
cousin Sanyogita and Pratha was married to Samar Singh (Maharana (King) of
Chittor). His uncle Kanh's daughter was married to Raja Pajawan or Pajjun of
Amber.

[edit]Early Battles

[edit]The battle against Bhimdev Solanki of Gujarat.

Prior to this battle, Prithviraj Chauhan had killed many of Bhimdev's generals.
During this battle Bhimdev's son Vanraj Solanki was seen as a real danger to
watch out for due to his known military tactics. A general who served
Someshwar had betrayed Prithviraj and had joined Bhimdev. He had given all
the inside information to Bhimdev and had poisoned Prithviraj Chouhan's
army. Prithviraj's army was then reduced to a mere 300. Bhimdev's first
round of combat was sending 500 soldiers to finish Prithviraj Chauhan's army
off. However, as this failed, Bhimdev then decided to send 1000 soldiers to
attack in the middle of the night. On the final day, Bhimdev himself clashed
with Prithviraj Chauhan's sword and was defeated.

[edit]The battle against Mahoba.

Some soldiers from Delhi were injured in Digvijay and decided to stop at the
Mahoba royal gardens and ask for help. The Mahoba soldiers at the royal
gardens told the Delhi soldiers that they had given insult to the Mohaba king
Parmar by stepping into his garden and were attacked and killed. Prithviraj
Chauhan came to know of this and declared war on Mahoba. During the
battle for Mahoba the Mahoban army was split into 3 different sections. One
was led by the Prince of Mahoba, while the other two were led by the
brothers Alha and Udal. Prithviraj Chauhan defeated the section under the
control of Udal and also the section under the control of the Prince of
Mahoba. Udal had injured Pundir (a friend and general of Prithviraj Chauhan)
in combat. Udal was then killed by Prithviraj Chauhan who was badly injured
during the battle and could hardly move. Prithviraj and another friend
Sanjham Rai, who was also badly injured, fell down a nearby hill and were left
to be eaten by crows. Sanjham Rai, in an attempt to save his friend Prithviraj,
allowed the crows to feed on him and not on Prithviraj. Prithviraj Chauhan
was saved by Sanjham Rai who died a slow death. Alha's section was still in
battle with Prithviraj's army when Alha had seen Prithviraj fall. Alha was
stopped from killing Prithviraj Chauhan by his guru as his guru explained that
Alha only wanted to kill for revenge of his brother Udal and not for the
welfare of the Mahoba State. When help arrived from another friend, Chand
Bardai, Prithviraj became unconscious. Prithviraj later woke in a hut in front of
an alchemist. He was shocked for the death of his close friend and grieved for
him.

Prithviraj Chauhan recovered from this battle and continued his conquests
winning one kingdom after another.

One of Prithviraj's small battles was against King Raichand. King Raichand
and some of the other neighbouring kings saw Prithviraj's injury and
tenderness. At a time when they knew Prithviraj could not fight, they
attacked Delhi's army. The generals and close friend of Prithviraj Chauhan
guarded the king of Delhi. Some villagers also came in handy to help fight off
King Raichand. King Raichand was killed in this battle.

Prithviraj Chauhan had claimed victory over forces in mountains, taking over
the Kukada kingdom. He continued to take over kingdoms, extending his
region in all four directions. His army continued a somewhat bloody victory
march for over four years.

The last battle of his victory march was against the king of Dariyagargh.
Prithviraj Chauhan won the battle and decided to return to Delhi, to celebrate
his victory in the Digvijay. But soon after conquering the kingdom of
Daryigargh he had to witness the destruction of a major portion of his state.
This was Muhammad Ghori's first attack on Prithviraj's domain. .Prithviraj's
had seventeen battles against Shahabuddin Ghori in which first 16 were won
by prithviraj.

[edit]First Battle of Tarain 1191

In 1191, Shahabuddin Ghori, leading an army of 120,000 men, invaded India

through the Khyber Pass and was successful in reaching Punjab. Shahabuddin
Ghori captured a fortress, either at Sirhind or Bathinda in present-day Punjab
state on the northwestern frontier of Prithviraj Chauhan's kingdom.
Prithviraj's 200,000 strong army led by his vassal prince Govinda-Raja of
Delhi, rushed to the defense of the frontier, and the two armies met at the
town of Tarain, near Thanesar in present-day Haryana, approximately 150
kilometres north of Delhi.

Shahabuddin Ghori's army had been divided into three flanks: left, right and
centre with Shahabuddin Ghori himself, on horseback, leading the centre
flank. In addition to being almost twice in number, the Hindu Rajput army had
another advantage: elephant cavalry comprising of 300 elephants whereas
Shahabuddin Ghori's army had no elephants. Many Turk soldiers in
Shahabuddin Ghori's army had not even seen elephants before. According to
urban myth in contemporary India, the armies clashed first with the charge of
the Rajput cavalry. Shahabuddin Ghori's horse cavalry was unable to hold its
own against Prithviraj's elephant cavalry, resulted in the defeat of
Shahabuddin Ghori's left and right flanks.

Two regiments of the Muslim army with Shahabuddin Ghori attacked the
center with a body of soldiers; where Shahabuddin Ghori met Govinda-Raja in
personal combat. Govinda-Raja, mounted on an elephant, lost his front teeth
to Shahabuddin Ghori's lance. As the battle continued, the Ghori's army,
exhausted, shorn of water, and unfamiliar with the scale of its opponent,
retreated and Shahabuddin Ghori himself was captured by the Rajputs.

[edit]Defeat and death in the Second Battle of Tarain, 1192

in 1192, Shahabuddin Ghori re-assembled his army of 1,200,000 men and

returned to challenge Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain. When he
reached Lahore, he sent his envoy to Prithviraj Chauhan to demand his
surrender but Prithviraj Chauhan refused to comply. Prithviraj Chauhan then
issued a fervent appeal to his fellow Rajput rulers and aristocracy to come to
his aid against Shahabuddin Ghori.

Prithviraj assembled a very large army with the aid of approximately 150
Rajput rulers and aristocrats, according to Firishta, it consisted of 3,000
elephants, 300,000 horsemen and considerable infantry.[4] Some historians
believe these figures may be exaggerated but the army was larger than that
of Shahabuddin Ghori. The army proceeded to meet Shahabuddin Ghori in
Tarain where Prithviraj a year before he had inflicted defeat on his adversary,
confident of defeating him again. Shahabuddin Ghori delivered an ultimatum
to Pritviraj that he convert to Islam or be defeated. Prithviraj countered with
an offer that Muhammad consider a truce and be allowed to retreat with his
army. His terms not met, Shahabuddin Ghori decided to attack.

Shahabuddin Ghori divided his troops into 5 parts and attacked the Rajput
armies in the early morning hours sending waves of mounted archers to
attack the Rajput forces, but retreated as the Rajput elephant phalanx
advanced. Shahabuddin Ghori deployed four parts to attack the Rajputs on
four sides keeping a fifth part of his army in reserve. Khande Rao (General of
Prithviraj), was killed. The enthusiasm of Prithviraj also dampened against
these reverses. At dusk, Shahabuddin Ghori himself led a force of 12,000
heavily-armored horsemen to the center of the Rajput line, which collapsed
into confusion, Prithviraj fought bravely[3][5] but was captured. The Rajput
Army also broke ranks and fled, thereby conceding victory to Shahabuddin
Ghori.

Shahabuddin Ghori took the captured Prithviraj back with him in ghor.where
he hanged him.Shahabuddin Ghori's viceroy, managed to push Muslim rule
much further east than Maḥmūd of Ghaznā had. Shahabuddin Ghori's viceroy
became Sultan of the Ghorid Empire upon the death of Shahabuddin Ghori.
There is an urban legend not adequately supported by historical facts - Ghori
was killed by Prithviraj with the help of his friend Chandbardai. After his
capture, Prithviraj is said to have been blinded and held captive by Ghori at
his court. Prithviraj in his childhood had learnt shabdabhedi ban vidya i.e art
of shooting arrows blindfolded at the sound made by the target. Chandbardai
at the court of Ghori, may have offerd him a display of Prithviraj's skill on a
bait sheep. Prithviraj was expected to shoot the animal upon hearing it bleat.
Instead Chandbardai sang a poem to give the idea of how far is Ghori.
Prithviraj shot Ghori as soon as he signalled the commencement of the show
by beating a gong.