Statue of Prithvi Raj Chauhan at Ajmer

Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1168-1192 CE) Prithvi Raj Chauhan was a king of the Hindu Rajput Chauhan (Chauhamana) dynasty, who ruled a kingdom in northern India during the latter half of the 12th century.

Prithvi Raj Chauhan was the second last Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi (the last Hindu king being Hemu). He succeeded to the throne in 1179 CE at the age of 11, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi. He controlled much of Rajasthan and Haryana, and unified the Rajputs against Muslim invasions. His elopement with Samyukta (Sanyogita), the daughter of Jai Chandra, the Gahadvala king of Kannauj, 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 fought and defeated the Afghan ruler Muhammad Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 CE but was later defeated at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 CE. After his defeat, India was open to invasion by Muslim invaders, and Delhi came under the control of the Muslim rulers. Qila Rai Pithora in Delhi, also known as Pithoragarh, is named after him.

Biography

Prithvi Raj Chauhan's succession had been rather confused since the death of Vigraha-raja in 1165; Prithvi Raj reconsolidated control of the Chauhan kingdom and conquered several neighboring kingdoms, which made his state the leading Hindu kingdom in northern India. He campaigned against the Chandela Rajputs of Bundelkhand. His kingdom included much of the present-day Indian states of Rajasthan and Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Princely Nabha jewel in the crown of India and families from Nabha has close relations with the Great Prithvi Raj Chauhan.

Coin of Prithiviraja of Chauhans or Chahamanas of Ajmer/Delhi , circa 1179 AD -1192 AD.
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.

Prithvi Raj Chauhan, also called Rai Pathora, was the ruler of Ajmer and Delhi, by far the strongest of all the rulers of Northern India at the end of the twelfth century. He was brave, powerful, haughty and considered the flower of Rajput chivalry. Prithvi's first cousin Jaichand, Raja of Kanauj, had strained relations with Prithvi because a) their grandfather (father of their mothers) made Prithvi heir to the throne of Delhi and b) Prithvi married the beautiful daughter of Jai Chand against Jai Chand's wish.

Lineage

Anangpal Tomara II , the King of Delhi, had two daughters, Roopsundari and Kamaladevi. Roopsundari was married to Vijaypal, King of Kannauj and had a son Jai Chandra. Jai Chand'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 Sanyogita and Pratha was married to Samar Singh (King of Chittor). His uncle Kanh's daughter was married to Raja Pajawan or Pajjun of Amber.

Early life

Prithvi Raj was born c. 1168 to king Someshwara Chauhan and his wife Karpurawali (or, Kamaladevi?). He was renowned to be the sharpest among all the princes in the household^{[citation needed]}.

At gurukul , Prithvi Raj learnt shastra vidya (weaponry, armed combat), sahitya (literature), kala (arts) and rajniti shastra (politics). It was here that he learned the art of "shaabd bhedi baan vidhya" that is hitting a target without seeing the target, that is only on the basis of sound^{[citation needed]}.

Prithvi Raj Chauhan at the age of 12 killed a lion barehanded and won a spectacular battle against Bheemdev Solanki, the king of Gujarat, and subsequently killing him.

With the stories of Prithvi Raj Chauhan's courage, valor and intelligence spreading far and wide and Anangpal Tomar, the King of Delhi choose to make him the king of Delhi over Jai Chandra, King of Kanauj. Thus at a young age of 13 years, Prithviraj was crowned the King of Delhi^{[citation needed]}.

Important Battles

Muhammad Ghori, hailing from Ghor in present-day Afghanistan, grew increasingly powerful. He conquered Ghazni and subsequently defeated the Ghaznavid governor of Punjab. Muhammad Ghori's domain now touched upon that of Prithvi Raj Chauhan. A clash was inevitable.

First Battle of Tarain (1191 CE)

Muhammad Ghori invaded Prithvi Raj's domains and laid siege to the fortress of Bhatinda in Punjab, which was at the frontier between the two kingdoms. Prithviraj's appeal for help from his father-in-law was scornfully rejected by the haughty Jaichandra. Undaunted, Prithvi Raj marched on Bhatinda and gave battle to the invaders at a place called Tarain near the town of Thanesar.

In face of the Rajput onslaught, the invading Muslim army was defeated. Ghori being critically wounded was taken out of the battle ground by his faithful body guard.

Prithvi Raj's heroic death and revenge

Chanderam told Mahmud that this taunting would avail nothing, for Prithvi Raj would never do as some sundry courtiers bade him do. He said that Prithvi Raj, as an anointed king, would not accept orders from anyone other than another king. His ego thus massaged, and in the spirit of the occasion, Mahmud agreed to personally give Prithvi Raj the order to shoot.Some iron plates were hung and Prithivi Raj was asked to aim at them.A man was to strike the plate with a hammer and Prithvi Raj was supposed to hit that plate.

Thus, Chanderam provided Prithvi Raj with an aural indication of where Mahmud was seated. He gave Prithvi Raj one further indication of the same, by composing a couplet on the spot and reciting the same in Prithvi Raj's hearing. The couplet, composed in a language understood only by Prithvi Raj went thus:

"Char bans, chaubis gaj, angul ashta praman, Ta upar sultan hai, Chuke mat Chauhan."

(Four measures ahead of you and twenty four yards away as measured with eight finger measurement, is seated the Sultan. Do not miss him now, Chauhan).

Mahmud then ordered Prithvi Raj to shoot. Prithvi Raj thus came to know the location of Mahmud and started shooting at the plates.When he hit the target courtiers said "vah" "vah" and Mahmud said "Shabash", recognising Mahmud's voice and turning in the direction from where he heard Mahmud speak, Prithvi Raj took aim based only on the voice and on Chanderam's couplet, he sent an arrow racing to Mahmud's throat. Mahmud was thus struck dead by Prithvi Raj. Prithvi Raj and Chanderam did not want to die from the hands of Mahmud's courtiers so they stabbed each other.

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References

Early Chauhan Dynasties' by Dasharatha Sharma