Prithviraj Chauhan: Warrior King

 •    Introduction:

Prithviraj Chauhan was a Rajput King hailing from the Chauhan Dynasty. He ruled the kingdoms of Ajmer and Delhi in Northern India in the 12th century. He was one of the last independent Hindu Kings to sit upon the throne of Delhi.

He is also known as Rai Pithora. He was born to the Chahamana King Someshvara and Queen Karpuradevi (a Kalachuri princess).

He lived at Taragarh fort which was also known as Ajaymeru after which the town of Ajmer got its name.

He was a brilliant child and very sharp at learning military skills. He had the skill of hitting the target only based on its sound (Shabd Bhedi archery skill). He defeated the mighty Bheemdev, ruler of Gujarat, at the mere age of thirteen.

He succeeded to the throne of Ajmer at the age of thirteen, in 1179, when his father died in a battle. He ruled over the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi which he inherited from his maternal grandfather Arkpal or Anangpal III of the Tomara Dynasty.

He once killed a Lion on his own without any weapon. He was known as the Warrior King.

As the King, he set out on several campaigns to expand his territories and became well known as a valiant and courageous warrior.

•      Cultural Activities:

Prithviraj had a dedicated ministry for poets and scholars including:

i.  Jayanaka, a poet-historian who wrote Prithviraja    Vijaya.

ii.   Vidyapati Gauda.

iii.  Vagisvara Janardana.

iv.   Vishvarupa, a poet.

v.   Prithvibhata, a royal bard (identified as Chand Bardai by some scholars).

•      Rivalry With Jaichand:

Prithviraj was a courageous, chivalrous and extremely fearless human. After ceaseless military campaigns, he extended his original kingdom of Sambhar to Rajasthan, Gujarat and Eastern Punjab. His fast rise caught the envy of the then powerful ruler Jaichand. There was a lot of ill-feeling between the two.

•      His Love for Jaichand's daughter: 

He was the center of much discussion in the circle of the nobility. Sanyogita, the daughter of Jaichand fell secretly in love with him. She started a secret poetic correspondence with him.

Jaichand got information about this affair and he arranged a Swayamwar (a ceremony where a bride had right to choose groom of her choice and could select her husband from the assembled eligible princes of various states). She had the right to garland the prince to become his queen. This was an ancient Hindu custom among Royal dynasties.

However, Jaichand invited all the big and small princes of the country, except Prithviraj Chauhan to Kannauj for the royal Swayamwar. To add insult to injury, he even made a statue of Prithviraj and kept it as a doorman (dwarpal) at the gate.

On the Swayamwar day, Sanyogita bypassed all the princes only to reach the door and garland the statue of Prithviraj. All of the princes felt insulted.

Prithviraj, who was hiding behind the statue whisked Sanyogita away and put her up on his steed to make a fast getaway to his capital in Delhi.

•    First Battle of Tarain:

During 1190–1191 CE, Muhammad Ghori invaded the Chahamana territory and captured Tabarhindah or Tabar-e-Hind (identified with Bathinda). When Prithviraj learned about this, he marched towards Tabarhindah.

Muhammad's original plan was to return to his base after conquering Tabarhindah, but when he heard about Prithviraj's march, he decided to put up a fight. He set out with an army and encountered Prithviraj's forces at Tarain. In the ensuing battle, Prithviraj's army decisively defeated the Ghurids. Muhammad of Ghor was injured and forced to retreat.

Muhammad Ghori was brought in chains to Pithoragarh - Prithviraj's capital and he begged for mercy and release. His ministers advised against pardoning the aggressor. But he pardoned Muhammad Ghori when he kept his hand on Quran and asked for forgiveness, bowing down to Hindu King.

•    Second Battle of Tarain:

Prithviraj seems to have treated the first battle of Tarain as merely a frontier fight. This view is strengthened by the fact that he made little preparations for any future clash with Muhammad Ghori.

According to Prithviraj Raso, during the period preceding his final confrontation with the Ghurids, he neglected the affairs of the state and spent time in merry-making.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ghori returned to Ghazna and made preparations to avenge his defeat. He gathered a well-equipped army of 1,20,000. He then marched towards the Chahamana kingdom via Multan and Lahore, aided by Vijayaraja of Jammu.

Prithviraj had been left without any allies as a result of his wars against the neighboring Hindu kings. Nevertheless, he managed to gather a large army to counter the Ghurids. The 16th-century Muslim historian Firishta estimated the strength of Prithviraj's army as 300,000 horses and 3,000 elephants, in addition to a large infantry. He planned an attack against the Chahamanas.

At dawn, the four divisions of the Ghurid army attacked the Chahamana camp, while Prithviraj was still asleep. After a brief fight, the Ghurid divisions pretended to retreat under Muhammad's strategy. Prithviraj was thus lured into chasing them, and by the afternoon, the Chahamana army was exhausted as a result of this pursuit. At this point, Muhammad led his reserve force and attacked the Chahamanas, decisively defeating them. According to Taj-ul-Maasir, Prithviraj's camp lost 100,000 men (including Govindaraja of Delhi) in this debacle. Prithviraj himself tried to escape on a horse but was pursued and caught near the Sarasvati fort (possibly modern Sirsa). Subsequently, Muhammad Ghori captured Ajmer after killing several thousand defenders, enslaved many more, and destroyed the city's temples.

•    Blinding of Prithviraj:

The story of Prithiviraj does not end here. As a prisoner, he was presented before Muhammad, where he looked Ghori straight into the eye.

Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithiviraj scornfully told him how he had treated Ghori as a prisoner and said that the eyelids of a Rajput's eyes are lowered only in death. On hearing this, Ghori flew into a rage and ordered that Prithviraj's eyes be burnt with red hot iron rods.

This heinous deed being done, Prithiviraj was regularly brought to the court to be taunted by Ghori and his courtiers. In those days Prithiviraj was joined by his former biographer Chand Bardai, who had composed a ballad-biography on Pritiviraj in the name of Prithviraj Raso (Songs of Prithviraj). Chand Bardai told Prithiviraj, that he should avenge Ghori's betrayal and daily insults.

The Blind Prithviraj Avenges the injustice done to him. The two got an opportunity when Ghori announced a game of Archery. On the advice of Chand Bardai, Prithviraj, who was then at the court said he would also like to participate. On hearing his suggestion, the courtiers laughed loudly at him and he was taunted by Ghori as to how he could participate when he could not see. Whereupon, Prithiviraj told Muhammad Ghori to order him to shoot, and he would reach his target.

Ghori became suspicious and asked Prithviraj why he wanted Ghori himself to order and not anyone else. On behalf of Prithiviraj, Chand Bardai told Ghori that he as a king would not accept orders from anyone other than a king. His ego satisfied, Muhammad Ghori agreed.

On the said day, Ghori sitting in his royal enclosure had Prithiviraj brought to the ground and had him unchained for the event. On Ghori's ordering Prithviraj to shoot, Prithiviraj turned in the direction from where he heard Ghori speak and struck Ghori dead with his arrow. This event is described by Chand Bardai in the couplet, "Dus kadam aggey, bees kadam daey, baitha hai Sultan. Ab mat chuko Chauhan, chala do apna baan." (Ten feet ahead of you and twenty feet to your right, is seated the Sultan, do not now miss him Chauhan, release your baan - arrow).

Thus ended the story of the brave but unrealistic Prithviraj Chauhan - the last Hindu ruler of Delhi. Delhi was to remain under Muslim rule for the next 700 years till 1857 and under British rule till 1947. Those few Hindus who came close to liberating Delhi during the seven centuries of Muslim rule were Rana Sanga in 1527, Raja (Hemu) Vikramaditya in around 1565 (2nd battle of Panipat), and Shrimant Vishwas Rao who was the Peshwa's son and was co-commander of the Maratha forces in the 3rd battle of Panipat in 1761.

Writer:- ASHUTOSH POKHRIYAL