PRITHVIRAJ CHAUHAN.pdf

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1. PRITHVIRAJ CHAUHAN


By
SIDDHANT AGNIHOTRI
B.Sc (Silver Medalist)
M.Sc (Applied Physics)
Facebook: sid_Econnect

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5. RAJPUTS

•The most important of the Rajput states in North
India were the Chauhans of Ajmer and Delhi, the
Gahadavallas or Rathors of Kanauj, the Chandellas
of Bundelkhand, the Guhilas or Sisodiyas of Mewar,
the Parmars of Malwa, the Tomars of Delhi, the
Pratiharas or Gurjaras of Kanauj, and the Palas of
Bengal. The Hindushahi kingdom and the kingdom
of Kashmir were the two other important Hindu
kingdoms of North India.

•Two Muslim kingdoms were of Multan and Sindh. The
Rashtrakutas of Malkhid (Deccan), the Chalukya
kingdom of Kalyani and the Chola kingdom of Tanjore
were the important kingdoms of the South India

6. SOURCES
•The extant inscriptions from Prithviraj's reign are few in number, and
were not issued by the king himself.

Much of the information about
him comes from the medieval legendary chronicles.

•Besides the Muslim accounts of Battles of Tarain, he has been
mentioned in several medieval kavyas (epic poems) by Hindu and
Jain authors.

•These include Prithviraja Vijaya, Hammira Mahakavya and
Prithviraj Raso. These texts contain eulogistic descriptions,
and are, therefore, not entirely reliable.

•Prithviraj Raso, which popularized Prithviraj as a great king, is
purported to be written by the king's court poet Chand Bardai.

7. EARLY LIFE
•Prithviraj was born to the Chahamana king
Someshvara and queen Karpuradevi (a Kalachuri
princess). Both Prithviraj and his younger brother
Hariraja were born in Gujarat.

•Based on these positions and assuming certain other
planetary positions, Dasharatha Sharma calculated the
year of Prithviraj's birth as 1166 CE.

•The medieval biographies of Prithviraj suggest that he
was educated well. The Prithviraja Vijaya states that he
mastered 6 languages; the Prithviraj Raso claims that he
learned 14 languages.

8. REIGN
•Prithviraj moved from Gujarat to Ajmer, when his father
Someshvara was crowned the Chahamana king after the
death of Prithviraja II.


• Someshvara died in 1177 CE when Prithviraj was
around 11 years old. Prithviraj, who was a minor at
the time, ascended the throne.

• The Hammira Mahakavya claims that Someshvara
himself installed Prithviraj on the throne, and then retired
to the forest. However, this is doubtful.According to
historian Dasharatha Sharma, Prithviraj assumed actual
control of the administration in 1180 CE.

9. CONFLICT AND EXPANSION
•Nagarjuna: The first military achievement of Prithviraj was his
suppression of a revolt by his cousin Nagarjuna, and recapture of
Gudapura.

•Bhadanakas : Two verses of Kharatara-Gachchha-Pattavali
mention the victory of Prithviraj over the Bhadanakas, while
describing a debate between two Jain monks. This victory can be
dated to sometime before 1182 CE, when the said debate took
place.

•Chandelas of Jejakabhukti: The 1182–83 CE (Madanpur
inscriptions from Prithviraj's reign claim that he "laid to waste"
Jejakabhukti (present-day Bundelkhand), which was ruled by the
Chandela king Paramardi.

10. CONFLICT AND EXPANSION
•Chaulukyas of Gujarat : The Kharatara-Gachchha-Pattavali
mentions a peace treaty between Prithviraj, and Bhima II, the
Chaulukya (Solanki) king of Gujarat. This implies that the two kings
were previously at war.This war can be dated to sometime before
1187 CE .

•Paramaras of Abu : Abu was ruled by the Chaulukya feudatory
Dharavarsha, who belonged to a branch of the Paramara dynasty.
Partha-Parakrama-Vyayoga by his younger brother Prahaladana
describes Prithviraj's night attack on Abu. This attack, according to
the text, was a failure for the Chahamanas. It probably happened
during the Gujarat campaign of Prithviraj.

•Gahadavalas of Kannauj : The Gahadavala kingdom, centered
around Kannauj and headed by another powerful king Jayachandra.
According to a legend mentioned in Prithviraj Raso, Prithviraj eloped
with Jayachandra's daughter Samyogita, leading to a rivalry
between the two kings.

11. GHURIDS
•Prithviraj's predecessors had faced multiple raids from
the Muslim dynasties that had captured the north-
western areas of the Indian subcontinent by the 12th
century.



• Muhammad of Ghor consolidated his power in the
territory to the west of the Chahamanas, conquering
Peshawar, Sindh, and Punjab.

12. FIRST BATTLE OF TARAIN
•During 1190–1191 CE, Muhammad of Ghor invaded the
Chahamana territory, and captured Tabarhindah or
Tabar-e-Hind (identified with Bathinda).



•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. In the
ensuing battle, Prithviraj's army decisively defeated the
Ghurids. Muhammad of Ghor was injured and forced to
retreat.

13. SECOND BATTLE OF TARAIN

•Muhammad Ghori was determined to establish his authority over
India. He was not disheartened over his defeat. He wanted to
avenge his humiliation. He reorganised and strengthened his army.
With a large cavalry of unrivalled marks-men, he again descended
the plains of Tarain in 1192.

•Prithviraj again formed a confederation of the north Indian Kings.
Nevertheless, Jai Chand of Kanauj, not only kept himself aloof.

•The crux of the defeat of Prithviraj is that the sovereignty of a
considerable part of India passed into the hands of the foreigners.
The sovereignty of the Rajputs ended to a great extent. In the words
of V.S. Smith, “The second battle of Tarain in 1192, may be
regarded as the decisive contest which ensured the ultimate
success of the Mohammadan attack on Hindustan.”

14. DEATH

•After Prithviraj's death, Muhammad installed the
Chahamana prince Govindaraja on the throne of Ajmer,
which further supports this theory.

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