Prithvi Raj commonly known as Prithviraj Chauhan (1149–1192 CE), was a king of the Hindu Chauhan (Chauhamana) dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of
Ajmer and Delhi in northern India during the latter half of the 12th century.
Prithviraj Chauhan belonged to the Rajput Chauhan clan, which according to a legend mentioned in later manuscripts of Prithviraj Raso was part of
Agnivanshi Rajputs, derived its origin from a sacrificial fire-pit. Chauhan was the last independent Hindu king, before Hemu, to sit upon the throne of Delhi.
He succeeded to the throne in 1169 CE at the age of 20, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi which he received from his maternal
grandfather Arkpal or Anangpal III of the Tomara dynasty in Delhi. He controlled much of present-day Rajasthan and Haryana, and unified the Rajputs
against Muslim invasions. His elopement in 1175 with Samyukta (Sanyogita), the daughter of Jai Chandra Rathod, 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 Chauhan's court poet and friend, Chand
Bardai.
Prithviraj Chauhan defeated the Muslim ruler Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 and set him free as a gesture of mercy.
Ghauri attacked for a second time the next year, and Prithviraj was defeated and captured at the Second Battle of Tarain (1192). Sultan Ghauri took
Prithviraj to Ghazni and blinded him, legend states that in an archery show, Prithviraj's poet Chand Bardai gave him the physical location of Ghori in the
arena via poem and then as Ghori ordered the start of show, Prithviraj shot him dead with a Shabdbhedi-baan. After his defeat Delhi came under the
control of Muslim rulers.
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. 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 Chauhan.
Anangpal Tomar-II, the King of Delhi, had two daughters, Roopsundari and Kamaladevi. Roopsundari was married to Vijaypal, King of Kannauj, and had a
son named Jai Chandra. Jai Chandra's daughter was named Samyukta. Kamaladevi was married to Someshwar Chauhan, the King of Ajmer, and had a
son, Prithviraj, and a daughter, Pratha. Prithviraj married Samyukta, and Pratha was married to Samar Singh, Maharana of Chittor. His uncle Kanha
Chauhan's daughter was married to Raja Pajawan of Amber.
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
due to his military tactics. A general who served Someshwar had betrayed Prithviraj and had joined Bhimdev. He had given information to Bhimdev and
had poisoned Prithviraj Chauhan's army, which was reduced to 300 men. Bhimdev's first round of combat was to send 500 soldiers to finish off Chauhan's
army. When this failed, Bhimdev sent 1,000 soldiers to attack in the middle of the night. On the final day, Bhimdev himself clashed with Prithviraj Chauhan's
sword and was defeated.
Some soldiers from Delhi were injured in Digvijay and decided to stop at the Mahoba royal gardens to ask for help. Guards at the gardens told the soldiers
that they had insulted the Mahoba king Parmar by stepping into his garden and attacked and killed the men. Chauhan learned of this and declared war on
Mahoba. During the battle the Mahoban army was split into three different sections. One was led by the Prince of Mahoba, while the other two were led by
the brothers Alha and Udal. Chauhan defeated the sections under Udal and the Prince of Mahoba. Udal had injured Pundir, a friend and general of
Chauhan, in combat. Udal was killed by Chauhan, who was badly injured and could hardly move. Prithviraj and 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. Chauhan was saved by Sanjham Rai, who died a slow death. Alha, commander of the third section, had seen Chauhan fall. Alha was
stopped from killing Chauhan by his guru, who explained that Alha only wanted to kill to revenge his brother Udal, and not for the welfare of the Mahoba
State. When help arrived from another friend, Chand Bardai, Prithviraj became unconscious. He woke in a hut in front of an alchemist, and was shocked
and grieved to learn of the death of his friend.
Prithviraj Chauhan recovered from this battle and continued his conquests winning one kingdom after another.
One of Chauhan's minor battles was against King Raichand. King Raichand and some of the other neighbouring kings saw Prithviraj's injury. At a time
when they knew he could not fight, they attacked. The generals and close friends of Chauhan guarded him. Some villagers also came to help fight off King
Raichand. King Raichand was killed in this battle.
Chauhan had claimed victory over forces in mountains, taking over the Kukada kingdom. He continued to take over kingdoms, extending his dominion in
all four directions. His army continued these tactics for over four years.
The last battle of his victory march was against the king of Dariyagargh. Chauhan won the battle and decided to return to Delhi to celebrate his victory.
First Battle of Tarain, 1191
In 1191, Shahabuddin Muhammad 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 100,000 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, 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Delhi.
Shahabuddin Ghori s army was divided into three flanks, with Shahabuddin Ghori on horseback leading the centre flank. In addition to being almost twice
in number, Chauhan s army had elephant cavalry comprising 300 elephants, whereas Shahabuddin Ghori s army had no elephants. Many Turkish
soldiers in Shahabuddin Ghori s army had not even seen elephants before. The armies clashed first with the charge of the Chauhan cavalry. Shahabuddin
Ghori's horse cavalry was unable to hold its own against the elephants, which resulted in the defeat of Shahabuddin Ghori's left and right flanks.
Shahabuddin Ghori led two regiments in an attack on the center, 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, Ghori s army, exhausted in face of the persistent
Rajput attacks and out of water, fled leaving their general Muhammad Ghauri as a prisoner in Pritiviraj's hands. Muhammad Ghauri was brought in chains
to Pithoragarh, Prithviraj's capital, where he begged his victor for mercy and release. Prithviraj s ministers advised him against pardoning the aggressor
but the chivalrous and valiant Prithviraj thought otherwise and respectfully released the vanquished Ghori. This which was a decision he would later come
to regret. Muhammad Ghori started to regroup his forces again to defeat Prithviraj Chauhan the next year.
Second Battle of Tarain, 1192
The last stand of Rajputs against Muhammadans in 1192 A.D
In 1192, Shahabuddin Ghori reassembled an army of 120,000 men and returned to challenge Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain. When he reached
Lahore, he sent his envoy to demand surrender but Prithviraj Chauhan refused to comply. Chauhan then issued a fervent appeal to his fellow Rajput rulers
and the 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 the Persian historian Firishta, it
consisted of 3,000 elephants, 300,000 horsemen, and considerable infantry. The army was larger than that of Shahabuddin Ghori. The armies met in
Tarain, where Shahabuddin Ghori delivered an ultimatum to Prithviraj that he convert to Islam or be defeated. Prithviraj countered with an offer that Ghori
should consider a truce and be allowed to retreat with his army. Shahabuddin Ghori decided to attack.
Shahabuddin Ghori divided his troops into five parts and attacked in the early morning hours, sending waves of mounted archers. They retreated as the
Chauhan elephant phalanx advanced. Shahabuddin Ghori deployed four parts to attack the Rajputs on four sides, keeping a fifth part of his army in
reserve. General Khande Rao of the Chauhan forces was killed. 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 attempted to escape but was captured. The Rajput army broke ranks and fled,
thereby conceding victory to Shahabuddin Ghori.
Shahabuddin Ghori took the captured Prithviraj back with him to Ghazni. There Prithviraj was mistreated and blinded. By some accounts, Prithviraj
managed to kill Ghori by Shabdbhedi Ban Vidya when there was archery contest organised by Ghori in his court in Ghazni.
Even today Afghans vent there anger by stabbing on the grave of Prithviraj Chauhan because according to them Prithviraj had killed Ghori. Sher Singh
Rana, a member of Rajput community, visited Afghanistan to trace grave of Prithviraj Chauhan, he dug Chauhans grave and collected sand from it. This
incident created sensation in Indian news and public media – as he said he did it to get back India s pride & respect.
Death of Ghori and Prithviraj
As a prisoner in Ghor, Prithiviraj 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 Rajputs 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. Chand Bardai told Prithiviraj, that he should avenge Ghori s betrayal and
daily insults. Prithviraj is considered to be the greatest warrior of India, and also one of the greatest in the world. He was tortured by Ghori but he died an
undefeated warrior, taking Ghori down before he could die.
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 court said he would also like to participate. On hearing his suggestion, the courtiers guffawed at him and he was
taunted by Ghori as to how he could participate when he could not see. Whereupon, Prithiviraj told Mahmud 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, Mohammed 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, we are told 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, Char baans, chaubis hasta, angul ashta praman, Ete pai Sultan hai . Ab mat chuko Chauhan.Ten pole
measures, twenty four arm's length & eight fingers width away, is seated the Sultan, do not miss him now, Chouhan. Just after the death of Ghori,
Prithviraj was killed by Ghori's bodyguards.
