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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, belonged to the Agnikula clan of Rajputs. Prithviraj Chauhan was the last independent Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi. 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. Ghauri After his defeat Delhi came under the control of Muslim rulers. Qila Rai Pithora in Delhi, also known as Pithoragarh, is named after him.

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.

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.

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.

Early Battles

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.

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. .

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.

Defeat and death in the Second Battle of Tarain, 1192

in 1192, Shahabuddin Ghori re-assembled his 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 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. 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 deserted the battlefield and attempted to escape. 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 to Ghazni, where he was executed in 1192.

With his victory at Tarain, Shahabuddin Ghori managed to push Muslim rule much further east than Maḥmūd of Ghaznā had. Shahabuddin Ghori became Sultan of the Ghorid Empire upon the death of his brother, Ghiyās-ud-Dīn, in 1202.

According to Prithviraj Raso & Local Folk Songs Of Rajsthan

It is said that PrithviRaj was taken to Afghanistan along with his raj-kavi cum friend, Chandbhar. In Ghori's court, Prithviraj and Chandbhar were brought in shackles. PrithviRaj was asked to show the art of archery, wherein he could aim and shoot just by hearing the sound. It is also known as Shabdbhedi-baan. Ghori asked him to show him this art. To make game interesting for himself, he got his eyes pierced with hot iron rods. Chandbhar says, "A king, though as a prisoner, can receive command only from a king. So only you can ask him to shoot.". Then he says few verses or poetry, few of those lines were,"Chaar baans chaubees guz, angul asht pramaan,Taa oopar Sultan hai, Mat chooke Chauhan". Chaar baans meant four bamboos stick, chaubis guz as approximately 24 yards, angul asht pramaan meant eight fingers width. All this combined gave the exact location of Ghori sitting on his throne i.e. 4 bamboos stick high, 24 yards away and exactly eight fingers up was the Ghori sitting. "Go ahead O Chauhan and don't miss the aim". This is how PrithviRaj kills Ghori in his court and obviously to meet his own death.

References

1. Dasharatha Sharma (1975). Early Chauhān dynasties: a study of Chauhān political history, Chauhān political institutions, and life in the Chauhān dominions, from 800 to 1316 A.D. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 280. ISBN 0842606181, ISBN 9780842606189. According to a number of scholars, the agnikula clas were originally Gurjaras.
2. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1834). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 1999. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. p. 651. By that marriage Haarsha had contracted an alliance with the dominant race of the Gurjaras, of whom the chohans were a prominent clan.

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