Prithviraj III

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Prithviraj Chauhan (c. 1168-1192 Hindi: पृथ्वीराज चौहान) Prithviraj Chauhan was a king of the Kshatriya Chauhan (Chahamana) Rajput dynasty, who ruled a kingdom in northern India during the latter half of the 12th century. He was born c. 1168 to king Someshwara Chauhan and his wife Karpuravalli. He succeeded to the throne c. 1179, while still a minor, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi. His elopement with 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, Chand Bardai. The Chauhan succession had been rather confused since the death of Vigraha-raja in 1165; Prithviraj reconsolidated control of the Chauhan kingdom and conquered several neighboring kingdoms, which made his state the leading Hindu kingdom in southern India. Delhi was captured from the Tomara Rajputs during the early years of his reign, and was renamed Qila Rai Pithora. 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. To this day, Prithviraj is considered to be a legendary hero and martyr by Hindus, and his lineage appears quite spread out covering vast tracts of Uttar Pradesh, Harayana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Contents 1 Prithviraj Chauhan 2 His Family 3 His Childhood 4 His Immortal Love 5 Muhammad Ghori 6 Captivity, revenge and death 7 Trivia 8 See also 9 References

[edit] Prithviraj Chauhan

Prithviraj Chauhan was the last Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi which was India's capital.Qila Rai Pithora in Delhi is named after him. After his defeat in 1192 AD at the second Battle of Tarain Delhi came under the control of the Muslim rulers. One of the slaves of Muhammad Ghori, Qutubuddin Aibak found new dynasty known as slave dynasty in 1206 CE. Delhi continued to be under the control of Muslim rulers until the British period. The only exception to this was Hemu,who managed to sit on the throne of Delhi for a few days after Humayun's death. Before to this event Akbar succeeded Humayun.Hemu was defeated by Akbar in 1556 AD. Prithviraj was one of the most interesting and powerful characters of Indian history. Even today his name is associated with the virtues of Rajput valour, chivalry and patriotism. His bravery on the battlefield was unmatched and he was known to be virtuous and principled until his death.

The Warrior King as he was popularly known, fell in love with his enemy's daughter - Sanyogita. He rode off with her on the day of her swayamvar before the watchful eye of her father.

His story highlights all the important aspects of life: duty, bravery, patriotism, friendship, family and romance.

Prithviraj was born to his parents after 10 years of long prayer. Although he grew up to be a very naughty boy, he was the sharpest of all the princes. He often surprised everyone by his profound thoughts on subjects beyond his young age. He loved his parents very much and also respected Jai Chandra, Nayantra and Anangpal II. Everybody in turn, loved him. As a child, he was indeed the Balkrishna, and as he grew up, he reflected the different faces of Lord Krishna: Murlidhar, Chhaliya, Chakradhar. He and his friend Chander shared a friendship almost alike that of Lord Krishna & Sudama. In his youth, he defeated many enemies but always allowed room for forgiveness. He never fought in anger or for personal gain but only performed the duty of a king.

[edit] His Family

Anangpal Tomara II , the King of Delhi, had two daughters, Roopsundari and Kamaladevi. Roopsundari married Vijaypal, King of Kannauj. They had a son Jai Chandra. His daughter was the beautiful Sanyogita. Kamaladevi married Someshwar Chauhan, the King of Ajmer. Prithviraj was their son, born after 10 years of marriage. Pratha, his sister marries his friend Samar Singh(King of Chittor).

[edit] His Childhood

At his guru Ram Purohit's gurukul (school), Prithviraj 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 chalaana" that is hittitng a target without seeing the target, that is only on the basis of sound. It was here that he was groomed to be the King of Ajmer. One day at the gurukul, young Prithviraj was attacked by a lion. Though caught unawares and unarmed, Prithviraj bravely fought the lion and killed it! Tales of his heroism spreading far & wide.

With the stories of Prithviraj's courage, valour and intelligence spreading far and wide, Anangpal the King of Delhi decided to adopt him. He announced Prithviraj Chauhan as his heir. Thus he was crowned prince of Delhi at the young age of 13 years.

Prithviraj at the age of 13 killed Bheemdev Solanki, the king of Gujarat, who betrayed his father someshwar chauhan.

• He had 4 best friends : Sanjam, Chandar, Pundir, and Arjun.

[edit] His Immortal Love

After becoming the king of Ajmer, Prithviraj heard the court poet describe the unmatched beauty of a lady. Immensely impressed, he soon found out that the beauty described was Sanyogita, the daughter of the Jai Chandra, King of Kannauj. He disguised himself and went to see her. They had met before on the yatra to Koteshwar Mandir. At that time, Prithviraj disguised himself as Surya and princess Sanyogita under the name of Nandini. Though whenever they met, a fight used to always used to break out between them. Their's relation was like Krishna and Radha.

Meanwhile Sanyogita too had heard the tales of Prithviraj's courage and valour and was smitten. When she finally saw an attractive painting of Prithviraj Chauhan, she knew in her heart that she would marry him. She met the King in disguise and they fell in love.

Suspecting the relationship between the two of them, Jaichand decided to organize a swayamvara in all pomp and splendour for his daughter. He called many princes worthy of his daughter, from all across the country. However Prithviraj wasn't invited. Jaichand despised Prithviraj as the latter had been chosen by Anangpal to be the heir to the throne of Delhi.^{[citation needed]}: So, to humiliate Prithviraj, Jaichand erected his statue, dressed and bent as a dwaarpal at the gateway to the swayamvar. However, at the time of the swayamvar, Sanyogita passed by all the eligible princes and finally garlanded Prithviraj's statue. At that moment, Prithviraj stepped out and whisked his beloved away! It is believed that after Sanyogita's haran, Prithviraj was presented with a special, magical bow and arrow.

[edit] Muhammad Ghori

While this drama was being enacted, an obscure warlord named Muhammad, hailing from Ghor in present-day Afghanistan, grew increasingly powerful. He captured Ghazni and subsequently defeated the Ghaznavid governor of Punjab. Muhammad Ghori's domain now touched upon that of Prithviraj Chauhan. A clash was inevitable.

First Battle of Tarain (1191 CE): Muhammad Ghori invaded Prithviraj'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, Prithviraj marched on Bhatinda and gave battle to the invaders at a place called Tarain (also called Taraori) near the town of Thanesar.

In face of the Rajput onslaught, the invading Muslim army broke ranks and fled, leaving their leader, Muhammad Ghori, a prisoner in Prithviraj's hands. Muhammad Ghori was brought in chains to Pithoragarh, Prithviraj's capital. He begged his captor for mercy and release. Prithviraj's ministers advised against pardoning the aggressor. However, the chivalrous and valiant Prithviraj thought otherwise and respectfully released the vanquished Ghori.

Second Battle of Tarain (1192 CE): The very next year, Ghori repaid Prithviraj's gesture by again invading Prithviraj's kingdom with a stronger army. Again, the two armies met at Tarain. The Hindus followed a traditional practice of battling only between sunrise and sunset.This practise was based upon great epics and ethics in their civilized society.The Ramayana and the Mahabharata support this practise. Ghori attacked the surprised Rajput army before daybreak and thus emerged victorious. The defeated Prithviraj was pursued up to his capital. At the point when annihilation became certain, Sanyogita committed Jauhar {suicide} for self-immolation rather than face the prospect of personal dishonour at the hands of a barbaric invader. Prithviraj was taken in chains to Ghor in present-day Afghanistan.

[edit] Captivity, revenge and death

As a prisoner in Ghor, Prithviraj was brought in chains before Muhammad Ghori. He haughtily looked Ghori straight into the eye. Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a Prithviraj scornfully reminded him of how he had treated Ghori when the latter was a prisoner. He declared that the eye of a Rajput are lowered only in death. On hearing this,Ghori ordered that his eyes to be burnt with red hot iron rods. The heinous deed was committed. The blind prithvi was then brought to the presence of the barbaric warlord to be taunted by Ghori and his courtiers.

Prithviraj's former courtier Chand Bardai, who was later to compose the Prithviraj Raso, a ballad-biography of Pritiviraj, came to Ghori to be near Prithviraj in his misery. Chand Bardai came in disguise and paens. On one hand, he earned Mahmud's regard; on the other, he took every oprportunity to meet with Prithviraj and urge him to avenge Ghori's betrayal and daily insults.^{[citation needed]}: The two got an opportunity to kill Muhammad Ghori when Ghori announced an archery competition. Chand Bardai told Ghori that Prithviraj was so skilled an archer, that he could take aim based only on sound, and did not even need to look at his target. Ghori disdained to believe this; the courtiers guffawed and taunted Chand Bardai, asking how a blind man could possibly shoot arrows. In the spirit of their usual barbaric mockery, they brought the blind and hapless Prithviraj out to the field. Pressing a bow and arrows into his hand, they taunted him to take aim.

Chand Bardai told Ghori that this taunting would avail nothing, for Prithviraj would never do as some sundry courtiers bade him do. He said that Prithviraj, 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 Ghori agreed to personally give Prithviraj the order to shoot.Some iron plates were hung and Prithiviraj was asked to aim at them.A man was to strike the plate with a hammer and Prithviraj was supposed to hit that plate.

Thus, Chand Bardai provided Prithviraj with an aural indication of where Ghori was seated. He gave Prithviraj one further indication of the same, by composing a couplet on the spot and reciting the same in Prithviraj's hearing. The couplet, composed in a language understood only by Prithviraj 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).

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

[edit] Trivia

Pakistan named one of its missiles Gauri thinking that India had named its missile Prithvi ("Earth") after Prihviraj.

Prithviraj Chauhan's life story has been made into a television series in STAR Plus. The name of the serial is Dharti Ka Veer Yodha - Prithviraj Chauhan and is aired at 9pm (Indian Standard Time) from Friday to Sunday.

• Prithviraj~ Rajat Tokas
• Sanyogita~ Mughda Chapekar
• Someshwar~ Jas Arora
• Sanjam~ Mehul Vyas
• Chandar~ Javed Khan
• Arjun~ Gaurav Sharma
• Punir~ Harssh Rajput
• Pratha~ Chinky Jaiswal
• Chamki~ Laveena Tandon

[edit] See also

• List of Rajputs

[edit] References

• Early Chauhan dynasties: a study of Chauhan political history, Chauhan political institution, and life in the Chauhan dominions from 800 to 1316 A.D. by Prof. Dasharatha Sharma Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass; 2d rev. ed edition (1975) Language: English ISBN 0-8426-0618-1
• Prithiviraj Raso by Chand Bardai in the 1200s

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