Prithviraj Raso
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The Prithviraj Raso or Prithvirajaraso is a balladic epic about the life of Prithviraj III Chauhan, a Rajput king who ruled Ajmer and Delhi between 1165 and 1192.
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[edit] Perceptual context
The Prithviraj Raso was composed by Chand Bardai, Prithviraj's court poet, who accompanied the king in all his battles. Chand Bardai belonged to the community known as Charans, whose traditional occupation is to compose poems and ballads in praise of their patrons, based loosely on historical incident; they were poets and scribes who accompanied the armies of their patrons and encouraged and exhorted the warriors to bravery in battle by reciting the great deeds of their illustrious clan forebears.
Over time, the Prithviraj Raso has been embellished with the interpolations and additions of many other authors. Only a small portion of the existing texts is likely to have been part of the original text. Several versions of the Prithivraj Raso are available, but scholars agree that a small 1300 stanza manuscript in Bikaner is closest to the original text. The longest available version is the Udaipur manuscript, which is an epic comprising of 16,306 stanzas. The language of the texts available today largely appears to be post-15th century.
The Prithviraj Raso is a source of information on the social and clan structure of the Kshattriya communities of northern India.
[edit] The story related in the epic
According to the ballad, Prithviraj was a romantic, chivalrous and an extremely fearless king who, after ceaseless military campaigns, extended his original kingdom of Sambhar (Shakambara) in present-day Rajasthan, to cover Rajasthan, Gujarat and eastern Punjab. He ruled from his twin capitals of Delhi and Ajmer. His fast rise aroused the envy of the then powerful ruler of Kannauj, Jaichand Gahadwala, and caused ill-feeling between the two.
[edit] Swayamvar of Sanyogita
The story of Prithviraj's exploits spread far and wide and became the subject of much discussion among the nobility. Sanyogita also known as Sanyogita in folklore, daughter of Jaichand, fell secretly in love with Prithviraj and began a secret correspondence with him. Her father got wind of this and resolved to have her safely wed at an early date. He arranged a Swayamwara, a ceremony where a maiden selects her husband from a number of suitors who assemble at the invitation of her guardian. Jaichand invited many princes of acceptable rank and heritage, but deliberately failed to invite Prithviraj. To add insult to injury, Jaichand had a statue of Prithviraj made and placed at the door of the venue, thus parodying Prithviraj as a doorman. Prithviraj came to hear of this. He made his plans and confided the same to his lover, Sanyogita.
On the day of the ceremony, Sanyogita emerged from an inner chamber, entered the venue of the swayamwara, walked straight down the hall past the assembled suitors, bypassing them all. She reached the door and garlanded the statue of Pritiviraj. The assemblage were stunned at this brash act, but more was to follow: Prithviraj, who had been hiding behind the statue in the garb of a doorman, emerged, put Samyukta upon his steed, and made a fast getaway. Jaichandra and his army gave earnest chase, to no avail. This incident resulted in a string of battles between the two kingdoms and both of them suffered heavily. The Chauhan-Gahadwala feud led to the weakening of both Rajput kingdoms.
[edit] Muhammad of Ghor
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 Chouhan. 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 by 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. He haughtily looked Ghori straight into the eye. Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithviraj scornfully reminded him of how he had treated Ghori when the latter was a prisoner. He declared that the eyelids of a Rajput 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 was committed. The blind Prithviraj was then regularly 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 Ghor to be near Prithviraj in his misery. Chand Bardai came in disguise and secured himself a place in Muhammad's court by purveying his skills as a composer of poems. On the one hand, he earned Muhammad's regard; on the other, he took every opportunity to meet with Prithviraj and urge him to avenge Ghori's betrayal and daily insults.
Killing of Muhammad Ghori: The two got an opportunity 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, Muhammad 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.
Naturally, after this deed, Prithviraj and Chandbardai stabbed each other, to avoid further humiliation at the hands of courtiers of Ghori. But the brave Rajput had avenged the betrayals and humiliations suffered by him. Thus ended the story of the brave and chivalrous Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi.
