Prithviraj III, commonly known as Prithviraj Chauhan, was a king of the Chauhan dynasty . He ruled the traditional Chauhan territory of Sapadalaksha in present-day northwestern India . They also controlled parts of present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. His capital was located at Ajaymeru (modern Ajmer ), although medieval folk legends describe him as the king of Delhi, the political center of India, portraying him as a representative of pre-Islamic Indian power.

In the beginning, Prithviraj achieved military success against several neighboring Hindu kingdoms. In particular, he was successful against the Chandela king Paramardidev . TheyGauriruler of the dynasty mohammadGauriAlso stopped the initial attack. However, in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 Gauridefeated Prithviraj and killed him shortly afterwards. His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest of India and is described in several semi-legendary writings. The most popular of these is Prithviraj Raso , which presents him as a " Rajput " king. 

Sources of information

Inscriptions during Prithviraj's reign are few in number and not issued by the king himself. Most of the information about him comes from medieval mythological accounts. He is mentioned in several medieval epics by Hindu and Jain authors, in addition to the Muslim accounts of the Battle of Tarain. These include Prithviraj Vijay , Hammir Mahavakya and Prithviraj Raso. These texts contain eulogistic descriptions and are therefore not entirely reliable.  The Prithviraj Vijaya is the only surviving literary text from the reign of Prithviraj. Prithviraj Raso who popularized Prithviraj as a great king was written by the king's court poet Chand Bardai .Said to be written by However, it is full of exaggerated writings, many of which are useless for the purposes of history. 

Other accounts and texts that mention Prithviraj include Prabandha Chintamani, Prabandha Kosha and Prithviraj Prabandha. These were composed centuries after his death and contain anecdotes with exaggeration and anachronisms.  Prithviraj is also mentioned in a Pattavali of the Jains , a Sanskrit text. It contains biographies of Jain monks. While it was completed in 1336, the part that mentions Prithviraj was written around 1250. The Alha-Khand (or Alha Raso) of the Chandela poet Jaganika also provides an exaggerated account of Prithviraj's war against the Chandelas. 

Early life

Prithviraj was born to Chauhan king Someshwar and queen Karpuradevi. Prithviraj and his younger brother Hariraj were both born in Gujarat where their father Someshvara was brought up by his relatives in the Chalukya court. Prithviraj moved from Gujarat to Ajmer when his father Someshwar was crowned as the Chauhan king after the death of Prithviraj II. Someshvara died in 1177 (1234 ( B.S. ) when Prithviraj was about 11 years old. Prithviraj, who was then a minor, ascended the throne with his mother. According to historian Dasaratha Sharma, Prithviraj ruled in 1180. (1237) Took real control of the administration.

Fight with Gauri

Prithviraj's predecessors had faced several attacks from Muslim dynasties that occupied the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent until the 12th century. By the end of the 12th century, the Ghazni- based Ghori dynasty controlled the area west of the Chauhan kingdom. In 1175 when Prithviraj was a child, Muhammad Ghori crossed the Indus River and captured Multan. In 1178 he invaded Gujarat, which was ruled by the Chalukyas (Solankis). The Chauhans did not face the Ghori invasion as the Chalukyas of Gujarat defeated Muhammad in the Battle of Kasrawad in 1178. 

Over the next few years, Muhammad Ghori consolidated his power to the west of the Chauhans, conquering Peshawar, Sindh and the Punjab. He shifted his base from Ghazni to Punjab and tried to expand his empire towards the east. This brought him into conflict with Prithviraj.  Medieval Muslim writers mention only one or two battles between the two rulers. There is mention of two battles of Tarain in Tabaqat-i-Nasiri and Tarikh-i-Firishta . Jami-ul-Hikaya and Taj-ul-Maasir mention only the second battle of Tarain in which Prithviraj was defeated. However, Hindu and Jain writers state that Prithviraj defeated Muhammad several times before being killed. such as the Hammir epicClaims that there were 9 battles between the two, Prithviraj Prabandha mentions 8, Prabandha Kosha claims 21 battles while Prabandha Chintamani mentions 22. While these writings exaggerate the numbers, it is possible that there were more than two encounters between the Ghoris and the Chauhans during Prithviraj's reign.

First Battle Of Tarain

During 1190–1191, Muhammad Ghor invaded Chauhan territory and captured Tabarhinda or Tabar-i-Hind ( Bathinda ). He placed it under the charge of Zia-ud-din, Qazi of Tulaq, supported by 1,200 horsemen. When Prithviraj came to know about this, he proceeded towards Tabarhinda with his feudatories including Govindaraja of Delhi.

Muhammad's original plan was to return home after conquering Tabarhinda but when he heard about Prithviraj, he decided to fight. He set out with an army and faced Prithviraj's army at Tarain. In the ensuing battle, Prithviraj's army decisively defeated the Ghoris. 

Second Battle of Tarain

Muhammad Ghori decided to return to Ghazni and prepared to avenge his defeat. According to Tabaqat-i Nasiri , he gathered a well-equipped army of 120,000 selected Afghan , Tajik and Turk horsemen over the next few months. He then proceeded towards the Chauhan kingdom via Multan and Lahore with the help of Vijayaraja of Jammu. 

Prithviraj had no allies as a result of his wars against neighboring Hindu kings. Nevertheless, he managed to gather a large army to counter the Ghoris. Muhammad took time to consult his Ghazni-based brother Ghiyas-ud-Din.  He then led his force and attacked the Chauhans. He decisively defeated Prithviraj. Prithviraj tried to escape on a horse but was captured near Saraswati Fort (possibly modern Sirsa ). Subsequently, Ghori captured Ajmer after killing several thousand of its defenders. Enslaved many more people and destroyed the temples of the city. 

Death

Most medieval sources state that Prithviraj was taken to the Chauhan capital Ajmer where Muhammad planned to restore him as king under the Ghurids. After some time, Prithviraj rebelled against Mohammed, after which he was executed. 

Prithviraj Raso claims that Prithviraj was taken as a prisoner to Ghazni and blinded. Hearing this, poet Chand Bardai traveled to Ghazni and tricked Mohammad Ghori in which Prithviraj shot an arrow in the direction of Mohammad's voice and killed him. Shortly afterwards, Prithviraj and Chand Bardai killed each other. This is a fictional legend, not supported by historical evidence: Muhammad Ghori continued to rule for more than a decade after Prithviraj's death. 

After the death of Prithviraj, the Ghoris appointed his son Govindaraj as the king on the throne of Ajmer. In 1192, Prithviraj's younger brother Hariraja deposed Govindaraja and took back a part of his ancestral kingdom. Govindaraja moved to Ranastambhpura (modern Ranthambore ) where he established a new Chauhan branch of rulers (under the suzerainty of Ghori). Hariraj was later defeated by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the general of the Ghoris. 

Heritage

The early Sanskrit accounts of the 14th and 15th centuries present Prithviraj as a mediocre failure, memorable only for his defeat against a foreign king. The Prabandha-Chintamani and Prithviraja-Prabandha written by Jain authors portray him as an inept king who was responsible for his own downfall.

The famous text Prithviraj Raso , which was extensively patronized by the Rajput courts, portrays Prithviraj as a great hero.  Prithviraj's lineage was later classified as one of the Rajput lineages, although the "Rajput" identity did not exist in his time. 

Over time, Prithviraj was portrayed as a patriotic Hindu warrior who fought against Muslim enemies.  Legends from the 16th century refer to him as the ruler of the political center of India, Delhi (instead of Ajmer, which was his actual capital). Prithviraj is now described as "the last Hindu emperor". This designation is incorrect, as several strong Hindu rulers flourished in South India after him, and few contemporary Hindu rulers in northern India were as powerful as him. 

Several monuments dedicated to Prithviraj have been constructed in Ajmer and Delhi. Many films and television serials have been made on his life. These include the Hindi film Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan and the Hindi television serial Dharti Ka Veer Yoddha Prithviraj Chauhan (2006–2009). Many of these depict Prithviraj as a blameless hero and emphasize the message of Hindu national unity.

In September 2019, it was announced that Akshay Kumar would play his character in the historical drama film Prithviraj . It will be produced by Yash Raj Films .