Conquest of
Prithviraj Chauhan can be characterised as aggressive and
implementation of shrewd tactics occasionally. Prithviraj Chauhan was a
king of the
Chauhan dynasty, who controlled the kingdom of Delhi and Ajmer in northern India during the second half of the twelfth century. He belonged to the Agnikula clan of Rajputs. Delhi had witnessed Prithviraj Chauhan as the last Hindu King. He ruled to a large extent current Rajasthan and Haryana, and unified the Rajputs against Muslim invasions.
Battle against Bhimdev Solanki of Gujarat
Prithviraj Chauhan had killed many of Bhimdev`s generals before getting
into a war with him. Bhimdev was a ruler of the Solanki dynasty in
Gujarat. A general had betrayed
Prithviraj and had joined Bhimdev in
this battle. He had given all the inside information to Bhimdev and had
poisoned
Prithviraj Chauhan`s army. Bhimdev was sending his army men
accordingly. All his plans failed and on the final day of the battle,
Bhimdev himself clashed with Prithviraj Chauhan and was crushed to
defeat.
Battle against Mahoba
Some Chauhan dynasty soldiers from Delhi decided to stop at the Mahoba
royal gardens as they were injured. The Mahoba soldiers told the Delhi
soldiers that they had insulted the Mohaba king Parmar by stepping into
his garden and were attacked.
Prithviraj Chauhan came to know about this
and declared war on Mahoba. The Mahoban army was divided into three
different sections during this battle. One part was led by the Prince of
Mahoba, whilst the other two were led by the brothers Alha and Udal.
Prithviraj Chauhan defeated the section controlled by Udal and Prince of
Mahoba. Udal had injured Pundir a friend and general of Prithviraj
Chauhan in combat. Udal was then killed by Prithviraj who was injured
badly. Prithviraj and his friend Sanjham Rai, who was also injured, fell
down a nearby hill and were left to be eaten by crows. Sanjham Rai, in
order to save his friend allowed the crows to feed on him and not on
Prithviraj and died a slow death. Alha`s section was still in battle
with Prithviraj`s army. He was stopped from killing Prithviraj Chauhan
by his guru. When Chand Bardai, had arrived Prithviraj became
unconscious. He recovered later and was grieved at his friend`s death.
Prithviraj Chauhan continued his conquests winning one territory after another.
One of
Prithviraj`s small battles was in opposition to King Raichand.
King Raichand and some of the other neighbouring kings took advantage of
Prithviraj`s injury. They attacked at that time knowing his inability
to fight .The generals and close friends of Prithviraj Chauhan guarded
the king of Delhi. Some villagers also came in handy to get rid of King
Raichand and he was finally killed.
Prithviraj Chauhan took over the Kukada kingdom. He continued expanding
his area of control by extending his region in all four directions. His
army continued a rather bloody victory march for over four years. They
won the battle against King of Dariyagargh. Soon after this conquest he
had to witness the destruction of a major portion of his state. This was
Muhammad Ghori`s first attack on Prithviraj`s province.
First Battle of Tarain 1191
In 1191, Shahabuddin Ghori invaded India through the Khyber Pass and reached Punjab.
He captured a fortress, either at Sirhind or Bathinda on the
north-western frontier of Prithviraj Chauhan`s kingdom. Prithviraj`s
army led by his vassal prince Govinda-Raja of Delhi rushed to defend the
frontier. The two armies met at the town of Tarain, near Thanesar in
present-day Haryana.
Shahabuddin Ghori`s army had been divided into three flanks. The Hindu
Rajput army had elephant cavalry whereas Shahabuddin Ghori`s army had no
elephants. Shahabuddin Ghori`s horse cavalry was unable to hold its own
against Prithviraj`s elephant cavalry, resulting 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. Ghori`s
army was exhausted and withdrew back and Shahabuddin Ghori himself was
captured by the Rajputs.
Second Battle of Tarain, 1192
In 1192, Shahabuddin Ghori re-assembled his army and returned to
challenge Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain. He had sent his
envoy to Prithviraj
Chauhan to demand his surrender but Prithviraj
Chauhan refused. He assembled a large army with the help of his fellow
Rajput rulers to combat Ghori`s army. Shahabuddin Ghori issued delivered
an ultimatum to him that he convert to Islam or be defeated. Either of
the side could reach on an agreement. Shahabuddin Ghori divided his
troops into five parts and attacked the Rajput armies in the early
morning hours but retreated as the Rajput elephant group advanced.
Khande Rao general of Prithviraj was killed. By the end of the day,
Shahabuddin Ghori himself led a heavily-armoured force to the center of
the Rajput line, which collapsed into confusion. Prithviraj abandoned
the battlefield and attempted to escape but was captured. The Rajput
Army also fled, thereby conceding victory to Shahabuddin
Ghori.Shahabuddin Ghori took the captured Prithviraj back with him to
Ghazni, where he was executed in 1192.
Although Prithviraj
Chauhan could not conquer many territories like the
other Indian rulers, yet he proved himself as an able soldier in the
first battle of Tarain. Conquests of
Prithviraj Chauhan proved him to be
a great soldier but lacking political insight of a diplomatic
administrator. With his victory at Tarain, Muslim rule ushered in North
India and decline of Hindu supremacy begun.
