Formerly known as Kanyakubja (called Kanogiza by Ptolemy), the town is known to have been an important center during the Gupta empire. It reached the pinnacle of its glory in the 7th century under Harsha as the capital and cultural center of the empire he built. Harsha however was greatly weakened after being defeated by the Chalukya emperor Pulakesin II; his empire fell apart soon after his death.
By the end of the 8th century,
Kannauj became the focus of a three-way contest by the three dominant dynasties of the time, the Pratiharas of Malwa, the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan, and the Palas of Bengal. The Pala king Dharmapala installed a proxy king at the end of the 8th century; however, the Pratihara king Nagabhatta II conquered
Kannauj in the 9th century. Kannauj became the Pratihara capital for nearly 200 years. During this period, it became known as a center for poetry. The Pratiharas ruled much of northern India in the latter half of the 8th century, but they had weakened by the early 10th century. The Rashtrakuta king Indra III captured
Kannauj in 916, and by the end of that century, the Pratihara domains had been reduced to a small kingdom around the town of Kannauj.
In 1019, the town was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni, who ushered in a chaotic period for the city. After this sacking of
Kannauj, the area came to be dominated by the Chandela Rajput clan of Bundelkhand. The Gahadvala dynasty, descended from former vassals of the Pratiharas, established themselves as rulers of
Kannauj at the end of the 11th century. Kannauj recovered some of its former prosperity under the Gahadvalas, but the respite was brief, for the city was sacked again in 1194 by Mohammed of Ghori, and by the early years of the 13th century it was incorporated into the Delhi Sultanate. Kannauj has never since recovered its importance.
On the face of it, the story of Sanyogta and
Prithviraj may seem to have nothing to with the latter’s wars and campaigns. But if it is true that
Sanyogita’s father Jaichand, already a rival of
Prithviraj, was angry that she eloped with the
Chauhan king, then the bad blood between Chauhan and Rathore is a definite backdrop to the geopolitics of the time. Also, if – as it is said –
Prithviraj was so besotted with Sanyogta that he neglected his kingdom to the extent he was oblivious to the danger Mahmud of Gaur presented, then again we can legitimately discuss
Sanyogita.
After all, this is no ordinary king we are discussing, but the man who was the last Hindu emperor of Delhi, a man of immense contradictions, and who appears to have lost his empire to the Muslims despite his magnificent warrior qualities because of a lack of diligence and a preference for the good and soft life. So from this angle, too, Sanyogta is important.
The problem is, according to R.C. Majumdar, there is no evidence to back the story. It originates from the
Prithviraso, which was written much after the events it narrates.
It’s also worth noting that
Prithviraj and
Sanyogita are supposed to have eloped in 1175. Even given that she was his youngest queen, if 17 years later the man is still so infatuated with her that he cannot think straight, we can legitimately ask if the story is as told. Kings had their favorite wives, but they had many wives. It would be a bit unusual for a wife to have such a hold for so many years that she is the cause of the king’s neglecting his duties.
Our difficulty originates with the part concerning
Prithviraj’s antecedents. The popular story has it that two daughters of Anangpal, King of Delhi, married rival kings: Someshwar
Chauhan of Ajmer, and Vijaypal Rathore of Kannauj.
Prithviraj was born to Someshwar and his wife Kamladevi, Jaichand was born to Vijaypal and his wife Roopsundari. This would make Prithviraj and Jaichand first cousins, though Jaichand was much older to Prithviraj.
Furthur, Anangpal of Delhi, having no son, decided to leave his kingdom to Prithviraj, because young as Prithviraj was, he was clearly a better soldier than Jaichand. This discrimination by the grandfather in favor of the junior grandson further exacerbated the hostility Jaichand bore
Prithviraj.
The problem with this story is several-fold.
First,
Prithviraj’s mother was not the daughter of the King of Delhi, but of Achalaraja, the Kalachuri king of Tripuri, which is today’s Jabbalpore in Madhya Pradesh. Her name was Karpuradevi and not Kamladevi.
Second,
Prithviraj inherited the kingdom of Delhi from his father, Someshwar of Ajmer, not from any king of Delhi. Delhi was a vassal of Ajmer, so when Someshwar died,
Prithviraj got Delhi as well as Ajmer.
Third, there was no Anangpal ruling Delhi during
Prithviraj’s time. The closest Anangpal we have been able to locate is the jagirdar of Bhatnar [modern Bhatinda?]. He was a decendent of Bhimpal, last Shahi king of the Punjab – who was disposed of his kingdom by Mahmud Ghaznavi in the 11th century.
Anangpal, according to the story, was an Aruyvaid herbalist doctor who became close friends with Prithviraj. The later liked him so much he added to Anangpal’s jagir at Bhatnar, and this inspired Anangpal to attack and recover his lost inheritance of Lahore 1179. However, he could not hold on to Lahore, was pushed out by the Muslims and died. His son Gorakrai was brought back to Bahtnar, and later became a luminary at
Prithviraj’s court.
Be that as it may, in so far national psyches are shaped by legends, the story of Prithviraj and
Sanyogita is one of the most powerful of Indian legends. For Indians, the romance is on par with the most famous of all Western civilization romances, Paris and Helen of Troy. So while as historians we must remain skeptical, as
Indians we should remain free to enjoy the story.
