THE LAST DAYS OF PRITHVIRAJ CHAUHAN

At the battlefield of Tarain in c. 1192, as the sun was about to set, the Rajput commander Govindraja fell down. Prithviraja, the emperor of Ajmer and Delhi, visualizing the Rajput 'sun' sinking down, stepped down from his elephant, took a horse, and rushed towards the Chauhan stronghold of Sarasvati (Sirsa). But alas, he was recognized, pursued and overtaken in the neighborhood of the fort of Sarasvati (Tabaqat-i-Nasiri) by the Turks. (The place Sirsa in Hissar district is mentioned as Sarasvati in Karamachandra vamsotkritanka kavya of Jayasoma.) The Turks soon followed and the fort surrendered to the Muslims. Prithviraja was either captured in the neighbourhood of this fort, or he might have surrendered and made a prisoner. 

Prithvijaj ( as per Taj-ul-Masir, ED, II, p. 215; Tabaqat-i-Akbari, I, 39) somehow managed to obtain immunity from punishment and was carried to Ajmer which the Sultan captured after slaying thousands of its heroic defenders and reserving the rest for slavery. The pillars and foundations of its temples were destroyed and it was despoiled of its all wealth. According to some sources, Mohammad Ghori seems to have reinstated Prithviraja on the throne of Ajmer (Prabandhachintamani, p. 117-118). A unique coin bearing the name of both Prithviraja and Mohammad bin Sam issued from Delhi mint supports that Prithviraja may initially be retained as a vassal chief (See Thomas in his Chronicles of the Pathan Kings of Delhi. Pp. 17-18 and JNSI, XVI, p. 122).

                But he was soon removed from the reins of power and taken away by Ghori to Ghazni as a prisoner. His son Govinda was made the ruler of Ajmer (Taj-ul-Maasir, ED II, 216). Almost all historical sources confirm that Prithviraja was detected in an intrigue or conspiracy and ‘the diamond like sword severed the head of that abandoned wretch from his body’. It is also confirmed by all the Muslim sources that Muhammad of Ghor was killed by an infidel (non-Muslim). The severity of intrigue is the only contention of dispute between the historians.

                Hasan Nizami in Taj-ul-Maasir says that “Prithviraj’s ancient hatred was deeply rooted and concealed in the bottom of his heart. He was detected in an intrigue and was beheaded by the orders of the Sultan.” Prabandha Chintamani (p. 117-118) states that “when it was found that Prithviraja’s picture gallery in Ajmer contained paintings representing Muslim soldiers being killed by pigs, he was beheaded.” Prithviraj Prabandha, a manuscript written by Muni Jinavijaya composed much earlier but copied in 1471 discloses further- “The Sultan sat in the court in front of the place where they had housed Prithviraja (after his capture). This distressed the raja. The raja’s prime minister, who was a traitor, approached him and said, My lord, what can be done? It was so destined.” The Raja replied, “If thou givst me my bow and arrow, I shall kill the Sultan.” He assented and going to the Sultan asked him not to sit at his usual place. The Sultan had a metal statue of himself put there. Then going to the Raja, the minister provided him with a bow. The raja shot the arrow and the statue fell divided into two pieces. The Raja threw off the bow, saying, ‘My task has not been accomplished; somebody else has been killed.’ Then the Sultan had the Raja thrown into a pit and pelted with stones. Puratan Prabandha Sangraha, p. 87. Prithvirajaraso, Surjancharita and Ain i Akbari elaborate it further. Ain-i-Akbari (II, p. 307) tells that Prithviraja was taken prisoner and carried by the Sultan to Ghazni, where he was tortured and blinded. Chand Bardai, the bard, who was a native of Lahore, in his fidelity and loyalty hastens to Ghazni, entered the Sultan’s services and gained his favour. By his address, he discovered the Raja and comforted him in prison. He proposed that he should praise his dexterity with the bow to the Sultan who would desire to witness it, and that then he might use his opportunity.

                Prithviraj Raso says that the Sultan arranged for the display of the archery event and the blind Prithviraj was promptly guided by the bard about the location of the Sultan thus: Char bans, chaubis hasta, angul asta praman/ ta upar Sultan hai, mat chuko Chauhan. On the command of the voice of the Sultan, Prithviraj shoot his shabd-bhedi baan and pierced the Sultan with that arrow. The Ghori soldiers fell on both of them and cut them to pieces.

                On the outskirts of Ghazni at a small village called Deak, are two domed tombs. The larger one was of Gori Sultan, and few metres away is a small tomb in a celler where people jumped on the central mud structure holding a long, thick rope, ending with a knot at the shoulder height. Local visitors would grab hold of this knot in one hand and stamp vigorously and repeatedly with one foot on the bare patch at the centre of the tomb. (Arms and Armour: traditional weapons of India by E Jaiwant Paul; see also Ghazni’s best Kept Secret, an article by SC Sharma, Indian Express, April 25, 1998). The local Afghans believe that at that spot the infidel king of Delhi, Prithviraj Chauhan, lay buried. The Afghans, before going to the grave of Ghori, go and kick the grave of Prithviraj, due to the hatred and anger for the infidel killer.

                The Chauhan Rajputs also believe the same. During the Anglo-Afghan wars, the Chauhan soldiers searched for the prithviraja’s remains at Ghazni. Elliot writes, “Several of our Chauhan sepoys, after the capture of that fortress, sought out, and professed to find, theChhatri (or monument) of their ancestor, where they showed their devotion to his memory by presenting their humble offerings in honour of the champion of their faith. (Elliot’s Supplementary Glossary, Vol. I, p. 65)  Sher Singh Rana, the prime accused in the Phoolan Devi (bandit queen) murder case, escaped from the Tihar Jail in 2004. Getting a fake passport from Ranchi he flew to Afghanistan in 2005 on a student visa, financed by a fellow prisoner Subhash Thakur. During his three months stay in that country, he finally reached Ghazni, where he posed himself as a Pakistani historian who had came to restore the Ghori’s tomb. On the sly, he dug Rai Pithora’s grave and collected the sand and ‘ashes’ which he even recorded on video. In April 2005, he was back in India, and sent the ‘ashes’ of Prithviraj through courier to Etawah and organized a function there with the help of local Chauhans.