Who Was Prithviraj Chauhan? Early Life And Facts About The Brave And Noble Warrior

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Akshay Kumar's film Samrat Prithviraj is all prepared to hit theatres on 3 June 2022. The story of the movie is based on the truth and life of King Prithviraja III, also known as Prithviraj Chauhan.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Several protests have already been lodged against this Bollywood period drama, and it will be interesting to see how it performs at the box office today.

So, who is Prithviraj Chauhan?

Who Was Prithviraj Chauhan?

Prithviraj Chauhan of Rai Pithora was a king of the Chauhan, also known as the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled Sapadalaksha territory, along with his capital at Ajmer, Rajasthan.

At the age of thirteen, Prithviraj ascended the throne in 1177 CE, after the death of his father. After hearing about his courage and bravery, his grandfather Angam, ruler of Delhi, declared him heir to the throne of Delhi.

Prithviraj Chauhan inherited a kingdom that stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south. He also built Qila Rai Pithora after ascending the throne of Delhi.

He defeated Mahmud Ghori in the first battle of Tarain in 1191. After defeating Mahmud Ghori's army, he was asked to attack the retreating army. Being a true Rajput, he refused to do so as it did not follow fair war rules.

This led to Mahmud Ghori attacking India again, in which Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated and captured in the second battle of Tarain. Prithviraj was tortured at the hands of Mahmud to such an extent that he was rendered blind. However, the brave Rajput soldier did not give up and was said to have killed Mahmud Ghori with his "shabdabhedi baan" with the help of his court poet and friend Chand Bardai.

Image Illustration By Freepik

Early Life

Prithviraj Chauhan was the son of Chahamana King Someshvara and Karpuradevi, who was a Kalachuri princess. Both Prithviraj and his younger brother Hariraja were born in Gujarat, where their father was raised by his maternal family members at the Chaulukya court.

Prithviraj's life was full of brave acts and chivalrous deeds. The story of his life was also mentioned in the epic poem Prithviraj Raso, written by Chand Bardai. He died in 1192, bringing an end to a period of courage, bravery and principles.

Memorials to Prithviraj have been built in both Ajmer and Delhi.