Hariraja (r. c. 1193–1194 CE ) was a king from the

Chahamana Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

(Chauhan) dynasty who ruled parts of his ancestral kingdom (in present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, India) for a brief period, before being defeated by the Ghurids. After the

Ghurid The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the ...

invaders defeated his brother

Prithviraja III Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present- ...

in 1192 CE, he dethroned his nephew

Govindaraja IV Govindaraja IV (r. c. 1192 CE ) was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chahamana dynasty, which ruled the Sapadalaksha country in present-day north-western India. The Ghurid invaders defeated and killed his father Prithvir ...

, who had been appointed as a vassal ruler by the Ghurids.

Reign

Hariraja was a son of the Chahamana king Someshvara and queen Karpuradevi. He and his elder brother

were born in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, where their father Someshvara was brought up at the

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

court by his maternal relatives. Prithviraja ascended the Chahamana throne after Someshvara's death, but his reign ended in 1192 CE with a

conquest of the kingdom. The Ghurids appointed Prithviraja's son

as a vassal ruler in return for a heavy tribute. Hariraja revolted against the Ghurid rule in the Chahamana capital

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

, forcing Govindaraja to take shelter in the

Ranthambore Fort Ranthambore Fort lies within the Ranthambore National Park, near the city of Sawai Madhopur in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, India. the park being the former hunting grounds of the Maharajahs of Jaipur until the time of India's Ind ...

. When the Ghurid governor

Qutb al-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطب‌الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in ...

heard about this, he rushed from Delhi to Ranthambore. Hariraja made a retreat, knowing that he would not be able to defeat the Ghurid army. While the Ghurids were busy fighting other Hindu dynasties such as the

Gahadavala The Gahadavala dynasty (IAST: Gāhaḍavālas), also Gahadavalas of Kanauj, was a Rajput dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, during 11th and 12th centuries. Their capital was located at Varana ...

s, Hariraja once again invaded Ajmer in 1193 CE. This time, he managed to recapture Ajmer, and became the new Chahamana king, with support from Prithviraja's former general Skanda. Subsequently, Hariraja sent a force led by Jatira (called Jihtar or Jhitar in Muslim accounts) to capture

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. However, this force had to retreat in fear of a larger Ghurid army. As Jatira's force was returning to Delhi, Hariraja set out from Ajmer with another army in its support. The Ghurids decisively defeated the Chahamana forces in the ensuing battle. According to the 16th-century Muslim historian

Firishta Firishta or Ferešte ( fa, ), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi ( fa, مُحَمَّد قاسِم هِندو شاہ), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was ...

, Hariraja and Jaitra were killed in this battle. However, the near-contemporary 13th-century source ''Taj-ul-Maasir'' states that Jaitra "sacrificed himself in the flames of a fire". ''

Hammira Mahakavya ''Hammira Mahakavya'' (IAST: ''Hammīra-Mahākāvya'') is a 15th-century Indian Sanskrit epic poem written by the Jain scholar Nayachandra Suri. It is a legendary biography of the 13th century Chahamana king Hammira. While not entirely accurate f ...

'' by the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

scholar Nayacandra Suri also states that Hariraja had to fall back to Ajmer, where he determined that any further resistance against the Ghurids was fruitless. As a result, he and his family then committed suicide by self-immolation. Hariraja's queen was Pratapadevi, as attested by an 1194 CE Tantoti inscription.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chahamanas of Shakambhari Chahamanas of Shakambhari 12th-century Indian monarchs