''Prithviraja Vijaya'' (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an
eulogistic Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
on the life of the Indian
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 ...
king
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- ...
(better known as Prithviraj Chauhan in the vernacular folk legends). It is believed to have been composed around 1191-1192 CE by Jayanaka, a Kashmiri poet-historian in the court of Prithviraja.
Some portions of the poem are now lost. Besides Prithviraja's biography, the poem also gives an account of his ancestors.
Manuscript
The only known manuscript of ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' is a
birch bark
Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''.
The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, crafti ...
manuscript written in
Sharada script
The Śāradā, Sarada or Sharada script is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. The script was widespread between the 8th and 12th centuries in the northwestern parts of Indian Subcontinent (in Kashmir and neighbourin ...
. It was discovered by
Georg Bühler
Professor Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law.
Early life and education
Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, attended grammar school in Hanover, whe ...
in 1875, when he was searching for Sanskrit manuscripts in
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
. The manuscript is highly mutilated, and several parts of the text (including the author's name) are missing from it.
Authorship
Although the author's name is missing from the manuscript,
Har Bilas Sarda
Har Bilas Sarda (1867–1955) was an Indian academic, judge and politician. He is best known for having introduced the Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929).
Early life
Har Bilas Sarda was born on 3 June 1867 in Ajmer, in a Maheshwari family. ...
theorized that the text was composed by Jayanaka, who was a court-poet of
Prithviraja. This theory is based on the following points:
* Canto 12 of the poem records the entry of the Kashmiri poet Jayanaka in Prithviraja's court
* In Canto 1, Prithviraja is expected to listen to the poem. This indicates that the poem was composed by one of his court-poets.
* The author appears to have been a
Kashmiri Pandit
The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region ...
:
** The poetic style closely resembles that of the 11th century Kashmiri poet
Bilhana
Kaviraj, Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the ''Caurapañcāśikā''.
According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, ...
** The ''mangalacharan'' (prayer) and criticism of other poets at the beginning of the text match the ones in Bilhana's ''Vikramanka-Deva-Charita'' (another eulogistic poem, on the life of
Vikramaditya VI
Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Someshvara II, a political move he made by gaining the support of Chalukya vassals during the Chola invasion of Chalukya territory.Sen ( ...
).
** The poem praises Kashmir in Canto 12
** The Kashmiri scholar
Jonaraja
Jonaraja (died A.D. 1459) was a Kashmiri historian and Sanskrit poet. His ' is a continuation of Kalhana's ' and brings the chronicle of the kings of Kashmir down to the time of the author's patron Zain-ul-Abidin (r. 1418–1419 and 1420–1470 ...
wrote a commentary on the text
** The only contemporary known to have quoted the poem was Jayaratha, also a Kashmiri.
** The manuscript was discovered in Kashmir
Date of composition
The poem is quoted by the Kashmiri scholar Jayaratha in his ''Vimarshini'' (c. 1200 CE), so it was definitely composed before this date.
The poem mentions Prithviraja's victory over
Muhammad of Ghor
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
in the
first Battle of Tarain
The First Battle of Tarain, also spelt as the First Battle of Taroari, was fought in 1191 between the invading Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor and the Rajput confederacy led by Prithviraj Chauhan, near Tarain (modern Taraori in Haryana, In ...
, but does not cover his defeat in the
second battle
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
. This indicates that it was most probably written during 1191-1192 CE, in the period between the two battles. Thus, ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' is the only extant literary text from the reign of Prithviraja.
Content
Canto 1
The first canto praises the ancient poets
Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the wikt:harbinger, harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on ...
,
Vyasa
Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
and
Bhasa. It also mentions the contemporary poets Krishna and Vishvaroopa. The poem eulogizes Vishvaroopa, a native of Ajmer, and a friend and guide of the author.
The poem then praises the king,
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- ...
, who greatly honoured the poet. It mentions that Prithviraja had shown a promise of future greatness during his childhood. It also mentions that the king was proficient in six languages.
Next, the poem describes
Pushkar
Pushkar is a city and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur.[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 ...]
. It states that Ajagandha Mahadeva, a temple dedicated to
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, was located at Pushkar. In the poem,
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
tells
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
that originally, there were three ''
yajna
Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...
-kunda''s (sacrificial fire pits) at the site, which eventually became lakes. Brahma requests Vishnu to take birth on the earth to "rectify the Muslim desecration of Pushkar", and as a result Prithviraja - whom the text identifies as a form of Vishnu - is born.
Canto 2
Chahamana, the founder of Prithviraja's dynasty, emerged from the orbit of the sun. He was thus a member of the legendary
solar dynasty
The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...
. His brother Dhananjaya served as his commander-in-chief. King
Vasudeva
According to Hindu scriptures, Vasudeva (Sanskrit: वसुदेव, IAST: ''Vasudeva''), also called Anakadundubhi, (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his b ...
was born in Chahamana's lineage.
Canto 3-4
![Sambhar lake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Sambhar_lake.JPG)
During a hunting expedition in a forest, Vasudeva found a magic pill and restored it to its owner, a
vidyadhara
Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit , literally "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered ''Upadeva''s, or demi ...
(supernatural being). The pleased vidyadhara told him that the goddess
Parvati
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
resided in the forest under the name
Shakambhari
Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. Aft ...
. He also magically conjured up a salt lake (the
Sambhar Salt Lake). He told Vasudeva that this lake would always remain in the possession of the king's family, protected by Shakambhari and
Ashapuri (the king's
family deity
A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism.
Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion ('' bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and ch ...
).
Canto 5
A genealogy of Prithviraja's ancestors is given:
The canto also briefly describes the reigns of some of the early Chahamana rulers:
* The sister of Govindaraja II (alias Guvaka II) had twelve suitors, but she married the king of
Kanyakubja
Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the c ...
(Kannauj). He defeated the other suitors, and gave their wealth to his sister.
* Chandanaraja's queen Rudrani, also called Atmaprabha or Yogini, installed 1000
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
s on the banks of the Pushkar lake. These lingams were like lamps that removed darkness.
* Vakpatiraja I won 188 battles, and constructed a Shiva temple at Pushkar.
* Vigraharaja II defeated
Mularaja
Mularaja () was the founder of the Chaulukya dynasty of India. Also known as the Chalukyas of Gujarat or Solanki, this dynasty ruled parts of present-day Gujarat. Mularaja supplanted the last Chavda dynasty, Chavda king, and founded an independe ...
, the king of
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 ...
, who had to flee to Kantha-durga (
Kanthkot). Vigraharaja built a temple of the goddess Ashapuri on the banks of the river Rewa (
Narmada).
* Vakpatiraja II killed Amba-Prasada, the ruler of Aghat.
* Viryarama was killed by
Bhoja
Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all h ...
of
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...
.
* Chamundaraja erected a Vishnu temple at Narpur (Narwar).
* Durlabharaja III died in a battle against the Matangas (Muslims).
* Vigraharaja II gave a horse named Saranga to
Udayaditya
Udayaditya (reigned c. 1070–1093) was a Paramara ruler of Malwa region of central India, who succeeded Jayasimha I. He was succeeded by his son, either Lakshmadeva or Naravarman.
Ascension
Udayaditya was a brother of Bhoja, the most reno ...
of Malwa. With help of this horse, Udayaditya defeated the king of Gujarat.
* Prithviraja I killed 700
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 ...
s who had come to rob the Brahmins in Pushkar. He also set up a charitable institution on the road to
Somnath.
* Ajayaraja II (alias Salhana) defeated the Muslims as well as Sulhana, the king of Malwa. He filled the world with silver coins, and his queen Somalekha was used to freshly minted coins every day. The queen built a
stepwell
Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...
in front of a temple. Ajayaraja II established the town of Ajayameru (Ajmer), which was full of temples and rightly deserved to be called
Meru
Meru may refer to:
Geography Kenya
* Meru, Kenya, a city in Meru County, Kenya
** Meru County, created by the merger of
*** Meru Central District
*** Meru North District
*** Meru South District
* Meru National Park, a Kenyan wildlife park
T ...
. The poem goes on to eulogize Ajayameru. For example, it states that the legendary great cities like
Lanka
Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...
and
Dvaraka were not fit even for the maidservants of Ajayameru.
Canto 6
Arnoraja
Arnoraja (IAST: Arṇorāja, r. c. 1135-1150 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. Arnoraja repulsed a Gha ...
defeated the Muslim invaders, many of whom were killed by the heroes of Ajayameru. To celebrate the victory, the king commissioned
a lake, and filled it with the water of the Chandra river (now called Bandi river). He also built a Shiva temple, and named it after his father Ajayaraja (now called the Ajaypal Temple).
Arnoraja had two wives: Sudhava of Avichi (
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tran ...
), and Kanchanadevi (the daughter of
Jayasimha Siddharaja
Jayasiṃha ( ), who assumed the title Siddharāja (), was an Indian king who ruled western parts of India. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Solanki) dynasty.
Jayasimha's capital was located at Anahilapataka (modern Patan) in pres ...
of Gujarat). Arnoraja and Sudhava had three sons, who were as different as the three
gunas (qualities). Of these,
Vigraharaja IV
Vigraharāja IV (r. c. 1150–1164 CE), also known as Visaladeva, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty in north-western India. He turned the Chahamana kingdom into an empire by subduing the neighbouring kingdoms of Chaulukya, Nadd ...
was like the ''
sattva
Sattva ( Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.Jame ...
guna'' (good qualities). The eldest son (
Jagaddeva, not named in the text) rendered the same service to Arnoraja as
Bhrigu's son did to his mother (that is, killed his parent). This son went out like a
wick
Wick most often refers to:
* Capillary action ("wicking")
** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp
** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts
Wick or WICK may also refer to:
Places and placename ...
, leaving behind an evil smell.
Someshvara Someshwara or its variant spellings ''Someshwar'', ''Someshvara'' and ''Someshvar'' may refer to:
* Soma (deity), a Vedic Hindu deity
* Shiva, a Hindu deity
People
* Someshvara I, 11th century Indian king from the Western Chalukya dynasty
* Somes ...
was the son of Arnoraja and Kanchandevi. Astrologers predicted that Someshvara's son (that is, Prithviraja III) would be an incarnation of the legendary divine hero
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
. Therefore, Jayasimha took Someshvara to his own court in Gujarat.
The poem then describes the legendary
lunar dynasty
The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities (''Som ...
, including
Soma
Soma may refer to:
Businesses and brands
* SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects
* Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems
* SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...
,
Budha
Budha ( sa, बुध) is a Sanskrit word that connotes the planet Mercury. Budha, in Hindu legends, is also a deity.
He is also known as Soumya (Sanskrit: सौम्य, lit. ''son of Moon''), Rauhineya and Tunga and is the Nakshatra lo ...
,
Paurava
The Pauravas were an ancient dynasty on the Indus (present-day India and Pakistan) to which King Porus may have belonged.
Porus and the Pauravas
The origins of the Pauravas are still disputed. The Pauravas may be related to the Puru tribe, due ...
and
Bharata as its members. A portion of the manuscript is missing after these verses. Next, the poem describes the legendary king
Kartavirya
Kartavirya Arjuna ( sa, कार्तवीर्य अर्जुन, ; also known as Sahasrabahu Arjuna or Sahasrarjuna) was a king of an ancient Haihayas kingdom with capital at Mahishmati which is on the banks of Narmada River in the ...
, and states that the
Kalachuris of Tripuri
The Kalachuris of Tripuri ( IAST: ), also known the Kalachuris of Chedi, ruled parts of central India during 7th to 13th centuries. They are also known as the Later Kalachuris to distinguish them from their earlier namesakes, especially the Kal ...
(the family of Prithviraja's mother) were descended from him through one Sahasikh ("courageous").
Canto 7
The poem states that
Jayasimha Siddharaja
Jayasiṃha ( ), who assumed the title Siddharāja (), was an Indian king who ruled western parts of India. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Solanki) dynasty.
Jayasimha's capital was located at Anahilapataka (modern Patan) in pres ...
(the maternal grandfather of Prithviraja III) was an incarnation of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
's devotee Kumbodhar. His successor
Kumarapala (literally "protector of a child") kept a young Someshvara close to himself, and thus became worthy of his name. When Someshvara grew up, he beheaded the king of
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
a during Kumarapala's invasion of that region. Someshvara married Karpura-devi, the princess of
Tripuri
Tripuri refer to:
*Tripuri people, an ethnic group in India and Bangladesh, also known as Tipra people
**Tripuri language
**Tripuri nationalism
**Tripuri calendar
**Tripuri culture
**Tripuri cuisine
**Tripuri dances
**Tripuri dress
**Tripuri games ...
.
The text then states that Prithviraja was born on the 12th day of the
jyeshtha
Jyeshtha or Jyēṣṭha ( sa, ज्येष्ठ; ne, जेठ ''jēṭ''; as, জেঠ ''zeth''; or, ଜ୍ୟେଷ୍ଠ ''Jyeṣṭha'') is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Jyestha is the third mon ...
month. It states the
planetary positions at the time of his birth, although some portions are missing from the only available manuscript.
Canto 8
The birth of Prithviraja was celebrated with many festivities. A
wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...
was appointed for his care. To protect him, a tiger's claw and images of
Vishnu's ten incarnations were attached to his necklace. The queen became pregnant again, and gave birth to
Hariraja
Hariraja (r. c. 1193–1194 CE ) was a king from the Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty who ruled parts of his ancestral kingdom (in present-day Rajasthan, India) for a brief period, before being defeated by the Ghurids. After the Ghurid invaders defe ...
in the
Magha month.
Vigraharaja IV
Vigraharāja IV (r. c. 1150–1164 CE), also known as Visaladeva, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty in north-western India. He turned the Chahamana kingdom into an empire by subduing the neighbouring kingdoms of Chaulukya, Nadd ...
died a happy man after hearing that the earth had been blessed with the two sons of his brother. The phrase "the friend of poets" disappeared with his death. His unmarried son
Aparagangeya
Amaragangeya (r. c. 1164-1165 CE ), also known as Aparagangeya, was an Indian king from the Chahamana dynasty. He ruled parts of north-western India, including present-day Rajasthan.
Amaragangeya was a son of the Chahamana king Vigraharaja IV. ...
also died.
Prithvibhata, the son of Sudhava's eldest son, also departed, as if to bring back Vigraharaja. The males were dropping like pearls from the line of Sudhava.
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
(the goddess of fortune) left Sudhava's lineage, and wished to see
Someshvara Someshwara or its variant spellings ''Someshwar'', ''Someshvara'' and ''Someshvar'' may refer to:
* Soma (deity), a Vedic Hindu deity
* Shiva, a Hindu deity
People
* Someshvara I, 11th century Indian king from the Western Chalukya dynasty
* Somes ...
(Prithviraja's father). Therefore, the Chahamana ministers brought Someshvara to Sapadalaksha (the Chahamana country).
Someshvara and Karpura-devi came to Ajayameru with their two sons, Prithviraja and Hariraja. Someshvara became the new Chahamana king, and established a new town where the palaces of Vigraharaja were located. He named this new town after his father Arnoraja, to remove the blot left by killing of Arnoraja by his eldest son.
In Ajayameru, Vigraharaja had constructed as many temples as the hill forts he had conquered. In the middle of these temples, Someshvara erected the Vaidyanath (Shiva) temple, which was taller than all of Vigraharaja's temples. He installed images of
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
,
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
and
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
in this temple. He also placed effigies of his father and himself riding horses in the temple premises. Just like
Meru
Meru may refer to:
Geography Kenya
* Meru, Kenya, a city in Meru County, Kenya
** Meru County, created by the merger of
*** Meru Central District
*** Meru North District
*** Meru South District
* Meru National Park, a Kenyan wildlife park
T ...
had five
Kalpavriksha
Kalpavriksha () is a wish-fulfilling divine tree in Indian religions, like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Its earliest descriptions are mentioned in Sanskrit literature. It is also a popular theme in Jain cosmology and Buddhism. ...
s, Someshvara built five temples in Ajayameru. He built so many temples at other places, that the population of city of gods declined.
Someshvara appointed the Queen to protect his young son, and then departed to be with his father in the
heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
. All his predecessors, from Chahamana to Prithvibhata came to welcome him, except Arnoraja's eldest son, who was hiding in the
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
.
Canto 9
During Karpura-devi's regency, the (Ajayameru) city was so densely populated and had so many man-made structures that the sun was not able to see more than a tenth of the land. Prithviraja's minister Kadamba-Vasa served him as
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
served
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
. He sent the armies in all the directions to add to the glory of the young king.
All branches of learning united and came to Prithviraja, and he became knowledgeable about all the arts and sciences that a king should be proficient in.
Kamadeva
Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati.
The Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe ...
took service with him to learn archery, and to stop living in fear of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
.
Prithviraja and his brother Hariraja were like
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
and
Lakshmana
Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...
. Prithviraja's maternal relative Bhuvanaika-Malla came to him to find out how he was able to protect the earth with only two arms. Bhuvanaika-Malla was an audacious warrior, and gave away all his wealth in charity. He wanted to raid
the South, but decided against doing that because the respected sage
Agastya
Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...
lived there. An incarnation of
Garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...
, he served the two brothers loyally, and subdued the Nagas.
With support of Kadamba-Vasa and Bhuvanaika-Malla, Prithviraja did many things for the welfare of his people.
Canto 10
![Prithvi Raj Chauhan (Edited)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Prithvi_Raj_Chauhan_%28Edited%29.jpg)
When Prithviraja became an adult, many princesses expressed their desire to marry him. His good fortune also presented him with many opportunities to wage wars. When Vigraharaja's son Nagarjuna conquered Gudapura, Prithviraja led an army against him and besieged the Gudapura fort. Nagarjuna relinquished the duty of a warrior, and fled from the fort. Prithviraja killed his warriors and captured the fort. He brought Nagarjuna's wife and mother to Ajmer, and placed the heads of his enemies on the Ajmer fort's battlements.
A
beef-eating mlechchha
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
named
Ghori had captured
Garjani in the North-West, where horses abound. His envoy was a bald man with the complexion of a
leper
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damage ...
, and spoke like wild birds. When he heard that Prithviraja had vowed to destroy the mlechchhas, he sent an ambassador to the Chahamana capital.
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
s (feudatory kings) took shelter in their fortresses in his fear. When he captured
Naddula
Nadol is a census town in Desuri tehsil of Pali district, India. Ashapura Mataji temple and Shri Nadol Tirth attract pilgrims.
History
Nadol was originally called Naddula. The Chahamanas of Naddula (called Chauhans of Nadol in vernacular lege ...
, Prithviraja became angry and vowed to subdue him.
Canto 11
![Fronton Cambodge Musée Guimet 9972](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Fronton_Cambodge_Mus%C3%A9e_Guimet_9972.jpg)
Prithviraja's minister Kadamba-Vasa advised him not to get angry and not to fight with Ghori. He said that the enemies will destroy themselves, just like
Sunda Sunda may refer to:
Europe
* Sunda, Faroe Islands
India
* Sunda (asura), an asura brother of Upasunda
* Sunda (clan), a clan (gotra) of Jats in Haryana and Rajasthan, India
Southeast Asia
* Sundanese (disambiguation)
** Sundanese people ...
and
Upasunda ruined themselves over
Tilottama
Tilottama ( sa, तिलोत्तमा, Tilottamā), is an apsara (celestial singer) described in Hindu mythology.
"Tilasma" is the Sanskrit word for a small particle and "uttama" means the ultimate. Tilottama, therefore, means the being ...
. Just then, a messenger from Gujarat arrived and informed Prithviraja that the king of Gujarat had
defeated
Defeated may refer to:
* "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song)
* "Defeated" (Anastacia song)
*"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love''
*Defeated, Tennessee, an unincorporated community
*''The Defeated
''The Defeated'', al ...
Ghori's forces. Prithvibhatta, the chief of the poets, praised Kadambavasa as Ghori had been defeated without any effort from the Chahamana side. He then narrated the story of Tilottama. Prithviraja dismissed the messenger after bestowing gifts upon him.
Prithviraja then visited his gallery, where Prithvbhatta showed him illustrations from the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'', and narrated the king's deeds in his previous birth as
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
. The king then saw a portrait of Tilottama, and
Kamadeva
Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati.
The Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe ...
(the god of love) overpowered him. Prithviraja began to long for Tilottama, and left the gallery at noon, wounded by the arrows of Kamadeva.
Canto 12
As Prithviraja came out of the gallery, he heard someone reciting a verse. The verse declared that a person who strives to get something gets it. Prithviraja asked Padmanabha (a minister of the former king Vigraharaja) who the reciter is. Padmanabha introduced the reciter as Jayanaka, a great poet-scholar from Kashmir, the seat of learning. Jayanaka explained that he came from Kashmir to Ajayameru, because the goddess of learning had asked him to serve the incarnation of
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
: Prithviraja.
The only extant manuscript of the text ends abruptly in the twelfth chapter. It is thus incomplete, but it mentions the victory of Prithviraja over Ghori in the
first Battle of Tarain
The First Battle of Tarain, also spelt as the First Battle of Taroari, was fought in 1191 between the invading Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor and the Rajput confederacy led by Prithviraj Chauhan, near Tarain (modern Taraori in Haryana, In ...
.
Historical reliability
Having been written at the court of Prithviraja, the text is one of the most important sources of information about the Chahamana dynasty.
According to
Har Bilas Sarda
Har Bilas Sarda (1867–1955) was an Indian academic, judge and politician. He is best known for having introduced the Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929).
Early life
Har Bilas Sarda was born on 3 June 1867 in Ajmer, in a Maheshwari family. ...
, the historical accuracy of the poem's narrative is supported by historical inscriptions, as well as
Jonaraja
Jonaraja (died A.D. 1459) was a Kashmiri historian and Sanskrit poet. His ' is a continuation of Kalhana's ' and brings the chronicle of the kings of Kashmir down to the time of the author's patron Zain-ul-Abidin (r. 1418–1419 and 1420–1470 ...
's commentary on it. For example, the genealogy of the
Chahamana dynasty given in the text is nearly same as the one provided by the 1170 CE
Bijolia
Bijoliya is a census town in Bhilwara district in the state of Rajasthan, India and is surrounded by nature and waterfalls and is famous for Tapodaya Teerth Kshetra and Mandakini Temple.
Geography
Bijoliya Kalan is located at . It has an aver ...
inscription. There are only minor differences; for example, the Bijolia inscription has:
* Guvaka instead of Govindaraja I (Guvaka being a
diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
of Govinda)
* Shashi-nripa instead of Chandraraja (the two words are synonyms)
* Vappyaraja instead of Vakpatiraja (variants)
* Gandu instead of Govindaraja III (a diminutive)
Sarda called ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' the most reliable literary work on the early history of the dynasty. Historian E. Sreedharan, on the other hand, described the text "an outrageous distortion of history" for its "
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
ization". He criticized the text for its characterization of Prithviraja as the divine incarnation of Rama. According to historian R. B. Singh of
Gorakhpur University
DDU Gorakhpur University (simply known as University of Gorakhpur) is located in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The University of Gorakhpur is a teaching and residential-cum-affiliating University. It is about . from the downtown to the east and al ...
, the text "suffers from literary embellishments", but "its contents find full confirmation from the epigraphic evidence".
See also
*
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 fr ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , author=Romila Thapar , title=Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnBMFaGMabYC&pg=PA119 , publisher=Verso , year=2005 , isbn=9781844670208
External links
Prithviraj Vijay Mahakabyamedited by Gaurishankar H. Ojha
Epic poems in Sanskrit
12th-century Indian books
Works about monarchs