Story of Maharaj Prithviraj Chauhan
The battle of Gāḍarāraghaṭṭa pass brought peace to the whole Mevad region for 15 years.
During these peaceful days, another major force was spreading its wings in the region of Mewad. The force is known to modern India as Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan. He succeeded his father Someshwara in 1175 and became the new ruler of the Chauhan dynasty.
At the time of their succession, Prithviraj Chauhan was only 11 years old. he quickly stabilized their kingdom of Ajmer and united all 100 small Rajput clans in the region.
In 1191, when Ghori conquered the region of Punjab, he quickly sent his forces to the east where the kingdom of Ajmer stood proudly. He along with his horses captured the city of Bathinda ( at that time Arab raiders called the city as Tabar-E-Hind (Gateway to India)).
Upon hearing the news, Prithviraj Chauhan led his Rajput forces along with the king Govindraja of Delhi. He led a siege to the city of Bathinda for 13 months and forced the forces of Ghori to surrender.
After Maharaj Prithviraj Chauhan captured Ghori, he made him apologize to all the kings whose territory he looted. This battle was known as the first battle of Terrain (When I searched, Terrain is actually Kurukshetra in Mahabharata).
Eventually, after Muhammad Ghori apologized to all the Hindu kings whose territory he looted, Prithviraj Chauhan released him.
After this first battle of Terrain, Maharaj Prithviraj Chauhan fought a total of 21 wars with Ghori while capturing him. But due to his benevolence, Prithviraj Chauhan decided to release him every single time.
Little did he know, the poisonous snake he released that time would bite him back a few years later…
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While all the wars were happening in Kurukshetra, wheels of fate started to spin and In the kingdom of Varanasi / Gahadavala ( present-day Uttar Pradesh), a young maiden started writing a letter to her lover. The maiden's name was Sanyogita. A country toppling beauty was a perfect depiction of her beauty.
Author note: Gahadavala in my opinion sounds more like a title than a dynasty name.
Even before seeing the face of Prithviraj Chauhan, Just hearing his glorious achievements alone, she decided to marry him. She even went to the point where she specifically made a golden statue of Prithviraj Chauhan.
But, there was a problem, her father king Jaichand (Original name Jaichandra ) did not approve of their relationship and outright refused his daughter's wish to marry Prithviraj Chauhan. He even arranged a 'Swayamvar' ceremony for his daughter's marriage.
That time, without his father's notice, Sanyogita wrote a letter to Prithviraj Chauhan saying that she will only marry him and to come and rescue her from the Swayamvar ceremony.
Days passed and it was the day of Sanyukta's Swayamvar ceremony. Royal families from all over India were invited except for Prithviraj Chauhan. But, little did Jaichand know that as soon as the Swayamvar ceremony started, Prithviraj Chauhan barged in and took Sanyogita away from the marriage hall.
After this incident, the earlier friendly relations between both kingdoms soured. This made the political situation in north India unstable. Little did they know, A wolf was waiting for such an opportunity in the dark. The wolf's name was Muhammad Ghori.
The time was 1192, After seeing the political instability in India, Muhammad Ghori led 150,000 soldiers and attacked the kingdom of Ajmer. Among his army were four legions of infamous mamluks, the famous slave horseriders from modern-day Turkey. They were known for their horseback archery. Their leader, the commander of all Memulk forces, Qutbuddin Aibak.
Author note: 1 legion = 10,000 horses.
On his march towards the kingdom of Ajmer, Ghori secretly contacted Jaichand of Varanasi and made a deal with him to get rid of Prithviraj Chauhan. The traitor Jaichand accepted his conditions and made a deal with Muhammad Ghori where he told him the secret paths that lead into the Ajmer territory.
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When the news of Ghori camping near Kurukshetra (or Terrain) reached Ajmer, Prithviraj Chauhan gathered all the 100 Rajput clans and marched towards Kurukshetra.
He also sent a messenger towards the camp of Ghori urging Ghori to return back.
To which Ghori replied, " I do not have the right to halt campaigns." He also stated that "I will convey this message to the sultan of the Ghurid dynasty, Ghori's brother. Until then we will accept a peace treaty…!"
Prithviraj Chauhan Happily accepted Ghori's peace treaty and camped his forces south of the Kurukshetra.
At night, as per usual, Ghori ordered his soldiers to start campfires and secretly lead his army towards an unknown place. While retreating, if one looked closely, they would discover that the four mamluk legions were missing among the Ghori forces.
When Prithviraj Chauhan saw campfires in the Arab camp, he also told his soldiers to make food and take some rest.
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At night, when everybody in the Rajput camp was sleeping…
"Neigh~...."
Sounds of horses came from the back side of the camp and before the Rajput warriors could think of what was happening, Memulek horseback archers invaded the Rajput camp and started killing half-asleep Rajput soldiers.
After the initial chaos, Prithviraj Chauhan quickly took the situation into his own hands and started a Rajput counterattack on the mamluks.
Seeing his forces quickly losing ground, Qutubuddin Aibak ordered his soldiers to retreat towards the Kurukshetra.
Following decision that Prithviraj Chauhan made him lose the second battle of terrain (Kurukshetra).
He decided to chase after the Memulek forces that were retreating. This chase continued till early in the morning when suddenly, the main force of Ghori ambushed Rajput forces from the side.
Seeing his mistake, Prithviraj Chauhan ordered his men to retreat but it was too late…More than 100,000 Rajput warriors died in the battle. Most importantly, Maharaj Prithviraj Chauhan was captured.
After his grand victory, Ghori ordered his slave Qutubuddin Aibak to go and raid the territories of Ajmer. At that time he destroyed more than 300 temples in Ajmer including the Kalika Mata temple, the protector deity of all the Rajputs.