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Statue of Prithvi Raj Chauhan at Ajmer

Prithviraj Chauhan (1168-1192 CE) Prithviraj Chauhan was a king of the Rajput Chauhan (Chauhamana) dynasty, who ruled a kingdom in northern India during the latter half of the 12th century.

Prithviraj Chauhan was the second last Hindu king to sit upon the throne of Delhi (the last Hindu king being Hemu). He succeeded to the throne in 1179 CE at the age of 11, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi. He controlled much of Rajasthan and Haryana, and unified the Rajputs against Muslim invasions. His elopement with Samyukta, the daughter of Jai Chandra, the Gahadvala king of Kannauj, is a popular romantic tale in India, and is one of the subjects of the Prithviraj Raso, an epic poem composed by Prithviraj's court poet and friend, Chand Bardai.

Prithviraj fought and defeated the Afghan ruler Muhammad Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191 CE but was later defeated at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 CE. After his defeat, India was open to invasion by Muslim invaders, and Delhi came under the control of the Muslim rulers. Qila Rai Pithora in Delhi, also known as Pithoragarh, is named after him.

Prithviraj Chauhan's succession had been rather confused since the death of Vigraha-raja in 1165; Prithviraj reconsolidated control of the Chauhan kingdom and conquered several neighboring kingdoms, which made his state the leading Hindu kingdom in northern India. Delhi was captured from the Tomara Rajputs during the early years of his reign, and was renamed Qila Rai Pithora. He campaigned against the Chandela Rajputs of Bundelkhand. His kingdom included much of the present-day Indian states of Rajasthan and Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Princely Nabha jewel in the crown of India and families from Nabha has close relations with the Great Prithviraj Chauhan.

Coin of Prithiviraja of Chauhans or Chahamanas of Ajmer/Delhi , circa 1179 AD -1192 AD.
Obv: Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right.Devnagari Legends : Sri Pr/thvi raja deva'. Rev: Recumbent bull facing left ,trishula on bulls rump,Devnagari Legends : Asavari / Sri Samanta deva.

Prithvi Raj Chohan, also called Rai Pathora, was the ruler of Ajmir and Delhi, by far the strongest of all the rulers of Northern India at the end of the twelfth century. He was brave, powerful, haughty and considered the flower of Rajput chivalry. His brother KHANDEY RAI (or GOBIND RAI - some historians called him Prithvi's relative whose daughter was married to Prithvi) was the viceroy of Delhi. Prithvi's first cousin Jaichand, Raja of KANAUJ, had strained relations with Prithvi because their grandfather (father of their mothers) had allowed Prithvi to inherit the throne of Delhi. Also because Prithvi had abducted the beautiful daughter of Jaichand in a daring raid

Anangpal Tomara II , the King of Delhi, had two daughters, Roopsundari and Kamaladevi. Roopsundari married Vijaypal, King of Kannauj. They had a son Jai Chandra. His daughter was named Sanyogita. Kamaladevi married Someshwar Chauhan, the King of Ajmer. Prithviraj was their son, born after 10 years of marriage. Pratha, his sister marries his friend Samar Singh (King of Chittor). His uncle Kanh's daughter was married to Raja Pajawan or Pajjun of Amber.

Prithviraj was born c. 1168 to king Someshwara Chauhan and his wife Karpurawali. He was renowned to be the sharpest among all the princes in the household^{[citation needed]}.

At gurukul , Prithviraj learnt shastra vidya (weaponry, armed combat), sahitya (literature), kala (arts) and rajniti shastra (politics).It was here that he learned the art of "shaabd bhedi baan vidhya" that is hittitng a target without seeing the target, that is only on the basis of sound^{[citation needed]}.

With the stories of Prithviraj's courage, valour and intelligence spreading far and wide, Anangpal the King of Delhi decided to make him the king of delhi instead of jai chandra. Thus he was crowned prince of Delhi at the young age of 13 years^{[citation needed]}.

Prithviraj at the age of 12 killed Bheemdev Solanki, the king of Gujarat, who betrayed his father Someshwar Chauhan^{[citation needed]}.

Muhammad Ghori, hailing from Ghor in present-day Afghanistan, grew increasingly powerful. He conquered Ghazni and subsequently defeated the Ghaznavid governor of Punjab. Muhammad Ghori's domain now touched upon that of Prithviraj Chauhan. A clash was inevitable.

Muhammad Ghori invaded Prithviraj's domains and laid siege to the fortress of Bhatinda in Punjab, which was at the frontier between the two kingdoms. Prithviraj's appeal for help from his father-in-law was scornfully rejected by the haughty Jaichandra. Undaunted, Prithviraj marched on Bhatinda and gave battle to the invaders at a place called Tarain near the town of Thanesar.

In face of the Rajput onslaught, the invading Muslim army was defeated. Ghouri went back to present day Afghanistan to prepare for a second invasion.

In 1192 AD, Ghori again invaded India with an army of men sweared to take revenge. Both the armies faced each other again at Tarain. Shahabuddin Ghauri immerged victorious and the hold of Muslims on northern India became permanent. Later the Rajput?s king-doms like Saraswati, Samana, Kohram and Hansi were captured without any difficulty. Then Sultan proceeded to Ajmer. Nobody challenged him but the son?s of defeated and slain Rajas welcomed him and accepted him. After reaching Ajmer, he handed over the kingdom to Prithvi Raj?s son, Kola, who took the oath of loyalty

It is said that in the final battle with Prithviraj Chauhan Ghori had divided his army into 4 groups & placed them in 4 different directions. Also Jaichand had promised to help Ghori in the event of his defeat. Prithivraj & his men bravely faced Ghori & they were successful in defeating 3 sections of his army held in 3 directions. The fourth & the last group of his army treachorously attacked the rajputs in the early hours of dawn where they were busy doing their daily religious prayers & rituals, & thus major portion of Prithviraj's Army was wiped, thereby leading to his defeat.

The greatest myth/fact of the whole story lies in the fact that there have been certain incidents mentioned especially in the local Rajasthani language stating that PrithviRaj Chauhan actually defeated Mohammad Ghori more than twice but rather six times & he generously allowed him to return back. Also after the defeat of Prithvi Raj Chauhan in the seventh battle, he was taken to Ghor, where he was blinded for not accepting the supremacy of Mohammad Ghori. Chand Bardai a poet cum friend of Prithviraj came to his rescue by devising a plan to kill the sultan of Ghor. Chand approached the Sultan of Ghor & informed him that Prithviraj was an excellent archer & could hit any target just by hearing the sound & would only accept this order by a king.This proposal was accepted by Ghori. On the said day, Ghori sitting in his royal enclosure had Prithiviraj brought to the ground and had him unchained for the event. On Ghori's ordering Prithviraj to shoot, Prithiviraj turned in the direction from where he heard Ghori speak and struck Ghori dead with his arrow. This event is described by Chand Bardai in the couplet, "Char bans, chaubis gaj, angul ashta praman, Ete pai Sultan hai (Taa Upar hai Sultan). Ab mat chuko Chauhan."(Ten measures ahead of you and twenty four feet away, is seated the Sultan, do not miss him now, Chouhan). The proof of this lies in Ghor Afghanistan where there is a Tomb Of Mohammad ghori next to which lies a tomb which mentions"Here lies the Kafer(Non Believer of Islam) king of Delhi".

• Hemu, the last Hindu King of Delhi.