PRITHVIRAJA Prithviraja IIIalso called Prithviraj Cauhan  ( born c. 1166—died 1192 )  , also called Prithviraj Chauhan, Cauhan Rajput warrior king belonging to the clan of the Chauhans of Sapadalaksha who established the strongest kingdom in Rajasthan. Known for his legendary bravery, Prithviraja’s exploits have been recounted in several books written in the middle ages. His defeat in the second battle of Tarain Taraori (1192) at the hands of Muhammad Ghuri, the Muslim leader Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām (Muḥammad Ghūrī) marked a watershed in mediaeval medieval Indian history.

Ascending the throne in c. AD about 1177, the 11-year-old Prithviraja inherited a Cauhan kingdom that stretched from Thaneshwar in the north from Thaneshwar - once the famed capital of the seventh- century ruler Harshavardhan - to parts of Mewar in the south. Within three years of inheriting the throne, young Prithviraja personally assumed reins of the administration. While Prithviraja was trying to consolidate his position, Shihab-ud-Din Muizz-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Sam of Ghur (and Ghazna) - better known as Sultan Muhammad Ghuri - was trying to establish his authority in northern India.Soon after assuming power, Prithviraja a few years, Prithviraja had personally assumed control of the administration, but shortly after taking power, he was faced with a rebellion from his cousin, Nagarjuna, who asserted his own claim to the Chauhan throne. The revolt was brutally crushed. After demonstrating his mettle, and Prithviraja turned his attention to the nearby kingdom of the Bhadanakas, who were a constant . The Bhadanakas had been a persistent threat to the ChauhanCauhan-held region around Delhi. (Bhadanaka territory included parts of modern-day Gurgaon, Bhiwani and Hissar in Haryana, Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and some parts of the Punjab.) The Bhadanakas , but they were so comprehensively destroyed sometime prior to 1182 that they cease to find mention in later annalsvanish from subsequent historical records.

In 1182 Prithviraja defeated King Parmardin Deva Chandela, ruler of Jejakbhukti. While Although the campaign against the Chandelas enhanced Prithviraja’s reputation, it added to the number of his enemies. It united the Chandelas and Gahadavalas and forced Prithviraja to increase military expenditure and vigilance on his southeastern frontier.Prithviraja also turned his sword against the powerful kingdom of Gujarat. In the absence of adequate accounts, little is known about the campaign. In the course of his aggressive campaigns against the Bhadanakas, Chandelas, Chalukyas and Abu Parmars, he probably came into conflict with Jayacandra, the ambitions of the Gahadavala ruler of Kannauj, King Jayachand. Jayachand Jayacandra was not only eager to curb Prithviraja’s growing ambitions and quest for territorial expansion, but was also keen to avenge his father’s defeat by the Chauhans. Tradition, on the other handhowever, ascribes the immediate cause of their intense and bitter rivalry to the a romance between Prithviraja and Jayachand’s Jayacandra’s daughter, Sanyogita (also spelt Samyogita, Sanyukta, and Samyukta). The love of Prithviraja and Sanyogita , and the princess’s eventual abduction - (with her acquiescence - from the swayamvara (ceremony where a princess chose her bridegroom from an invited assembly of kings and princes) has ) have been immortalized in Chand Bardai’s epic Prithviraj RasauRaso (or Chand Raisa). This event is popularly believed to have occurred after the first battle of Tarain Taraori in 1191, and shortly before the second and final battle of Tarain between Ghuri and Prithviraja Taraori in 1192. However, there has been a prolonged debate amongst historians regarding , but the historicity of the Sanyogita episode remains a matter of debate.

While Prithviraja gathered fame as a romantic and dashing general, and a victor of numerous campaigns, Muhammad Ghuri was Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām of Ghūr was trying to assert his authority in northern India. Muʿizz al-Dīn was busy consolidating his empire in India, with the possession of SindSindh, Multan, and the Punjab to supplement his dominions of Ghazna and GhurGhūr. Towards Toward the end of 1190, Ghuri captured Tabarhindh (Bathinda)Muʿizz al-Dīn captured Bathinda, which formed a part of Prithviraja’s empire. In the meantime, tired of routine pillaging and frequent skirmishes with Ghuri’s troops, Govindaraja, the Chauhan representative looking after Delhi, As border raids by Muʿizz al-Dīn’s forces increased in frequency and intensity, the Cauhan representative in Delhi requested assistance from Prithviraja, who immediately marched against Muhammad Ghuri with a strong armyMuʿizz al-Dīn.

The rival two armies met at Tarain (now in Karnal district, Haryana), 129 km from Delhi. Amidst fierce fighting, Ghuri was seriously injured and was rescued by one of his young warriors. This disaster caused a panic in his army. Leaderless, Ghuri’s troops fled from the field and the victorious Prithviraja is said to have pursued the enemy forces for over 60 km.

Ghuri, following the embarrassing defeat, turned his attention towards raising a far stronger army and in 1192, with his preparations complete, he advanced with 120,000 men to Lahore and from there he continued towards Tarain. Meanwhile, an emissary was sent to Ajmer with a proposal that Prithviraja acknowledge Ghuri’s suzerainty. The proposal was met with contempt by the Chauhan king. Instead, he marched to meet his enemy with a vast army that included cavalry, elephants, and a large body of infantry soldiers. As many as 150 Rajput chiefs are said to have mustered under his banner. Despite the seemingly-invincible Chauhan army, the position of Prithviraja was not as secure as it appeared. Infighting and enmity within Prithvirajas camp had weakened his position.

On reaching Tarain, Prithviraja sent a letter to Ghuri suggesting he should withdraw his forces. The sultan did not reject the letter immediately. Instead, he asked for time to write to his brother in Ghazna and seek permission to withdraw; in the meantime, he agreed to call a truce. The ruse worked. Relying on Ghuri’s assurance, the Rajputs relaxed their vigil and are said to have spent the night in celebration. Just before daybreak, Ghuri launched a surprise attack on Prthviraja and his troops. Confusion ensued in the Rajput camp. Although taken by surprise, the Rajputs fought back fiercely. From morning till sunset the battle raged fiercely, but eventually, Prithviraja’s forces were routed. Prithviraja left the battleground, but was eventually overtaken and captured near Sursuti (modern Sirsa). This is supported by works such as Prithviraj-Prabandh, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, and Hammir-Mahakavya, which also state that he was put to death after a spell in captivityTaraori in 1191, about 70 miles (110 km) north of Delhi. Amid fierce fighting, Muʿizz al-Dīn was seriously injured, and his forces withdrew in disarray. Muʿizz al-Dīn raised a far stronger army consisting of Persians, Afghans, and Turks, and in 1192 he advanced again on Taraori. Prithviraja mustered an impressive force to meet Muʿizz al-Dīn, but infighting and enmity within the Rajput camp had weakened his position. Whereas the first battle hinged on the numerical weight that Prithviraja’s forces could bring to bear on the flanks of the Ghūrid army, the second was a study in mobility. Muʿizz al-Dīn used mounted archers to harass Prithviraja’s front lines, and when elements of Prithviraja’s army broke ranks to engage in pursuit, they were destroyed by heavy cavalry. The change in tactics confounded the Cauhan forces, and Prithviraja’s host was routed.

Prithviraja fled the battleground, but he was overtaken and captured a short distance from the site of the battle. Prithviraja and many of his generals were subsequently executed, and the collapse of organized resistance in northern India led to Muslim control of the region within a generation.