Though caught by surprise, the Indians fought back. They attacked Chauhan’s camp when the Indians were still asleep (traditional Indian battles ended at sunset). Lulling the Indians into believing he was still camping, he took his army away, and broke them into five divisions. As Chauhan sent him a note to sue for peace, he bought time, saying he needed to think it over. Ghori, however, used a subterfuge that India had not learnt to anticipate since the time of Porus. The two forces faced each other at Tarain, again. Chauhan, high on the victory of the previous year, might have thought he could push away Ghori again.
Some joined him, but many others, including the powerful Jaichand, were against him. Chauhan tried rallying allies, but the local rajas were divided. The next year, Ghori came charging again, fuelled by a thirst for avenging humiliation and an ambition to grab land. Was that because of the higher ideals of not pursuing a fleeing foe or was it because Chauhan underestimated his rival? This tactical error changed the course of history for India. What mattered was that Chauhan did not press his advantage he let Ghori go. These versions do not matter to the narrative. Some say Ghori beat an undignified retreat, some say he was captured and made to apologise to the Indian rulers whose lands he had attacked.
#PRITHVIRAJ CHAUHAN BIOGRAPHY IN HINDI LANGUAGE FULL#
The battle was fierce, but Chauhan was in full control. Chauhan rushed to its defence, and the two armies met at Tarain, in what came to be known as the First Battle of Tarain. Then, in 1191, Ghori attacked the fort of Bathinda at the edge of Chauhan’s kingdom. Prior to the battles of Tarain, Chauhan and Ghori had several encounters, it is believed, and Chauhan emerged victor in all of them. But, with so much romanticisation in these versions, it is another challenge to get the real story. Unlike the Alexander-Porus clash, of which there is no Indian version, this one was recorded by both sides. Slowly, however, Ghori managed to conquer Punjab and Sindh his territories were now touching Chauhan’s. Like Mahmud of Ghazni from a previous century, Ghori, too, ransacked and destroyed temples in his path. Ghori’s base was modern- day Afghanistan, and he made constant forays into Indian territory, sometimes near Gujarat, sometimes elsewhere. Into this scenario, Muhammad Ghori made an entry. The poem is attributed to Chand Bardai, a poet in Chauhan’s court. Braj Bhasha poem Prithviraj Raso says that Prithviraj Chauhan knew 14 languages and was well-versed in a number of subjects, including history, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and painting, besides archery.
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