Prithviraj Chauhan Tomb in Afghanistan insulted by spitting, stabbed with shoes by locals to avenge killing of their sultan Muhammad Ghori. Sher Singh Rana, prime accused in Phoolan Devi murder case, escaped from Tihar Jail and brought back remains of King’s grave to India.
After killing Ghori, Prithviraj and his poet friend Chand Bardai killed each other and their graves were made outside Muhammad’s grave.
Prithviraja III (1166–1192 CE ), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora was a king from the Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty. He ruled Sapadalaksha, the traditional Chahamana territory, in present-day north-western India. He controlled much of the present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi; and some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. His capital was located at Ajayameru (modern day Ajmer).
Prithviraj was born to the Chahamana king Someshvara and queen Karpuradevi. Both Prithviraj and his younger brother Hariraja were born in Gujarat, where their father Someshvara was brought up at the Chalukya court by his maternal relatives. According to Prithviraja Vijaya, he was born on the 12th day of the Jyeshta month. This book does not mention the year of his birth, but provides some of the astrological planetary positions at the time of his birth, calling them auspicious. Based on these positions and assuming certain other planetary positions, the year of Prithviraj’s birth was calculated as 1166 CE (1223 Vikram Samvat).
The same book states that he mastered 6 languages; while Prithviraj Raso, written by his friend poet Chand Bardai claims that he learned 14 languages.
He was master of history, mathematics, medicine, military, painting, philosophy (mimamsa), and theology. Both the texts state that he was particularly proficient in archery and learned the art of Sabda-Bhedi (hitting a target by concentrating on sound, while being blind-folded) during his childhood.
His father died when Prithviraj was around 11 years old and he ascended throne with his mother as the regent.
The biggest mistake in Indian History
Indian kings have been fighting within themselves and couple of times, they let invaders attack their own country men.
First was Jarasandha, who brought KalaYavan to attack Krishna in dwaraka to avenge his son-in-law Kamsa’s death. But he failed a Yavan was burnt alive by Muchukunda.
Second attempt was made when Alexander was helped to cross Khyber Pass, when he bribed King of Taxila with gold.
But Alexander failed to conquer India and left back.
Third attempt was made by Jai Chandra Rathod and that left India suffering for almost 1000 years.
Jai Chandra Rathod, the Gahadvala king of Kannauj of the Gujjar ethnic group, had a beautiful daughter named Samyukta.
She fell in love in Prithviraj Chauhan after hearing about his heroics. She was secretly communicating with him and this angered her father.
To stop their love, Jai Chandra announced Samyukta’s swayamvar and invited every eligible prince in the country, except Prithviraj.
To insult Chauhan, Jai chandra installed a life size statue of Chauhan at the gate of the Swyamwar arena , dressed up as a doorman.
Chauhan was provoked and he decided to elope with Samyukta.
During swayamvar, Samyukta walked through the court holding the ceremonial garland, ignoring the gazes of all her ardent suitors. She passed through the door and put the garland around the neck of Prithviraj’s statue, declaring him her husband.
Chauhan who was hiding in disguse nearby, immediately ran in scooped her inn his arms put her on his fast steed and made a daring getaway.
Jai Chand felt humiliated but he did not have enough strength to attack Chauhan.
So, he gave a Supari to Muhammad of Ghori, outside India with information as to how to enter India via the treacherous Khyber pass and attack Prithviraj.
First Battle of Tarain in 1191 CE
In 1191, Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori, leading an army of 120,000 men and horses, invaded India through the Khyber Pass and was successful in reaching Punjab. Chauhan had a larger army of 20000 men and 300 elephants. The two armies met at the town of Tarain, near Thanesar, in present-day Haryana, 150 kilometres north of Delhi.
Ghori could not handle Prithviraj’s forces and was captured as a war prisoner after being defeated.
Prithviraj showed mercy on him and let him return to Afghanistan, much against the wishes of his wife Samyukta and his ministers.
Infact, Prithviraj’s mother had warned him about her dream of an invader.
This one mistake made India ruled by invaders until 1947 CE.
Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 CE
An year later in 1192 CEat the Second Battle of Tarain, Ghori defeated Chauhan with a stronger and wiser army.
This time, Jai Chand was asked for help by chauhan but the angry father-in-law did not listen.
Prithviraj was chained and brought as a prisoner.
Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithviraj declared that the eyelids of a Rajput are lowered only in death.
Ghori made his men put red hot burning rods in Chauhan’s eyes and blinded him.
Later, Samyukta and women in fort burnt themselves as they did not want to be captured by Ghori and his men.
The trend of royal women burning themselves started after invaders starting raping even dead women, who committed suicide by consuming poison.
So, these women used to first burn their genitals and then burn entire body, to escape from the lust of invaders.
Jai Chand in remorse later drowned himself in the river Yamuna.
Thousands of hindus were forced to convert their religion.
Prithviraj wanted revenge and his only chance was created by Chand Bardai.
He provoked Muhammad of Ghori that Chauhan can hit a target by sound, despite being blinded. Ghori did not believe that a human can posess such talent and ordered for a demonstration.
Chand said to Prithviraj : “Char bans, chaubis gaj, angul ashta praman, Ta upar sultan hai, Chuke mat Chauhan…”
This was the poem recited by Chandbardai for Prithviraj Chauhan to kill Muhammad Gori. .
Translation: Four Bamboo lengths in front, then twenty four hands and eight fingers in height, the sultan is sitting. Dont miss him Chauhan.(Prithviraj was blinded then so Chandrabardai gave him the hint about Sultans’s exact location through his poem).
An arrow was shot by blind Prithviraj and Muhammad Ghauri died on the spot.
After killing Ghouri, Chand and Prithviraj stabbed each other to death, to avoid further humiliation by sultan’s men.
Later, these two were also laid to rest along with Ghori at the outskirts of Ghazni, at a small village called Deak in Afghanistan.
Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti planned Ghori’s attack on Prithviraj
12 years before Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti came to India, Prithviraj’s mother had a dream of an invader attacking their country.
Her son did not pay attention to this intuitive dream and paid the price.
Moinuddin Chisti had told his followers that at Mecca, he was instructed by Mohammed the Prophet in his dream to convert Hindus into Islam.
His men poisoned lakes of Pushkar and Anagasar, to weaken Chauhan’s army.
Historians have written that Prithviraj was captured and killed by Ghori but the later went on to rule for few more years, which is false.
If that was true, why would Prithviraj and Chand’s graves be kept outside Ghori’s grave and why would Afghans and Pakistanis spit and kick Chauhan’s tomb saying that this Kafir killed our Sultan..
Ex-Prime Minister of India and his men visited Afghanistan in August 2005. They visited invader Babur’s tomb but neglected Prithviraj Chauhan tomb.
They named the mountains in Afghanistan-Pakistan as Hindu Kush, as Kush means ‘Genocide‘ and it meant deliberate killing of a large group of Hindus.
Sher Singh Rana brought soil from Prithviraj Chauhan Tomb in 2005
Sher Singh Rana, the prime accused in the Phoolan Devi murder case, escaped from the jail two years earlier. He had a national mission in his mind, he wanted to bring the ashes of Rajput King Prithvi Raj Chauhan back to India whose ashes were buried in Afghanistan.
Rana brought relics and sand from the king’s grave in Ghazni and also had a memorial built in Etawah in UP.
He got a fake passport from Ranchi and flew to Afghanistan on a student visa in early 2005 about 10 months after his escape from Tihar. Subhash Thakur, whom he had first met in Tihar jail, financed his trip.
During his three-month stay in afghanistan, Rana went searching for the king’s grave.
After finding Prithviraj Chauhan’s tomb, Rana convinced the locals that he had come from Pakistan to restore Ghori’s tomb. On the sly, he dug Chauhan’s grave and collected sand from it.
In April 2005, he was back in India. He sent the ‘ashes‘ through courier to Etawah and organised a function there with the help of local politicians.