Prithvirāja I (r. c. 1090–1110 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

in north-western India.

Early life

Prithviraja succeeded his father Vigraharaja III on the Chahamana throne. The 1105 CE Jinamata inscription gives his title as ''Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara'', which indicates that he was a powerful king.

Military successes

The ''

Prithviraja Vijaya ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an eulogy, eulogistic Sanskrit kavya, epic poem on the life of the Indian Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chahamana king Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan ...

'' claims that a band of 700 Chaulukyas came to Pushkara Tirtha to rob the

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

s during the reign of Prithviraja I. The Chahamana king defeated and killed them. This legend may be a reference to Prithviraja's conflict with either

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is the son of Surya (the Sun deity) and princess Kunti (later ...

Jayasimha Siddharaja Jayasiṃha, who assumed the title Siddharāja, ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat between 1092 and 1142. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Solanki) dynasty. Jayasimha's capital was located at Anahilapataka (modern Patan) in present-day ...

, the

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

kings of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. However, because the text does not provide any additional information, this cannot be said with certainty. The ''

Prabandha Kosha ''Prabandha-Kosha'' (IAST: Prabandhakośa) is an Indian Sanskrit-language collection of ''prabandha''s (legendary biographical narratives). It was compiled by the Jain scholar Rajashekhara Suri in 1349 CE. It describes the lives of 24 people, inclu ...

'' states that Prithviraja "pulled away the arms" of one Baguli Shah. This probably refers to his repulsion of a

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...

invasion.

Minhaj-i-Siraj Minhaj-al-Din Abu Amr Othman ibn Siraj-al-Din Muhammad Juzjani (born 1193), simply known as Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, was a 13th-century Persian historian born in the region of Ghur. In 1227, Juzjani immigrated to Ucch and, thereafter, to Delhi. ...

, in his ''

Tabaqat-i Nasiri ''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' (), named for ''Sultan'' Nasir-ud-Din, is an elaborate history of the Islamic world written in Persian by Minhaj-i-Siraj Juzjani and completed in 1260. Consisting of 23 volumes and written in a blunt straightforward style, J ...

'', mentions that during the reign of

Mas'ud III Mas'ūd III of Ghazna (b. 1061 – d. 1115), was a sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire and son of Ibrahim of Ghazna. Life Mas'ūd was born in 1061 in Ghazni. Reign Mas'ud was sultan for 16 years. In 1112, Mas'ūd III built the Palace of Sultan ...

, the Ghaznavid general Hajib Taghatigin raided India, going beyond the

Ganga river The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

. It is possible that Baguli Shah was a subordinate of Hajib Taghatigin.

Religious activities

Prithviraja appears to have been a

Shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

. According to the ''

'', he built a food distribution centre (''anna-satra'') on the road to Somnath temple for pilgrims. He also patronized

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. Vijayasimha Suri's ''Upadeśāmālavritti'' (1134 CE) and Chandra Suri's ''Munisuvrata-Charita'' (1136 CE) state that he donated golden

kalasha A kalasha, also called Pūrṇa-Kalaśa, Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa, also called ghat or ghot or kumbh ( , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large ...

s (cupolas) for the Jain temples at Ranthambore.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chahamanas of Shakambhari Chahamana kings of Shakambhari 11th-century Indian monarchs 12th-century Indian monarchs