Prithviraj Chauhan was the last independent Hindu king to sit on the throne of Delhi. He succeeded to the throne in 1169 CE at the age of 20, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi which he received from his maternal grandfather Ballal Sena of the Sena Dynasty in Bengal.
His love story with Samyukta, the daughter of his enemy, Jaichand, is very famous. His elopment with Samyukta her on the day of her ‘Swayamwara’ is a popular romantic tale in India, and is one of the subjects of the Prithviraj Raso, an epic poem composed by Chauhan’s court poet and friend, Chand Bardai.
Muhammad Ghori attacked India in 1191 and he was defeated at the first battle of Tarain. After defeating the army of Muhammad Ghori he was asked to attack the retreating army but in true Rajput tradition he refused to do so as it did not conform to the fair war rules. As a result Muhammad Ghori again attacked India and in the second battle of Tarain Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated and captured. He was treated very badly, his eyes were burnt with red-hot irons and he was made blind. But Prithviraj did not lose courage. Helped by his court poet and friend Chand Bardai, he is believed to have killed Muhammad Ghori with his skill of hitting a target just on the basis of a sound produced by it. He displayed this skill during an archery competition organized by Muhammad Ghori. When Muhammad Ghori praised him Prithviraj heard Ghori’s voice and shot an arrow at him. Muhammad Ghori was thus killed. In order to escape death at the hands of enemies he and his friend Chand Bardai stabbed each other.
Prithviraj Raso of Chand Bardai and Prithviraja Vijaya of Jayanak have immortalized heroic life and deeds of Pritviraj Chauhan.