Prithviraja I

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 in north-western India.

Prithviraja I
Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara
King of Sapadalaksha
Reignc. 1090-1110 CE
PredecessorVigraharaja III
SuccessorAjayaraja II
DynastyChahamanas of Shakambhari

Early life

Prithviraja succeeded his father Vigraharaja III on the Chahamana throne.[1] The 1105 CE Jinamata inscription gives his title as Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara, which indicates that he was a powerful king.[2]

Military successes

The Prithviraja Vijaya claims that a band of 700 Chaulukyas came to Pushkara Tirtha to rob the Brahmins 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 or Jayasimha Siddharaja, the Chaulukya kings of Gujarat.[3] However, because the text does not provide any additional information, this cannot be said with certainty.[4]

The Prabandha Kosha states that Prithviraja "pulled away the arms" of one Baguli Shah.[3] This probably refers to his repulsion of a Ghaznavid invasion. Minhaj-i-Siraj, in his Tabaqat-i Nasiri, mentions that during the reign of Mas'ud III, the Ghaznavid general Hajib Taghatigin raided India, going beyond the Ganga river. It is possible that Baguli Shah was a subordinate of Hajib Taghatigin.[5]

Religious activities

Prithviraja appears to have been a Shaivite.[4] According to the Prithviraja Vijaya, he built a food distribution centre (anna-satra) on the road to Somnath temple for pilgrims.[3]

He also patronized Jainism. Vijayasimha Suri's Upadeśāmālavritti (1134 CE) and Chandra Suri's Munisuvrata-Charita (1136 CE) state that he donated golden kalashas (cupolas) for the Jain temples at Ranthambore.[4]

References
  1. Dasharatha Sharma 1959, p. 37.
  2. Dasharatha Sharma 1959, pp. 37-38.
  3. R. B. Singh 1964, p. 128.
  4. Dasharatha Sharma 1959, p. 38.
  5. R. B. Singh 1964, p. 129.

Bibliography
  • Dasharatha Sharma (1959). Early Chauhān Dynasties. S. Chand / Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 9780842606189.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • R. B. Singh (1964). History of the Chāhamānas. N. Kishore. OCLC 11038728.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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