History of PRC and Sanyo - Page 34

Thanks for the information ayesha dear!

A HISTORY OF HINDI LITERATURE

Ghazni made one of his raids into India. He is celebrated
in a short poem called Btsdl Dev Raso, the date of which
is unknown, but which has been considered by some to
belong to the thirteenth century. Till these poems are
dated and their language thoroughly examined by scholars, it
is not possible to say what evidence they give as to the date
when the modern vernacular became clearly distinguished
from the earlier Prakrit, and as even the Pritt Raj Rdso,
which is dated in 1191, is said by such an eminent authority
as Sir George Grierson to be 'abounding in pure Apabhramsa
Sauraseni Prakrit forms,' it would be rash in the absence of
further evidence to place the date of the emergence of the
modern vernaculars of Hindustan much earlier than the
beginning of the twelfth century.

Chand Bardai. PrithI Raj (also called Prithvi Raj or Rai

Pithora), who was born 1159 and killed in 1192, was the

Chaiihan ruler of Ajmer and Delhi at the time of the battles of

Tarain, in the second of which he was captured and afterwards

slain. He was a great patron of literature, and besides Ananya

Das, mentioned above, his court was also attended by the

famous bard Chand Bardal. Chand Bardal belonged to an old

family of bards, and the famous poet, Sur Das, is said by some

to have been one of his descendants. He came to the court of

PrithI Raj and was appointed as his minister and poet laureate.

His poetical works were collected by Amar Singh of Mewar

in the seventeenth century, and it is probable that they were

then recast and partially modernized though still full of

archaic language. Chand's chief work is the PritJn Raj Rdso.

In this famous poem of sixty-nine books and 100,000 stanzas

he gives the life of his patron and the history of the tune in

which he wrote. Chand Bardal and his patron were both

killed after the battle of Tarain in 1 192. Legend and fiction

are mixed up with history in the Pritfu Raj Roto. The

repeated conflicts related to have taken place between PrithI

Raj and Sultan Shihabuddln seem to be quite unhistorical, and

the Mughals are brought on the stage thirty years before they

really appeared in Indian history. It is therefore doubtful

whether the document in its entirety is a contemporary poem,

but the language used* which is transitional in character and

abounds in strange forma which have long since ceased to be



EARLY BARDIC CHRONICLES 13

used, makes it seem likely that the original core of the poem
is certainly the work of Chand Bardai, and that it is one of
the earliest poems in Hindi which have survived. Owing to
the difficulty of the language it is a poem not easy to read
even for scholars, but those who have studied it have a high
opinion of its literary merits. It is of immense value from
the point of view of linguistic study.

The following lines are taken from the twentieth book of
Chanel's epic. The fair Padmavati, daughter of Padam Sen,
an opponent of Prithi Raj, had heard of the nobility of
Prithi Raj, as he had of her beauty, and when her marriage
\vas arranged with another, she sent a message by a parrot to
Prithi Raj to come and rescue her. Prithi Raj came with an
army to seize her as his bride:

Watching the road in the direction of Delhi,

Happy was she when the parrot returned,

Hearing the news, glad were her eyes ;

The maiden was elated with the tokens of love,

She tore off the dirty clothes from her body,

Purified, and anointed, and adorned herself with robes,

Called for priceless jewels (for her person) from head to foot,

Arrayed 'with the tokens of the king of love.

Filling a golden tray with pearls,



Lighting a lamp she waved it round.

Taking her confidante with her, boldly the maiden

Goes as Rukmini went to meet M ur&ri ;

Worshipping Gauri, revering Sankar ;

Circumambulating and touching their feet.

Then on seeing King Prithi Raj,

She smiled bashfully, hiding her face through shame.

Seizing her hand, putting her on horseback,

The King, the Lord of Delhi, took her away.

The rumour spread that, outside the city,

They are carrying off PadmSvatI by force.

>rums are beat, there is saddling of horse and elephant,

They ran, armed, in all directions.

* Seize ! Seize I * shouted each warrior.

Rage possessed the heroes and their king.

When King Prithi Rfij was going in front

With all his army behind him,

There the horsemen advancing arrived;

King meeting King, the warriors joined in battle,

When Prithi Rfij the King turns rein,

The heavens stand still, the world-serpent shakes.

The chiefs and heroes all look (awful) as death,

Eager for blood on rushes the King,

It has been mentioned in the Vaisnava
Lilamrta that before the coronation of Bhima Deva,
Jayadeva had passed away at Puri. Bhima Deva
of the Vaisnava Lilamrta may be either emperor
Aniyanka Bhima Deva (1190-1198 A.D.) or
Ananga Bhima Deva of Ganga dynasty, who ruled
from 1211-1238 A.D. The possibility of his being
the earlier Anyanka Bhimadeva (1190-1198
A.D.) is more because Chand Bardai of the
durbar of Prithviraj Chowhan of Delhi had
mentioned about Jayadeva and Gitagovinda in his
book Prthviraj Rasa much before 1192 A.D., the
year of death of Prithiviraj and fall of the last Hindu
king of Delhi.
According to the Vaisnava Lilamrta, Bhima
Deva, at the request of the Sevakas, had built the
Natamandira for recital of the Gitagovinda. Of
course it was about three centuries after the
introduction of the Gitagovinda in the temple
worship that the poet Madhava Patnaik
composed the Vaisnava Lilamrta. If it is taken
that Jayadeva was living at that time, he must have
received royal recognition and patronage. In the
words of Madhava Patnaik :
"Vipra se Jayadeve nama
Ksetrabaraku agamana.
Kenduli sasana ta grama
Prachi nadire tate puna.
Niali Madhava samipe
Bhagati kala nana rupe.
Sastra purane vichaksna
Kavitva marge tara mana.
Gita se rachivi boila
Ksetravaraku mana dela.

Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala': Encyclopedia II - Hindi literature - History

Hindi literature - Adi kaal before 1400 CE. In ancient period of Hindi or Adi Kaal (before 1400 CE), Hindi literature was developed in the states of Kannauj, Delhi and Ajmer. Delhi was ruled by Prithviraj Chauhan and his court poet was Chand Bardai. His eulogy on Prithiviraj Chauhan called the Prithviraj Raso was considered one of the first works in the History of Hindi Literature. Kannauj's last Rathore ruler was Jayachand, who gave more patronage to Sanskrit (which was no longer the common man's language ...

See also:

Hindi literature, Hindi literature - History, Hindi literature - Adi kaal before 1400 CE, Hindi literature - Bhakti Kaal, Hindi literature - Ritikavya Kaal, Hindi literature - Modern Period after 1800, Hindi literature - Chhayavaadi Movement, Hindi literature - Hindi literature today, Hindi literature - Prominent Figures of Hindi literature

Read more here: Hindi literature: Encyclopedia II - Hindi literature - History

Of all the works written in the Hindi language, old and new, the great epic Prithviraj Raso by Chand Bardai is, so far as present researches go, admittedly the most ancient and authoritative one. There is only one solitary verse which claims to be an earlier composition. But luckily and strangely enough this very first composition in our northern vernacular literature refers to the word Hindusthan, in terms full of pride and patriotic fervour. The poet, Ven, father of Chand Baradai addresses the Raja of Ajmer, the father of Prithviraj—

Chand Baradai who may justly be called the first poet of Hindi literature, uses the words Hindi, Hindawan, Hind so often and so naturally as to leave no doubt of their being quite common and accepted terms as far back as the eleventh century, when the Mohammedans had not secured any permanent footing even in Punjab and therefore could not have influenced the independent and proud Rajputs to adopt a degrading nickname invented by their foes and make it their national and proud appellation. Describing how Shahabuddin taken prisoner by the Hindus, was let go by the noble Prithviraj on condition that he would not again attack the 'Hindus'. Chand says—

But Shahabuddin was not a man to be won over by Hindu chivalry. Again and again he sallies forth and a fierce fight ensues to the boundless joy of that divine cynic Narada :—

and again

till at last

But in spite of his efforts to crush the Hindus Shahabuddin lost the day and the triumphant news sent Delhi mad with joy that Pajjunrai had once more taken Shahabuddin a prisoner. The populace greeted their king Prithviraj :—

Further pledges solemnly entered by the man who had broken his former pledges as solemnly given, succeeded in securing the release of the Shah once more and once more, but now for the last time, did he invade Hindusthan and by a fell swoop was almost at the gate of Delhi. The council of war is summoned by the Hindapati Prithviraj, insolent challenge is sent by Shahabuddin, the Rawals and Samantas are aflame when Chamundrai tells the Mohammedan messenger to remind Shah of the dust he had licked and adds :—

The fatal day drew near and both the sides knew it was a desparate game. Chandbaradai almost on the eve of the defection of Hameer, approaches the Goddess Durga and opens his prayer so pathetic and so patriotic thus —

After having narrated the fateful results of the battle and the consequent plot that enabled Shahabuddin to strike Prithviraj dead, the poem ends with paying a last touching tribute to the fallen Hindu Emperor—

1. Muhammad Gori was defeated 17 times and captured 6 times in person .Not even by Prithviraj but merely by his generals like Dhir Pundir
,Chamundrai. etc.such was power of his army.
Every time Prithviraj showing his magnanimity let him go.

2. His uncle Kanh was so powerful that he couldn't bear anybody raise his moustache in front of him. For this reason he killed many rajputs of gujrat. This was the reason of war between ajmer and gujrat. Prithviraj was so upset at him that he requested him to wear a cloth-shield over his eyes. which he did for all his lifetime. It was he hold the ground when prithviraj eloped with samyogita.

3. Jaychand so detested prithviraj that he made a statue of prithviraj and placed as door keeper to insult him. But samyogita garlanded his statue only.

4. Prithviraj was so obsessed with his wife samyogita that samarsi, his sister's hisband had to wait for 40 days to meet him. This obsession with samyogita was the reason of his fall.

5. Some of the brave generals of Prithviraj were also upset with him as he punished them for petty things. He kept Kaimas ,his general captive due to his affair with a maid servant. He also imprisoned,chamundrai,his finest soldier.
One of his general Hahulirai Hara couldn't bear his insult and joined Gori against him. It was he who imprisioned Chand beforehis war with gori. Such high handedness cost prithviraj dear during war.

5.Prithviraj kept his resistance till he was captured. When his arrows were exhausted, he fought with his sword and then with his dagger. It took the might of 40 mighty men to capture him when he was barehanded.

5.When victorious Gori encountered his prisioner prithviraj, instead of being humble he stared him angrily, his stare was so nasty that Gori couldn't bear it and ordered his eyes to be pierced with hot iron rods. Stillprithviraj refused to bow in front of him.

6. Prithviraj had boasted that he could pierce 7 iron plates with a single arrow blindfolded. During his captivity Chand asked him to redeem his pledge. At this Prithviraj grieved at his sorry state but Chand reminded him that it is only one arrow that is needed.He also signalledthe location of Gori's seat.

"char bans chaubis gaj , angul asth praman,
ta uper sultan hai, mat chuke chauhan"

Prithviraj said that he wouldn't shoot at the word of a lowly officer hencegori himself asked him to shoot. It was only onearrowthat enough to bring gori to the ground.
fearing that they will beill treated both prithviraj and chand killedeach other with their daggers.

I want to tell you that when captured ghori begged for mercy and promised that he would never lift his eyes towards india prithviraj not only realeased ghori but also gifted him 500 horses and 20 elephants although mantri pandit kadambvaas tried prithviraj from doing so. on reaching ghor ghori murdered the rajput escorts and envoys. ghori sent their severed heads as a token of his good will to prithviraj. in the battle of 1192 when the muslimsThe Muslims had the advantage of surprise which they had gained by deceit.

The uneven battle continued till noon, by when the Muslims had slaughtered many of the Rajputs. But the Rajputs did not yield and in turn, slaughtered many of their treacherous Muslim enemy too and gradually gained the upper hand. By midday, it looked like the second battle of Tarain would also go the way the first had gone. Mohammed saw victory slipping from his hands once again.

So he resorted to another patented Muslim subterfuge of single combat – called Mard-o-Mard in Farsi (Persian). This was a technique which Muslims had used quite cunningly against the Zoroastrian Persians, some six centuries earlier when the barbaric Muslim hordes first burst out of Arabia and attacked Iran.

In order to humiliate Prithviraj, Mohammed sent word that he would call off the battle, if Prithviraja came and fought his champion Qutub-ud-din Aibak in single combat. To save the lives of his soldiers, and to conclude the war quickly Prithviraja agreed. The rule in single combat was that when one combatant is either pinned down or killed, the army to which he belongs concedes defeat retreats. No other combatant is allowed to participate in this combat, hence the name - single combat.

But with the insidious Muslims, this rule did not hold. So at the battle of Tarain, when the two met and Prithviraja's sword felt heavy on Qutub who risked losing his life, Qutub resorted to a feint and by whirling below his saddle he cut off one of the feet of Prithviraja's horse, before Prithviraj could realize what he was up to. As the horse lost balance, Prithviraja tripped and fell off his wounded horse.

This was a foul move, and it would have been fair, had after this, Qutub, also dismounted and fought Prithviraja on foot. Instead at a pre-arranged signal from Qutub, a band of truculent Muslim soldiers, who had till then stood aside in the grab of horse-tenders, jumped on Prithviraja, pinned him down, pressed on his face a dose of hashish (that grew abundantly in the poppy farms of Afghanistan as they do till this day). They bound the drugged Prithviraja in chains and galloped away with him as a prisoner into their ranks, before the Rajputs could realize and react to this unexpected act of treachery.

The Muslims immediately carried away the captive and drugged Prithviraj and hoisted him on one of the elephants that Prithviraj had gifted to Mohammed Ghori when he had released Ghori. The Muslim spread a rumor in the Rajput camp that Prithviraj was dead and that they were holding aloft his dead body to show the Rajputs the futility of fighting further.

When the Rajputs saw that they their Maharaj (King) was evidently dead with his corpse in the hands of the enemy, they lost nerve and through enraged, fell back against Pithoragarh, their fortified capital at Mehrauli near Delhi. The Muslims retreated with the captured Prithviraj to Afghanistan.

Love is a many splendored thing, goes an old song, and India is clearly proof of this. There have been many famous couples who have left their imprint on her history like Sohni-Mahiwal, Heer-Ranjha and Laila-Majnu, who were all star-crossed lovers. But Prithvi Raj-Samyukta were a different cup of tea, as they consummated their love and lived together in bliss.

Samyukta was the daughter of the Hindu king of Kananj. She was the most beautiful princess in India. Prithivi Raja was the Hindu king of Delhi. He was the most powerful Hindu king of north India at that time. He wanted to marry her. He knew that it would not be easy to marry her because her father was his enemy. He always liked to marry beautiful princesses. Therefore, he decided to try. First, he sought out her old nurse. She was living not far from the place. He touched her feet with his hand and asked her advice. The old woman loved prithivi Raja very dearly. So she promised to help him.

"Give me", she said "that picture of yours which the great painter at Delhi has painted on ivory in green and gold. I will tell you when I came again from my journey". The old nurse went a long journey and reached the gate of the palace of Kananj. She expressed her desire to see the queen. Now it happened that moment, the queen wanted a new waiting woman for the princess. So the old woman was asked to look after the house hold work. Samyuktha had a true heart. As the old woman brushed her hair or sat with her on the roof on the still, hot nights, she told her the tales of Prithivi Raja and of his love for Samyukta. She showed Samyukta his picture painted on ivory in green and gold. As she looked on his face, her heart desired to meet the king who loved her.

Presently the king of Kananj said, "It is time for the "Swayamvara", that is the choosing of her husband by the princess. He sent his messengers to all parts of India to call the princes of India to the great choosing. However, he sent no message to his enemy Prithivi Raja, the king of Delhi. Nevertheless the king of Delhi came to the choosing. Prithivi Raja and his friend came to the swayamvara disguised as minstrels.

The courtyard of the palace was gay and ready for the "Swayamvara" Garlands of roses and jasmine were hung from the pillars. The king and the Queen sat on golden throne on a marble balcony. The thrones of the princes, who sought the hand of Samyukta, were just below the balcony.

The princes were dressed in jewels and clothes of gold. Each prince had his men at arms and heralds. The musicians sat on the watchtower at the gate. PrithiviRaja, the great prince, sat with the musicians.

When the bugles sounded, Samyukta came from the inner courtyard. She wore a sari that flowed about her like golden water. There were golden anklets on her feet and golden bracelets on her arms. Her eyes were on the ground as she walked. She held lightly the garland of fresh jasmine. She would place the garland on the neck of the prince whom she would choose to be her husband.

When she reached the outer courtyard, she raised her eyes and saw a golden figure of Prithivi Raja standing in the place of the king's doorkeeper. She knew well that her father had done this thing to hurt Prithivi Raja, the true knight of her heart. Her choice was made now proudly she walked one prince after another. She passed on silently. She remembered the great tales of Prithivi Raja told by the heralds.

There was but one prince left. He was sitting near the door keeper. All were anxious to know what she would do. The king and the queen leaned out of their marble balcony. All the crowd watched her breathlessly. To their surprise, Samyukta also rejected the last prince. She turned to the golden image of PrithiviRaja who had no invitation to the great choosing and placed the garland on its neck. She had indeed kept the garland for her true knight alone.

The king rose in wrath. For this insult, Samyukta would now be sent to the deepest dungeon of the place. But love was quicker than wrath. PrithiviRaja who was disguised as minstrel mounted on the king's swiftest charger, which was at samyukta's side. He stooped and lifted her to his saddle and rode away to the gates of Delhi. An enraged Jaichand followed him and there was a clash of steel but he had to bow down to Prithvi Raj's superior army strength.

The lovers then spent a lot of amorous moments with each other. Prithviraj was so enthralled by the beauty of his beloved that he almost neglected his kingly indulgence in equipping himself in the methods of warfare. They lived happily but the stories of Samyukta's famed beauty reached the ears of Mohammed Ghori, the Muslim Sultan of Lahore and Sindh. This invited Mohammed Ghori to wage war against Prithviraj.

Mohammed Ghori was defeated by Prithvi Raj in the first battle of Tarain before his marriage with Samyukta. However, he escaped from the battlefield and the next year the two met again and this time newly married Prithvi Raj faced defeat. The last bastion of the Rajputs had crumbled and the cruel Ghori killed newly married Prithvi Raj in this battle.

Samyukta, having realized the evil intentions of Ghori refused to succumb to him. She, along with her ladies in waiting, committed jauhar (death by jumping into the burning pyre), preferring death to dishonor. Samyukta committed suicide for guarding herself against the personal disgrace from Ghori. Thus, the love story ended, but paeans have been sung of their immortal love.

Thanks for the lovely detailed information ayesha...seems like u have researched a lot dear!😳😃

Thanks a lot for such detail informaion specially about the end of Prithvi and details of war incidents. Thank you very much.

your welcome even i will get more