Prithviraj Chauhan storms Gudapura

01The Prithviraja Vijaya

The Prithviraja Vijaya, a Sanskrit poem written at Prithviraj’s court by the Kashmiri poet Jayanaka, is the main source. It tells that Nagarjuna rebelled against his young cousin and occupied Gudapura. Prithviraj, guided by his mother Karpuradevi’s minister Kadambavasa, besieged it. Nagarjuna fled, but his family and followers were captured, and the poem says the heads of the rebels were hung on the walls of Ajmer as a warning.

02A young king’s first test

Prithviraj had come to the throne around 1177 as a teenager, with his mother as regent. Gudapura was his first war, and it secured his line against the descendants of his uncle. Within a few years he had fought the Bhadanakas and the Chandelas, and in 1191 he would face Muizz al-Din of Ghor at Tarain. The identification of Gudapura with Gurgaon is the usual one but not certain.

Dynasty · c. 7th century–1192 CE (Ranthambore branch to 1301)Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Shakambhari and AjmerThe Chahamanas grew from chiefs around Sambhar lake into the kings of Ajmer and Delhi. Prithviraj III defeated Muhammad of Ghor at Tarain in 1191 and fell to him there in 1192.Read →