In the previous episode, we had discussed that the eastern boundary of the Chauhan Empire met the Chandela kingdom. The regions of Bundelkhand, Jejakabhukti and Mahoba of central India were included in the kingdom of the Chandelas. The famous fort of Kalinjar was also located in this state. King Prithviraj's maternal grandmother Chedidesh was also a part of Bundelkhand but it was ruled by the Kalchuris. Thus the entire region of Chandelas and Kalchuris was called Bundelkhand.
During the time of King Prithviraj, Chandela was the king of King Parmardi Dev Mahoba, who is also called Raja Parmal in some texts. On the other side of Mahoba kingdom was situated Kannauj state. According to the Mau inscription, there was a friendly relationship between the Chandelas of Mahoba and the Gahadavalas of Kannauj. The organization of Chandelas and Gahadavalas became the cause of military expenditure for Prithviraj.
Due to the expansionist policy of the Chandel king Parmardi Dev Raja Prithviraj Chauhan, he considered the Chauhans as his enemies. Therefore, in AD 1182, King Parmardi Dev killed some of the wounded soldiers of Prithviraj Chauhan. To avenge his murder, Prithviraj Chauhan attacked the Chandelas. The Chauhan armies entered the Chandela kingdom and started marching towards Mahoba, plundering.
Prithviraj's army established its main camp near Orai. Kaka Kanh Chauhan conducted the Chauhan army. Chandra Pundir, the king of Pundaraka, remained in the vanguard of Prithviraj's army. The army of the south side was led by Panjwan Rai Kachhwaha, the left side was led by Moharai. King Prithviraj rode on an elephant and stayed in the middle of the army. Prime Minister Kaimas, Samant Sanyam Rai and poet Chandbardai also stayed with King Prithviraj.
King Parmardi Dev also faced the Chauhan armies with a huge army. He brought his history-famous warriors Alha and Udal on the battlefield against the forces of Prithviraj. Thus, along with the Chandelas, Banafras also participated on behalf of Parmardi Dev.
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The war lasted for several days. After a few days of war, the Chauhans began to lose their upper hand. Then Alha took over his army. On the last day of the war, seeing the color of the war deteriorating, Udal tied Shaligramji and Tulsi in his turban and got down from his horse and started wielding a fierce sword. His Banafar and Chandela companions also got down from their horses and started wielding fierce swords.
Raja Prithviraj Chauhan, Kaka Kanh Chauhan, Samant Panjwan Rai, Prime Minister Kaimas and other Chauhan soldiers also got down from their horses and started wielding swords with the determination to kill them.
In those days, it was a tradition among Hindu heroes that when they decided to lay down their lives in the battle field, they got down from their horse and inflicted horrific attack on the enemy so that the entire energy of his body could be used to the maximum.
Veergati was attained at the hands of Udal Kaka Kanh Chauhan in a fierce battle between both the sides. King Prithviraj also reached the face of death. The horrors of war have been described in his ancient books including Alh-Khand etc. This war was so fierce that the warriors on both sides forgot to take care of their respective comrades.
Even King Prithviraj Chauhan was badly injured and fell on the battlefield. The vulture came and sat on his body and started eating the flesh of his chest. The feudal lord of Prithviraj, Sanyamarai, was lying on the earth near King Prithviraj.
When Sanyam Rai saw this condition of his king, he cut the flesh from his body and threw it towards the vulture. The vulture left King Prithviraj and started eating the pieces of the flesh of Sanyamaraya.
Meanwhile, the eyes of some other Chauhan feudal lords fell on the body of their unconscious king. They took away the bodies of Prithviraj and Sanyam Rai. Both of them were treated. The king survived but Veer Kulbhushan Sanyam Rai went on the eternal bright path of sacrifice and dedication.
In the end the Chandela king Parmardi Dev was defeated. According to the Madanpur article of AD 1182, King Prithviraj Chauhan destroyed the territory of Jejakabhukti. Before getting this inscription, historians used to think of Mahoba's battle as fictional, but this small inscription of Madanpur changed an important chapter in the history of India.
According to Jain texts named Sharangdhar Method and Prabandha Chintamani, King Parmardi apologized to Prithviraj by taking straw in his mouth.
After the end of the war, the western part of the Dhasan river i.e. Sagar, Lalitpur, Orchha, Jhansi, Sirswagarh including a large part of Mahoba state fell in the hands of Prithviraj Chauhan. He appointed his feudatory Panjvan Rai as the governor of the conquered region. After conquering Mahoba kingdom, the boundaries of King Prithviraj's kingdom went from Kannauj state.
Although King Parmardi Dev was defeated in this war, his kingdom was not destroyed. He continued to rule his Mahoba till AD 1203. His kingdom was destroyed by the Muslims in AD 1203.
Watch in the next episode- King Prithviraj Chauhan attacks Chandelas for Princess Chandraval, Naulakha necklace and Paras stone!
-Doctor. Mohanlal Gupta