As Prithviraj Chauhan's victory march progressed, his splendor increased and in the same way, different princes of North India started marrying their princesses to Prithviraj. Different numbers and different names of the queens of Prithviraj Chauhan are found in different texts. For this reason, the actual number of queens of Prithviraj cannot be told.
In the second half of the tenth canto of the Prithviraj Vijay epic, it is mentioned that Prithviraj had many queens. There is mention of 13 queens of Chauhan Kulkaldrum Prithviraj. Some references tell of Prithviraj to have 16 queens whose names are as follows- (1) Ichhini Panwar, daughter of Rao Alan Panwar of Abu, (2) Jatankanwar, daughter of Rao Nahad Pratihar of Mandore, (3) Ramsingh Solanki of Delwara. Daughter of Pratapkanwar, (4.) Suraj Kanwar, daughter of Dahima Rajputs of Nagaur, (5.) Gaur princess Gyan Kanwar, (6.) Nanda Kanwar, princess of Badgujars, (7.) Yadav princess Padmavati. (8.) Gehlot Princess Kanwar De (9.) Jas Kanwar Kachwahi, the princess of Amer King Panjan, (10.) Chandrakanwar Padihar, daughter of Chandrasen of Mandore, (11.) Shashivrata, daughter of Rathod Tej Singh, (12.) Solanki of Dewas Princess Chandkanwar, (13.) Ratankanwar, daughter of Bais king Udai Singh, (14.) Solanki's princess Surajkanwar, (15.) Pratap Singh Makwani and (16.) Princess Sanyogita of Kannauj.
Not all these names can be called reliable, but some of these names should be correct. In some sources, Queen Shashivrata is described as the daughter of the Yadavas.
In some sources, thirteen queens of Prithviraj Chauhan have been mentioned, these include the names of Jambhavati Padihari, Panwari Ichhani, Dahiya, Jalandhari, Gujari, Badgujari, Yadav Padmavati, Yadav Shashivrata, Kachwahi, Pundirni, Indravati and Sanyogita Gahadwal.
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It is mentioned in Prithviraj Raso poetry that, when Prithviraj was 11 years old, his first marriage took place. After that, till the time Prithviraj was twenty-two years old, he continued to have one marriage every year. Prithviraj's last marriage was with Sanyogita, daughter of King Jaychand Gahadwal of Kannauj.
The first marriage of King Prithviraj Chauhan was with Jambhavati, the daughter of Pradihar Raja of Mandore. Some writers have written the name of this Padihar king as Nahadrao, which is not correct. Nahadrao, the Pratihar ruler of Mandore, Jalore, Bhinmal and Kannauj, is also known in history as Nagabhatta II, his period is about four centuries before Prithviraj Chauhan. Therefore, the name of the father of Prithviraj Chauhan's Padihari Rani must have been something else, not Nahadrao.
In a manuscript of Prithviraj Raso, the names of only five queens of King Prithviraj Chauhan are Jambhavati, Ichhani, Yadav Shashivrata, Hansavati and Sanyogita. In another miniature manuscript of Prithvijaraso, the names of only two queens are given Ichchni and Sanyogita. Another small manuscript of Prithviraj Raso has been found in which only the name of Queen Sanyogita is available. Thus the name of Queen Sanyogita is written in all available manuscripts.
From the handwritten copies of different sizes of Prithviraj Raso, it is estimated that the original size of Prithviraj Raso was less but later useless material was added to it.
It is mentioned in Prithviraj Raso poetry that Chandravati, the princess of Chandra Pundir region, was married to Prithviraj. From her womb was born Ransi, the successor of the Sapadalaksha kingdom. It is true that Prithviraj had a queen from the Pundir dynasty but his son's name was not Ransi, it was Govind.
A handwritten book from the sixteenth century in the Anup Sanskrit Library in Bikaner states that Dahiya was a small village of Rajputs in the kingdom of the Chauhans. Ajiya, the princess of dahi, also fell in love with Prithviraj after hearing his fame. She accompanied her guards and went to Ajayameru Nagar to meet King Prithviraj.
On the way, she saw a demolished village named Janglu, seeing which the princess was very sad. The princess established a new village called Ajiyapur there. In those days King Prithviraj also came hunting in the forests of Janglu. He took Ajia to his capital and married her. It cannot be said that how much truth is there in this story, but in ancient handwritten books, the mention of Dahiya Rani is also found among the queens of King Prithviraj. Mutha Nainasi has also accepted that a queen of King Prithviraj Chauhan was named Ajiya who had settled Ajiyapur.
At this place we should also consider the fact that the son of Prithviraj (I), an ancestor of King Prithviraj (III), was named Ajayaraj. Janglu village was also called Ajaypura in the name of the same Ajayraj. Some coins of Prithviraj (I) have been received from Janglu region. So it is possible that Ajiyapur was related to Chauhan prince Ajayraj. A queen of Prithviraj must be named Ajiya, but it is not necessary that she should be related to Ajiyapur. In those days virgin princesses did not go with their bodyguards to meet their lovers. Nor were villages established by them in this way. There is no mention of Ajiya's parents etc. in this entire story. Therefore, Ajiya's love story seems to be a mixture of both history and literary fiction.
Watch in the next episode- History story of Queen Ichhini of Emperor Prithviraj Chauhan!
-Doctor. Mohanlal Gupta