

Legend has it that Chauhan had begun to ignore state affairs after his marriage to Sanyogita.Ĭhauhan was defeated, but he refused to bow his head in front of the Sultan. When Ghori's army attacked this time, Prithiviraj lost the war and Ghori captured him. So, he formed an alliance with Muhammad Ghori, whom Prithviraj had previously defeated 16 times, and extended his support to Ghori's army to attack Delhi. Jayachand was raging with anger and he wanted to take revenge. That day, thousands of soldiers laid their lives to make sure that Prithviraj Chauhan escaped safely from Kannauj, with his newly-wedded wife Sanyogita. This made Jayachand shake with rage at the insult in front of a huge gathering of kings and princes. Prithviraj Chauhan then openly challenged Jayachand to stop him from taking his wife. At that moment, Chauhan, who was hiding until then, came out and Sanyogita put the garland around his neck. On the day of the swayamvara, Sanyogita walked past all the kings and princes, rejecting each one of them, and finally reaching the statue.

To this, Prithviraj promised her that he would come to the swayamvara. When she came to know that he wasn't even invited to the swayamvara, she was devastated and wrote him a letter expressing her desire to marry him. But Sanyogita had already given her heart to him. To add to the insult, he got a statue of Prithviraj made and installed it as a doorman.

He sent an invite to all the kings except Prithiviraj. Source: burabhala.wordpressĪt this time, Jayachand decided to arrange a swayamvara for his daughter. Needless to say, he too was smitten by her beauty. The same painter, upon returning, painted Sanyogita's portrait and showed it to Prithviraj. She had heard about Chauhan's heroic expeditions and was absolutely in love with him.Īccording to legend, they fell in love when a painter from Prithviraj's court, Panna Ray, visited Kannauj and showed his painting of the king to the princess. Source: īut while Jayachand was enraged by Prithiviraj's refusal to accept him as the supreme king, his daughter Sanyogita was smitten. Jayachand wanted to assert his supremacy over the other Rajput kings and hence decided to do a Rajsuya Yagya. Prithviraj, however, refused to accept Jayachand's supremacy and this marked the beginning of their enmity. But before love could flourish between the two, the relationship between Jayachand and Prithviraj Chauhan was strained. Soon enough, the heroic tales of Prithviraj's valour reached the ears of Sanyogita, the daughter of Kannauj king, Jayachand. Legend has it that Ghori attacked Delhi 17 times, and was defeated 16 times at the hands of Prithviraj Chauhan and his army. Prithviraj was a valiant king and his glory surged to new heights after he defeated Muhammad Ghori, the Sultan of Ghurid Empire (present day Afghanistan) in the first battle of Tarain. He is also hailed as the last Rajput king to rule Delhi before the Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent. Prithviraj Chauhan was the king of the Chauhan dynasty whose rule extended to parts of present day Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The legend of Prithviraj Chauhan and Kannauj princess Sanyogita's love is a fascinating saga of romance, war and courage. It was penned by his court poet, Chand Bardai. One such story - mentioned in Prithviraj Raso - is an epic on the life of the 12th century king, Prithviraj Chauhan. Of kings and queens and their valiant deeds and romantic love stories. Our history abounds with legends and folktales.
