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![]() Many of the textual sources, often dating to much later periods, contradict one another. Information about him is available only in a handful of contemporary inscriptions, and historians have to rely on literary sources such as the ‘mahakavya’ genre, a kind of ornate and formulaic poetry that had limited concern with accuracy. Most other historical sources indicate that the victorious Muhammad executed Prithviraj at the end of the Second Battle of Tarain.ĭespite being such a celebrated figure, not much is known about the historical Prithviraj. But the blinded king instead aims the arrow at Muhammad, placing his location by using his voice, and kills him before dying himself. Here, the Ghurid king challenges Prithviraj to demonstrate his proficiency in archery by piercing seven metal gongs with an arrow. In the finale of the poem, after losing the Second Battle of Tarain (1192 AD) against Muhammad of Ghor, Prithviraj is captured and taken to Ghazni in modern-day Afghanistan, where is blinded and imprisoned. The image of Prithviraj as a fearless and skilled warrior that is now etched in the folk imagination can be traced back to his depiction in ‘Prithviraj Raso’, a poem in Brajbhasha attributed to Chand Bardai, which is thought to have been composed in the 16th century.
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