Jaichand of Kannauj

Jaichand was the Rajput ruler of Kannauj. He was the father of Sanyogita, Prithvi Raj Chauhan's wife. JaichandFile:Jaichand.jpg was the name of the last ruler of Kannauj belonging to the Rathore dynasty.

Sources

Prithviraj Raso, a ballad with doubtful historical veracity, provides some clues about Jaichand's personality and relationship with Prithviraj Chauhan. Other sources include inscriptions and other accounts of the Battle of Tarain.

History

Jaichand, ruled the north Indian kingdom of Kannauj during the reign of Prithvi Raj Chauhan. According to Prithviraj Raso, he had enmity with the ruler of Delhi and this grew further when his daughter Samyogita married Chauhan against his wish.

Role in the battle of Tarain

According to Prithviraj Raso, in the Battle of Tarain, when Muhammad Ghori successfully launched attack on the forces of Delhi, Prithvi Raj requested Jaichand to fight the invader together. To this Jaichand not only bluntly refused, he went to the Ghori camp to fight against Chauhan. It is alleged that Raja Jaichand met Ghori an divulged he secrets of Chauhan's war plans.

However, this is disputed, because the kingdoms of Ajmer and Kannauj did not have a common border, fought no battles. As per inscriptions Jayachandra was fighting against the Sena rulers in the region of Bihar, far in the east.

Loss to Muhammad Ghori

After the defeat of Prithvi Raj Chauhan in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192, Muhammad Ghori then turned his guns on Jaichand. Battle of Chandvar, 1194 ensued in which Jaichand was defeated. Jaichand died when he was trying to flee, while crossing the Ganges, and his descendents managed to escape to the region of Marusthali, where they established the Rathore kingdom of Marwar a few centuries late.

Book References

• History of Kumaun : English version of "Kumaun ka itihas". by B. D. Pande. 1993. Almora, India: Shyam Prakashan : Shree Almora Book Depot.
• Medieval India History, published by NCERT, Edited by Prof. Satish Chandra
• Administrative History of Uttarakhand (Kumaon and Garhwal), During the Rule of the East India Company, 1815-1857, by Ajay Arora. Published by Eastern Book Linkers, 1996. ISBN 81-86339-33-7.
• Mahmud Of Ghazni [1]