History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c17.s6.1

Language: English

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When Rājyapāla came to the throne, he was in no position to make any attempt to retrieve the fallen fortunes of his family, for not only were the frontiers of his attenuated kingdom hemmed in on all sides by powerful principalities, but the political situation had become further complicated by the aggressions of the Moslems of Ghazni, who now directed all their “thoughts to the conquest of the infidels.” We must, therefore, turn to trace the course of their progress eastward in order to understand the circumstances of the ultimate overthrow of the Pratihāra power in Kanauj. The rumblings of the coming storm were naturally first heard in the north-west, when Jayapāla, the ruler of Udabhāṇḍapur, driven to desperation by the gradual diminution of his ancestral kingdom, determined to retaliate and check the further advance of the Moslems by organising a counter-invasion of their territory. But the effete Hindu soldiers were no match for the hardy hosts of Sultan Sabuktigin, and Jayapāla was soon compelled to retreat after concluding a humiliating agreement.¹ In the safety of his capital, however, he repudiated the terms of the compact and imprisoned the Amir’s officers, which provoked the latter to such an extent that he at once marched like a “foaming torrent” to punish Jayapāla for his treachery.

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The latter, despairing of success, invited the prominent Hindu states to help him in resisting the alien invader, to which the “neighbouring kings, particularly those of Delhi, Ajmer, Kālañjara, and Kanauj” readily responded with men and money². Jayapāla advanced to meet his adversary on the confines of Lamghan,³ but the ponderous forces consisting of 100,000 cavalry, “many elephants” (Nizamuddin), and “an innumerable host of foot” (Firishta), at his command soon gave way before the masterly manœuvres of Sabuktigin’s army with the result that the conqueror obtained immense booty, besides 200 elephants of war, and “the best things in Jayapāla’s most distant provinces.” The king of Kanauj whose contingent shared in this defeat was probably Rājyapāla, although we have no evidence that he himself took any active part in the battle. The next attack was made by Sultan Mahmud, the son and successor of Sabuktigin, in the year 392 Hijri or 1001 A. D. Here again the issues were decidedly against Jayapāla, who, being unable to bear the ignominy of another defeat, handed over the cares of the kingdom to his son, Ānandapāla, and then immolated himself by fire.¹ But Mahmud’s insatiable thirst for harrying the “idolaters” would not allow Ānandapāla to have a peaceful reign, and in the spring of the year 399 or 1008 A. D. the Sultan again formed plans to punish him for having lent his aid to Da’ud of Multan in his treasonable designs.

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Hearing this, Ānandapāla despatched ambassadors to all parts of Hindustan appealing for assistance from other rulers, who “now considered the expulsion of the Muhammandans from India as a sacred duty.”² The king of Kanauj, who had helped his father on an earlier occasion, promptly answered the call of his campatriot by sending a huge contingent, his example being followed by the Rājās of Ujjain, Gwalior, Kālañjara, Delhi, and Ajmer.³ The confederate army, “the greatest that had yet taken the field”, encamped on the confines of the province of Peshawar, where it remained for forty days without going into action. A wave of sullen enthusiasm seems to have swept over Hindustan; the women “sold their jewels and melted down their golden ornaments to furnish resources for the war”, and even the Khokhars (Gukkurs) and other warlike tribes rose up to defend the gates of India. But nothing availed the Hindus. Their forces were signally routed just when victory seemed in sight, and Mahmud was suffering heavy losses by their furious charges. All of a sudden Ānandapāla’s elephant became unruly from the effects of naphtha balls and fled. This circumstance caused a panic among the Hindus who thought that their commander had deserted them, and the battle ended in a victory for Mahmud amid scenes of awful carnage and confusion.