History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s22.5

v3.c35.s22.5

From the Bijolia inscription (J. A. S. Bengal LV part 1 pp. 31-40) we are certain that Visaladev or Vigraha III conquered Delhi and this event from Visala's inscription on the Siwalik pillar at Delhi the exact date of which is 9th April 1164 (Kielhorn I. A. XIX p. 218) must have happened sometime about December 1163. The Bijolia inscription mentions Prithvirāja II as ruling after Visala and making a grant to a Jain temple and after him Someśvara as ruling and also making another grant to another Jain temple. The date of this Bijolia inscription is 1170 A. D. We have two inscriptions of Prithvibhata or Prithvirāj II dated 1167 and 1169 (E I. VIII Kielhorn). Thus we are certain that he came to the throne some time between 1164 and 1167 and ruled till the end of 1169, when Someśvara succeeded him. How long he ruled after 1170 is not clear. Gaurishanker thinks that he ruled till St. 1236 or 1179 A. D.; and at that time Prithvirāj was a minor, the government being carried on by his mother during his minority according to the Prithvirāja-Vijaya Kāvya. But in 1182 he was grown up and powerful enough to defeat Paramardideva. If we take him 21 years old at this time then his birth would be about 1161 A. D. and his age would be 18 at the time of Someśvara's death in the 1179 which would not make him for a Hindu prince a minor and this would contradict Prithvirāja-Vijaya. It is, therefore, probable that Someśvara did not rule so late as 1179 A. D. but ruled till about 1175 A. D. We thus have four uncertain dates for the birth of Prithvirāj viz. (1) 1149 A. D., Vaiśākha Badi 2 (May) according to the Rāsā (2) Prithvirāj-Vijaya gives the following date and positions of planets viz: Jyestha Badi 12, being after the end of bright Vaiśākha and Mars in Capricorn, Saturn in Aquarius, Jupiter in Pisces, Sun in Aries, Moon in Taurus and Mercury in Jemini, (this gives no clue to the year of his birth)*