History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c36.s1.4

v3.c36.s1.4

The tradition among the Hindus is, as recorded in the Rāsā, that the Sultan was captured. The story of Dhira Pundira given in the Rāsā is clearly fictitious; but it is possible that when Govindrai (who is not mentioned in the Rāsā at all and who is represented as killed in the next conflict with Prithvirāj) inflicted a severe wound on the Sultan and he began to totter on his horse, he may have been seized by Pundir and finally captured. The Sultan was allowed to return by Prithvirāj after a ransom of 30 elephants and five hundred horses was taken from him. This much may be historically true. The Taj does not mention this defeat at all but discreetly begins with the Sultan's next advance against Prithvirāja. It is, of course, entirely unbelievable as alleged by the Rāsā that the Sultan was many times captured in battle and at each time released and sent back by Prithvirāja. This is the usual reduplication of events noticeable from the story of Krishna in the Purānas down to the story of Munja by the chroniclers who is supposed to have six times defeated and captured Taila Chālukya of Kalyan (see Vol. II p. 120). But an exaggeration like this generally has some truth behind it and we may believe that Shihabuddin was captured in this battle and released on ransom just as Jaipal was released by Mahmud after his first defeat on a similar ransom.*