History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c37.s1.2

v3.c37.s1.2

The rhapsodical Taj does not give any details of this conflict. It says simply that "the Sultan advanced from Ghazni with 50,000 horsemen clad in armour (E. II p. 222-23). The Rai of Benares, Jaichand, chief of idolatry, opposed him with an army countless as the particles of sand. The Rai who prided himself upon the number of his forces and war elephants, seated on a lofty howdah, received a deadly wound from an arrow and fell". "The impurities of idolatry were purged from that land and immense booty was obtained, such as the eye would be weary to look at." "The imperial army then took possession of the fort of Asni where the treasure of the Rai was deposited." The Tabakat dismisses this conflict with the short sentence (E. II. 297) that the Sultan came back from Ghazni in the year 590 H. (1193 A. D.) by way of Benares and Kanauj and defeated the Rai Jaichand in the neighbourhood of Chandanwah and captured over 300 elephants". It is a pity that the author of the Tabakat does not give a more detailed account of this conflict which he probably thought was of less importance than that with Prithvīrāj. But Jaichand was the most powerful monarch in India and he was a proud and brave Rathod who, unlike Rājyapāla, firmly opposed and bravely fought against the formidable foe of his religion and independence. It was, therefore, to be expected that greater details would be given of the memorable battle at Chandanwah which place is said to be somewhere between Kanauj and Etawa. Indian records do not also give us any details of this event; but tradition (Abul Fazal) tells us that Jaichand died by drowning in the Ganges while crossing the river on his elephant. Putting the contemporary Mahomedan evidence and this tradition together, we may believe that Jaichand was wounded in battle and in order to avoid being captured led his elephant into the Ganges and like a devout and dauntless Hindu sought death by Jalasamādhi and drowned himself in the Ganges. The Tabakat says that search was made on the battle-field for Jaichand’s body but it was not found. It, however, adds that after a long search, a body was discovered which was believed to be Jaichand’s from his old age. (This is from some later account given in the Tabakat by Raverty p. 470-Note), But Jaichand could not have been an old man; he came to the throne in 1169 when young and died in 1193 after 24 years of reign.*