The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000This fascinating new study traces traditions and memories relating to the twelfth-century Indian ruler Prithviraj Chauhan; a Hindu king who was defeated and overthrown during the conquest of Northern India by Muslim armies from Afghanistan. Surveying a wealth of narratives that span more than 800 years, Cynthia Talbot explores the reasons why he is remembered, and by whom. In modern times, the Chauhan king has been referred to as 'the last Hindu emperor', because Muslim rule prevailed for centuries following his defeat. Despite being overthrown, however, his name and story have evolved over time into a historical symbol of India's martial valor. The Last Hindu Emperor sheds new light on the enduring importance of heroic histories in Indian culture and the extraordinary ability of historical memory to transform the hero of a clan into the hero of a community, and finally a nation. |
Contents
Literary trajectories of the historic king | 29 |
Delhi in the making of the last Hindu emperor | 69 |
The heroic vision of an elite regional epic | 107 |
Imagining the Rajput past in Mughalera Mewar | 160 |
Validating Pṛthvīrāj Rāso in colonial India 1820s1870s | 192 |
Contested meanings in a nationalist age 1880s1940s | 222 |
Other editions - View all
The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Chauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 Cynthia Talbot Limited preview - 2015 |
The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Chauhan and the Indian Past, 1200-2000 Cynthia Talbot No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
Ā’īn-i Akbarī Abu al-Fazl Ajmer Alha Amar Anangpal army Asiatic Society battle Benares Bikaner Bora Brajbhasha Chahamana Chand Bardai chapter Chauhan king clan colonial cultural Delhi Sultanate dynasty early modern edited elite epic's episode Ghurid Growse Gujarat Hammīra Mahākāvya hero heroic Hindi Hindi language Hindu historiography Ibid Indo-Persian inscriptions Islamic Jain James Tod Jaychand Kanauj Kaymas language late literary literature long recension lord Mahābhārata Maharana Mahoba marriage martial medieval memory Mewar Mewar court Mohansimha Rāso Mughal Muslim narrative nineteenth century North India Oxford University Press Pandya past Persian political Prabandha Prithviraj Chauhan Pṛthvīrāj Rāso Qila Rai Pithora Qutb Rajasthan Rajput Raso Rāso epic Rāso manuscripts Rāso-sāhitya Rāso's region reign royal ruler Sahitya sāmants Samar Singh Samyogita Sanskrit scholars Sharma Shihab al-Din Shyamaldas Sisodiya Society of Bengal status story Swami Tabaqāt-i Tarain Tod's tradition translation twelfth century Udaipur vernacular verses Vijaya Vyas warriors Western