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 | 146 |
Validating P_rthvīrāj Rāso in colonial India 1820s1870s | 183 |
Contested meanings in a nationalist age 1880s1940s | 219 |
the postcolonial Prithviraj | 262 |
P_rthvīrāj Rāsos textual history | 277 |
291 | |
312 | |
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 Akbar’s Amar Anangpal army Asiatic Society bard Benares Bora Brajbhasha Chahamana Chalukya Chand Bardai chapter Chauhan king clan colonial composed cultural Delhi Sultanate dynasty early modern epic’s episode Ghur Ghurid Growse Gujarat Gupta Rāso Hammīra Mahākāvya hero heroic Hindi language Hindu historiography Ibid Indo-Persian inscriptions Jain James Tod Jaychand Kachhwaha Kanauj Kaymas king’s laghutam language literary literature long recension lord Mahābhārata Maharana Mahoba marriage martial medieval memory Mewar Mewar court Mohansimha Rāso Mughal Muslim narrative nineteenth century North India P_rthvīrāj Rāso P_rthvīrāja Vijaya Pandya past Persian poem poet political Prithviraj Chauhan Qila Rai Pithora Qutb Rajasthan Rajput Rāso epic Rāso manuscripts Rāso-sāhitya region reign royal ruler sāmants Samar Singh Samyogita Sanskrit scholars Sharma Shihab al-Din shortest recension Shyamaldas Sisodiya status story Surjanacarita Swami Tabaqāt-i Nā_sirī Tāj al-Ma’āsir territory Tod’s tradition translation twelfth-century Udaipur University Press vernacular verses warriors Western