"To the king so great, as envy itself cannot accuse, or malice vitiate, the one who fought for an empire and not for the applause of wretches."

Jaichandra Gāharwār of Kannauj

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In the family of great Govindchandra Deva of Gāharwār dynasty, was born another great King, Jaichandra Deva.

Meohar Inscriptions of Kaushambi give a date of 1170 A.D, for his succession to the throne of Kannauj.

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Gāharwār dynasty was known for its army of elephants.

Mahārāja Jaichandra had such a large army that one end of his army reached battlefield, while other was yet to take a step, and for this reason, he was called 'Dal Pangula'.

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Indian records give a figure of close to a million troops consisting: horses, elephants, bowmen, infantry, & men in armour.

Even Muslim historians were quite impressed with the size of his army (In Pic ).

His military strength gives an idea of his empire.

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Many Indic as well as Islamic sources have praised this Rājpūt King.

BHAVISHYA PURANA:

Jaichandra, the famous king of Kānyakubja-desa or Antarvedi was a powerful ruler (JAYACANDRA iti khyato bahusäli jitendriyah), who conquered Gauda-Vanga and Marudesa.

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PRABANDHAKOSA:

It mentions that JAYANTA CHANDRA conquered the earth as far as 700 Yojanas, consequently he was known as the king of '700 yojanas of land' (sapta satayojanabhunātho Jayantachandro).

Islamic records also tried to describe his territory.

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Most of the Indian literary evidence and contemporary Islamic historians put together indicates that Jaichandra was the greatest of the rulers of Hindustan at that time.

None of the contemporary South Eastern/Western rulers claim victory against him.

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Battle Against Guhirds:

After the fall of Delhi, it was practically difficult for Kannauj to stop the invasion.

The last wall between North and the invaders, the undaunted Rājpūt King of Kannauj marched with his army against the Guhirds.

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In the battle of Chandwara, mighty Jaichandra fought vigorously against the invaders, bringing a havoc to the Guhirds.

It seemed like a Rājpūt victory until an arrow hit him in the eye; heavily wounded, he led his elephant into the Ganges & took Jalasamādhi.

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Following this defeat, 1000s of temples were raised to their foundations.

Except Firishta's, no other records mention Guhird army moving towards Kannauj.

Although they didn't mention, yet it suggests that Guhirds suffered heavy loss in the battle.

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Grant issued in V.S 1255 suggests that Kannauj was still ruled by a ruler of Gāharwār dynasty, Harischandra Deva who also assumed the imperial title of his dynasty.

The kingdom wasn't the same after the battle, yet it was free.

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There are many misconceptions about this great Rājpūt King who ruled in undiminished glory throughout his life. Most of them coming from a heavily interpolated record, Prithvirāj Rāso.

A record which couldn't even name his clan correctly.

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On numerous occasions, history has been used as a propaganda tool.

Being a new generation, it's our duty to correct these historical wrongs, to take the name of one of the greatest rulers of Bhārata with utmost respect which he truly deserves.

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Summarised in a latin proverb:

"Mortuo leoni et lepores insultant"

Even hares insult a dead lion.

Credits: @yashasvipratap @Lost_History1 @virendrarathore

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