The Last Hindu Emperor : Prithviraj Chauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000

This 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-- Introduction: Layers Of Memory -- 2. Literary Trajectories Of The Historic King -- 3. Delhi In The Making Of The Last Hindu Emperor -- 4. The Heroic Vision Of A Regional Elite -- 5. Imagining The Rajput Past In Mughal-era Mewar -- 6. Validating Prithvīrāj Rāso In Colonial India, 1820s-70s -- 7. Contested Meanings In A Nationalist Age, 1880s-1940s -- 8. Epilogue: The Postcolonial Prithviraj -- Appendix: Prithvīrāj Rāso's Textual History. Cynthia Talbot, University Of Texas At Austin. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Table of contents List of illustrations Acknowledgments Note on transliteration and citation List of abbreviations 1 Introduction: layers of memory Prithviraj Chauhan as site of memory Embedded strata: Prdotthvīrāj Rāso and James Tod Commemorating Prithviraj at Ajmer, 1996 Situating this book 2 Literary trajectories of the historic king Introduction: vilifying the enemy Geopolitical setting of an age of conflict Seeing Prithviraj through contemporary sources Thirteenth-century Indo-Persian perspectives Precursors to Prdotthvīrāj Rāso Prdotthvīrāj Rāso, the text Conclusion 3 Delhi in the making of the last Hindu emperor Introduction: telling the Rāso in Persian The tale of Delhi’s pillar Diverging histories of Delhi and Ajmer The draw of Delhi across the Indic/Persian divide From Tomar to Chauhan rule in Delhi inscriptions Prithviraj Chauhan in Ā’īn-i Akbarī Prithviraj’s story at the Mughal court Conclusion 4 The heroic vision of an elite regional epic Introduction: regional rivalries in Prdotthvīrāj Rāso Challenging Kanauj: an overview Prithviraj's Rajput champions Brides as signifiers of royal status A classical epic for a vernacular age Conclusion 5 Imagining the Rajput past in Mughal-era Mewar Introduction: redacting Prdotthvīrāj Rāso The Rāso’s Mewar connection Building fame in seventeenth-century Mewar Muslims in the long recension Violence and the rhetoric of political allegiance Conclusion 6 Validating Prdotthvīrāj Rāso in colonial India, 1820s-1870s Introduction: James Tod and the last Hindu emperor From bardic to colonial knowledge with Tod Other imaginings of the Chauhan king Prdotthvīrāj Rāso as language artifact Knowing the Rāso outside Rajasthan Conclusion 7 Contested meanings in a nationalist age, 1880s-1940s Introduction: debating the Rāso's historicity Shyamaldas, the critical bard In defense of tradition: Pandya's rebuttal Retellings of Prithviraj's story in colonial modernity Visual commemorations of Delhi's emperor Conclusion: a divergence of histories 8 Epilogue: the postcolonial Prithviraj Commemorating Prithviraj in Delhi, 2002 Legacies of colonial retellings Looking back: a summation Appendix: Prdotthvīrāj Rāso’s textual history The issue of dating Recensions, editions, and manuscripts Bibliography Index "This 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"-- Provided by publisher A fascinating genealogy of the historical memories surrounding Prithviraj Chauhan, a Hindu king who was defeated and overthrown during the Muslim conquest of Northern India. Surveying a wealth of narratives from the twelfth century to the present day, Cynthia Talbot explores the various reasons why he is remembered, and by whom. Traces the genealogy and historical memory of the twelfth-century ruler Prithviraj Chauhan, remembered as the 'last Hindu Emperor of India'