Prithviraja Vijaya
[2] Although the author's name is missing from the manuscript, Har Bilas Sarda theorized that the text was composed by Jayanaka, who was a court-poet of Prithviraja.
This theory is based on the following points:[3] The poem is quoted by the Kashmiri scholar Jayaratha in his Vimarshini (c. 1200 CE), so it was definitely composed before this date.
[7] Next, the poem describes Pushkar, the place of the poet's residence, and a town near the Chahamana capital Ajmer.
In the poem, Brahma tells Vishnu that originally, there were three yajna-kundas (sacrificial fire pits) at the site, which eventually became lakes.
[9] During a hunting expedition in a forest, Vasudeva found a magic pill and restored it to its owner, a vidyadhara (supernatural being).
[10] A genealogy of Prithviraja's ancestors is given: The canto also briefly describes the reigns of some of the early Chahamana rulers: Arnoraja defeated the Muslim invaders, many of whom were killed by the heroes of Ajayameru.
[16] Arnoraja had two wives: Sudhava of Avichi (Marwar), and Kanchanadevi (the daughter of Jayasimha Siddharaja of Gujarat).
Astrologers predicted that Someshvara's son (that is, Prithviraja III) would be an incarnation of the legendary divine hero Rama.
[17] The poem then describes the legendary lunar dynasty, including Soma, Budha, Paurava and Bharata as its members.
Next, the poem describes the legendary king Kartavirya, and states that the Kalachuris of Tripuri (the family of Prithviraja's mother) were descended from him through one Sahasikh ("courageous").
[18] The poem states that Jayasimha Siddharaja (the maternal grandfather of Prithviraja III) was an incarnation of Shiva's devotee Kumbodhar.
His successor Kumarapala (literally "protector of a child") kept a young Someshvara close to himself, and thus became worthy of his name.
[19] Vigraharaja IV died a happy man after hearing that the earth had been blessed with the two sons of his brother.
Lakshmi (the goddess of fortune) left Sudhava's lineage, and wished to see Someshvara (Prithviraja's father).
[20] During Karpura-devi's regency, the (Ajayameru) city was so densely populated and had so many man-made structures that the sun was not able to see more than a tenth of the land.
[20] All branches of learning united and came to Prithviraja, and he became knowledgeable about all the arts and sciences that a king should be proficient in.
Prithvibhatta, the chief of the poets, praised Kadambavasa as Ghori had been defeated without any effort from the Chahamana side.
[27] Prithviraja then visited his gallery, where Prithvbhatta showed him illustrations from the Ramayana, and narrated the king's deeds in his previous birth as Rama.
Prithviraja began to long for Tilottama, and left the gallery at noon, wounded by the arrows of Kamadeva.
Jayanaka explained that he came from Kashmir to Ajayameru, because the goddess of learning had asked him to serve the incarnation of Vishnu: Prithviraja.
[30] Having been written at the court of Prithviraja, the text is one of the most important sources of information about the Chahamana dynasty.
There are only minor differences; for example, the Bijolia inscription has:[32] Sarda called Prithviraja Vijaya the most reliable literary work on the early history of the dynasty.
[34] According to historian R. B. Singh of Gorakhpur University, the text "suffers from literary embellishments", but "its contents find full confirmation from the epigraphic evidence".
