Hinglish

Back to the North

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 16: Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 16.5

Learn

In Malwa, the Paramāras ruled from Dhārā. Their scholar-king Bhoja (ruled from 1010, not the earlier Pratīhāra Bhoja) built a vast lake near Bhopal ("Bhojpal", Bhoja's dam), the unfinished Bhojeshwar temple, and wrote on architecture, poetry, yoga and medicine. Then came a turning point. The chiefs of Ghūr in Afghanistan took Ghazni, and Muhammad Ghūrī seized parts of Punjab and Sindh. In 1178 the Chaulukya king of Gujarat, Mūlarāja II (some say his mother Nāīkīdevī led the army), defeated him near Mount Abu.

The Chāhamānas (Chauhāns) ruled from Ajayameru (Ajmer) and held Dhillikā, which became Delhi. Pṛithvīrāja III defeated Ghūrī at Tarain in 1191, but in 1192 Ghūrī returned with a bigger army, won the Second Battle of Tarain and executed him. Unlike Mahmūd, Ghūrī wanted lasting rule and left generals like Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later founded the Delhi Sultanate. Aibak's commander Bakhtiyār Khiljī conquered Bihar and Bengal, destroying Nālandā and Vikramaśhilā and killing many monks; Nālandā's library is said to have burned for months. In 1205, the ruler of Kāmarūpa (Assam) crushed his army, partly by destroying food and fodder. Both Ghūrī and Bakhtiyār died in 1206.

Explore: place events on the timeline.

  1. Ghūrī was defeated near Mount Abu in 1178. Put the marker there.
  2. The Second Battle of Tarain was fought in 1192. Put the marker there.

Remember

  • Bhoja Paramāra was a scholar-king and builder; the Chāhamānas held Ajmer and Delhi.
  • Ghūrī won at Tarain in 1192 and his generals conquered the north, destroying Nālandā; Kāmarūpa held firm.

Quick check

How did Muhammad Ghūrī's aims differ from Mahmūd's?

  1. Ghūrī sought lasting conquest; Mahmūd raided and withdrew
  2. Ghūrī only traded
  3. Mahmūd built Delhi
  4. there was no difference
Answer

Ghūrī sought lasting conquest; Mahmūd raided and withdrew. Ghūrī's generals went on to found the Delhi Sultanate.

Think about it

How might the destruction of Nālandā have affected education in India?

One answer

Lakhs of manuscripts and generations of scholarship were lost, teachers were killed or fled to Tibet, and a great centre that drew students from across Asia came to an end.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.