In the Battle of Chandawar (1194 CE), Muhammad Ghori defeated:

In the Battle of Chandawar, fought in 1194 CE, Muhammad Ghori defeated Jaichand (Jayachandra), the ruler of the Gahadavala dynasty of Kannauj and Varanasi.

About the battle:

• Chandawar is located on the banks of the Yamuna river, near Firozabad (between Agra and Etawah), in present-day Uttar Pradesh.
• Muhammad Ghori, along with his general Qutbuddin Aibak, led a large army against Jaichand.
• Jaichand fought bravely, but he was killed by an arrow during the battle, and his army was defeated.
• The Ghurid army then plundered Varanasi (Banaras), and captured a large amount of treasure.

Significance:

• The victory opened the way for the Turks into the Ganga valley.
• The Gahadavala kingdom, which was one of the largest and richest kingdoms of north India, came to an end (though some members of the family survived as local chiefs).

About Jaichand:

• He was the grandson of Govindachandra, the most powerful Gahadavala king.
• He ruled from about 1170 to 1194.
• According to the popular legend of the "Prithviraj Raso", he was the father of Samyukta (Sanyogita), and was a rival of Prithviraj Chauhan, who eloped with her.
• Because of this legend, his name has sometimes been used, unfairly according to historians, as a term for a traitor, though there is no reliable evidence that he invited Muhammad Ghori.

About the Gahadavalas:

• They ruled Kannauj and Varanasi in the 11th and 12th centuries.
• Their founder was Chandradeva.
• They imposed a tax called "Turushkadanda", possibly to meet the expenses of defence against the Turks.

Other conquests of the Ghurids:

After this, Aibak and Bakhtiyar Khalji extended Turkish rule to Gwalior, Bayana, Bihar and Bengal.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in an earlier battle.
• ✗Bhima II was the Chaulukya king of Gujarat.
• ✗Paramardi was a Chandela king defeated by Aibak in 1202-03.