Jaya-chandra (IAST: Jayacandra, r. c. 1170–1194 CE) was a king from the Gahadavala dynasty of northern India. He is also known as Jayachchandra (IAST: Jayaccandra) in inscriptions, and Jaichand in vernacular legends. He ruled the Antarvedi country in the Gangetic plains, including the important cities of Kannauj and Varanasi. His territory included much of the present-day eastern Uttar Pradesh and some parts of western Bihar. The last powerful king of his dynasty, he was defeated and killed in 1194 CE, in a battle near Yamuna against a Ghurid army led by Muhammad of Ghor. A fictional account of Jayachandra (as Jaichand) occurs in a legendary text Prithviraj Raso. The epic poem was likely written centuries after his death. According to this account, he was a rival of another Indian king, Prithviraj Chauhan. His daughter Samyukta eloped with Prithviraj against his wishes, and he allied with the foreign non-Hindu Ghurids to ensure Prithviraj's downfall. The name "Jaichand" became synonymous with the word "traitor" in folklore of northern India because of this legend. Early life Jayachandra was a son of the Gahadavala king Vijayachandra. According to a Kamauli inscription, he was crowned king on 21 June 1170 CE. Jayachandra inherited his grandfather Govindachandra's royal titles: Ashva-pati Nara-pati Gaja-pati Rajatrayadhipati ("leader of three forces: the cavalry, the infantry and the elephant corps") and Vividha-vidya-vichara-vachaspati ("patron of different branches of learning"). Military career { "type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [ { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Kamauli" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [83.0669, 25.3478] } }, { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Sehwar" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [83.0852, 25.3421] } }, { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Varanasi" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [83.0038, 25.3030] } }, { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Faizabad" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [82.1411, 26.7729] } }, { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Myohar" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [81.4941, 25.4114] } }, { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Bodh Gaya" }, "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [84.9911, 24.6964] } } ] } Jayachandra's inscriptions praise him using the conventional grandiloquent terms, but do not mention any concrete achievement of the king. The records of his neighbouring Hindu kings (Paramara, Chahamana, Chandela and Kalachuri) do not mention any conflict with him either. The Sena king Lakshmana Sena is believed to have invaded