Memorials dedicated to Prithviraj Chauhan have been constructed in Ajmer and Delhi. A number of movies and television serials have been made on his life. These include the Hindi movie Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan and the Hindi television serial Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan (2006–2009). The animated movie Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan (2008) was released in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. He was also one of the first historical figures to be covered in Amar Chitra Katha (No. 25). Many of these modern retellings depict Prithviraj as a flawless hero, and emphasize a message of Hindu national unity.

Bhuvanaikamalla, the paternal uncle of Prithviraj's mother, was another important minister during this time. According to Prithviraja Vijaya, he was a valiant general who served Prithviraj as Garuda serves Vishnu. The text also states that he was "proficient in the art of subduing nāgas". According to the 15th-century Historian Jonaraja, "naga" here refers to elephants. However, Har Bilas Sarda interpreted Naga as the name of a tribe, and theorized that Bhuvanaikamalla defeated this tribe.

The 13th-century Persian Historian Minhaj-i-Siraj states that Prithviraj was "sent to hell" after being captured. The 16th-century Historian Firishta also supports this account. According to Historian Satish Chandra, Minhaj's account suggests that Prithviraj was executed immediately after his defeat, but R. B. Singh believes that no such conclusion can be drawn from Minhaj's writings. Viruddha-Vidhi Vidhvansa by the Hindu Writer Lakshmidhara claims that Prithviraj was killed on the battlefield.

After his death, Prithviraj came to be portrayed as a patriotic Hindu warrior who fought against Muslim enemies. He is remembered as a king whose reign separated the two major epochs of Indian history. His dynasty was Classified as one of the Rajput clans in the later period, although the "Rajput" identity did not exist during his time. The 16th century legends describe him as the ruler of India's political centre Delhi (rather than Ajmer, which was his actual capital). For Example, Abul Fazl's Ain-i-Akbari does not associate the Chahamana dynasty with Ajmer at all. Prithviraj's association with Delhi in these legends further strengthened his status as a symbol of pre-Islamic Indian power.

Prithviraj has been described as "the last Hindu emperor" in eulogies. This designation is inaccurate, as several stronger Hindu rulers flourished in South India after him, and even some contemporary Hindu rulers in northern India were at least as powerful as him. Nevertheless, the 19th century British officer James Tod repeatedly used this term to describe Prithviraj Chauhan in his Annals and Antiquities of Rajas'han. Tod was influenced by the medieval Persian language Muslim accounts, which present Prithviraj as a major ruler and portray his defeat as a major milestone in the Islamic conquest of India. After Tod, several narratives continued to describe Prithviraj as "the last Hindu emperor".