Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an
Indian king from the
Paramara dynasty
The Paramara dynasty ( IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmara clan of the Rajputs.
The dynasty was established in either t ...
. His kingdom was centered around the
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...
region in central India, where his capital
Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja
fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his kingdom, with varying degrees of success. At its zenith, his empire extended from
Chittor
Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...
in the north to upper
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
in the south, and from the
Sabarmati River in the west to
Vidisha
Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...
in the east.
Because of his patronage to scholars, Bhoja became one of the most celebrated kings in the Indian history. After his death, he came to be featured in several legends as a righteous scholar-king. The body of legends clustered around him is comparable to that of the Emperor
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and ''Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratis ...
.
Bhoja is best known as a patron of arts, literature, and sciences. The establishment of the
Bhoj Shala
The Bhojshala (IAST: Bhojaśālā, sometimes Bhoj Shala, meaning 'Hall of Bhoja') is an historic building located in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, India. The name is derived from the celebrated king Bhoja of the Paramāra dynasty of central India, a ...
, a centre for
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
studies, is attributed to him. He was a
polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
, and several books covering a wide range of topics are attributed to him. He is also said to have constructed a large number of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
temples, although
Bhojeshwar Temple
The Bhojeshwar Temple (IAST: Bhojeśvara) is an incomplete Hindu temple in Bhojpur village of Madhya Pradesh, India. Dedicated to Shiva, it houses a high lingam in its sanctum.
The temple's construction is believed to have started in the 11th c ...
in
Bhojpur (a city founded by him) is the only surviving temple that can be ascribed to him with certainty.
Early life
Bhoja's father and predecessor was
Sindhuraja
Sindhuraja (IAST: Sindhurāja) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled the Malwa region in the late 10th century. He was the younger brother of Munja, and the father of Bhoja.
Background
No inscriptions issued by Sindhuraja ...
. According to ''Bhoja-Prabandha'', his mother's name was Savitri. Bhoja's reputation as a scholar-king suggests that he was well-educated as a child. The ''Bhoja-Prabandha'' states that he was educated by his guardians as well as other learned scholars.
According to ''Bhoja-Prabandha'', early in his life, Bhoja suffered from intense headaches. Two
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
surgeons from
Ujjain
Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...
made him unconscious using an
anaesthetic
An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia — in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...
powder called ''moha-churna'', opened his
cranial bone
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
, removed a tumor, and then made him regain his consciousness by administering another powder called ''sanjivani''.
Legend of persecution by Munja
According to ''Tilaka-Manjari'', composed by Bhoja's contemporary Dhanapala, Bhoja's feet had auspicious birthmarks indicating that he was fit to be a king. His uncle
Munja (and his father's predecessor) loved him greatly, and appointed him as the king.
![Paramaras of Vidarbha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Paramaras_of_Vidarbha._Bhojadeva._Circa_1000-1055_CE.jpg)
However, several later legendary accounts state that Munja was initially jealous of Bhoja, and tried to prevent him from becoming a king. For example, the 14th century ''
Prabandha-Chintamani
''Prabandha-Chintamani'' (IAST: Prabandha-cintāmaṇi) is an Indian Sanskrit-language collection of ''prabandhas'' (semi-historical biographical narratives). It was compiled in c. 1304 CE, in the Vaghela kingdom of present-day Gujarat, by Jain s ...
'' states that during the reign of Munja, an astrologer prophesied Bhoja's long reign. Munja, who wanted his own son to become the king, ordered Bhoja's killing. Bhoja was appointed as the king by the royal ministers after Munja's death. According to a Gujarati legend documented in
Rasmala, Munja ordered Bhoja's murder, but later appointed him as the crown prince.
''Bhoja-Prabandha'' states that Munja ordered one Vatsaraja to kill Bhoja at the Mahamaya temple in Bhuvaneshvari forest. On hearing Bhoja's cultured manner of talking, Vatsaraja and his men abandoned the murder plan. They faked Bhoja's death, and presented to Munja a fake head and a verse from Bhoja. The verse described how great kings like
Mandhata,
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
and
Yudhishthira
''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first w ...
died leaving behind all their property; it then sarcastically added that Munja would be the only one whom the earthly possessions would follow. The verse moved Munja to tears, and made him realize his mistake. When he learned that Bhoja was still alive, he invited Bhoja to back to his court. To repent for his sin, he also went on a pilgrimage to Dharmaranya, where he established a town called Munjapuram. The sarcastic verse, purportedly written by Bhoja to Munja, also appears as an antonymous extract in ''
Sharngadhara-paddhati'' (1363 CE).
These stories of Bhoja's persecution by Munja are essentially mythical. This legend is not found in the works composed by the contemporaries of Munja, Sindhuraja and Bhoja. For example, the ''
Nava-sahasanka-charita
:Not to be confused with ''Nava-sahasanka-charita'' by Shriharsha
''Nava-sahasanka-charita'' (IAST: ''Nava-sāhasānka-carita'', "the biography of the New Sahasanka") is a Sanskrit-language epic poem written by the Paramara court poet Padmagupta, ...
'' makes no mention of this story. The legend appears to be the poetic imagination of later composers. ''
Ain-i-Akbari
The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...
'' also contains a variation of this account, but completely distorts the legend, naming Munja as the one who was persecuted by Bhoja. This account is also completely unreliable from a historical point of view.
Anointment
Some literary works suggest that Bhoja succeeded his uncle
Munja as the Paramara king. These works include ''Tilaka-Manjari'', ''Prabandha-Chintamani'', and ''Rasmala''. However, several other works as well as epigraphic evidence indicate that Bhoja succeeded his father
Sindhuraja
Sindhuraja (IAST: Sindhurāja) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled the Malwa region in the late 10th century. He was the younger brother of Munja, and the father of Bhoja.
Background
No inscriptions issued by Sindhuraja ...
. Padmagupta, the court poet of Sindhuraja and Bhoja, also supports this fact. According to ''Bhoja-Prabandha'', Munja left the Paramara administration in hands of Sindhuraja before departing on a military expedition. Munja unexpectedly died in this campaign, and as a result, Sindhuraja succeeded him as the king. Sindhuraja's court poet Padmagupta, in his ''Nava-Sahasanka-Charita'', states that Munja "placed the world in Sindhuraja's hands" before leaving for Ambika's town. This indicates that he left the administration in Sindhuraja's hands before leaving for his fatal expedition against
Tailapa II
Tailapa II (r. c. 973-997), also known as Taila II and by his title ''Ahavamalla'', was the founder of the Western Chalukya dynasty in southern India. Tailapa claimed descent from the earlier Chalukyas of Vatapi, and initially ruled as a Rashtr ...
. ''Udaipur Prashasti'' inscription seems to confirm this.
Period of reign
The
Modasa copper plates (1010–11 CE) are the earliest historical record of Bhoja's reign. The ''Chintamani-Sarnika'' (1055 CE) was composed by Bhoja's court poet Dasabala. An inscription of Bhoja's successor Jayasimha I is also dated 1055 CE. Thus, 1055 CE can be taken as the last year of Bhoja's reign. Based on these evidences, scholars such as Pratipal Bhatia assign Bhoja's reign to 1010–1055 CE.
However, some scholars assign the beginning of Bhoja's reign variously between 1000 CE and 1010 CE, based on their interpretations of inscriptions and legendary texts. For example, Merutunga's ''
Prabandha-Chintamani
''Prabandha-Chintamani'' (IAST: Prabandha-cintāmaṇi) is an Indian Sanskrit-language collection of ''prabandhas'' (semi-historical biographical narratives). It was compiled in c. 1304 CE, in the Vaghela kingdom of present-day Gujarat, by Jain s ...
'' states that Bhoja ruled for 55 years, 7 months and 3 days. Based on this, scholars such as D. C. Ganguly and K. C. Jain assign Bhoja's reign to 1000–1055 CE. However, as
K. M. Munshi
Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (; 30 December 1887 – 8 February 1971), popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer and educationist from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, ...
states, dates are "the weakest point in Merutunga's narratives".
A. K. Warder
Anthony Kennedy Warder (8 September 1924 – 8 January 2013) was a British Indologist. His best-known works are ''Introduction to Pali'' (1963), ''Indian Buddhism'' (1970), and the eight-volume ''Indian Kāvya Literature'' (1972–2011).
Life
Wa ...
, who dismisses Merutunga as "completely unreliable" and his narratives as "essentially fiction", believes there is no evidence that Bhoja's reign began much earlier than 1010 CE.
Names and titles
In the Paramara inscriptions, Bhoja is mentioned as ''Bhoja-
deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
''. In some modern north Indian languages such as
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, he is also known as "Bhoj" (because of
schwa deletion
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English ...
). Bhoja's inscriptions mention his titles as ''Parama-bhattaraka'', ''
Maharajadhiraja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
'' and ''Parameshvara''. ''Ganaratna Mahodadhi'' (1140 CE), a work on grammar by Vardhamana, suggests that "Tribhuvan Narayana" or "Triloka Narayana" ("Lord of the three
worlds") was also a title of Bhoja. This is corroborated by epigraphic evidence: the
Shiva temple ascribed to Bhoja in the Chittor fort has an idol which was named "Bhojasvamindeva" as well as "Tribhuvan Narayanadeva".
Military career
Inscriptions from Bhoja's reign have been found in present-day Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
and Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
states of India" width="300" height="300" zoom="6" longitude="75.18" latitude="22.60">
While Bhoja became famous as a benevolent king and a patron of arts and culture, he was also renowned as a warrior. He inherited a kingdom centered around the
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...
region, and made several attempts to expand it with varying results. The ''Udaipur
Prashasti
''Prashasti'' (IAST: Praśasti, Sanskrit for "praise") is an Indian genre of inscriptions composed by poets in praise of their rulers. Most date from the 6th century CE onwards. Written in the form of poetry or ornate prose, the ''prashastis'' s ...
'' inscription of Bhoja's brother compares Bhoja to the legendary king
Prithu
Prithu (Sanskrit: पृथु, ''Pṛthu'', lit. "large, great, important, abundant") is a sovereign ( chakravarti), featured in the Puranas. According to Hinduism, he is an avatar (incarnation) of the preserver god—Vishnu. He is also called ...
, and states that he "ruled the earth from
Kailasha
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...
to
Malaya hills and up to the mountains of the setting and the rising sun". This is an obvious exaggeration: historical evidence indicates that Bhoja's kingdom extended from
Chittor
Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...
in the north to upper
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...
in the south, and from the
Sabarmati River in the west to
Vidisha
Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...
in the east.
Several legends mention conflicts between the ruler of Malwa and the
Chaulukyas, during the reign of the Chaulukya kings
Vallabha-raja and
Durlabha-raja. Vallabha is said to have died of smallpox during an expedition against the Paramaras. This incident may have happened during the early part of Bhoja's reign, or during the reign of his father
Sindhuraja
Sindhuraja (IAST: Sindhurāja) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled the Malwa region in the late 10th century. He was the younger brother of Munja, and the father of Bhoja.
Background
No inscriptions issued by Sindhuraja ...
. Vallabha's successor Durlabha is said to have repulsed an attack by a confederacy that included the ruler of Malwa, but modern historians doubt the authenticity of this legend.
Bhoja's first military aggression appears to be his invasion of the
Lata region (in present-day
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
), around 1018 CE. Bhoja subjugated the
Chalukyas of Lata
The Chalukyas of Lata were an Indian dynasty, which ruled the Lata region of present-day Gujarat during 10th and 11th centuries. They ruled as feudatories of the Western Chalukyas in their early years, and were ultimately defeated by the Chauluk ...
, whose ruler Kirtiraja may have served as his feudatory for a brief period. Bhoja's invasion of Lata brought him close to the
Shilahara
The Shilahara Kingdom ( IAST: Śilāhāra; also Sinhara, Shailahara, Shrilara, and Silara) was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra (Kolhapur) d ...
kingdom of northern
Konkana, which was located to the south of Lata. Bhoja invaded and captured Konkana sometime between 1018 and 1020 CE, during the reign of the Shilahara king
Arikesari. He celebrated this victory in a big way by making generous donations to
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s. His 1020 CE inscription states that he organized a ''Konkana-Grahana Vijaya Parva'' ("Konkan Victory Festival"). The Shilaharas probably continued to administer Konkana as Bhoja's vassals. By the end of his reign, Bhoja had lost this territory to the
Chalukyas of Kalyani
The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the ...
.
Sometime before 1019 CE, Bhoja formed an alliance against the Chalukyas of Kalyani with
Rajendra Chola
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tami ...
and
Gangeyadeva
Gangeyadeva (IAST:, r. c. 1015-1041 CE) was a ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
During the early part of his reign, Gangeyadeva ...
Kalachuri. At this time,
Jayasimha II was the Chalukya king. The triple alliance engaged the Chalukyas at their northern and southern frontiers simultaneously. The extent of Bhoja's success in this campaign is not certain, as both Chalukya and Paramara
panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
s claimed victory. Historian D. C. Ganguly believes that Bhoja achieved some early victories against the Chalukyas, but was ultimately defeated. Others, including D. B. Diskalkar and
H. C. Ray, believe that Bhoja was defeated by Jayasimha after some early successes, but ultimately emerged victorious against the Chalukyas after 1028 CE. According to
Georg Bühler
Professor Johann Georg Bühler (July 19, 1837 – April 8, 1898) was a scholar of ancient Indian languages and law.
Early life and education
Bühler was born to Rev. Johann G. Bühler in Borstel, Hanover, attended grammar school in Hanover, whe ...
, the struggle probably ended with some advantage for Bhoja, which might have been exaggerated into a great victory by the Paramara poets.
The ''Udaipur Prashasti'' states that Bhoja defeated a ruler named Indraratha. Modern historians identify this king with Indranatha, the
Somavamshi king of
Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...
. This king was defeated by
Rajendra Chola
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tami ...
: Bhoja may have played a secondary role in the Chola campaign as part of an alliance.
The
Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
, a Muslim dynasty of
Turkic origin, invaded north-western India in the 11th century, led by
Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
. The ''Udaipur Prashasti'' claims that Bhoja's mercenaries defeated the Turushkas (Turkic people). There are some legendary accounts of Bhoja's military successes against the foreign invaders identified with the Ghaznavids. However, there is no clear evidence to show that Bhoja fought against the Ghaznavids or any other Muslim army. Bhoja might have contributed troops to the
Kabul Shahi Kabul Shahi is a term used to denote two former non-Muslim dynasties in Kabul:
*Turk Shahis (665–850 CE)
*Hindu Shahi
The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway ...
ruler
Anandapala
The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details r ...
's fight against the Ghaznavids. He is believed to have granted asylum to Anandapala's son Trilochanapala. Several medieval Muslim historians state that Mahmud avoided a confrontation with a powerful Hindu ruler named Param Dev after sacking the
Somnath Hindu temple. Modern historians identify Param Dev as Bhoja: the name may be a corruption of Paramara-Deva or of Bhoja's title ''Parameshvara-Paramabhattaraka''. Bhoja may have also been a part of the Hindu alliance that expelled Mahmud's governors from
Hansi
Hansi, is a city and municipal council in Hisar district in the Indian state of Haryana. It appears that at one time Hansi was larger, more prosperous and more important than Hisar. The town has several important buildings of archeological import ...
,
Thanesar
Thanesar city or old Kurukshetra city is a historic town and an important Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in Kurukshetra district of the States and territories of India, state of Haryana in North India, northern India. It is loca ...
and other areas around 1043 CE.
Bhoja's attempt to expand his kingdom eastwards was foiled by the
Chandela
The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel clan of the Rajputs.
...
king
Vidyadhara
Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit , literally "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered ''Upadeva''s, or demi ...
. However, Bhoja was able to extend his influence among the Chandela feudatories, possibly after Vidyadhara's death. The
Kachchhapaghatas of Dubkund, who were the northern neighbours of the Paramaras, were originally Chandela feudatories. However, their ruler Abhimanyu accepted Bhoja's suzerainty. Bhoja also launched a campaign against the Kachchhapaghatas of
Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...
, possibly with the ultimate goal of capturing
Kannauj
Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...
, but his attacks were repulsed by their ruler Kirtiraja.
According to the ''Udaipur Prashasti'' inscription, Bhoja defeated the
Gurjara
Gurjaradesa ("Gurjara country") or Gurjaratra is a historical region in India comprising the eastern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat during the period of 6th -12th century CE. The predominant power of the region, the Gurjara-Pratiharas eventual ...
king. The identity of this king is debated by the historians, but he is generally identified as a weak
Gurjara-Pratihara
The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Hindustan, Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj.
The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving ...
ruler of
Kannauj
Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...
. Bhoja did not retain control of Kannauj for a long time, if at all.
The 1046 CE
Tilakawada copper plate inscription states that Bhoja's general Suraditya stabilized his royal fortune by slaughtering one Sahavahana in a battle. Some earlier historians identified Sahavahana as a king of
Chamba Chamba may refer to:
People
* Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer
* Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist
Places Ghana
* Chamba, a town in the Northern Region
India
* Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh ...
, but this identification is doubtful, considering the distance between Chamba and Malwa, and the fact that the ruler of Chamba was not powerful enough to destabilize Bhoja's kingdom. Sahavahana might been a general of one of Bhoja's rivals, possibly the Kalachuri king Karna.
Bhoja defeated and killed
Viryarama, the
Shakambhari Chahamana ruler. Encouraged by this success, he also waged a war against the
Chahamanas of Naddula
The Chahamanas of Naddula, also known as the Chauhans of Nadol, were an Indian dynasty. They ruled the Marwar area around their capital Naddula (present-day Nadol in Rajasthan) between 10th and 12th centuries. They belonged to the Chahamana (Ch ...
. But in this second campaign, his army was forced to retreat, and his general Sadha was killed.
During the last years of Bhoja's reign, sometime after 1042 CE, Jayasimha's son and successor
Someshvara I
Someshvara I (; ) was a king of the Western Chalukyas. Also known as "Ahavamalla" or "Trilokamalla", Someshvara succeeded his father Jayasimha II to the throne.
His several military successes in Central India made him a formidable ruler of a ...
invaded Malwa, and sacked his capital
Dhara. Multiple Chalukya inscriptions dated between 1058 and 1067 CE state that the Chalukyas plundered the important Paramara cities, including Dhara,
Ujjayini
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujj ...
and
Mandapa
A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture.
Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...
. Bhoja re-established his control over Malwa soon after the departure of the Chalukya army. Nevertheless, the defeat was a major setback for the Paramaras, and pushed back the southern boundary of their kingdom from
Godavari
The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
to
Narmada.
Although the Bhoja and Kalachuri king Gangeya were part of an alliance against the Chalukyas, Bhoja defeated Gangeya. It is not certain when they turned into enemies. According to one theory, Bhoja defeated Gangeya before his Chalukya campaign, in which Gangeya must have fought as a Paramara vassal. A contradictory theory is that the two turned enemies after their Chalukya campaign, sometime between 1028 CE and 1042 CE. The ''Udaipur Prashasti'' also claims that Bhoja defeated one Togglala, who might have been Gangeya's predecessor
Kokalla II
Kokalla II ( IAST: , r. c. 990-1015 CE) was a ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. His Gurgi inscription suggests that he raided the ...
.
Death
During the last year of Bhoja's reign, or shortly after his death, the Chaulukya king
Bhima I
Bhima I (r. c. 1022–1064 CE) was a Chaulukya king who ruled parts of present-day Gujarat, India. The early years of his reign saw an invasion from the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud, who sacked the Somnath temple. Bhima left his capital and took s ...
and the
Kalachuri king
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
attacked his kingdom. According to the 14th century author Merutunga, Bhoja had once thought of subjugating Bhima, but Bhima's diplomat avoided a Paramara invasion by instigating Bhoja against the
Chalukyas of Kalyani
The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the ...
instead. Sometime before 1031 CE, Bhima launched an expedition against the Paramara branch at
Abu
Abu or ABU may refer to:
Places
* Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan
* Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan
* Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria
* Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
, forcing its ruler Dhandhuka to seek shelter with Bhoja.
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gain ...
, who was patronized by the Chaulukyas, states that Bhoja's general Kulachandra once sacked the Chaulukya capital while Bhima was fighting a war at the
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
frontier. Bhima later dispatched his soldiers to raid Malwa several times. Merutunga's ''Prabandha-Chintamani'' states that once two such soldiers attacked Bhoja in the vicinity of his capital
Dhara, but the Paramara king escaped unhurt.
Merutunga also states that Karna once challenged Bhoja to either a war or a palace-building contest. Bhoja, who was an old man by this time, chose the second option. Bhoja lost this contest, but refused to accept Karna's suzerainty. As a result, Karna, in alliance with Bhima, invaded Malwa. According to Merutunga, Bhoja died of a disease at the same time the allied army attacked his kingdom. Several literary works written under Chaulukya patronage suggest that Bhima subjugated Bhoja while Bhoja was still alive. However, such claims are not corroborated by historical evidence.
Cultural contributions
![Bhojpur Mandir](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Bhojpur_Mandir.jpg)
Bhoja is best remembered for his intellect and patronage to cultural activities. Noted poets and writers of his time sought his sponsorship. The Kashmiri writer
Bilhana
Kaviraj, Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the ''Caurapañcāśikā''.
According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, ...
famously rued that Bhoja died before him, because of which he failed to seek the king's patronage. Several later kings also emulated Bhoja. For example,
Krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...
of the
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...
styled himself as ''Abhinava-Bhoja'' ("the new Bhoja") and ''Sakala-Kala-Bhoja'' ("Bhoja of all the arts").
Bhoja was himself a polymath. Under his rule, Mālwa and its capital
Dhara became one of the chief intellectual centres of India. He is said to have paid great attention to the education of his people, so much so that even humble weavers in the kingdom are supposed to have composed metrical
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
kavyas.
Bhoja is said to have founded the city of
Bhojpur, a belief supported by historical evidence. Besides the
Bhojeshwar Temple
The Bhojeshwar Temple (IAST: Bhojeśvara) is an incomplete Hindu temple in Bhojpur village of Madhya Pradesh, India. Dedicated to Shiva, it houses a high lingam in its sanctum.
The temple's construction is believed to have started in the 11th c ...
there, the construction of three now-breached dams in that area is attributed to him. The temple originally stood on the banks of a reservoir 18.5 long and 7.5 miles wide. This reservoir was formed through construction of 3 earth-and-stone dams during Bhoja's reign. The first dam, built on
Betwa River
The Betwa (Hindi: बेतवा, Sanskrit: वेत्रवती) is a river in Central and Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range (Raisen) just north of Narmadapuram in Madhya Pradesh and flows north ...
, trapped the river waters in a depression surrounded by hills. A second dam was constructed in a gap between the hills, near present-day Mendua village. A third dam, located in present-day Bhopal, diverted more water from the smaller Kaliasot river into the Betwa dam reservoir. This man-made reservoir existed until 15th century, when
Hoshang Shah
Hoshang Shah (Alp Khan) (1406–1435) was the first formally appointed Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate of Central India.{{Cite book , last=Sen , first=Sailendra , title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History , publisher=Primus Books , year=2013 , ...
emptied the lake by breaching two of the dams.
Bhoja established the
Bhoj Shala
The Bhojshala (IAST: Bhojaśālā, sometimes Bhoj Shala, meaning 'Hall of Bhoja') is an historic building located in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, India. The name is derived from the celebrated king Bhoja of the Paramāra dynasty of central India, a ...
which was a centre for
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
studies and a temple of
Sarasvatī
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
in present-day
Dhar
Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar ...
. According to folklore, the
Bhopal
Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
city was established by and named after him ("Bhojpal"), but it is possible that the city derives its name from another king called Bhupala (or Bhupal).
Literary works
Bhoja was renowned as a scholar-king, and several books are attributed to him. Because these books cover an enormous range of topics, it is not certain if he actually wrote all these books or if he only commissioned these works, acting as a patron of their actual writers. But it is known that he was an expert on poetry, and the treatise ''Shringara-Prakasha'' was definitely authored by him.
According to Ajada, who wrote a commentary titled ''Padaka-prakasha'' on ''
Sarasvati-Kanthabharana
''Sarasvati-Kanthabharana'' ( sa, सरस्वती-कण्ठाभरण, ) [] is a Sanskrit Vyākaraṇa, Vyakarana treatise, authored by Bhoja, Bhoja deva, a king of Paramara dynasty in the 11th century AD. The work consists of eight chap ...
'', Bhoja wrote 84 books. The surviving works attributed to Bhoja include the following
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
-language texts (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
titles in bracket):
* ''Bhujabala-bhima'' (''Bhujabalabhīma''), a work on astrology
* ''Champu-Ramayana'' or ''Bhoja-Champu'' (''Campūrāmāyaṇa''), a re-telling of the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' in mixture of prose and poetry, which characterises the
champu
Champu or Chapu-Kavya (Devanagari: चम्पू-काव्य) is a genre of literary composition in Indian literature. The word 'Champu' means a combination of poetry and prose. A ''champu-kavya'' consists of a mixture of prose (Gadya-Kav ...
genre. The first five ''kanda''s (chapters) are attributed to Bhoja. The sixth and seventh chapters were completed by Lakshmana and Venkatadhvarin respectively.
* ''Charucharya'' (Cārucārya), a treatise on personal hygiene
* ''Govinda-vilasa'', poem
* ''Nama-Malika'', a compiled treatise on
lexicography
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoretica ...
* ''Raja-Martaṅda'' (''Rājamārtanḍa'') or ''Patanjali-Yogasutra-Bhashya'', a major commentary on the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ' ...
; includes an explanation of various forms of meditations
* ''Raja-Mriganka-Karana'' (''Rājamrigankakaraṅa''), a treatise on chemistry, especially dealing with the extraction of metals from ores, and production of various drugs.
* ''
Samarangana-Sutradhara'' (''Samarāṇgaṇasūtradhāra''), a treatise on architecture and iconography. It details construction of buildings,
fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
s, temples, idols of deities and mechanical devices including a so-called flying machine or glider.
* ''Sarasvati-Kanthabharana'' (''Sarasvatīkaṇṭhabharaṇa''), a treatise on Sanskrit grammar for poetic and rhetorical compositions. Most of it is a compilation of works by other writers. Some of the poetic examples provided by him in this work are still appreciated as the highest cream of Sanskrit poetry.
* ''Shalihotra'' (''Śālihotra''), a book on horses, their diseases and the remedies
* ''
Shringara-Prakasha'' (''Śṛṅgāraprakāśa''), treatise on poetics and dramaturgy
* ''
Shringara-manjari-katha'' (''Śṛṅgāramanjarīkathā''), a poem composed in ''akhyayika'' form
* ''Tattva-Prakasha'' (''Tattvaprākaśa''), a treatise on
Shaivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
philosophy. It provides a synthesis of the voluminous literature of the
siddhanta
''Siddhānta'' is a Sanskrit term denoting the established and accepted view of any particular school within Indian philosophy; literally "settled opinion or doctrine, dogma, axiom, received or admitted truth; any fixed or established or canonica ...
tantras
* ''Vidvajjana-Vallabha'', treatise on astronomy
* ''Vyavahara-Manjari'' (''Vyavahāramanjarī), a work on
dharmaśāstra
''Dharmaśāstra'' ( sa, धर्मशास्त्र) is a genre of Sanskrit texts on law and conduct, and refers to the treatises (shastras, śāstras) on dharma. Unlike Dharmasūtra which are based upon Vedas, these texts are mainly b ...
or Hindu law
* ''
Yukti-Kalpataru'', a work dealing with several topics including statecraft, politics, city-building, jewel-testing, characteristics of books, ship-building etc.
The
Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
language poems ''Kodanda-Kavya'' and ''Kurma-Sataka'' are also attributed to Bhoja. The ''Kodanda-Kavya'' (Kodaṅḍakāvya) was found inscribed on stone slab fragments at
Mandu. The ''Kurma-Sataka'' (''Avanikūrmaśataka''), which praises the
Kurma
Kurma ( sa, कूर्म; , 'Turtle', 'Tortoise'), is the second avatar of the Hindu preserver deity, Vishnu. Originating in Vedic literature such as the Yajurveda as being synonymous with the Saptarishi called Kashyapa, Kurma is most comm ...
(tortoise) incarnation of
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
, was found inscribed at the Bhoj Shala in Dhar.
''Sangitaraja'', attributed to Kalasena or
Kumbha
A kumbha ( sa, कुम्भ) is a type of pottery in India. Traditionally, it is made by Kumbhars, also known as ''Prajapati''s.
In the context of Hindu, Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism tra ...
, names Bhoja as an authority on music, which suggests that Bhoja also compiled or wrote a work on music.
Religion
![Chittorgarh-Samiddheshwara Temple-01-20131014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Chittorgarh-Samiddheshwara_Temple-01-20131014.jpg)
Historical evidence suggests that Bhoja was a devotee of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
. His writings qualify Shiva as "Jagadguru" ("World teacher"), and
his inscriptions begin with verses praising Shiva. The ''
Udaipur
Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...
Prashasti'' inscription of the later Paramara rulers states that Bhoja "covered the earth with temples" dedicated to the various aspects of Shiva, including Kedareshvara, Rameshwara, Somanatha,
Kala
Kala or Kalah may refer to:
Religion Hinduism
*Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time''
*Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva.
*Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts''
* Kala Bo, ...
, and Rudra. The Jain writer Merutunga, in his ''Prabandha-Chintamani'', states that Bhoja constructed 104 temples in his capital city of
Dhar
Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar ...
a alone. However, the
Bhojeshwar Temple
The Bhojeshwar Temple (IAST: Bhojeśvara) is an incomplete Hindu temple in Bhojpur village of Madhya Pradesh, India. Dedicated to Shiva, it houses a high lingam in its sanctum.
The temple's construction is believed to have started in the 11th c ...
in
Bhojpur is the only surviving shrine that can be attributed to Bhoja with certainty. Several historians, including
G. H. Ojha and
R. Nath, have identified the
Samadhishvara Shiva Temple in
Chittor
Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...
with the Tribhuvana Narayana Shiva or Bhoja-svamin temple attributed to Bhoja; the temple has been restored several times since its construction.
The Jain legends state that Bhoja converted to
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
. According to this account, his court poet Dhanapala convinced the king to give up
Vedic animal sacrifices. The poet also openly ridiculed Bhoja's other religious beliefs, including his worship of
Kamadeva
Kama ( sa, काम, ), also known as Kamadeva and Manmatha, is the Hindu god of love and desire, often portrayed alongside his consort, Rati.
The Atharvaveda, Atharva Veda regards Kamadeva as the wielder of the creative power of the universe ...
-
Rati
Rati ( sa, रति, ) is the Hinduism, Hindu Devi, goddess of List of love and lust deities, love, carnal desire, lust, passion, and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of ''Prajapati'' Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, th ...
and
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
. Gradually, Dhanapala convinced Bhoja to become a Jain.
These accounts of Bhoja's conversion to Jainism are irreconcilable with historical evidence.
In a ''Bhoja-Prabandlha'' legend, a Brahmin named Govinda calls Bhoja a
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
.
It is possible that Bhoja patronized other faiths despite being a Shaivite.
Personal life
Bhoja married multiple women as part of matrimonial alliances with other ruling dynasties. His chief queen was Liladevi or Lilavati. His other queens included Padmavati (princess of
Kuntala), Chandramukhi (princess of
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
) and Kamala.
Inscriptional evidence suggests that he was succeeded by
Jayasimha, who was probably his son. Jayasimha's
Mandhata grant of 1055 CE mentions his predecessors as Bhoja, Sindhuraja and Vakpati. However, this inscription does not specify the relationship between Bhoja and Jayasimha, and it is the only epigraph that mentions a Paramara king named Jayasimha. The ''Udaipur Prashasti'' and ''Nagpur Prashasti'' inscriptions of the later Paramara kings give a detailed genealogy of the Paramara kings, but do not mention Jayasimha. These two inscriptions name
Udayaditya
Udayaditya (reigned c. 1070–1093) was a Paramara ruler of Malwa region of central India, who succeeded Jayasimha I. He was succeeded by his son, either Lakshmadeva or Naravarman.
Ascension
Udayaditya was a brother of Bhoja, the most reno ...
as the next ruler after Bhoja. Udayaditya is now known to be Bhoja's brother.
Legends
In terms of the number of legends centered around him, Bhoja is comparable to the fabled
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and ''Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratis ...
.
Sheldon Pollock
Sheldon I. Pollock (born 1948) is an American scholar of Sanskrit, the intellectual and literary history of India, and comparative intellectual history. He is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University. He was ...
describes Bhoja as "the most celebrated poet-king and philosopher-king of his time, and perhaps of any Indian time". Bhoja came to be featured in several legends as a righteous scholar-king, who was the ultimate judge of literary qualities and generously rewarded good poets and writers. Most of these legends were written three to five centuries after his death.
Apart from epigraphic records, much of the information about Bhoja comes from these legendary accounts, including Merutunga's ''Prabandha-Chintamani'' (14th century), Rajavallabha's ''Bhoja-Charitra'' (15th century), and Ballala's ''Bhoja-Prabandha'' (17th century). However, many of the popular legends about Bhoja do not have any historical basis. For example, the ''Bhoja-Prabandha''
anachronistically
An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...
describes the ancient poet
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
as a contemporary of Bhoja.
In order to enhance their imperial claims, the Paramaras promoted several legends associating Bhoja with the ancient legendary kings. For example, in ''
Simhasana Dvatrimsika'' (popularly known as ''Singhasan Battisi''), Bhoja finds a throne of Vikramaditya, and each of the 32 divine figurines attached to the throne tell him a story about Vikramaditya. A ''
Bhavishya Purana
The 'Bhavishya Purana' (') is one of the eighteen major works in the Purana genre of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit. The title ''Bhavishya'' means "future" and implies it is a work that contains prophecies regarding the future.
The ''Bhavishya ...
'' legend describes Bhoja as a descendant of Vikramaditya and
Shalivahana
Shalivahana (IAST: Śālivāhana) was a legendary emperor of ancient India, who is said to have ruled from Pratishthana (present-day Paithan, Maharashtra). He is believed to be based on a Satavahana king (or kings).
There are several contradicto ...
. According to this legend, the
mleccha
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
(foreign) influence had corrupted Indian culture by the time of Bhoja's ascension. Bhoja marched up to the banks of the
Indus river
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
, and defeated several mleccha kings. The poet
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
, who accompanied him, magically turned into ashes a mleccha named Mahamada, whose followers came to be known as Muslim (The character Mahamada is based on
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
possibly combined with
Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
). After returning to his capital, Bhoja established
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
language among the top three
varnas and
Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
language among the
Shudra
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
s. During his 50-year reign,
Aryavarta (the land between the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
and the
Vindhyas
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
) became a blessed land where the varna system was established. On the other hand, caste mixture took place beyond the Vindhyas (that is, in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
). Again, this is an imaginary account not supported by any historical evidence.
In popular culture
He has been depicted numerous times in Indian cinema. Some films based on him include: ''Raja Bhoj'' (1922), ''Raja Bhoj'' (1926) by D. J. Jhaveri, ''King Bhoj'' (1930) by A. Narayanan and ''Bhoja Kalidasa'' (1940) by Hanumappa Vishwanath Babu.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
11th-century Indian monarchs
Paramara dynasty
Kings of Malwa
11th-century Indian writers
Sanskrit writers
Hindu monarchs
Indian male writers