Bhoja Paramara and His Times (An Old And Rare Book)

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The importance of the political and cultural history of the time of the Pat amara ruler Bhoja can hardly be over emphasised. An attempt has been made in the following pages to present a comprehensive account of the period associated with other illustri-ous rulers of ancient India.

This study has been divided into three sections:-

(i) The political system.

(ii) The Administrative system.

(iii) The Cultural history.

Part I contains four chapters (i) the Ancestors of Bhoja, (ii) the controversy about his succession, (iii) the life sketch of Bhoja and his political achievements. I have consulted the original epigraphical and literary sources bearing on the history of the period.

Part II deals with the administrative system of Bhoja. To give a clear picture of this aspect emphasis has been placed in the contemporary epigraphic and literary sources, including the works compsed by Bhoja himself.

For a correct appraisal of the administration of Bhoja a comparative study of the administrative machinery adopted by some contemporary dynasties such as the Kalachuri, the Chandella, the Chahaman and the It5straktita has been made.

Part III deals with the cultural history of the time. It includes the social, religious and economic conditions and also the developments in the field of architecture and arts during the period. Here again the literary contributions of Bhoja have been thoroughly exploited.

Epigraphic and literary sources have primarily been relied upon and an effort has been made to show how far the literary evidence is confirmed by the evidence obtained from the inscriptions, coins and architectural and sculptural remains of the period.

This is the first attempt to present a comprehensive picture of the cultural history of the times of Bhoja.

I express my sincere gratitude to Professor K.D. Bajpai whose valuable guidance has enabled me to complete the present work. I owe my deep indebtedness to my revered father Sri Raghuraj Singh, who althrough inspired me to work round the clock. Thanks are due to my elder brothers Sarvasri Jaganath Singh, Balbhadra Singh and Swayambar Singh and my younger brother Sri Ran Bahadur Singh and my nephew Sri Bajrang Singh. My friend, Sri Krishna Kumar Trivedi, Sri R.K. Paul and Brijendra Nath Bajpai deserve my thankfulness for their commendable help in preparing the Index and contents.

In conclusion, I would like to offer my hearty thanks to the Educational Academy, Dehradun for undertaking the type-work.

Lastly, I have to thank Shri Kishore Chand Jain of Bharatiya Vadya Prakashan, Delhi and Varanasi for his courtesy to publish this book.

The present work en-braces all the aspects of political and cultural history of the time of Bhoja, the Paramara ruler of the first half of the eleventh century A.D... On the political history of this period, several works by eminent scholars are available in the market Mention may be made of Dr. D.C. Ganguly, History of of the Paramara dynasty; Prof. H C. Ray, History of Northern India; Prof. C.V. Vaidya, History of Hindu Mediaeval India: Prof. P.T.S. Ayyanger, Bhojraja; B.N. Reu, Raja Bhoja and K.M. Munshi, Glory that was Gurjarde§a. Besides, some account on the subject is preserved in works such as struggle for Empire; Imperial Kanauj; History of Kanauj; The History of Dekkan; Col. Tod's Annals of Rajasthana and Elliot's History of India. The works of other scholars e.g. the History of the Solankis; the Cholas; the Early History of the Chauhana-dynasty and the History of the Chandella dynasty also throw sufficient light on the Comparative history of the time.

Several points pertaining to the political history of this period still bristle with controversies. These include his parentage, succession of Bhoja; the date of his succession; the story of Bhoja's persecution; his war against the Muslims; his death in consequence of the joint attack of Bhima, the Chalukya king of Gujrat and the Kalachuri King Karna.

The cultural history of the period, not adequately presented by the previous scholars has been given here in detail. The per-sonal contribution of Bhoja to Indian literature and art has been duly emphasised. His works, such as the Yuktikalpataru; the Samarabgana Satradhara; the Rajamartancla and the Tattvapra-Vasa throw sufficient light on Indian life and thought. Apart from Bhoja's own writings, several earlier contemporary and later works such as Desinamamala; Yagastilaka-Champii; SukranItisara; Nava-sahasailkacharita; Rasamala; Rajatarafigitil: Vikramatikadevacha-rita: Manasollasa; Prabandhachintamapi and Bhojaprabandha are quite valuable for the purpose. The accounts of Alberuni, the Arab traveller of the time, furnish interalia, sufficient material concerning political and the cultural history of the period.

As regards the social and religious conditions, besides the works of Bhoja and the epigraphic records of the time and the later period, Alberuni's 'India' is of great help. It provides us with the details about the society of the period viz. the social organisation; caste-system with its complete functioning; the system of marriage and education system etc.. Works like gukranitisara and Manasollasa offer useful material in this regard.

A detailed description of the economic-condition of the period is found in the Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja. In addition to other topics it describes in detail the methods of constructing the navi-gating vessels, ships and boats of various types. Various kinds of raw-materials, metals and products with their findspots are described in the same book. The other details of the economic condition of this period are found in Alberuni's 'India'. Besides, the contemporary epigraphic records also provide us with the material on the subject. Some relevant portions of the gukranitisara have been utilized for the purpose. Several modern works like Indian ship-ping, Bharatiya-Vyapara-ka-Itih5sa (Hindi), The Socio-Economic condition of northern India during the 11th and 12th centuries and state and government in Ancient India, by R.K. Mookerjee, K.D. Bajpai, B.P. Mazumdar and A.S. Altekar respectively, throw much light on the subject. In regard to the navigation, import and export of various goods and raw-materials with their producing localities and commercial relations of the then India with other countries, several stories from Soma-deva's Kathasaritasagara have also been quoted.

Among all the Rajput dynasties which arose from the collapse of Pratiharas, Paramaras for sometime, continued to be the most powerful rulers of the northern and central India This dynasty came to importance in the time of Vakpati Muilja and reached its zenith during the time of Bhoja.

Bhoja was not only the greatest ruler of the Paramara dynasty but he can be counted among the few most powerful monarchs of the age His acivities were not confined to the political field but embraced almost all the spheres. Culturally his era made a remark-able advancement in Indian History. He gave a new direction to the poetic flow, initiated new concepts to the political thought, laid down different new methods for the construction of machines and the most important among all of his contributions was his discovery of constructing navigating vessels such as boats and ships. The inclusion of these inventions to the Indian mechanism would have certainly facilitated the naval warfare and the commerce of the country.

**Contents and Sample Pages**