Paramar dynasty
In the ninth century, The Paramara / Puar / Panwar dynasty originated in the Mount Abu region of Rajasthan and later ruled over the Malwa region in central India. They ruled from their capital at Dhārānagara, the present day Dhar city in Madhya Pradesh. The Paramara rulers were appointed as governors by the Kings of the Rashtrakuta dynasty when Malwa was conquered by the south Indian Emperor Govinda III. The Paramara kingdom was established by the Rashtrakuta dynasty of southern India as governors of Malwa when the south Indian Emperor Govinda III of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty conquered Malwa. Malwa was an Indo-Aryan kingdom in west-central India – the tableland to the north of the Vindhya Range, ruled by the Parmar Rajputs.
Though the Paramara Dynasty owes its origin to a chief named Upendra or Krishnaraja at the beginning of the 9th century AD, it was as a result of the collapse of the Rashtrakuta power in the second half of the 10th century that Paramaras became an independent power. Ujjain was their earlier capital and later Dhara became their seat of power. Both these places are in Madhya Pradesh.
The first great Paramara ruler of note was Vakapati Munja, (c 974-997-8) who was in constant war withTailapa or Taila II, founder of the later western Chalukyan dynasty of Kalyani. It is said that Munja defeated him for sixteen times. However, in the seventeenth encounter, Munja was defeated and taken prisoner and subsequently killed.
Himself an accomplished poet, Munja basked in the glory of being the patron of scholars and poet. This can be gauged from the galaxy of men of letters who graced his court. Prominent among them were Padmagupta, Dhananjaya, Dhanika and Halayudha. Dhananjaya was the author of Dasharupa, a work on dramaturgy. Dhanika was the author of Avaloka, a commentary on Dasharupa. Munja is also said to have built several artificial lakes including the existing Munjasagar lake at Dhara named after him. The cities in his kingdom were adorned with beautiful temples.
Munja was succeeded by his brother, Sindhuraja, who is known for having assumed the significant title of Navasahasanka, (meaning the new Sahasanka or Vikramaditya.) His exploits are described in the Navasahasankacharitam written by Padmagupta.
King Bhoj, who ruled from about 1010 to 1060, was a great polymath and philosopher king of medieval India; his extensive writings cover philosophy, poetry, medicine, veterinary science, phonetics, yoga, and archery. Under his rule, Malwa became an intellectual centre of India. Bhoj also founded the city of Bhopal to secure the eastern part of his kingdom. In the early fourteenth century (1305) Allaudin Khalji overran Malwa, although an inscription from Udaipur indicates that the Paramara dynasty survived until 1310, at least in the north-eastern part of Malwa. A later inscription shows that the area had been captured by the Delhi Sultanate by 1338.
Around this time, the Ujjainia Rajputs migrated to the east and settled at different places in Bihar-Dawa, Matila, Bhojpur and Jagdishpur (all in Shahabad district). They were locally known as Ujjainya Rajputs because of the place of their origin. By the early 16th century the Ujjainia rajputs had split into mutually hostile and warring groups. Out of this fratricidal struggle, Bhojpur was divided into three parts, namely, Jagdishpur, Dumraon and Chaugain, the latter falling to Kanwar Pratap Singh, who became the first independent Raja of Chaugain.
Not one remnant of independence exists to mark the greatness of the Paramaras, ruins are the sole records of their power. Today, they are mainly found in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and are one of the Thirty-Six Royal Races.
ORIGINS: There are three schools of thought regarding the origin of the Parmar Rajput Dynasty.
1. They are said to be one of the four agni kula clans of the Rajputs, along with the Chauhans, Parihars and Solankis.
2. They are thought to be a tribe of Central India that rose to political prominence as feudatories of the Rashtrakuta rulers.
3. They are thought to have been agnatically related to the Rashtrakutas and at an early date they became a separate Rajput clan distinct from the Rashtrakutas
The imperial Paramaras
The first independent sovereign of the Paramara dynasty was Siyaka (sometimes called Siyaka II to distinguish him from the earlier Siyaka mentioned in the Udaipur Prashasti). The Harsola copper plates (949 CE) suggest that Siyaka was a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna III in his early days. However, the same inscription also mentions the high-sounding Maharajadhirajapati as one of Siyaka’s titles. Based on this, K. N. Seth believes that Siyaka’s acceptance of the Rashtrakuta lordship was nominal.
As a Rashtrakuta feudatory, Siyaka participated in their campaigns against the Pratiharas. He also defeated some Huna chiefs ruling to the north of Malwa. He might have suffered setbacks against the Chandela king Yashovarman. After the death of Krishna III, Siyaka defeated his successor Khottiga in a battle fought on the banks of the Narmada River. He then pursued Khottiga’s retreating army to the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta, and sacked that city in 972 CE. His victory ultimately led to the decline of the Rashtrakutas, and the establishment of the Paramaras as an independent sovereign power in Malwa.
Siyaka’s successor Munja achieved military successes against the Chahamanas of Shakambari, the Chahamanas of Naddula, the Guhilas of Mewar, the Hunas, the Kalachuris of Tripuri, and the ruler of Gurjara region (possibly a Gujarat Chaulukya or Pratihara ruler). He also achieved some early successes against the Western Chalukya king Tailapa II, but was ultimately defeated and killed by Tailapa some time between 994 CE and 998 CE.
As a result of this defeat, the Paramaras lost their southern territories (possibly the ones beyond the Narmada river) to the Chalukyas. Munja was reputed as a patron of scholars, and his rule attracted scholars from different parts of India to Malwa. He was also a poet himself, although only a few stanzas composed by him now survive.
Munja’s brother Sindhuraja (ruled c. 990s CE) defeated the Western Chalukya king Satyashraya, and recovered the territories lost to Tailapa II. He also achieved military successes against a Huna chief, the Somavanshi of south Kosala, the Shilaharas of Konkana, and the ruler of Lata (southern Gujarat). His court poet Padmagupta wrote his biography Nava-Sahasanka-Charita, which credits him with several other victories, although these appear to be poetic exaggerations.]
Sindhuraja’s son Bhoja is the most celebrated ruler of the Paramara dynasty. He made several attempts to expand the Paramara kingdom varying results. Around 1018 CE, he defeated the Chalukyas of Lata in present-day Gujarat. Between 1018 CE and 1020 CE, he gained control of the northern Konkan, whose Shilahara rulers probably served as his feudatories for a brief period. Bhoja also formed an alliance against the Kalyani Chalukya king Jayasimha II, with Rajendra Chola and Gangeya-deva Kalachuri. The extent of Bhoja’s success in this campaign is not certain, as both Chalukya and Paramara panegyrics claimed victory. During the last years of Bhoja’s reign, sometime after 1042 CE, Jayasimha’s son and successor Someshvara I invaded Malwa, and sacked his capital Dhara. Bhoja re-established his control over Malwa soon after the departure of the Chalukya army, but the defeat pushed back the southern boundary of his kingdom from Godavari to Narmada.
Bhoja’s attempt to expand his kingdom eastwards was foiled by the Chandela king Vidyadhara. However, Bhoja was able to extend his influence among the Chandela feudatories, the Kachchhapaghatas of Dubkund. Bhoja also launched a campaign against the Kachchhapaghatas of Gwalior, possibly with the ultimate goal of capturing Kannauj, but his attacks were repulsed by their ruler Kirtiraja. Bhoja also defeated the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, killing their ruler Viryarama. However, he was forced to retreat by the Chahamanas of Naddula. According to medieval Muslim historians, after sacking Somnath, Mahmud of Ghazni changed his route to avoid confrontation with a Hindu king named Param Dev. 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 contributed troops to support the Kabul Shahi ruler Anandapala’s fight against the Ghaznavids. He may have also been a part of the Hindu alliance that expelled Mahmud’s governors from Hansi, Thanesar and other areas around 1043 CE. During the last year of Bhoja’s reign, or shortly after his death, the Chaulukya king Bhima I and the Kalachuri king Karna attacked his kingdom. According to the 14th century author Merutunga, Bhoja died of a disease at the same time the allied army attacked his kingdom.
At its zenith, Bhoja’s kingdom extended from Chittor in the north to upper Konkan in the south, and from the Sabarmati River in the west to Vidisha in the east.He was recognized as a capable military leader, but his territorial conquests were short-lived. His major claim to fame was his reputation as a scholar-king, who patronized arts, literature and sciences. Noted poets and writers of his time sought his sponsorship. Bhoja was himself a polymath, whose writings cover a wide variety of topics include grammar, poetry, architecture, yoga, and chemistry. Bhoja established the Bhoj Shala which was a centre for Sanskrit studies and a temple of Sarasvati in present-day Dhar. He is said to have founded the city of Bhojpur, a belief supported by historical evidence. Besides the Bhojeshwar Temple there, the construction of three now-breached dams in that area is attributed to him.Because of his patronage to literary figures, several legends written after his death featured him as a righteous scholar-king.In terms of the number of legends centered around him, Bhoja is comparable to the fabled Vikramaditya.
Decline
Bhoja’s successor Jayasimha I, who was probably his son, faced the joint Kalachuri-Chaulukya invasion immediately after Bhoja’s death. Bilhana’s writings suggest that he sought help from the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Jayasimha’s successor and Bhoja’s brother Udayaditya was defeated by Chamundaraja, his vassal at Vagada. He repulsed an invasion by the Chaulukya ruler Karna, with help from his allies. Udayaditya’s eldest son Lakshmadeva has been credited with extensive military conquests in the Nagpur Prashasti inscription of 1104-05 CE. However, these appear to be poetic exaggerations. At best, he might have defeated the Kalachuris of Tripuri. Udayaditya’s younger son Naravarman faced several defeats, losing to the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti and the Chaulukya king Jayasimha Siddharaja. By the end of his reign, one Vijayapala had carved out an independent kingdom to the north-east of Ujjain.
Yashovarman lost control of the Paramara capital Dhara to Jayasimha Siddharaja. His successor Jayavarman I regained control of Dhara, but soon lost it to an usurper named Ballala. The Chaulukya king Kumarapala defeated Ballala around 1150 CE, supported by his feudatories the Naddula Chahamana ruler Alhana and the Abu Paramara chief Yashodhavala. Malwa then became a province of the Chaulukyas. A minor branch of the Paramaras, who styled themselves as Mahakumaras, ruled the area around Bhopal during this time. Nearly two decades later, Jayavarman’s son Vindhyavarman defeated the Chaulukya king Mularaja II, and re-established the Paramara sovereignty in Malwa. During his reign, Malwa faced repeated invasions from the Hoysalas and the Yadavas of Devagiri. He was also defeated by the Chaulukya general Kumara. Despite these setbacks, he was able to restore the Paramara power in Malwa before his death.
Vindhyavarman’s son Subhatavarman invaded Gujarat, and plundered the Chaulukya territories. But he was ultimately forced to retreat by the Chaulukya feudatory Lavana-Prasada. His son Arjunavarman I also invaded Gujarat, and defeated Jayanta-simha (or Jaya-simha), who had usurped the Chaulukya throne for a brief period. He was defeated by Yadava general Kholeshvara in Lata.
Arjunavarman was succeeded by Devapala, who was the son of Harishchandra, a Mahakumara (chief of a Paramara branch). He continued to face struggles against the Chaulukyas and the Yadavas. The Sultan of Delhi Iltutmish captured Bhilsa during 1233-34 CE, but Devapala defeated the Sultanate’s governor and regained control of Bhilsa. According to the Hammira Mahakavya, he was killed by Vagabhata of Ranthambhor, who suspected him of plotting his murder in connivance with the Delhi Sultan.
During the reign of Devapala’s son Jaitugideva, the power of the Paramaras greatly declined because of invasions from the Yadava king Krishna, the Delhi Sultan Balban, and the Vaghela prince Visala-deva. Devapala’s younger son Jayavarman II also faced attacks from these three powers. Either Jaitugi or Jayavarman II moved the Paramara capital from Dhara to the hilly Mandapa-Durga (present-day Mandu), which offered a better defensive position.
Arjunavarman II, the successor of Jayavarman II, proved to be a weak ruler. He faced rebellion from his minister. In the 1270s, the Yadava ruler Ramachandra invaded Malwa, and in the 1280s, the Ranthambhor Chahamana ruler Hammira also raided Malwa. Arjuna’s successor Bhoja II also faced an invasion from Hammira. Bhoja II was either a titular ruler controlled by his minister, or his minister had usurped a part of the Paramara kingdom.
Mahalakadeva, the last known Paramara king, was defeated and killed by the army of Alauddin Khalji in 1305 CE.
Administration
The King was the supreme head of the government. Over the administrative department was a body of ministers, at the head of which was the Prime Minister, who controlled all the officials and was himself subordinate to the king. His duty was to advise the sovereign upon matters of state, although, of course his advice had no binding effect upon the king and could be disregarded by him. This was the case when Eudriiditya, the minister of Munja, was opposed to the policy of launching campaigns against the Chalukyas, and the king disregarded his counsels.
Army
The govemment maintained a huge force consisting of —
Infantry.
Cavalry.
Elephants
An inscription of Arjunavarman’s reign tells us that the king possessed three classes of combatants— which obviously points to the above three divisions.
Even at the time when the Paramara government was on the point of extinction, its armed forces amounted to thirty or forty thousand cavalry and innumerable infantry. ”The Paramaras were specially noted for their elephant forces. Munja is .said to have lost one thousand four hundred and seventy-six elephants in his fight with the Chalukyas of the Deccan. Sindhurja invaded Gujarat with his elephant force. After the conquest of Tripuri, Lakmadeva. encamped on the bank of the Narmada, where his elephants alleviated the fatigue of battle by bathing in the river. Arjunavarman, mounting on an elephant, fought with the Chalukya Jayasimha. A Hoysala inscription designates the Malava king as the master of elephants. Bows and arrows, and swords were the principal weapons in use. Bhoja is known to have practised archery. “Jhar- jharas” and Damaras” were used as war-drums. The soldiers were quartered in forts scattered all over the country. There were forts at Ujiain, Dharh, Eahaigarh, Bhilsa, Mandu, and Guuapura.
The total income of the government was probably eighteen hundred thousand gold coins. The royal dues were levied either in money or in kind. The revenue mainly consisted of;
1. A share of the produce of the fields;
2. House-tax;
3. Rent in cash;
4 Tolls and other dues from the market;
6. T’erry-tolls;
6. Imports on salt.
RELIGION:
Brahmanism: The Parmaras kings were devout worshippers of shiva. The sovereigns who supported this worship by donations include Slyaka-Harsa, yakshpati, Bhoja, layasimha, Arjunavarman, Devapala, and Jayavarman II.’ Udayaditya built a temple to Siva at Udayapur. The god was known under various names, such as Sambhu, Bhavanlpati. CaroikA was the favourite goddess of Naravarman, and Devapala has great reference for Limbarydi.
The images of all these deities were bathed and anointed with perfumes and incense. The usual ceremonial for worship consisted in sacrificing holy wood, grass, sesamum-seed, and rice in the sacred fire. Food and flowers were also offered. The worshipper robed himself in white garments, and said prayers to the deity.
During this period, Malwa was one of the chief centres of the Brahmanical religion. The caste system was at the basis of the Hindu social structure. The Paramara Kings lent their powerful support to the maintenance of its integrity. Udayfiditya and Naravarman declared that their swords were ever ready to protect ‘varna* (caste). There were numerous Hindu monasteries which fostered the study of the religious scriptures. At the head of each monastery was a superintendent, highly distinguished for learning.
The people observed many religious ceremonies with great devotion. The most important of these seems to have been the ‘Vasantotsava* or the Spring festival. This was celebrated amidst various amusements, dramas occasionally being acted.
Jainism also made considerable progress on the north of the Vindhya mountain. Its teachers always tried to assert their influence over the Paramara kings. The Jaina teachers, Amitagati, and Dhanesvara lived in Malwa during the reign of Munja. Dhanelvara was the successor of Abhayadeva. He is said to have flourished when Munja was ruling.
The king Naravarman was favourably disposed to the Jaina religion. Samudraghosa studied “Tarka Shastra” (logic) in Malava. Naravarman became greatly inclined to him on account of his vast learning. The Amamasvami -charitra relates that, when Samudraghosa had addressed the assembly of learned men, the king Naravarman of, Siddharfija of Gujarat, and the Prince of Godhra listened to him with great interest. Samudraghosa’s disciple, Saraprabha, was highly renowned in Malava for his good qualities, Naravarman also had great veneration for the Jaina teacher, Vallabha, at whose feet ho is said to have bowed down his head.
Jainism found a new life in Gujarat under the patronage of the Caulukya Kumdrapa. The whole of Malwa was brought under his direct control; Jainas living there seem to have received fresh encouragement from him, and to have carried on their religious propaganda with much vigour.
During this time the Jainas succeeded in establishing a strong organisation all over Northern India, with Gujarat as their headquarters. Yastupala (1219-1233 A. D.), the minister of the Chalukya Viradhavala, when he went on a pilgrimage, was attended by the “Saftghapatis” (heads of the organised associations)
ARCHITECTURE:
The Paramara kings were great builders of magnificent cities, lakes, and temples. Bhoja rebuilt the city of Dhara. A Hoysala grant from Belur, dated 1117 A. D., records that “Dhara was made prosperous by Bhoja.’ Since his reign, it had enjoyed the position of the chief city of Malwa, even down to the time of the Muhammadan rule.
Twenty miles south of the city of Bhopal are the remains of the ancient city of Bhojpur. Tradition ascribes its foundation to Bhoja. Not far from it, to the west, is the Bhojpur lake, which was once the greatest of its kind in India. The tradition runs that Bhoja was once attacked by a malady of the severest type, which threatened his life.- No physician in the kingdom was able to cure him, but at last a recluse prescribed a remedy which, if properly applied, would definitely assure his recovery. The prescription was that the king should take a long course of baths in water supplied daily by three hundred and sixty five streams, and expert engineers were therefore sent all round the Vindhya hill to discover a place that should fulfil these conditions. After much search, the present site of the lake was discovered, which was fed by three hundred and fifty-nine springs and the deficiency in the required number was subsequently made up by turning either the courses of the river Kaliasot and its tributaries.
On the ancient shore of the lake lies a number of fiat blocks of stones. The people of the locality still believe that they were used as a boat-house by Bhoja, who, every morning used to sail across the lake in order to pay his obeisance at the Buddhist caves on the opposite shore. The Bhojpur lake stands to day as a testimony to the extent of the engineering skill and workmanship achieved by the people of Malwa under the magnificent rule of the Paramaras.
The king UdayAditya founded the city of Udayapur, thirty miles to the north of Bhilsa. Udayapur is now once again only a small village, but there remain numerous traces of its ancient glory.
The king Devapala built the city of Depalpur, now merely a village, about thirty miles to the north-west of Indore. He also excavated a lake, known as Depal-sagar, at one end of that village, which is now a fine sheet of water covering a space of several square miles.
During the happy reign of the Paramaras, a large number of superb and magnificent temples were built in Malwa, But, unfortunately, only a few specimens of them remain to us now. After the fall of the Paramaras, Malwa became an important centre of the Muhammadans, and the latter, in order to obtain materials for the construction of their mosques, demolished many Hindu temples. The Muhammadan historians present us with a vivid description of how lltu-Tamish sacked and ravaged the great temple of Mahakoshla at Ujjain, the object of the veneration and respect of the whole of Hindu India.
THE NILAKANTHESVARA TEMPLE AT UDAYAPUR.
The great Nilkanthesvara temple at Udayapur was built by Udayaditya inscription of the sixteenth century A. D. describes it as the most beautiful temple in India. It is one of the few temples in Malwa which were spared complete demolition by the Muhammadan iconoclasts. Immediately after the conquest of Udayapur, Sultan Muhammad Tughluq (A. D. 1326) is said to have ordered this structure to be blown up. Gunpowder was heaped in and around the temple, but the priests, by secretly introducing streams of water upon them, rendered the ammunition ineffective. The Sultan took it for a miracle, and revoked his order. One of the halls, for reading Vedas, in the corner of the courtyard, was, on that occasion, converted into a mosque.
Tradition tells – us that the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, on his way back to Delhi from his Deccan wars, halted at Udayapur, and was amazed at the supreme beauty of the temple. He gave orders for its destruction, in order -to build a mosque out of its materials. But Mahadeva, the deity of the temple, appeared to him in a dream and threatened him with the penalty of death should his orders be carried out. To enforce his threat, moreover, the god smote him with illness, after which the emperor, becoming alarmed, rescinded his order.
The temple is still perfect and complete, and is one of the best specimens of North-Indian architecture. It is built of hard, fine-grained red sandstone, and stands in the centre of a large paved courtyard. It consists of a shrine and a hall. The hall has three porches projecting from its side, access to them being given by filghts of steps, the principal one being on the east.
THE MEHIDPUR TEMPLES.
The modern District of Mehidpur lies in Central Malwa, and is not far from Ujjain. The villages of Jharda, Makla and Delchi are within its jurisdiction. Considerable remains of the architectural buildings of the mediaeval period are to be traced there. Outside the village of Jharda are two ancient Brahmanic temples, one dedicated to jiva and the other to Hanumat. In the interior of the village a number of Brahmanic and Jaina images are to be found. On the pedestal of a Jaina sculpture is an inscription, containing the date Sam. 1229-1172 A D.
The fanes of Gajapati and Makalesvara siva are the two most important buildings in the village of Makla. They were built during the eleventh or twelfth century A. D. The Makalesvara temple is in good order, and deserves special attention. The garbhagriha and the sikhara are quite perfect. The horizontal bonds of the sikhara bear a series of conventional ‘chaitya windows, one over the other. The walls of the Sikhara and the garbhagriha are almost plain, and contain very poor decorations. The original mandapa has been destroyed, and the present one is a recent addition.
THE GREAT TEMPLE OF SIVA AT BHOJPUR.
At Bhoipur. in the Bhopal State, there is a large temple of Siva known as Bhojesvara, which was evidently named after the great king Bhoja. It is a hailding of the eleventh or twelfth century A. D., and is in plan a simple square. It differs from others of its class in this respect that it has no re-entrant angles. Its exterior dimension is 66 feet. Four massive pillars support an incomplete dome inside the building. Each of them is 40 feet high, and is divided into three sections. The lower two are octagonal, and are surmounted by a 24-faced section. The whole of the pillar is tapering in appearance. The dome itself is magnificent, and is carved with rich designs. There are two sculptured figures on either side of the doorway, which is richly decorated above but plain below. There are three balconies on three sides, each supported by massive brackets and four decorated pillars. Inside the building lies a colossal lihgam’, seven and a half feet high and seventeen feet eight inches in circumference, on a platform made of three superimposed blocks of sandstone, twenty-one and a half feet square. The temple, though incomplete, is singularly beautiful.
A Jaina temple of the same age lies close to the above shrine. It is rectangular and incomplete. It contains one colossal statue of Mahavira, twenty feet high.
BIJAMANDIRA AT BHILSA.
On the outskirts of the modern town of Bhilsa, in the Gwalior State, there is a Muhammadan mosque known locally as ‘Bijamandira. A careful examination of this building reveals the fact that it is a converted Hindu temple of medieval times. A long inscription of Karararman’s reign has been discovered on one of its pillars, which records the king’s unvarying devotion to the Goddess.
LITERATURE AND LEARNING.
During the magnificent rule of the Paramara dynasty Malwa was justly renowned on account of its extensive architectural activities. But behind all these activities, there lay a life, a thought, an ideal whose refinement of character found expression rather in the literature of the time than in- such concrete examples. And to this branch of liberal art the government of the country, by its benevolent support, gave opportunity of wide and unbounded development.
The Paramara-kings were great votaries of the Goddess of learning, and were in reality the very heart of the great literary movement of the period. Many of them were themselves great poets. Their generous sympathy encouraged others to devote their lives to the enrichment of the stores of literature. Slyaka-Harsa won imperial status for his family by the strength of his arms, and left to his successors the task of building up an ideal empire. His son, while doing full justice to his regal position by his care for the political interests of his realm, spared no effort to further the cause of the literary movement also. The Udayapur prasasti tells us that he cultivated eloquence, lofty poetry, the art of reasoning, and a complete mastery over the rules of the Saurastras.
Kalasa (1063- 1089 A. B.) and Bhoja were very learned, and were the friends of poets. The king occasionally encouraged men of letters by conferring on them honorific titles.
The Aln-i-Akbarl relates that — “Bhoja held wisdom in honour, the learned men were treated with distinction, and seekers after knowledge were encouraged by his support. Five hundred sages, the most erudite of the age, shone as the gathered wisdom of his court, and wore entertained in a manner becoming their dignity and merit.
The Udayapur prasasti glorifies Bhoja as the king of poets. He is said to have composed a large number of books and the authorship of the following works is ascribed to him.