Bhojaprabandha (narrative of Bhoja), written by Ballala Deva, is the story of Bhoja, King of Malwa during the 11th Century A.D. This book contains many interesting legends about great poets like Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti and Bana.
King Bhoja was so deeply dedicated to the cause of literature that writing of poetry had become a mass movement during his tenure as a king. Only those who had poetic skills were permitted to reside inthe city “Dhara” during Bhoja’s tenure as the king. This was his order, “рд╡рд┐рдкреНрд░реЛрд╜рдкрд┐ рдпреЛ рднрд╡реЗрдиреНрдореВрд░реНрдЦрдГ рд╕ рдкреБрд░рд╛рджреНрдмрд╣рд┐рд░рд╕реНрддреБ рдореЗред рдХреБрдореНрднрдХрд╛рд░реЛрд╜рдкрд┐ рдпреЛ рд╡рд┐рджреНрд╡рд╛рдиреН рд╕ рддрд┐рд╖реНрдарддреБ рдкреБрд░реЗ рдордорее” “Let not a stupid person stay in my city even if he is brahmin; Let a learned person stay in my city, even if one is a potter.”
Ballala Deva, it seems, was interested not so much in history as in heroics. In his attempt to magnify Bhoja as a patron of art and letters, Ballala has ignored historical facts. The poets, Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti and Bana, who, he said adorned Bhoja-s court, belonged to centuries much before Bhoja.
Bala-Bhojaprabandha in Hindi by Pt Sunderlal Sharma Dvivedi
This is an adapted version of Ballaladeva’s Bhoja Prabandha in Hindi. The author has retained all the interesting anecdots from the original Bhojaprabandha.
DOWNLOAD LINKS
Bhojaprabandha – Sanskrit text with Hindi translation by Jagadishlal Shastri
Bhojaprabandha – Sanskrit text with Hindi translation by SS Tripathi
Bhojaprabandha with English Translation by Saradaprosad Vidyabhushan
Bhojprabandha Sanskrit text – Pansikar – NSP 1932
Bal Bhojaprabandh – Hindi – Pt Sunderlal Sharma Dvivedi
Tags: ballaladeva, bana, bhavabhuti, bhoja, kalidasa, samasya