Raja Bhoja
Raja Bhoja, Maharaja Bhoja or Bhojadeva Paramara was an 11th-century Shaiva king of regions comprising parts of Gujarat and Dhara (Malwa.) He is a famous Saiva theologian. He is known throughout Northern India from the famous saying, "Where is Raja Bhoja and where is Gangu Teli?" meaning that Raja Bhoja has accomplished a lot while a normal person who makes false claims if far from the prestige of Bhoja. This saying is even used by illiterate villagers (Seth, P. 169 The Growth of the Paramara Power in Malwa).
He is also known in a few scriptures as Dharashvara (Lord of Dhara) (Jīmūtavāhana & Ludo Rocher, P. 11 Jimutavahana's Dayabhaga).
Known relatives[edit]
Raja Bhoja's daughter was Rajamati, who married Raja Bisaldeva of Ajmer (Akademi, P. 546 Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 1).
Works[edit]
Literary Sanskrit[edit]
His life is recorded in the Bhojaprabandha (Ayyappapanicker, P. 488 Medieval Indian Literature: An Anthology), Bhoja-Prabandha (RASGBI, P. 151 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland). He himself wrote the Bhoja-Kanthabharana, a commentary on the Yoga-sutra and the Tattva-prakasha (Dasgupta, P. 159 A History of Indian Philosophy). It is from these texts that we know the talents of Raja Bhoja. He was a poet as well (Ayyappapanicker,, P. 488 Medieval Indian Literature: An Anthology).
The concept of "Alamkara" is figure of speech in a poetic sense and is said to have the two components of sound and sense, and Raja Bhoja added a 3rd category - ubhaya (Akademi, P. 127 Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 1).
He also wrote the Śr̥ṅgāra Prakāśa (Raghavan, Bhoja's Śr̥ṅgāra Prakāśa).
Being a commentator of Patanjali, Bhojadeva explains yoga as being a state of complete separation of the purusa (self) and prakrti (primordial Nature) (UofHawaii Press., P. 58 Philosophy East & West).
He might have also written the Rajargamka treatise on Karana (Pische, A Grammar of the Prakrit Languages).
In Kingship[edit]
He is known to have built the reservoir at Bhojpur, Bihar by carefully placing two dams of moderate size in a 250 square miles area (Kosambi, P. 302 An Introduction to the Study of Indian History).
Mentions by Hindu philosophers[edit]
"Victorious is Krsna, like Krsna, (and) like Arjuna, the glorious king Bhojadeva, who was able to defeat (his enemies by leaping arrows" (Singh, P. 64 Bhoja Paramāra and His Times).
The well-known philosopher in Hindu history, Madhava commented on the Tattva-prakasha in his Sarva-darshana-samgraha (Dasgupta, P. 160 A History of Indian Philosophy). Madhava even discusses the commentary made by Aghora-sivacarya on the Tattva-prakasha (Dasgupta, P. 160 A History of Indian Philosophy).
Srikumara has also mentioned Bhoja Maharaja's work the Tattva-prakasha in the Trivendrum Series (Dasgupta, P. 160 A History of Indian Philosophy). He is said to be in an oscillating mood in sometimes connecting the text to the Agama theory which identifies God as the instrumental cause, and other times the Vedantic pattern of vivarata (Dasgupta, P. 160 A History of Indian Philosophy)
He is mentioned in the Pancatantra whereby he is a golden fly (P. 109 A Critical Study of Rajasthani Literature By Prabhakar, Manohar).