१. माँ सरस्वती के वरदपुत्र ‘महाराजा भोज’
परमार वंश के सबसे महान अधिपति महाराजा भोज ने धार में १००० ईसवीं से १०५५ ईसवीं तक शासन किया, जिससे कि यहाँ की कीर्ति दूर-दूर तक पहुँची। विश्ववंदनीय महाराजा भोज माँ सरस्वती के वरदपुत्र थे! उनकी तपोभूमि धारा नगरी में उनकी तपस्या और साधना से प्रसन्न हो कर माँ सरस्वती ने स्वयं प्रकट हो कर दर्शन दिए। माँ से साक्षात्कार के पश्चात उसी दिव्य स्वरूप को माँ वाग्देवी की प्रतिमा के रूप में अवतरित कर भोजशाला में स्थापित करवाया।राजा भोज ने धार, माण्डव तथा उज्जैन में सरस्वतीकण्ठभरण नामक भवन बनवाये थे। भोज के समय ही मनोहर वाग्देवी की प्रतिमा संवत् १०९१ (ई. सन् १०३४) में बनवाई गई थी। गुलामी के दिनों में इस मूर्ति को अंग्रेज शासक लंदन ले गए। यह आज भी वहां के संग्रहालय में बंदी है।
महान शासक
महाराजा भोज मुंज के छोटे भाई सिंधुराज का पुत्र थे। रोहक उनके प्रधान मंत्री और भुवनपाल मंत्री थे। कुलचंद्र, साढ़ तथा तरादित्य इनके सेनापति थे जिनकी सहायता से भोज ने राज्यसंचालन सुचारु रूप से किया। अपने चाचा मुंज की ही भाँति वे भी पश्चिमी भारत में एक साम्राज्य स्थापित करना चाहता थे और इस इच्छा की पूर्ति के लिये इसे अपने पड़ोसी राज्यों से हर दिशा में युद्ध करना पड़ा। उन्होंने दाहल के कलबुरी गांगेयदेव तथा तंजौर (तंच्यावूर) के राजेंद्रचोल से संधि की ओर साथ ही साथ दक्षिण पर आक्रमण भी कर दिया, परंतु तत्कालीन राजा चालुक्य जयसिंह द्वितीय ने बहादुरी से सामना किया और अपना राज्य बचा लिया। सन् १०४४ ई. के कुछ समय बाद जयसिंह के पुत्र सोमेश्वर द्वितीय ने परमारों से फिर शत्रुता कर ली और मालव राज्य पर आक्रमण कर भोज को भागने के लिये बाध्य कर दिय। धारानगरी पर अधिकार कर लेने के बाद उसने आग लगा दी, परंतु कुछ ही दिनों बाद सोमेश्वर ने मालव छोड़ दिया और भोज ने राजधानी में लोटकर फिर सत्ताधिकार प्राप्त कर लिया।
सन् १०१८ ई. के कुछ ही पहले भोज ने इंद्ररथ नामक एक व्यक्ति को, हराया था जो संभवत: कलिंगके गांग राजाओं का सामंत था। जयसिंह द्वितीय तथा इंद्ररथ के साथ युद्ध समाप्त कर लेने पर भोज ने अपनी सेना भारत की पश्चिमी सीमा से लगे हुए देशों की ओर बढ़ाई और पहले लाट नामक राज्य पर, जिसका विस्तार दक्षिण में बंबई राज्य के अंतर्गत सूरत तक था, आक्रमण कर दिया। वहाँ के राजा चालुक्य कीर्तिराज ने आत्मसमर्पण कर दिया और भोज ने कुछ समय तक उसपर अधिकार रखा। इसके बाद लगभग सन् १०२० ई. में भोज ने लाट के दक्षिण में स्थित तथा थाना जिले से लेकर मालागार समुद्रतट तक विस्तृत कोंकण पर आक्रमण किया और शिलाहारों के अरिकेशरी नामक राजा को हराया। कोंकण को परमारों के राज्य में मिला लिया गया। महाराजा भोज के प्रराक्रम के कारण ही मेहमूद गजनवी ने कभी महराजा भोज के राज्य पर आक्रमण नहीं किया! तथा सोमनाथ विजय के पश्चात तलवार के बल पर बनाये गए मुसलमानों को पुन: हिन्दू धर्म में वापस ला कर महान काम किया!
भोज ने एक बार दाहल के कलचुरी गांगेयदेव के विरुद्ध भी, जिसने दक्षिण पर आक्रमण करने के समय उसका साथ दिया था, चढ़ाई कर दी। गांगेयदेव हार गया परंतु उसे आत्मसमर्पण नहीं करना पड़ा। सन् १०५५ ई. के कुछ ही पहले गांगेय के पुत्र कर्ण ने गुजरात के चौलुक्य भीम प्रथम के साथ एक संधि कर ली और मालव पर पूर्व तथा पश्चिम की ओर से आक्रमण कर दिया। भोज अपना राज्य बचाने का प्रबंध कर ही रहे थे कि बीमारी से उसकी आकस्मिक मृत्यु हो गई और राज्य सुगमता से आक्रमणकारियों के अधिकार में चला गया।
३. अनोखा काव्यरसिक – महाराजा भोज
माँ सरस्वती की कृपा से महाराजा भोज ने ६४ प्रकार की सिद्ध्या प्राप्त की तथा अपने यूग के सभी ज्ञात विषयो पर ८४ ग्रन्थ लिखे जिसमे धर्म, ज्योतिष्य आयर्वेद, व्याकरण, वास्तुशिल्प, विज्ञान, कला, नाट्यशास्त्र, संगीत, योगशास्त्र, दर्शन, राजनीतीशास्त्र आदि प्रमुख है! ‘समरांगण सूत्रधार’, ‘सरस्वती कंठाभरण’, ‘सिद्वान्त संग्रह’, ‘राजकार्तड’, ‘योग्यसूत्रवृत्ति’, ‘विद्या विनोद’, ‘युक्ति कल्पतरु’, ‘चारु चर्चा’, ‘आदित्य प्रताप सिद्धान्त’, ‘आयुर्वेद सर्वस्व श्रृंगार प्रकाश’, ‘प्राकृत व्याकरण’, ‘कूर्मशतक’, ‘श्रृंगार मंजरी’, ‘भोजचम्पू’, ‘कृत्यकल्पतरु’, ‘तत्वप्रकाश’, ‘शब्दानुशासन’, ‘राज्मृडाड’ आदि की रचना की। “भोज प्रबंधनम्” उनकी आत्मकथा है।
हनुमान जी द्वारा रचित राम कथा के शिलालेख समुन्द्र से निकलवा कर धारा नगरी में उनकी पुनर्रचना करवाई जो हनुमान्नाटक के रूप में विश्वविख्यात है! तत्पश्चात उन्होंने चम्पू रामायण की रचना की जो अपने गद्यकाव्य के लिए विख्यात है!
चम्पू रामायण महर्षि वाल्मीकि के द्वारा रचित रामायण के बाद सबसे तथ्य परख महाग्रंथ है! महाराजा भोज वास्तु शास्त्र के जनक माने जाते है! समरान्गंसुत्रधार ग्रन्थ वास्तु शास्त्र का सबसे प्रथम ज्ञात ग्रन्थ है! वे अत्यंत ज्ञानी, भाषाविद् , कवि और कलापारखी भी थे। उनके समय में कवियों को राज्य से आश्रय मिला था। सरस्वतीकंठाभरण उनकी प्रसिद्ध रचना है। इसके अलावा अनेक संस्कृत ग्रंथों, नाटकों, काव्यों और लोक कथाओं में राजा भोज का अमिट स्थान है। ऐसे महान थे राजा भोज कि उनके शासन काल में धारानगरी कलाओं और ज्ञान के लिए सारे विश्व में प्रसिद्ध हो गई थी।
महाराजा भोज की काव्यात्मक ललित अभिरुचि, सूक्ष्म व वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि उन्हें दूरदर्शी और लोकप्रिय बनाता रहा। मालवमण्डन, मालवाधीश, मालवचक्रवर्ती, सार्वभौम, अवन्तिनायक, धारेश्वर, त्रिभुवननारायण, रणरंगमल्ल, लोकनारायण, विदर्भराज, अहिरराज या अहीन्द्र, अभिनवार्जुन, कृष्ण आदि कितने विरूदों से भोज विभूषित थे।
४. विश्वविख्यात विद्वान
आइने-ए-अकबरी में प्राप्त उल्लेखों के अनुसार भोज की राजसभा में पांच सौ विद्वान थे। इन विद्वानों में नौ (नौरत्न) का नाम विशेष रूप से उल्लेखनीय है।
महाराजा भोज ने अपने ग्रंथो में विमान बनाने की विधि का विस्तृत वर्णन किया है। चित्रो के माध्यम से उन्होंने पूरी विधि बताई है! इसी तरह उन्होंने नाव एवं बड़े जहाज बनाने की विधि विस्तारपूर्वक बताई है। किस तरह खिलो को जंगरोधी किया जाये जिससे नाव को पानी में सुरक्षित रखा जा सकता था! इसके अत्रिरिक्त उन्होंने रोबोटिक्स पर भी कम किया था! उन्होंने धारा नगरी के तालाबो में यन्त्र चालित पुतलियो का निर्माण करवाया था जो तालाब में नृत्य करती थी!
विश्व के अनेक महाविद्यालयो में महाराज भोज के किये गए कार्यो पर शोध कार्य हो रहा है! उनके लिए यह आश्चर्य का विषय है, की उस समय उन्होंने किस तरह विमान, रोबोटिक्स और वास्तुशास्त्र जेसे जटिल विषयों पर महारत हासिल की थी! वैज्ञानिक आश्चर्य चकित है, जो रोबोटिक्स आज भी अपने प्रारम्भिक दौर में है उस समय कैसे उस विषय पर उन्होंने अपने प्रयोग किये और सफल रहे! महाराजा भोज से संबंधित १०१० से १०५५ ई. तक के कई ताम्रपत्र, शिलालेख और मूर्तिलेख प्राप्त होते हैं। इन सबमें भोज के सांस्कृतिक चेतना का प्रमाण मिलता है। एक ताम्रपत्र के अन्त में लिखा है – स्वहस्तोयं श्रीभोजदेवस्य। अर्थात् यह (ताम्रपत्र) भोजदेव ने अपने हाथों से लिखा और दिया है।
५. अप्रतिम स्थापत्य कला
Hinglajgarh
राजा भोज के समय मालवा क्षेत्र में निर्माण क्रांति आ गई थी। अनेक प्रसाद, मंदिर, तालाब और प्रतिमाएं निर्मित हुई। मंदसौर में हिंगलाजगढ़ तो तत्कालीन अप्रतिम प्रतिमाओं का अद्वितीय नमूना है। राजा भोज ने शारदा सदन या सरस्वती कण्ठभरण बनवाये। वात्स्यायन ने कामसूत्र में इस बात का उल्लेख किया है कि प्रत्येक नगर में सरस्वती भवन होना चाहिए। वहां गोष्ठियां, नाटक व अन्य साहित्यिक-सांस्कृतिक गतिविधियां होते रहना चाहिए।
Shiv Mandir
राजा भोज के नाम पर भोपाल के निकट भोजपुर बसा है। यहां का विशाल किन्तु खंडित शिवमंदिर आज भी भोज की रचनाधर्मिता और इस्लामिक जेहाद और विध्वंस के उदाहरण के रूप में खड़ा है। यहीं बेतवा नदी पर एक अनोखा बांध बनवाया गया था। इसका जलक्षेत्र २५० वर्गमील है। इस बांध को भी होशंगशाह नामक आक्रंता ने तोड़ कर झील खाली करवा दी थी। यह मानवनिर्मित सबसे बड़ी झील थी जो सिंचाई के काम आती थी। उसके मध्य जो द्वीप था वह आज भी दीप (मंडीद्वीप) नाम की बस्ती है।
महाराजा भोज ने जहाँ अधर्म और अन्याय से जमकर लोहा लिया और अनाचारी क्रूर आतताइयों का मानमर्दन किया, वहीं अपने प्रजा वात्सल्य और साहित्य-कला अनुराग से वह पूरी मानवता के आभूषण बन गये। मध्यप्रदेश के सांस्कृतिक गौरव के जो स्मारक हमारे पास हैं, उनमें से अधिकांश राजा भोज की देन हैं। चाहे विश्व प्रसिद्ध भोजपुर मंदिर हो या विश्व भर के शिव भक्तों के श्रद्धा के केन्द्र उज्जैन स्थित महाकालेश्वर मंदिर, धार की भोजशाला हो या भोपाल का विशाल तालाब, ये सभी राजा भोज के सृजनशील व्यक्तित्व की देन है। उन्होंने जहाँ भोज नगरी (वर्तमान भोपाल) की स्थापना की वहीं धार, उज्जैन और विदिशा जैसी प्रसिद्ध नगरियों को नया स्वरूप दिया। उन्होंने केदारनाथ, रामेश्वरम, सोमनाथ, मुण्डीर आदि मंदिर भी बनवाए, जो हमारी समृद्ध सांस्कृतिक धरोहर है। इन सभी मंदिरों तथा स्मारकों की स्थापत्य कला बेजोड़ है। इसे देखकर सहज ही अनुमान लगाया जा सकता है कि एक हजार साल पहले हम इस क्षेत्र में कितने समुन्नत थे।
महाराजा भोज ने अपने जीवन काल में जितने अधिक विषयों पर कार्य किया है, वो अत्यंत ही चकित करने वाला है। इन सभी को देख कर लगता है की वो कोई देव पुरुष थे ! ये सब कम एक जीवन में करना एक सामान्य मनुष्य के बस की बात नहीं है!
ये सब कम एक जीवन में करना एक सामान्य मनुष्य के बस की बात नहीं है!
Prabhavaka Charita (13th century) has reference to Maharajadhiraja Bhojadeva (of Paramāra Rājaputra): "मालवाधीशो विद्वच्चक्रशिरोमणिः" i.e. Mālava King who is the crest jewel of learned men.
It also mentions that he contributed in fields of Vyākaraṇa, Vāstu, Rāja-siddhānta etc.
MAHARAJDHIRAJ BHOJA - The Scholar King
Raja Bhoja was truly extraordinary monarch, a patron of arts, & himself a scholar and writer. As Vikramaditya is synonymous with valor, so Bhoja is famous for his poetic ability, his scholarship in several fields and his patronage of arts.
Other kings may have built temples and palaces, but Bhoja actually compiled an authoritative architectural treatise called Samarangana Sutradhara. This remarkable work on the science of architecture and sculpture (Vastusastra and Silpasastra) consists of eighty-three chapters.
BHOJESHWARA TEMPLE was founded by legendary Parmara RAJPUT Raja Bhoja (1010-53 CE). This temple has earned the nomenclature of the Somnath of the East. Its sad that people of this country don't know the history of their own region.
Bhojpur in Bihar and infact the BHOJPURI language got it's name from Raja Bhoj Parmar. Ujjaynia Parmar Rajputs of Ujjain, after migrating to east, named the area ruled by them as "Bhojpur" after their illustrious ancestor the Great Raja Bhoj, and from Bhojpur we got Bhojpuri :)
Ujjainiya Parmars fought Jaunpur Sultanate for 100 yrs till their end, later fought British army in 1857. Veer Kunwar Singh, the great revolutionary of 1857 was an Ujjainiya Parmar Rajput.
"कहां राजा भोज - कहां गंगू-तेली"
has also been immortalized on Raja Bhoj.
'Gangu Teli' doesn't represent any community, but has been used to refer two great rulers of Bhoj's era, Gangayedev of Chedi & Tailap II of Chalukya Dynasty (as both were outshined by Raja Bhoj's prestige).
Raja Bhoja’s Vengeance
Amidst the horrific stench and screaming of dying men a battered and torn saffron flag fluttered. Over the defeated and crushed armies of the Yamini dynasty a band of warriors rode, heedless of the multitude of corpses ranged around them in the blaze of the midsummer Indian sun.
A defeat so calamitous had never been before thought of by the proud Yamini kings and their armies, also known as the Ghaznavids. Under their inspirational leadership of Mahmud of Ghazni the Central Asian Turk tribes had conquered from the borders of modern day Iraq to the doors of South Asia. There meeting determined opposition from the Hindu Shahi kings who sacrificed three generations of their kings to defend the entry to India the Ghaznavids broke through utilising their unmatched cavalry tactics which had defeated the Persians and Byzantines and were shortly to face down the Crusaders of Western Europe
The damage to the subcontinent was significant and the destruction of the ancient Hindu and Buddhist heritage of India was incalculable. The loss of population was significant due to war and pestilence and displacement of peoples.
The impact on the Indian psyche was enormous – the ancient seats of learning from Taxila to Nalanda were torn down – the seats of Buddhist learning once stretching into Central Asia in a vast circuit of Buddhist kingdoms collapsed like a house of cards. The once mighty Sassanid Empire of Persia who had defeated and humbled the Roman Empire and dragged the Emperor Valerian in chains to Ctesiphon , the custodians of Zoroastrianism were humbled and disappeared from the pages of history under the Arab Muslim onslaught. Their remnants fled to India for protection and others to the Chinese empire.
The waves of monotheism attack however did not subside. The organised and disciplined custodians of Buddha and Zoroaster were wiped from the pages of history in Persia, Central Asia and Afghanistan. It was at this juncture that the valiant Hindu Rajput clans united under the leadership of Bappa Rawal and the guidance of Guru Gorakhnath and in a vast clash of arms with the armies of the Arab Caliphate delivered to them their first great defeat at the Battle of Rajasthan in 745 CE and stopped forever the further Arab expansion into South Asia.
For 300 years this tenuous peace remained until the conversion of the Turk tribes to Islam in the last period of the first millennia Common Era which led to the infamous invasions of the subcontinent by Mahmud Ghazni. He was succeeded by his nephew Masud Salur who seeking to emulate Mahmud led a vast invasion of the Ghaznived forces into the subcontinent. Despite the success of his invasions Mahmud could not create an empire in India and Masud now sought to rectify this by leading the Ghaznavid veteran army into the north Indian plains. The proud soldiers who had marched from India to the Middle East under the banner of Islam entered India with an army of more than 100,000 men with 50,000 horses accompanied by two generals Meer Hussain Arab and Ameer Vazid Jafar in May 1031 AD
The march was joined by his uncle Salar Saifuddin, Meer Wakhtiar, Meer Sayyad Ajijuddin and Malik Bahruddin and their armies. After raiding through what is modern UP leaving a trail of plunder and rapine in their wake.
The invasion was stiffly opposed. His general, Syad Aziz-ud-din was killed by Hindus near Hardoi together with his relatives Jalaluddin Bukhari and Syed Ibrahim Bara Hazari whose graves can be found in Haryana today.
The famous Raja Bhoja who had faced down Mahmud Ghazni decades earlier and rebuilt the historic Somnath Temple after its desecration by the Muslims collected a coalition of Hindu warriors. Warriors from the disparate clans gathered under Raja Bhoja and on open plain near modern day Bharaich the coalition of Hindu clans faced up against their Islamic adversaries each side confident of victory.
The young Sultan Masur’s fame was already spread across the Ghaznivid Empire as an able soldier and general. In his ranks he boasted the famous light cavalry of the Central Asian Turkic tribes who were inspired with the zeal of their newly founded Muslim faith and eager to win victory and to finally establish their rule over Hindu dominated India or attain martyrdom and paradise as per the tenents of their faith.
The Hindu coalition was led by the Rajput Clans who emerged from the furnace of the decline of the Gupta Empire and the defeat of the Hun invasions which had devastated Europe to the early sixth century. From this crucible of endless conflict and religious turmoil rose the clans of the Rajput’s. Many traced their origin to the legendary Saint Gorakhnath and under his influence were able to repel and humiliate the Arab Caliphate in 745 AD. Their codes of conduct and bravery ushered in a new age of chivalry and honour of which the world has scarce seen.
Theses codes however were unable to cope with a new ruthless foe, Turmoil again engulfed the clans with the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni and the northern plains were lacerated with violence and bloodshed. The terminal decline of Buddhism and Zoarasterism are also dated from this time. The swift footed cavalry and speed of movement was alien to the proud Rajput Hindu warriors and their concept of honour and valour. However it was only through their reckless bravery and raw courage that the Hindu warriors were able to hold the enemy at bay.
On this occasion under the skilful leadership of Raja Bhoja the Hindu army by swift movements were able to cut of the supplies of the Ghaznavids and pen them into a closely contested siege. Very soon the vast multitude of Muslim soldiers were running short on supplies and reinforcements. The close investment led Sultan Masur that he was left with only one choice – to force a decision on the battlefield.
Therefore on the blazing midsummer Indian plains that vast horde of the Ghaznavi army marched out to meet its Hindu enemy. the battalions of Turks, many of them veterans from the campaigns of Mahmud Ghanavi and brimming with the firmly held conviction that they marched in jihad against the enemies of their faith faced off against the aged Raja and his Rajput’s.
A desperate struggle ensued. The sweeping charges of the Turks were brought to bay by the Hindus. Trained from birth to excel in arms the Rajput warriors eagerly closed with their hated foe – before the gates of ancient Ayodhya they fought for ‘the ashes of their fathers and the temples of their Gods’ . The battle contended through the morning into the afternoon, charge after counter charge with brief moments of retreat and consolidation with neither side wiling to break. The battle cries of Allah how Akbar contended with the ancient cry of Har Har Mahadev as the soldiers closed in and grappled with their weapons and bare hands as thousands of their colleagues fell dead or dying amongst them.
The fighting continued unabated into the night with temperoay paused and the cool night air was rent with the shrieks of the dead and dying. The ground piled high in gore became slippery and unstable and the close fighting in the dark lent to the horror of enemies pouring out of the unknown at any time.
The high spirits of the Turk soldiers motivated by dreams of jihad and paradise were matched against the raw courage and matchless skill of the individual Hindu warriors with their flowing hair kept under check under steel caps and helmets fought whilst adopting the dread form of the God of Destruction, Shiva himself. Their utter contempt for their own lives and desire for freedom and dharma in the ancient land of the Rishis steadily began to wear down their enemies.
As the day wore on and the Muslims becoming increasingly enclosed in an ever tightening circle of steel the Sultan led a final desperate charge for victory. Here on the open plain he was brought to bay by the Rajput warriors and slain – the enraged Hindus cut of his head and displayed it on a pike to their enemies. This was the final straw for the Muslim army and it broke and fled. But there was nowhere to flee – hundreds of miles from their bases and surrounded by hostile foes the rout turned into a massacre and history tells us that not a single Muslim soldier returned to his home.
Raja Bhoja passed into legend. The terrible, slaughter of the Ghaznavids kept further attacks at bay and the Ghazanvaids never dared to attack India again.
Further attacks and counter attacks from Muslim kingdoms were defeated with great slaughter eventually passing into legend and merging with the later tragic tale of Prithviraj Chauhan. The defeat of Mohamad Ghouri in the first Battle of Tarain in which with great chivalry he released the captive Sultan was followed the next year by the second Battle of Tarain in which Prthivraj was defeated has entered into folklore. The tale has been magnified to indicate that Prithviraj defeated the Sultan no less than 17 times which is clearly a falsehood. In historical terms this is a garbled reference to the numerous attacks by the Arabs and Turk Muslims on India which were defeated by a succession of Hindu warrior kings from Bappa Rawal in the Battle of Rajasthan, to the wars from the Ghaznavi period onwards:
In 1072 CE Prince Mahmud was defeated and driven away by Lakshmadeva, the Paramara ruler of Ujjain. Mahmud also tried to take Kalanjar. But the Chandellas again proved more than a match for the army of Islam. Muslim historians record only his safe return from Hindustan.
Ibrahim’s successor, Masud III (AD 1099-1115), fared no better. The armies of Islam were defeated repeatedly by Govindachandra, the Gahadavad ruler of Kanauj. Inscriptions of Hindu princes around this period speak again and again of the rout of Turushka armies. These may refer either to the failure of feeble attempts which might have still been made by the Yamini (Ghaznavid) kings to extend their dominions in India or to the extermination of isolated pockets of Muslim domination beyond the Punjab.
One of the worst defeats suffered by the Muslims was at the hands of Arnoraja, the Chauhan ruler of Ajmer (AD 1133-1151). The Muslim commander fled before the Chauhans. Muslim soldiers died of exhaustion and an equal number perished from thirst. Their bodies lay along the path of retreat and were burnt by the villagers. A Chauhan prasasti of Ajmer Museum, line 15, states: The land of Ajmer, soaked with the blood of the Turushkas, looked as if it had dressed itself in a dress of deep red colour to celebrate the victory of her lord’
[box_dark]In an added irony of history the defeated Sultan Masurs body was flung into a pit by the enraged Hindus with the corpses of his soldiers and generals. Hundreds of years later the murderous Sultan Firuz Tughlaq raised a monument to the first ‘martyr of Islam’ in India.
In later times the monument became a shrine under the tutelage of Sufi preachers and in modern times incredulous and unwitting Hindus pay their respects to the shrine of a deceased ‘baba’ not knowing the history and background of the monument. That Sultan Masur came to India to murder and butcher the population or convert them to Islam was lost on the later generations of accommodating Hindu population.
The long and bloody history and struggle for survival of Hinduism has led to a growing awareness and confidence in our history and the facts of the great victories of Raja Bhoja are another reminder of the countless sacrifices made in the long and steady awakening and flowering of Hinduism under the challenge of relentless hatred and genocidal attack.
RAja Bhoja: The Glory And Tragedy Of The Setting Hindu Sun
bhoja's military and political career
The paramAra rAjpUts are supposed to have arisen from the sacrificial pit on arbuda parvata, which was the source of many kShatriyas who were generated by the devas for the destruction of the turuShkas and mlechChas who were a pestilence on Aryavarta. In historical reality paramAras were a subsidiary branch of the rAShTrakUTas, who were appointed as governors of central India in mAlava province by the main ruling branch. The paramAra rAjputs founded the notable city of dhArA in central India, which remained their capital until its ultimate conquest. It was here that their greatest king and a remarkable genius, bhoja rAja came to power by 1000 AD and ruled for more than half a century. He was the son of sindhurAja, who was notable conqueror, who defeated the chAlukyas, hUNas and shilaharas of the Konkan region. bhoja's path was similar to other great Hindu rulers of the time engaged in wasteful intercine struggles for supremacy. We get some glimpses of his remarkable life from the apocryphal biography bhoja prabandham. Early in his career, just before he came to power, bhoja was afflicted by a tumor in his brain which used to cause him intense head aches. Two learned brahmin brothers from the school of Ujjain, who were pre-eminent surgeons of the era, performed a surgery on his brain and relieved him of his tumor. The description of the surgery that survives suggests that they artificially induced a coma with a special preparation known as the sammohini and then opened his skull to remove the tumor. He was then brought back to consciousness with another drug.
bhoja survived this surgery remarkably well and had an illustrious reign both as a military commander and encylopaedic scholar. bhoja long desired to reduce his arch-rivals the chAlukyas of the Deccan and initiated several successful campaigns again them. Then he tried a remarkable political game to destroy the chAlukyas: by forming an alliance with the choLa king rAjendra, bhoja induced him to attack the chAlukyas from the south. Likewise he induced the kalachuri king kumara gangeyadeva (who claimed descent from the haihayas who had survived the ancient assault of the bhargavas) to attack the chAlukyas from the east. bhoja himself pressed on them from the north. For this purpose he erected the mighty fortifications of mANDu and intially put the chAlukyas on the retreat. But the chAlukyas, suddenly reviving the glory that pulakeshin-II had taken them to, remained firm in the 3 front war, eventually causing bhoja's allies to give up. someshvara, the chAlukya subsequently invaded the paramAra kingdom and stormed the fort of mANDu after a long siege, then took Ujjain, and finally captured dhAra the capital of bhoja from him. bhoja unfazed retreated north and with the help of rAjendra choLa who kept the pressure from the south, took back dhAra and ujjain. Then bhoja conquered chitrakuta (Chittor) and medhapatha (Mewar) from the shishodias and established his sway over the arbuda fort (Mount Abu).
Raja Bhoja then organized his armies to attack Mahmud Ghaznavi who had invaded Somnath. Ghaznavi fearing the powerful army of bhoja retreated via the desert of sindh to avoid a clash (reported by Turkic author Gardizi as Hindu padishaw parmar dev) with the hindu king and lost many of his men. bhoja repulsed the ghaznavid Masu'd who lead a huge army into India to attack the rich inner cities which his father had failed to raid. Then bhoja realizing the national threat from Islam, organized a confedration of Hindu kings including the kalachuri lakShmI-karNa, the Chahamana and other RajpUts to fight the Ghaznavid Maliq Salar Masud. In the great battle of Bahraich the Hindu confedracy fought a pitched battle for about a month with the Moslems and completely defeated them killing, Salar Masud in the process. They then went on to liberate Hansi, Thaneshvar, Nagarkot and other cities taken by the Ghaznavids and marched against Lahore and besieged it. Just at the point Lahore was about to fall to them, the Hindu kings had a disagreement over who would own the liberated territories and their armies disbanded and dispersed in a huff. bhoja started fighting his erstwhile allies in the war against the Moslems.
Raja Bhoja first defeated the Chahamanas of shakambhari, but the Chahamanas of nadola repulsed his attempt to take their kingdom. bhoja next tried to seize the kingdom of the chandellas, but they formed an alliance with the Rashtrakutas of Kannauj and kachchapaghatas of Gwalior and repulsed him. bhoja however, did keep the ghaznavids in check with help from his shishodia feudatories. bhoja then seized the territory of the western chAlukya bhIma of Gujarat. bhima unfazed by this formed an alliance with the haihaya, lakShmI-karNa to attack bhoja in a two front war on both east and west. bhoja was caught in the pincer grip, and while fighting his two enemies he was shot down by an arrow on the battle field. Thus, the great rAja bhoja having spent his career in numerous campaigns had fallen like a true Kshatriya in the defense of his capital.
Hence its said that when he was alive the poets would say:
"adya dhArA sadAdhArA sadAlambA sarasvatI |
paNDitAH maNDitAH sarve bhojarAje bhuvaM gate ||"
Today dhara is ever supported, and the Goddess Sarasvati is ever propped up. All the pundits are adorned with the coming of king Bhoja on this earth.
When he fell in the defending dhArA from his rivals they said:
"adya dhArA nirAdhArA nirAlambA sarasvatI |
paNDitAH khaNDitAH sarve bhojarAje divaM gate ||"
Today dhArA is unsupported, and the Goddess Sarasvati is without a prop. All the pundits are scattered with the ascent of king Bhoja to heaven.
The Malwa great Parmar Rajput Ruler of 'Raja Bhoj' descendants Princely state of Baghal the then Raja Dhiyan Singh in his Princely Court(year 1890 C.E.)
bhoja the genius
An analysis of bhoja's military campaigns show that he was undoubtedly a good general in war and was studded with many major victories over rival rAjas and Islamic marauders. His military career was however, hardly any greater than his equally warlike and militarily successful contemporaries such as rAjendra choLa or lakShmI-karNa kalachuri or someshvara chAlukya. Yet rAja bhoja is remembered much more than any of these contemporaries of his and is often compared with the illustrious vikramAditya of the golden gupta era. His name is a household one amongst all brought up in the sanskritic culture. Why is this so?
The main reason for this is that Hindus have always remembered philosphers, poets and scholars much more than kings merely decorated with military success. A king who did good to the people was much more embedded in the collective memory of the Hindus than a king who conquered vast territories. rAja bhoja definitely stood out in this regard as one of historical India's most remarkable intellectuals with an astonishing variety of interests and oceanic knowledge.
Bhoja Raja constructed several spectacular temples, one of the most dramatic of which is seen in the form of the great temple of shiva termed bhojeshvara at bhojapura a some distance from the modern city of Bhopal.
Another notable construction, which is a historical civil engineering masterpiece, is the bhoja lake which was built by daming and channelizing the Betwa river.
Bhojtal/Upper Lake in Bhopal, a small remnant of Bhojpur Lake built by Raja Bhoja(1010-1055 CE).
Spread over 250 square miles(~650 sq kms) from Bhopal to Barkheda, it was the largest man made lake in India & possibly all of Asia, with depth of 100 feet(30 metres).
Built on the river Betwa and by diverting the nearby Kaliasot river, the lake was a true feat of Hindu engineering.
It started with 2 earthen dams(40 feet high & 100 feet broad at top) 20 miles off modern Bhopal & one even larger cycloplean dam near modern Bhopal.
One umbrella sheet of water as far as the eye could see, dotted by islands across which added to its beauty. Raja Bhoja would criss cross the lake on his boat houses everyday, going from his newly constructed Bhojpur city to inspecting nearby Gonar Fort. Imagine the scene
So what happened to the lake?
Fuelled by Jihad Hosang Shah(1405-34) ordered its destruction.
It took an army of workers 3 months to destroy the dam & 3 yrs elapsed before the lake was emptied of its waters & a further 30 yrs before the bed became dry enough for human habitation.
Destruction of lakes was a favourite tactic of M invaders in India, typical barbarian behaviour.
Hosang Shah also wanted to use the lake's bed for agriculture but his dreams would never come to fruition as he died before the bed became dry & the plan was abandoned. The story of how the lake was built is a worth a read itself.
The legend goes that Raja Bhoja was ill & a Sanyasi suggested that he build a lake that could capture 365 streams. When the initial lake was built it captured 359 streams.
A Gond chief Kaliya pointed out the existence of a stream formed by 6 hill springs in a nearby forest,
It was named Kaliasot river in his honour and a lake was built that diverted the Kaliasot river towards the Betwa.
The screenhots are from the book Bhoja Raja by P.T. Srinivas Ayyangar.
Raja Bhoja has a number of other notable constructions to his credit, He is also supposed to have paid great attention to the education of his people, so much so that even humble weavers in kingdom are supposed to have composed metrical sanskrit kAvyas. Paramāra Maharajadhirāja Bhoja - had earlier built Shārdasadan & beautified Dhārā Nagarī, around 1018 CE.
In addition to patronizing the ancient schools in ujjaini he also built a large university in bhojapura with an attached temple of sarasvatI in 1034 CE .
This university was apparently attended by 1400 advanced students, and also housed a number of noted sanskrit writers and poets such as uvaTa and dhanapAla.
The university was later destroyed by Dilaawar Khan Ghori and Mahmud Khalji during their invasions of Malava.
The sarasvatI idol from the temple was taken by the Britons to the museum in London.
Bhojaśālā,a Saraswatī Mandir & center of learning named after the founder, the great Paramāra Bhoja.
Mahārājādhirāja Bhoja was a great scholar & contributed in many branches of learning as mentioned in Prabhāvakacharita. Parijata Manjari during reign of Paramāra King Arjunavarman (ca. 1210-1218 CE) also describes this Shārdasadan (Sanskrit Pāthshālā) in Dhārā Nagarī.
Parijata Manjari written by Mahākavi Madana during reign of Paramāra King Arjunavarman (ca. 1210-1218 CE) describes Shārdasadan (Sanskrit Pāthshālā) in Dhārā Nagarī:
"चतुरशीतिचतुष्पथसुरसदनप्रधाने...शारदादेव्याः सद्दानिसकलदिगंतरोपगतानेकत्रैविद्यसहृदयकलाकोविदरसिकसुकविसंकुले..."
अर्थात् - धारा नगरी के चौरासी चौराहों के चौरासी मन्दिरों में प्रधान, और अन्य देशों से आये हुए तीनों विद्याओं के जानने वाले विद्वानों और रसिक कवियों से पूर्ण शारदासदन में ...
"Bhojshala"- Saraswati Temple & Gurukul Built by Raja bhoj in Dhar MP in 12 CE
Temple was Attacked by Khilji in 1305, killed 1200 Students bcz they refused to Convert & Converted it into a Dargha.
Bhojaśālā was later turned into Kamāla mosque by invaders is another example of Maratha collaboration with Muslims. Anand Rao Pawar declared it a mosque in 1930!
Currently Site used by Peaceful on Friday for Namaz and Tuesday by Hindus for Puja Bhojshala, Dhar: A mosque made by Muslim conquerers of Malwa over remains of a famous Saraswati temple
Slabs containing rules of Sanskrit grammar placed on the floors so that they were stepped upon by 'true believers'
UPA allowed Muslims to do Namaz inside Bhojshala temple on BasantPanchami 2013,based on report given by NDA Govt. Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan
In 2016, Hindu nationalist govt of narendra modi issue orders allowing Muslims to do Namaz inside Bhojshala temple on Basant Panchami day.
Extract taken from "Dhar & Mandu: A sketch for sightseers", published 1916 C.
Raja Bhoja also wrote 84 books during his life of which several survive and we shall summarize a few below to illustrate the remarkable breadth of his knowledge and originality:
sarasvati kaNThabharaNa: a treatise on Sanskrit grammar for poetic and rhetorical compositions. Some of the poetic examples provided by him in this work are still appreciated as the highest cream of Sanskrit poetry.
rAjamArtANda (pata~Njali yoga sUtra bhAshya): Major commentary on the yoga sUtras of pata~Njali, wherein the rAja clearly explains various forms of meditations such as savitarka, savichAra, sAnanda and sAsmita, which are critical for understanding the nature of cognition from the view point of yoga.
samarangaNa-sUtradhara: A treatise on civil engineering detailing construction of buildings, forts, temples, idols of deities and mechanical devices including a so called flying machine or glider. It is composed largely in the anuShTubh meter and in about 83 chapters.
Tattva-prakAsha: A remarkable siddhAnta tantra work providing a synthesis of the entire ancient and voluminous literature of the siddhanta tantras of shiva. It was the basis of all subsequent developments of the siddhantic pAshupata streams that followed.
Rasa-raja-mriganka: A treatise on chemistry, especially dealing with the extraction of metals from ores, and production of various drugs.
jyotiSha-raja-mriganka: A treatise on astronomy and construction of instruments for astronomical observations.
yuktikalpataru: A technological manual describing the construction of ships for naval warfare and the making of glass amongst other things.
shR^i~NgAra prakAsha: A treatise on Hindu erotics.
dharmashAstra vR^itti: A commentary on the Hindu legalistic literature.
champU rAmAyaNa: A re-narration of the rAmAyaNa in mixture of prose and poetry, which characterizes the champUs. The description of hanumat's qualities are particularly poetic.
Maharajadhiraj BHOJA has authored a scholastic treatise on Sanskrit rhetorics. It is
SARASWATI KANTHAVARANAM.
Vikramāditya stories reached Mongolia and became a part of popular Mongolian folklore. Raghu Vira translated one collection into Hindi with Devanāgarī transliteration of Mongolian. बिकर्मिजिद् = विक्रमादित्य, आराजि बोजि = राजा भोज.
The Goddess of Wisdom Maa Saraswati wears it as an ornament necklace. Truly excellent. BHOJA's wisdom at the Zenith.
The classical Hindu twilight and modern India
Perusing bhoja's surviving works one sees that the Hindu world just prior to its eclipse by the violent Islamic whirlwind from Central Asia was not one on its decline. On the contrary, due geniuses like bhoja, it was in the peak in of achievements in terms of arts, technology and science. Yet, this India and its illustrious rulers were almost opaque to impending doom that loomed large. Some authors have attributed to this to regionalism or the lack of a national Hindu spirit. This was not entirely lacking as evidenced by the confedration that overthrew the Ghaznavids. Yet, the fact that these illustrious rulers were pulling down each other even as their common enemy Mahmud was savaging North India is rather striking. Another paradoxical point to note is that a Raja bhoja became a pan-Indian epitome of a great ruler from the Tamil country to Kashmir. This suggests that the cultural unity of greater India remained intact even in this period--there were indeed figures who capable of being pan-Indian heros even if they were only regional in the military achievements. Thus, there was a collective Indian mind, that appreciated the scholarly king, but failed to collectively respond to the problem possed by Islam. Likewise, the kings of bhoja's era did not lack in courage or military skills, but remained in their childish coccoons of romantic military adventures even as a greater danger threatened to extinguish them.
The lesson of the twilight of classical Hindu India is a chilling one for modern India. The modern Indians in the same way as their ancestors pride themselves of their intellectual and technological achievements. Despite the depredations of centuries they have the vestiges of cultural unity and continue to have pan-India icons, howsoever crass they may be in comparison to the legendary rAja bhoja. But sadly they remain as naive as their predecessors in the twilight era to the impending threats from Islam and Christianity.
