Glory of Bharath  »  Literary Giants of Bharath - Part Six

A great poet of India, Banabhatta was born around the 7th century in Pritikuta village, which was situated on the banks of Hiranyavahu. This village used to exist in the district, which is now called, Chhapra. He was born to Chitrabhanu and Rajadevi and his was a family of Vatsyayana gotra. Born in a Brahman family, he was a poor but a clever child. Even during his childhood, he showed signs of great potential and finished his education with much dedication and hard work. His father was a learned Brahman and he went on to become one of the greatest poets of India. He served at the court of King Harshavardhana of Kanauj.

This poetic genius wrote one of the most famous and earliest novels, known as Kadambari. It is a biographical work of Harsha and Kadambari. A very famous Sanskrit pun about Kadambari is as follows: Kadambari Rasajnaanaam aahaaropi na rochate. This means that while one reads the Kadambari, one becomes so engrossed in it that even food is forgotten. It is a very famous oratory pun used in Sanskrit.

Bana has written novels like Harsha Charita, Kadambari, Chandikasataka and Parvatiparinaya. It is said that he died before he could finish Harsha Charita and his son, Bhusanbhatta, finished his work. Although, there is not much that can be critically acclaimed about Chandikasataka and Parvatiparinaya but it is said that he used to receive many rewards and accolades from King Harsha, as an appreciation of his work and talent.

After studying his major works, it is quite apparent that his grammar is impeccable and he uses a lot of figure of speech in his work. His prose was generally melodious and rhythmical. His peculiar style was to use longer verses, comprising of short and crisp words. The sharpness in his writing style and his patent use of figure of speech has inspired many a writers after his time.

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