Bhoja of Dhara

Raja Bhoj (1000-1055 AD) was a Parmar also known as Panwar clan ruler of Dhar in Malwa, Madhya Pradesh. Raja Bhoja ruled the Malwa region from the beginning of the eleventh century to about A.D. 1055.

Jat Gotra

• Bhoj

History

Raja Bhoja ruled the Mālwa region from the beginning of the eleventh century to about 1055. His extensive writings cover philosophy, poetry, medicine, veterinary science, phonetics, yoga, and archery. Under his rule, Mālwa and its capital Dhar became one of the chief intellectual centres of India. King Bhoja, together with the Solanki king Bhimdev of Gujarat (Anhilwara), rebuilt the temple at Somnath between 1026 and 1042 after it was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1024. He founded the city Bhojpur. It is also said that Bhoja also founded the city of Bhopal,[3] but it could be possible that the city was founded by another king of the same name. The Bhojtal (Upper Lake or bada talab) of Bhopal is said to have been constructed by Bhoja. The great Jain scholar Dhanapala lived at the court of Bhoja. The Jain scholar Dhanapala stated in his works that he convinced Bhoja to give up the practice of sacrificing animals for propitiation of gods and according to Dhanapala Bhoja also stopped to hunt animals.

The Paramaras was a medieval Indian kingdom who were at first feudal rulers of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty. The Paramara dynasty based themselves primarily at Dhar in central India, a city which remained de facto capital until its ultimate conquest in the fourteenth century. It was there that their greatest king and a remarkable genius, Bhoja came to power at the beginning of the 11th century and ruled for about half a century. He was the son of Sindhurāja, who was a notable conqueror, who defeated the Chalukyas and Shilaharas of the Konkan region. Bhoja's path was similar to other great Hindu rulers of the time engaged in wasteful internecine 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 headaches. 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 encyclopaedic scholar. Bhoja long desired to reduce his arch-rivals the Western Chalukya Empire of the Deccan and initiated several successful campaigns against them. Then he tried a remarkable political game to destroy the Chalukyas: by forming an alliance with the south Indian Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty, 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 Māṇḍū and initially 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 king 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 I 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 Sultan 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 Indian Padshah Parmar Dev) with the Indian king and lost many of his men. Bhoja repulsed the Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud who led an army into India to conquer the northern India which his uncle, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, had failed to conquer. Then Bhoja realizing the threat, organized a confederation of Indian kings including the Kalachuri Lakshmi-Karna, the Chahamana and other Indian kings to fight the Salar Masud. In the Battle of Bahraich the northern India confederacy fought a pitched battle for about a month with the Ghaznavi army and completely defeated them killing Salar Masud in the process. They then went on to conquer 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 Indian kings had a disagreement over who would own the captured territories and their armies disbanded and dispersed in a huff. Bhoja started fighting other Indian kings who were his erstwhile allies in the war against the Ghaznavids.

Bhoja first defeated the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, but the Chahamanas of Naddula 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 Sisodia feudatories. Bhoja then seized the territory of the solanki Bhimdev of Gujarat. Bhimdev 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.

Rajatarangini mentions that There was one Dallaka, the Daishika who was a great jester and favorite of the king of Kashmir Anantadeva. This was the man through whom Bhoja king of Malava built a golden tank, and it was through him that he fulfilled his resolution to wash his face always with the waters from the shrine of Papasudana.

Rajatarangini mentions that king of Kashmir Anantadeva (1028-1063) and his contemporary king Bhoja were both renowned for charity and learning and for being alike friends to the poets. King Ananta made Tanvanggaraja (his father's brother's son) the guardian of his grandson. This Tanvangga enlarged the kingdom of his ward, and when he grew up, returned to Kashmira and died at Chakradhara.

इतिहास

राजा भोज - पंवार गोत्री जाट, जिनका इतिहास आज भी गांव के लोगों की जनश्रुतियों में है।

महाविद्वान् महाराजा भोज परमार (जाट) की माता शशिप्रभा नागवंश की कन्या थी।

दिलीपसिंह अहलावत लिखते हैं - ....इन ब्रह्मक्षत्रों ने बौद्ध भावनाओं का परित्याग करके आबू के उस विशाल यज्ञ में क्षत्रियत्व की नवीन दीक्षा ग्रहण की। इस वंश का राजा भोज सर्वाधिक दानी विद्वान् प्रतापी नरेश हुआ। इसने धारा नगरी को राजधानी बनाकर संवत् 1059 (सन् 1002 ई०) से संवत् 1099 (सन् 1042 ई०) तक 40 वर्ष तक शासन किया। यह जाट सम्राट् था। इस वंश के कुछ लोग राजपूत संघ में मिल कर राजपूत कहलाये और कुछ राजपूतों ने इस्लाम धर्म अपना लिया। भोज तथा जगदेव पंवार की परम्परा में हिन्दू जाटों के आज भी बहुत गांव हैं।

राजा भोज का संक्षिप्त परिचय

परमार भोज परमार वंश के नवें राजा थे। परमार वंशीय राजाओं ने मालवा की राजधानी धारानगरी (धार) से आठवीं शताब्दी से लेकर चौदहवीं शताब्दी के पूर्वार्ध तक राज्य किया था। भोज ने बहुत से युद्ध किए और अपनी प्रतिष्ठा स्थापित की जिससे सिद्ध होता है कि उनमें असाधारण योग्यता थी। यद्यपि उनके जीवन का अधिकांश युद्धक्षेत्र में बीता तथापि उनने अपने राज्य की उन्नति में किसी प्रकार की बाधा न उत्पन्न होने दी। उसने मालवा के नगरों व ग्रामों में बहुत से मंदिर बनवाए, यद्यपि उनमें से अब बहुत कम का पता चलता है।

कहा जाता है कि वर्तमान मध्यप्रदेश की राजधानी भोपाल को राजा भोज ने ही बसाया था , तब उसका नाम भोजपाल नगर था , जो कि कालांतर में भूपाल और फिर भोपाल हो गया। राजा भोज ने भोजपाल नगर के पास ही एक समुद्र के समान विशाल तालाब का निर्माण कराया था, जो पूर्व और दक्षिण में भोजपुर के विशाल शिव मंदिर तक जाता था। आज भी भोजपुर जाते समय , रास्ते में शिवमंदिर के पास उस तालाब की पत्थरों की बनी विशाल पाल दिखती है। उस समय उस तालाब का पानी बहुत पवित्र और बीमारियों को ठीक करने वाला माना जाता था। कहा जाता है कि राजा भोज को चर्म रोग हो गया था तब किसी ऋषि या वैद्य ने उसे इस तालाब के पानी में स्नान करने और उसे पीने की सलाह दी थी जिससे उसका चर्मरोग ठीक हो गया था। उस विशाल तालाब के पानी से शिवमंदिर में स्थापित विशाल शिवलिंग का अभिषेक भी किया जाता था।

राजा भोज स्वयं बहुत विद्वान थे और कहा जाता है कि उनने धर्म, खगोल विद्या, कला, कोशरचना, भवननिर्माण, काव्य, औषधशास्त्र आदि विभिन्न विषयों पर पुस्तकें लिखी हैं जो अब भी वर्तमान हैं। इसके समय में कवियों को राज्य से आश्रय मिला था। उन्होने सन् 1000 ई. से 1055 ई. तक राज्य किया। इनकी विद्वता के कारण जनमानस में एक कहावत प्रचलित हुई कहाँ राजा भोज कहाँ गंगू तैली।

भोज बहुत बड़े वीर, प्रतापी, पंडित और गुणग्राही थे। इन्होंने अनेक देशों पर विजय प्राप्त की थी और कई विषयों के अनेक ग्रंथों का निर्माण किया था। ये बहुत अच्छे कवि, दार्शनिक और ज्योतिषी थे। सरस्वतीकंठाभरण, शृंगारमंजरी, चंपूरामायण, चारुचर्या, तत्वप्रकाश, व्यवहारसमुच्चय आदि अनेक ग्रंथ इनके लिखे हुए बतलाए जाते हैं। इनकी सभा सदा बड़े बड़े पंडितों से सुशोभित रहती थी। इनकी पत्नी का नाम लीलावती था जो बहुत बड़ी विदुषी थी।

जब भोज जीवित थे तो कहा जाता था-

अद्य धारा सदाधारा सदालम्बा सरस्वती।

पण्डिता मण्डिताः सर्वे भोजराजे भुवि स्थिते॥

(आज जब भोजराज धरती पर स्थित हैं तो धारा नगरी सदाधारा (अच्छे आधार वाली) है; सरस्वती को सदा आलम्ब मिला हुआ है; सभी पंडित आदृत हैं।)

जब उनका देहान्त हुआ तो कहा गया -

अद्य धारा निराधारा निरालंबा सरस्वती।

पण्डिताः खण्डिताः: सर्वे भोजराजे दिवं गते ॥

(आज भोजराज के दिवंगत हो जाने से धारा नगरी निराधार हो गयी है ; सरस्वती बिना आलम्ब की हो गयी हैं और सभी पंडित खंडित हैं।)

External links

• http://www.acharysiyaramdas.com/कहां-राजा-भोज-और-कहां-गंगू/
• http://bharatdiscovery.org/india/भोज_परमार

References

---

Back to The Ancient Jats/ Back to The Rulers