Part 5.2 - The legend of Bhoja Paramara

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The legend of Bhoja Paramara building a tank in Kashmir is quite credible and accepted by both Munshi and Ganguly as a fact, (Munshi, K.M., The Glory that was Gurjaradesa, p.285; Ganguly, D.C., History of the Paramara Dynasty, pp. 274-75). Stein is also inclined to believe it (Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, vii, 190-93, Stein's note). There are reasons to believe that Bhoja Paramara, King of Dhara, maintained very cordial relations with Anants, whose territories in the south touched the borders of Chamba State which in the first half of the 11th century, was ruled by one Satavahanadeva who had adopted the imperial titles of Paramabhattaraka Maharajadhiraja and Paramesvara (Indian Antiquary, Vol. XVII, pp. 8-9).

According to the Tilakavada grant of Bhoja, the latter's general, suraditya defeated one king Sahavahana. This Sahavahana must have been the same king who is referred to as King Sala or Salavahana of Champa defeated by Ananta (H.T., I, vii, 218). As such, the friendship between Ananta and Bhoja Paramara wasnot without reasons. Since the Tilakavada grant of Bhoja is calculated to have been dated in 1047 A.D., Bhoja must have attacked Sahavahana (alias Salavahana) some time before that date (1047 A.D.). It is quite possible that Bhoja and Ananta both attacked Chamba some time in between 1028 and 1031 A.D., simultaneously.

That Bhoja was an intensely religious man and a great builder, goes without saying. Also, he would have wished to cement this friendship with Ananta against a common enemy by something concrete. As a devout Saiva, Bhoja must have heard of the sanctity of Papasudana tirtha and Kapate svara, not Kapalasvara as Munshi seems to have read it (Munshi, K.M., Glory That Was Gurjaradesa, p. 285) and of its holy waters. The traditional story of Muchukunda and the healing properties of the waters of the tank would have prompted Bhoja to give it a proper shape and adorn its precincts with temples, the ruins of which were noticed by Stein.

The local tradition of the tank being built not by a king of Kashmir but by a king of Deccan is hence quite credible, as Paramara kingdom lay to the south of Kashmir. It is not without interest to note that the name of Muchukunda' figures in Bhojaprabandha as well (cf. Monier-Williams, Sans.-Eng. Dictionary, p.821). Bhoja, in all likelihood, had sent Padmaraja to Kashmir, who is referred to in the Rajatarangini by Kalhana, as a foreigner (vii, 190) and received the waters from that tank regularly through his agency. It should, however, be remembered that of all local dynasties ruling in the 11 th century A.D., only Bhoja was gifted with the foresight to realize the consequences of Muslim advancements on the Indian frontiers. He not only helped Anandapala Shahi against Mahmud of Ghazni in 1008 A.D. but also gave shelter to his son, Trilochanapala in 1019 A.D.

Again, in 1043, he undertook a campaign along with other Hindu chief's into the Punjab and besieged Lahore for 7 months. It is thus quite possible for him to have caused. the construction of the tank and a temple some time in 1043 A.D. when he was in the plains of the Punjab for such a long time. Since Ananta was his contemporary in Kashmir, we may conclude that Kalhana's account is quite correct and that Bhoja financed these building activities (Cf. also Struggle for Empire, p.67). This recalls to our mind the construction of a Vihara at Nalanda by Balaputradeva, the king of Suvarnadvipa, and his request to king Devapaladeva to grant five villages for the maintenance ofthat monastery. It is, therefore, not surprising that Bhoja constructed a tank in the land of another king. acts for the attainment of religious merits seem to have been performed by royal persons in the land of a friendly neighbour in ancient India (Epigraphia Indica, XVII, pp. 310-27). 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, vii, 198-99. 2. Ibid., I, vii, 200-01. 3. Ibid., I, vii, 202-05. Such