Bhojeshwar temple is an unsolved mystery

1. 1
Bhojeshwar Temple is an Unsolved Mystery, where the Future was
Predicted in Past
Dr Uday Dokras
Bhojeshwar Temple is an ancient hindu temple that has kept many unknown secret, historical
events and hindu mythology (Purana) in its fragile abandoned bricks. Every ancient Hindu
temple is a living museum in itself that informs the people of the ancient society, temple
science, arts, literature, science and engineering of the past through inscriptions and hidden
information engraved on temple wall. The Bhojeshwar Temple is a perfect example of this type
living museum with mysteries around it. The Bhojeshwar Temple is such a strange temple that
not only tells the lost stories of the past but also indicates the future that had been predicted in
the past. Also confirmed that critical surgery was performed in ancient India. Yes the temple is
related to Bhavishya Purana. Civilization develops over time and lost again. But that vanishing
stories of human civilizations still breath in the grooves of the lifeless stones of an ancient
temple. Yes, even a temple has life.
Bhojeshwar Temple is an unfinished Hindu temple situated in Madhya Pradesh, India, village of
Bhojpur on the bank of Betwa river. The Bhojeshwar Temple is dedicated to Bhagwan Shiva.
The wondering Shivling situated here is constructed of single stone and has a length of 18 feet.
And it weighs 7.5 feet in diameter. Construction of the temple is assumed to have started in the
11th century, during the rule of king Bhoja. Bhoja was an Indian ruler of the Paramara dynasty,
whose empire was centered around the Malwa region of today's Madhya Pradesh. Although
many believe that 7th century was the correct arrival time of King Bhoja instead of 11th century.
He established the city Bhopal, formerly named Bhojpal. He is reported to have constructed three
major dams and huge reservoirs to provide sufficient water during dry weather. Unfortunately
later the reservoirs were destroyed by Sultan Hoshang Shah of Malwa. For unknown purposes,
the construction was stopped, with the architectural designs graved on the rocks around
it. Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has designated the temple as a Monument of National
Importance. The site won the National Tourism Award in 2015.
Mysterious King Bhoja:
We also find references to the King Bhoj in the Puranas. Bhoja-Prabandha confirms he suffered
from intense headaches early in his life. Two brahmin surgeons from Ujjain made him

2. 2
unconscious using an anaesthetic powder called moha-churna, opened his cranial bone, removed
a tumor and then gave him another powder called sanjivani to recover his consciousness. A
legend from the Bhavishya Purana describes Bhoja as descending
of Vikramaditya and Shalivahana. As per this story, by the time of Bhoja's ascension the
influence of the mleccha (foreign) had corrupted Indian culture. Here's how the story was found,
according to Wikipedia. “Bhoja marched up to the banks of the Indus river, and defeated several
mleccha kings. The poet Kalidasa, who accompanied him, magically turned into ashes a mleccha
named Mahamada, whose followers came to be known as Muslim. After returning to his capital,
Bhoja established Sanskrit language among the top three varnas and Prakrit language among the
Shudras. During his 50-year reign, Aryavarta (the land between the Himalayas and
the Vindhyas) became a blessed land where the varna system was established. On the other hand,
caste mixture took place beyond the Vindhyas (that is, in South India)."
From the ancient inscriptions we came to know a lot about the King Bhoja, for example
according to the Udaipur Prashasti inscription subsequent rulers King Bhoja “Covered the earth
with temples”. Much of the temples were dedicated to the different aspects of Lord Shiva, such
as Rudra, Somanatha, Kedareshvara, Rameshwara and Kala. In his Prabandha-Chintamani,
the Jain writer Merutunga mentions that Bhoja alone constructed more than 100 temples in his
capital city, Dhara. Unfortunately many temples was destroyed by the invaders. Few survived
temples can be can be attributed to Bhoja. In 2003, many important copper plate inscriptions had
been discovered in Depalpur, Dhar Bhojpur, Ujjain which were dated to King Bhoja. The
inscriptions were issued by the King himself. Most inscriptions are in Sanskrit language and
Nagari script, though some engravings have several Prakrit phrases too. Assuming that the era of
most of the inscription is Vikrama Samvat and the year as Karttikadi.
Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was a monarch from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was
centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern
Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his
kingdom, with varying degrees of success. At its zenith, his kingdom extended from Chittor in
the north to upper Konkan in the south, and from the Sabarmati River in the west to Vidisha in
the east.
Bhoja is best known as a patron of arts, literature, and sciences. He hailed from the present-
day Uttar Pradesh. The establishment of the Bhoj Shala, a centre for Sanskrit studies, is
attributed to him. He was a polymath, and several books covering a wide range of topics are
attributed to him. He is also said to have constructed a large number of Shiva temples,
although Bhojeshwar Temple in Bhojpur (a city founded by him) is the only surviving temple
that can be ascribed to him with certainty.
Because of his patronage to scholars, Bhoja became one of the most celebrated kings in the
Indian history. After his death, he came to be featured in several legends as a righteous scholar-
king. The body of legends clustered around him is comparable to that of the
fabled Vikramaditya.
Bhoja's father and predecessor was Sindhuraja. According to Bhoja-Prabandha, his mother's
name was Savitri. Bhoja's reputation as a scholar-king suggests that he was well-educated as a
child. The Bhoja-Prabandha states that he was educated by his guardians as well as other learned
scholars.

3. 3
According to Bhoja-Prabandha, early in his life, Bhoja suffered from intense headaches.
Two Brahmin surgeons from Ujjain made him unconscious using an anaesthetic powder
called moha-churna, opened his cranial bone, removed a tumor, and then made him regain his
consciousness by administering another powder called sanjivani.
Legend of persecution by Munja
According to Tilaka-Manjari, composed by Bhoja's contemporary Dhanapala, Bhoja's feet had
auspicious birthmarks indicating that he was fit to be a king. His uncle Munja (and his father's
predecessor) loved him greatly, and appointed him as the king.
However, several later legendary accounts state that Munja was initially jealous of Bhoja, and
tried to prevent him from becoming a king. For example, the 14th century Prabandha-
Chintamani states that during the reign of Munja, an astrologer prophesied Bhoja's long reign.
Munja, who wanted his own son to become the king, ordered Bhoja's killing. Bhoja was
appointed as the king by the royal ministers after Munja's death. According to a Gujarati legend
documented in Rasmala, Munja ordered Bhoja's murder, but later appointed him as the crown
prince.[
Bhoja-Prabandha states that Munja ordered one Vatsaraja to kill Bhoja at the Mahamaya temple
in Bhuvaneshvari forest. On hearing Bhoja's cultured manner of talking, Vatsaraja and his men
abandoned the murder plan. They faked Bhoja's death, and presented to Munja a fake head and a
verse from Bhoja. The verse described how great kings
like Mandhata, Rama and Yudhishthira died leaving behind all their property; it then
sarcastically added that Munja would be the only one whom the earthly possessions would
follow. The verse moved Munja to tears, and made him realize his mistake. When he learned that
Bhoja was still alive, he invited Bhoja to back to his court. To repent for his sin, he also went on
a pilgrimage to Dharmaranya, where he established a town called Munjapuram.[8] The sarcastic
verse, purportedly written by Bhoja to Munja, also appears as an antonymous extract
in Sharngadhara-paddhati (1363 CE).
These stories of Bhoja's persecution by Munja are essentially mythical. This legend is not found
in the works composed by the contemporaries of Munja, Sindhuraja and Bhoja. For example,
the Nava-sahasanka-charita makes no mention of this story. The legend appears to be the poetic
imagination of later composers. Ain-i-Akbari also contains a variation of this account, but
completely distorts the legend, naming Munja as the one who was persecuted by Bhoja. This
account is also completely unreliable from a historical point of view.
ANOINTMENT
Some literary works suggest that Bhoja succeeded his uncle Munja as the Paramara king. These
works include Tilaka-Manjari, Prabandha-Chintamani, and Rasmala. However, several other
works as well as epigraphic evidence indicate that Bhoja succeeded his father Sindhuraja.
Padmagupta, the court poet of Sindhuraja and Bhoja, also supports this fact. According to Bhoja-
Prabandha, Munja left the Paramara administration in hands of Sindhuraja before departing on a
military expedition. Munja unexpectedly died in this campaign, and as a result, Sindhuraja
succeeded him as the king. Sindhuraja's court poet Padmagupta, in his Nava-Sahasanka-Charita,
states that Munja "placed the world in Sindhuraja's hands" before leaving for Ambika's town.
This indicates that he left the administration in Sindhuraja's hands before leaving for his fatal
expedition against Tailapa II- Udaipur Prashasti inscription seems to confirm this.

4. 4
Period of reign
The Modasa copper plates (1010–11 CE) are the earliest historical record of Bhoja's reign.
The Chintamani-Sarnika (1055 CE) was composed by Bhoja's court poet Dasabala. An
inscription of Bhoja's successor Jayasimha I is also dated 1055 CE. Thus, 1055 CE can be taken
as the last year of Bhoja's reign. Based on these evidences, scholars such as Pratipal Bhatia
assign Bhoja's reign to 1010–1055 CE.[
However, some scholars assign the beginning of Bhoja's reign variously between 1000 CE and
1010 CE, based on their interpretations of inscriptions and legendary texts. For example,
Merutunga's Prabandha-Chintamani states that Bhoja ruled for 55 years, 7 months and 3 days.
Based on this, scholars such as D. C. Ganguly and K. C. Jain assign Bhoja's reign to 1000–1055
CE. However, as K. M. Munshi states, dates are "the weakest point in Merutunga's narratives".A.
K. Warder, who dismisses Merutunga as "completely unreliable" and his narratives as
"essentially fiction", believes there is no evidence that Bhoja's reign began much earlier than
1010 CE
Names and titles
In the Paramara inscriptions, Bhoja is mentioned as Bhoja-deva. In some modern north Indian
languages such as Hindi, he is also known as "Bhoj" (because of schwa deletion). Bhoja's
inscriptions mention his titles as Parama-
bhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja and Parameshvara. Ganaratna Mahodadhi (1140 CE), a work on
grammar by Vardhamana, suggests that "Tribhuvan Narayana" or "Triloka Narayana" ("Lord of
the three worlds") was also a title of Bhoja. This is corroborated by epigraphic evidence:
the Shiva temple ascribed to Bhoja in the Chittor fort has an idol which was named
"Bhojasvamindeva" as well as "Tribhuvan Narayanadeva".

5. 5
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Inscriptions from Bhoja's reign have been found in present-day Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan states of India
While Bhoja became famous as a benevolent king and a patron of arts and culture, he was also
renowned as a warrior. He inherited a kingdom centered around the Malwa region, and made
several attempts to expand it with varying results. The Udaipur Prashasti inscription of Bhoja's
brother compares Bhoja to the legendary king Prithu, and states that he "ruled the earth
from Kailasha to Malaya hills and up to the mountains of the setting and the rising sun". This is
an obvious exaggeration: historical evidence indicates that Bhoja's kingdom extended
from Chittor in the north to upper Konkan in the south, and from the Sabarmati River in the west
to Vidisha in the east.
Several legends mention conflicts between the ruler of Malwa and the Chaulukyas, during the
reign of the Chaulukya kings Vallabha-raja and Durlabha-raja. Vallabha is said to have died of
smallpox during an expedition against the Paramaras. This incident may have happened during
the early part of Bhoja's reign, or during the reign of his father Sindhuraja. Vallabha's successor
Durlabha is said to have repulsed an attack by a confederacy that included the ruler of Malwa,
but modern historians doubt the authenticity of this legend.
Bhoja's first military aggression appears to be his invasion of the Lata region (in present-
day Gujarat), around 1018 CE. Bhoja subjugated the Chalukyas of Lata, whose ruler Kirtiraja
may have served as his feudatory for a brief period. Bhoja's invasion of Lata brought him close
to the Shilahara kingdom of northern Konkana, which was located to the south of Lata.[ Bhoja
invaded and captured Konkana sometime between 1018 and 1020 CE, during the reign of the
Shilahara king Arikesari. He celebrated this victory in a big way by making generous donations
to Brahmins. His 1020 CE inscription states that he organized a Konkana-Grahana Vijaya
Parva ("Konkan Victory Festival").The Shilaharas probably continued to administer Konkana as
Bhoja's vassals. By the end of his reign, Bhoja had lost this territory to the Chalukyas of Kalyani.
Sometime before 1019 CE, Bhoja formed an alliance against the Chalukyas of Kalyani
with Rajendra Chola and Gangeyadeva Kalachuri. At this time, Jayasimha II was the Chalukya
king. The triple alliance engaged the Chalukyas at their northern and southern frontiers
simultaneously The extent of Bhoja's success in this campaign is not certain, as both Chalukya
and Paramara panegyrics claimed victory. Historian D. C. Ganguly believes that Bhoja achieved
some early victories against the Chalukyas, but was ultimately defeated. Others, including D. B.
Diskalkar and H. C. Ray, believe that Bhoja was defeated by Jayasimha after some early
successes, but ultimately emerged victorious against the Chalukyas after 1028 CE. According
to Georg Bühler, the struggle probably ended with some advantage for Bhoja, which might have
been exaggerated into a great victory by the Paramara poets
The Udaipur Prashasti states that Bhoja defeated a ruler named Indraratha. Modern historians
identify this king with Indranatha, the Somavamshi king of Kalinga. This king was defeated
by Rajendra Chola: Bhoja may have played a secondary role in the Chola campaign as part of an
alliance.
The Ghaznavids, a Muslim dynasty of Turkic origin, invaded north-western India in the 11th
century, led by Mahmud of Ghazni. The Udaipur Prashasti claims that Bhoja's mercenaries
defeated the Turushkas (Turkic people). There are some legendary accounts of Bhoja's military

6. 6
successes against the foreign invaders identified with the Ghaznavids. However, there is no clear
evidence to show that Bhoja fought against the Ghaznavids or any other Muslim army.[ Bhoja
might have contributed troops to the Kabul Shahi ruler Anandapala's fight against the
Ghaznavids. He is believed to have granted asylum to Anandapala's son Trilochanapala. Several
medieval Muslim historians state that Mahmud avoided a confrontation with a powerful Hindu
ruler named Param Dev after sacking the Somnath Hindu temple. Modern historians identify
Param Dev as Bhoja: the name may be a corruption of Paramara-Deva or of Bhoja's
title Parameshvara-Paramabhattaraka. Bhoja may have also been a part of the Hindu alliance
that expelled Mahmud's governors from Hansi, Thanesar and other areas around 1043 CE.
Bhoja's attempt to expand his kingdom eastwards was foiled by
the Chandela king Vidyadhara. However, Bhoja was able to extend his influence among the
Chandela feudatories, possibly after Vidyadhara's death. The Kachchhapaghatas of Dubkund,
who were the northern neighbours of the Paramaras, were originally Chandela feudatories.
However, their ruler Abhimanyu accepted Bhoja's suzerainty.
According to the Udaipur Prashasti inscription, Bhoja defeated the Gurjara king. The identity of
this king is debated by the historians, but he is generally identified as a weak Gurjara-
Pratihara ruler of Kannauj. Bhoja did not retain control of Kannauj for a long time, if at all.[50]
The 1046 CE Tilakawada copper plate inscription states that Bhoja's general Suraditya stabilized
his royal fortune by slaughtering one Sahavahana in a battle. Some earlier historians identified
Sahavahana as a king of Chamba, but this identification is doubtful, considering the distance
between Chamba and Malwa, and the fact that the ruler of Chamba was not powerful enough to
destabilize Bhoja's kingdom. Sahavahana might been a general of one of Bhoja's rivals, possibly
the Kalachuri king Karna.
Bhoja defeated and killed Viryarama, the Shakambhari Chahamana ruler. Encouraged by this
success, he also waged a war against the Chahamanas of Naddula. But in this second campaign,
his army was forced to retreat, and his general Sadha was killed.
During the last years of Bhoja's reign, sometime after 1042 CE, Jayasimha's son and
successor Someshvara I invaded Malwa, and sacked his capital Dhara. Multiple Chalukya
inscriptions dated between 1058 and 1067 CE state that the Chalukyas plundered the important
Paramara cities, including Dhara, Ujjayini and Mandapa. Bhoja re-established his control over
Malwa soon after the departure of the Chalukya army. Nevertheless, the defeat was a major
setback for the Paramaras, and pushed back the southern boundary of their kingdom
from Godavari to Narmada.
Although the Bhoja and Kalachuri king Gangeya were part of an alliance against the Chalukyas,
Bhoja defeated Gangeya. It is not certain when they turned into enemies. According to one
theory, Bhoja defeated Gangeya before his Chalukya campaign, in which Gangeya must have
fought as a Paramara vassal. A contradictory theory is that the two turned enemies after their
Chalukya campaign, sometime between 1028 CE and 1042 CE. The Udaipur Prashasti also
claims that Bhoja defeated one Togglala who might have been Gangeya's predecessor Kokalla II.
During the last year of Bhoja's reign, or shortly after his death, the Chaulukya king Bhima I and
the Kalachuri king Karna attacked his kingdom. According to the 14th century author
Merutunga, Bhoja had once thought of subjugating Bhima, but Bhima's diplomat avoided a
Paramara invasion by instigating Bhoja against the Chalukyas of Kalyani instead. Sometime

7. 7
before 1031 CE, Bhima launched an expedition against the Paramara branch at Abu, forcing its
ruler Dhandhuka to seek shelter with Bhoja. Hemachandra, who was patronized by the
Chaulukyas, states that Bhoja's general Kulachandra once sacked the Chaulukya capital while
Bhima was fighting a war at the Sindh frontier. Bhima later dispatched his soldiers to raid Malwa
several times. Merutunga's Prabandha-Chintamani states that once two such soldiers attacked
Bhoja in the vicinity of his capital Dhara, but the Paramara king escaped unhurt. Merutunga also
states that Karna once challenged Bhoja to either a war or a palace-building contest. Bhoja, who
was an old man by this time, chose the second option. Bhoja lost this contest, but refused to
accept Karna's suzerainty. As a result, Karna, in alliance with Bhima, invaded Malwa. According
to Merutunga, Bhoja died of a disease at the same time the allied army attacked his kingdom.
Several literary works written under Chaulukya patronage suggest that Bhima subjugated Bhoja
while Bhoja was still alive. However, such claims are not corroborated by historical evidence
The incomplete Bhojeshwar Temple in Bhojpur, Madhya Pradesh
Bhoja is best remembered for his intellect and patronage to cultural activities. Noted poets and
writers of his time sought his sponsorship. The Kashmiri writer Bilhana famously rued that
Bhoja died before him, because of which he failed to seek the king's patronage. Several later
kings also emulated Bhoja. For example, Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire styled
himself as Abhinava-Bhoja ("the new Bhoja") and Sakala-Kala-Bhoja ("Bhoja of all the arts").
Bhoja was himself a polymath. Under his rule, Mālwa and its capital Dhara became one of the
chief intellectual centres of India. He is said to have paid great attention to the education of his
people, so much so that even humble weavers in the kingdom are supposed to have composed
metrical Sanskrit kavyas.
Bhoja is said to have founded the city of Bhojpur, a belief supported by historical evidence.
Besides the Bhojeshwar Temple there, the construction of three now-breached dams in that area
is attributed to him.[71] The temple originally stood on the banks of a reservoir 18.5 long and 7.5
miles wide.[72] This reservoir was formed through construction of 3 earth-and-stone dams during
Bhoja's reign. The first dam, built on Betwa River, trapped the river waters in a depression
surrounded by hills. A second dam was constructed in a gap between the hills, near present-day
Mendua village. A third dam, located in present-day Bhopal, diverted more water from the
smaller Kaliasot river into the Betwa dam reservoir. This man-made reservoir existed until 15th
century, when Hoshang Shah emptied the lake by breaching two of the dams.
Bhoja established the Bhoj Shala which was a centre for Sanskrit studies and a temple
of Sarasvatī in present-day Dhar. According to folklore, the Bhopal city was established by and
named after him ("Bhojpal"),but it is possible that the city derives its name from another king
called Bhupala (or Bhupal).

8. 8
Literary works
Bhoja was renowned as a scholar-king, and several books are attributed to him. Because these
books cover an enormous range of topics, it is not certain if he actually wrote all these books or
if he only commissioned these works, acting as a patron of their actual writers. But it is known
that he was an expert on poetry, and the treatise Shringara-Prakasha was definitely authored by
him.
According to Ajada, who wrote a commentary titled Padaka-prakasha on Sarasvati-
Kanthabharana, Bhoja wrote 84 books. The surviving works attributed to Bhoja include the
following Sanskrit-language texts Bhujabala-bhima (Bhujabalabhīma), a work on astrology
 Champu-Ramayana or Bhoja-Champu (Campūrāmāyaṇa), a re-telling of the Ramayana in
mixture of prose and poetry, which characterises the champu genre. The first five kandas
(chapters) are attributed to Bhoja. The sixth and seventh chapters were completed by
Lakshmana and Venkatadhvarin respectively.
 Charucharya (Cārucārya), a treatise on personal hygiene
 Govinda-vilasa, poem
 Nama-Malika, a compiled treatise on lexicography
 Raja-Martaṅda (Rājamārtanḍa) or Patanjali-Yogasutra-Bhashya, a major commentary on
the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali; includes an explanation of various forms of meditations
 Raja-Mriganka-Karana (Rājamrigankakaraṅa), a treatise on chemistry, especially dealing
with the extraction of metals from ores, and production of various drugs.
 Samarangana-Sutradhara (Samarāṇgaṇasūtradhāra), a treatise on architecture and
iconography. It details construction of buildings, forts, temples, idols of deities and
mechanical devices including a so-called flying machine or glider.
 Sarasvati-Kanthabharana (Sarasvatīkaṇṭhabharaṇa), a treatise on Sanskrit grammar for
poetic and rhetorical compositions. Most of it is a compilation of works by other writers.
Some of the poetic examples provided by him in this work are still appreciated as the highest
cream of Sanskrit poetry.
 Shalihotra (Śālihotra), a book on horses, their diseases and the remedies
 Shringara-Prakasha (Śṛṅgāraprakāśa), treatise on poetics and dramaturgy
 Sringara-Manjari-Katha (Śṛṅgāramanjarīkathā), a poem composed in akhyayika form
 Tattva-Prakasha (Tattvaprākaśa), a treatise on Shaivite philosophy. It provides a synthesis
of the voluminous literature of the siddhanta tantras
 Vidvajjana-Vallabha, treatise on astronomy
 Vyavahara-Manjari (Vyavahāramanjarī), a work on dharmaśāstra or Hindu law
 Yukti-Kalpataru, a work dealing with several topics including statecraft, politics, city-
building, jewel-testing, characteristics of books, ship-building etc.
The Prakrit language poems Kodanda-Kavya and Kurma-Sataka are also attributed to
Bhoja. The Kodanda-Kavya (Kodaṅḍakāvya) was found inscribed on stone slab fragments
at Mandu.[80] The Kurma-Sataka (Avanikūrmaśataka), which praises the Kurma (tortoise)
incarnation of Vishnu, was found inscribed at the Bhoj Shala in Dhar.[
Sangitaraja, attributed to Kalasena or Kumbha, names Bhoja as an authority on music, which
suggests that Bhoja also compiled or wrote a work on music.

9. 9
The Samadhishvara Shiva Temple in Chittor Fort is identified with the Tribhuvana-Narayana or
Bhoja-svamin temple attributed to Bhoja. The original temple has been renovated several times
since its construction.
Historical evidence suggests that Bhoja was a devotee of Shiva. His writings qualify Shiva as
"Jagadguru" ("World teacher"),[82] and his inscriptions begin with verses praising
Shiva.[20] The Udaipur Prashasti inscription of the later Paramara rulers states that Bhoja
"covered the earth with temples" dedicated to the various aspects of Shiva, including
Kedareshvara, Rameshwara, Somanatha, Kala, and Rudra. The Jain writer Merutunga, in
his Prabandha-Chintamani, states that Bhoja constructed 104 temples in his capital city
of Dhara alone. However, the Bhojeshwar Temple in Bhojpur is the only surviving shrine that
can be attributed to Bhoja with certainty. Several historians, including G. H. Ojha and R. Nath,
have identified the Samadhishvara Shiva Temple in Chittor with the Tribhuvana Narayana Shiva
or Bhoja-svamin temple attributed to Bhoja; the temple has been restored several times since its
construction.
The Jain legends state that Bhoja converted to Jainism. According to this account, his court poet
Dhanapala convinced the king to give up Vedic animal sacrifices. The poet also openly ridiculed
Bhoja's other religious beliefs, including his worship of Kamadeva-Rati and cow. Gradually,
Dhanapala convinced Bhoja to become a Jain.
These accounts of Bhoja's conversion to Jainism are irreconcilable with historical evidenceIn
a Bhoja-Prabandlha legend, a Brahmin named Govinda calls Bhoja a Vaishnavite. It is possible
that Bhoja patronized other faiths despite being a Shaivite.
Bhoja married multiple women as part of matrimonial alliances with other ruling dynasties. His
chief queen was Liladevi or Lilavati. His other queens included Padmavati (princess of Kuntala),
Chandramukhi (princess of Anga) and Kamala.
Inscriptional evidence suggests that he was succeeded by Jayasimha, who was probably his
son. Jayasimha's Mandhata grant of 1055 CE mentions his predecessors as Bhoja, Sindhuraja and
Vakpati. However, this inscription does not specify the relationship between Bhoja and
Jayasimha, and it is the only epigraph that mentions a Paramara king named Jayasimha.
The Udaipur Prashasti and Nagpur Prashasti inscriptions of the later Paramara kings give a
detailed genealogy of the Paramara kings, but do not mention Jayasimha. These two inscriptions
name Udayaditya as the next ruler after Bhoja. Udayaditya is now known to be Bhoja's brother.

10. 10
In terms of the number of legends centered around him, Bhoja is comparable to the
fabled Vikramaditya. Sheldon Pollock describes Bhoja as "the most celebrated poet-king and
philosopher-king of his time, and perhaps of any Indian time".Bhoja came to be featured in
several legends as a righteous scholar-king, who was the ultimate judge of literary qualities and
generously rewarded good poets and writers. Most of these legends were written three to five
centuries after his death.
Apart from epigraphic records, much of the information about Bhoja comes from these legendary
accounts, including Merutunga's Prabandha-Chintamani (14th century), Rajavallabha's Bhoja-
Charitra (15th century), and Ballala's Bhoja-Prabandha (17th century). However, many of the
popular legends about Bhoja do not have any historical basis. For example, the Bhoja-
Prabandha anachronistically describes the ancient poet Kalidasa as a contemporary of Bhoja.[
In order to enhance their imperial claims, the Paramaras promoted several legends associating
Bhoja with the ancient legendary kings. For example, in Simhasana Dvatrimsika (popularly
known as Singhasan Battisi), Bhoja finds a throne of Vikramaditya, and each of the 32 divine
figurines attached to the throne tell him a story about Vikramaditya. A Bhavishya Purana legend
describes Bhoja as a descendant of Vikramaditya and Shalivahana. According to this legend,
the mleccha (foreign) influence had corrupted Indian culture by the time of Bhoja's ascension.
Bhoja marched up to the banks of the Indus river, and defeated several mleccha kings. The
poet Kalidasa, who accompanied him, magically turned into ashes a mleccha named Mahamada,
whose followers came to be known as Muslim (The character Mahamada is based
on Muhammad possibly combined with Mahmud of Ghazni). After returning to his capital,
Bhoja established Sanskrit language among the top three varnas and Prakrit language among
the Shudras. During his 50-year reign, Aryavarta (the land between the Himalayas and
the Vindhyas) became a blessed land where the varna system was established. On the other hand,
caste mixture took place beyond the Vindhyas (that is, in South India).Again, this is an
imaginary account not supported by any historical evidence.[
Temple Science:
The Bhojpur temple has a number of strange elements, The Bhojeshwar Temple has a domed
roof. This temple was built before the advent of Islam in India, so the incomplete domed roof
above the sanctum of this temple testifies to the practice of dome construction in India itself.
Even though the technology of their construction is different. Some scholars consider it the first
domed roofed building in India. The door of this temple is also the largest in the gates of any
Hindu building. The fifth feature of this temple is its four pillars with a height of 40 feet. The
incomplete roof of the sanctuary rests on these four pillars. Another interesting side of the
Bhojeshwar temple is the slope at the back of the temple, which was used to transport huge
stones during the temple under construction. No such ancient grand construction technology is
available to transport the ingredients to the top of the structure anywhere in the world. This is a
proof, which revealed the mystery of how huge stones weighing 70 tones were transported to the
top of the temple. The construction work suddenly stopped unexpectedly. The causes are not
clear but historians believe that a sudden natural disaster, a shortage of resources, or a war may
have caused abandonment. The architectural pieces, raw materials, stone blocks, markings of
temple plans are still to be found around the temple region even today. The house lacked a roof
before being restored during 2006–07. On this basis, archeologist KK Muhammed argues that

11. 11
the roof could have collapsed due to a mathematical error during the load calculation;
subsequently, circumstances could have stopped King Bhoja from rebuilding it.
Carved rock fragments near the entrance
Additional Facts:
Funerary monument theory
The Bhojpur temple features several peculiar elements, including the omission of
a mandapa connected to the garbhagriha (sanctum), and the rectilinear roof instead of the typical
curvilinear shikhara (dome tower). Three of the temple's walls feature a plain exterior; there are
some carvings on the entrance wall, but these are of the 12th century style. Based on these
peculiarities, researcher Shri Krishna Deva proposed that the temple was a funerary monument.
Deva's hypothesis was further corroborated by the discovery of a medieval architectural text
by M. A. Dhaky. This fragmentary text describes the construction of memorial temples erected
over the remains of a dead person, conceived of as vehicles for ascent to the heaven. Such
temples were called svargarohana-prasada ("temple commemorating the ascent to the svarga or
heaven"). The text explicitly states that in such temples, a roof of receding tiers should be used
instead of the typical shikhara. Kirit Mankodi notes that the superstructure of the Bhojpur temple
would have been in this exact form upon its competition. He speculates that Bhoja may have
started the construction of this shrine for the peace of soul of his father Sindhuraja or of his
uncle Munja, who suffered a humiliating death in enemy territory.
The State Government conducts the special event, Bhojpur Utsav, at the site around Maha
Shivaratri every year for the devote and tourists. Another attraction for the tourist is the small
museum dedicated to the Temple of Bhojeshwar Shiva which is located about 200 meters from
the main temple. You can perceive the history and the social picture of the past time of Raja
Bhoja through the posters and sketches portrayed at the museum. The museum also some
important books written by Raja Bhoj he wrote, as well as the mason marks. In front of the
Bhojpur Shiv temple, there is a cave in the western direction, which is known as Parvati
Cave. There are many hidden idols of archeological importance in this cave.