King Bhoja (Paramāra Dynasty)
🗓️ Birth & Reign
Birth: c. 1000 CE (exact date unknown; historians agree it was around the turn of the 11th century)
Reign: c. 1010–1055 CE
Death: c. 1055 CE

Background
Dynasty: Paramāra (Parmar) dynasty
Kingdom: Malwa (present-day Madhya Pradesh)
Capital: Dhāra (modern Dhar)
Father: King Sindhurāja
Bhoja was not just a ruler but a philosopher-king in the classical Indian sense—trained in warfare, administration, grammar, metaphysics, architecture, and the arts.

Works of King Bhoja (Paramāra)
(11th century CE)
1️⃣ Architecture, Engineering & Statecraft
1. Samarāṅgaṇa-Sūtradhāra
Architecture, sculpture, town planning
Mechanical devices (yantras)
Temple construction
Civil engineering
2. Yuktikalpataru (Yukti-Kalpataru)
Architecture & vāstu
Shipbuilding and naval design
Mechanical devices
State organization and administration
Materials science and measurements
3. Rājanīti-Prakāśa (attributed)
Kingship
Ethics of governance
Administration and law
2️⃣ Literary Theory, Poetics & Aesthetics
4. Śṛṅgāra-Prakāśa
Magnum opus on aesthetics
Theory of rasa, especially śṛṅgāra
Drama, poetry, emotions, and performance
5. Sarasvatī-Kaṇṭhābharaṇa
Poetics and rhetoric
Figures of speech (alaṅkāras)
Literary excellence
6. Śṛṅgāra-Mañjarī-Kathā
Narrative illustration of rasa theory
7. Alaṅkāra-Tilaka
Poetic ornaments and stylistics
8. Kāvyālaṅkāra
Structure and beauty of poetry
3️⃣ Grammar & Linguistics
9. Siddhānta-Saṅgraha
Sanskrit grammatical principles
10. Sarasvatī-Kaṇṭhābharaṇa-Vyākaraṇa
Grammar linked with literary usage
11. Śabda-Ratna-Pradīpa
Lexical meanings and usage
4️⃣ Yoga, Philosophy & Darśana
12. Rāja-Mārtaṇḍa
Commentary on Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras
One of the earliest royal yoga commentaries
13. Tattva-Prakāśa (attributed)
Metaphysics and philosophical inquiry
5️⃣ Medicine & Ayurveda
14. Āyurveda-Prakāśa
Diagnosis
Medicines
Herbal formulations
15. Rāja-Mṛgaṅka
Therapeutics and treatments
6️⃣ Astronomy, Astrology & Mathematics
16. Rāja-Mṛgaṅka-Jyotiṣa
Astronomy and astrology
Planetary motion
Time calculation
17. Jyotiṣa-Prakāśa (attributed)
7️⃣ Lexicography & Knowledge Systems
18. Nāmamālā
Sanskrit lexicon
Synonyms and classifications
19. Deśī-Nāma-Mālā
Regional and vernacular terms
Early documentation of spoken language
8️⃣ Drama, Narrative & Miscellaneous
20. Campū-Rāmāyaṇa
Retelling of Ramayana in campū style
21. Vidvat-Vinoda
Scholarly amusement
Intellectual discourse
22. Samara-Vidhi
Warfare techniques and military science
23. Dharma-Prakāśa (attributed)
Dharma, law, and ethics
9️⃣ Lost or Fragmentary Works (mentioned in later texts)
24. Prabandha-Saṅgraha
25. Vāstu-Prakāśa
26. Yantra-Sarvasva
27. Nīti-Saṅgraha
28. Chandas-Prakāśa
29. Rasa-Viveka
30. Nāṭya-Prakāśa
31. Karma-Prakāśa
32. Mantra-Prakāśa
33. Sāhitya-Prakāśa
34. Vidyā-Prakāśa

Historical Significance
King Bhoja is remembered as:
One of India’s greatest intellectual kings
A symbol of Hindu civilizational confidence in the early medieval period
Proof that science, statecraft, and spirituality co-existed seamlessly in classical India