The Eighty-Four Works
A Polymath's Extraordinary Output
Tradition credits Bhoja with authoring 84 works spanning an astonishing range of subjects: Sanskrit grammar, poetics, architecture, medicine, astronomy, yoga, and philosophy. While scholars debate how many he personally wrote, the corpus associated with his name represents a unique achievement in intellectual history.
The Scale of Achievement and Question of Authorship
When we speak of Bhoja as an author, we encounter something without parallel in world history. Consider what tradition claims: 84 complete treatises covering nearly every field of knowledge known to Sanskrit civilization.
To put this in perspective:
- Each treatise represents years of study and composition
- The subjects range from highly technical grammar to practical medicine
- The works show deep expertise, not superficial overview
- A normal scholar might produce one or two such works in a lifetime
How could a ruling king, constantly at war, produce such an output?
Modern scholars approach Bhoja's claimed authorship with nuance. Several possibilities exist:
Personal Authorship: Bhoja wrote some works entirely himself, especially shorter treatises and poetry
Royal Supervision: Bhoja directed teams of scholars who wrote under his guidance, with the work attributed to him as patron and overseer
Compilation: Some works may compile existing knowledge under royal authority
Later Attribution: A few works may have been attributed to Bhoja after his death to enhance their prestige
Most likely, Bhoja's corpus represents a combination of all these. The remarkable thing is that even partial personal authorship of this range would be extraordinary.
The Major Works: Grammar, Poetics, and Architecture
Bhoja's Sarasvatikanthabharana is a massive work on Sanskrit grammar that rivals the greatest grammatical treatises. It analyzes the structure of Sanskrit sounds and words, rules of word formation and sentence construction, comparison with earlier grammatical traditions, and practical applications for correct usage. The title means "Ornament for Sarasvati's Throat" - Sarasvati being the goddess of learning and speech. The work positions Sanskrit grammar as sacred knowledge.
His treatise Shringara Prakasha on poetics and aesthetics examines the nature of rasa (emotional essence) in literature, how poets create beauty through language, analysis of figures of speech, and the relationship between sound and meaning. It builds on earlier theorists like Bharata and Anandavardhana while offering Bhoja's own insights.