Harshacharita
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The Harshacharita (IAST:Harṣacarita, Sanskrit: हर्षचरित), "The Deeds of Harṣa", is the biography of Indian Emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of 7th century in India. He was the 'Asthana Kavi' meaning 'Court Poet' of King Harsha. 'Harsha Charita' was the first composition of Bana and can be treated as the beginning of writing of historical poetic works in Sanskrit language. This is written in ornate poetic prose, in which Bana gives us a fragment of autobiography unparalleled in Sanskrit literature. Not only do his elaborate descriptions show accurate and close observation, but throughout his work, the personality of the author breaks through.
Harsha Charita ranks as the first historical biography in Sanskrit although it is written in a florid and fanciful style. Bana's detailed and vivid descriptions of rural India's natural environment as well as the extraordinary industry of the Indian people exudes the vitality of life at that time. However, since he received the patronage of the Emperor Harsha, his descriptions of his patron are not an unbiased appraisal and presents the Emperor's actions in an overly favorable light.[1]
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[edit] Contents
The Harṣacarita narrates the biography of the Emperor Harsha in eight ucchvāsas (chapters). In the first two ucchvāsas, Bana gives an account of his ancestry and his early life.
[edit] Commentaries
The only commentary available is the Sanketa written by Shankara, a scholar from Kashmir. It seems that Ruyyaka wrote a commentary known as the Harṣacaritavārtika, which has not yet been found.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Keay, John (2000). India: A History. New York: Grove Press. pp. 161–162. ISBN 0802137970.
[edit] References
- The Harsa-Carita of Bana. Translated by E. B. Cowell and F. W. Thomas. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1897, 4-34.
- Ashok Kaushik:Harsh Charit by Bann Bhatt (Hindi), Diamond Pocket Books, Delhi
- AL Basham: The wonder that was India
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