Bhavabhuti

Bhavabhūti (Devanagari: भवभूति) was an 8th-century scholar of India noted for his plays and poetry, written in Sanskrit. His plays are considered the equal of the works of Kalidasa. He is known as "Poet of Karun Rasa" for his work named as Uttararamacarita.

Bhavabhuti was born in Padmapura, tah. Aamgaon, at Gondia district,in Maharashtra. He was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family of scholars.[1][2] He is described as a scion of the Yāyāvara family, bearing the surname Udumbara. His Kāśyapa brahmin ancestors adhered to the Black Yajurveda and kept the five sacred fire.[3]

His real name was Srikantha Nilakantha, and he was the son of Nilakantha and Jatukarni. He received his education at 'Padmapawaya', a place some 42 km South-West of Gwalior. Dayananidhi Paramahansa is known to be his guru. He composed his historical plays at 'Kalpi', a place on banks of river Yamuna.

He is believed to have been the court poet of king Yashovarman of Kannauj. Kalhana, the 12th-century historian, places him in the entourage of the king, who was defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida, king of Kashmir, in 736 AD.

  1. ^ Pandey 2007, p. 19.
  2. ^ Kosambi, D.D. Combined Methods in Indology (PDF). p. 192.
  3. ^ Bhavabhūti's Mālatīmādhava: With the Commentary of Jagaddhara (in Sanskrit). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 1997. ISBN 978-81-208-1306-9.