Bhavabhuti

Bhavabhuti Biography

Bhavabhuti was an 8th-century scholar of India and his plays and poetry written in Sanskrit are equally popular till now. His plays are considered equivalent to that of Great Kalidasa. He is believed to have been the court poet of King Yashovarman of Kannauj. Mahaviracharita - depicting the early life of Lord Rama, Malatimadhava – romantic story of Malati and Madhava and Uttara ramacharita – depicting the last phase of Lord Rama’s life and his reunion with wife are his most noted works. In many places he has written Srikantha Nilakantha as his real name. He belonged to a respected Brahman family of the Vedic tradition.

Bhavbhuti was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family in Padmapura of Vidarbha region in interior Maharashtra as the son of Nilakantha and Jatukarni. His real name was Srikantha Nilakantha. His education was done at 'Padmapawaya, 42 km away from Gwalior. It’s widely regarded that Paramhans Dnyananidhi was his guru. He wrote his noted works at Kalpi, on banks of river Yamuna. He was the court poet of King Yashovarman of Kannauj. Kannauj was known then as Kanyakubja.

In his romantic play Malatimadhava - prakamna in ten acts, he tells the story of Malati and Madhava. Malati was a daughter of a minister in Avanti and Madhava was a young scholar in Ujjayini who fall in love for each other. The play ends with the union of lovers in a dramatic fashion. Bhavbhuti has written two plays based on the life history of Lord Rama, one related to his birth and childhood while the second one dedicated to the end phase of his life. Uttara ramacharita is noted for its powerful characterization and appreciated for vigorous language, elaboration and being expressive. This work is also compared with Kalidas’ Dramas.

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Updated: February 17, 2014