Bāṇabhaṭṭa

Biography

A detailed account regarding his ancestry and early life can be reconstructed from the introductory verses attached to the Kadambari and the first two ucchāvasas of the Harṣacarita, while the circumstances behind the composition of the Harṣacarita are described in the third ucchāvasa of the text. Harsacarita is considered as the first Indian work which may be regarded as a historical biography. It gives a vivid picture of life in the Indian countryside.

Bāna was born to Chitrabhānu and Rājadevi in the village of Pritikuta in a Kanyakubja Brahmin family. His mother died early leaving him in the loving care of his father. His father married again and had two more sons. After the death of his father when he was 14, Bāṇa led a colourful and wandering life with his half-brothers for a period but later came back to his native village. Here, on a summer day, on receiving a letter from Krishna, a cousin of Emperor Harsha, he met the emperor while he was camping near the town of Manitara. After receiving Bāna with mock signs of anger, the emperor showed him much favor.