[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [Story collections and fables](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories) › [Bhojaprabandha](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha) › [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt) › 76\_215 # Bhojaprabandha 76\_215 English (machine translation) 76\_215 - **Language:** English ### [76\_215](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.76_215) Then the king gave twelve lakhs to the poet Śaṅkara. And the faces of all the scholars fell, but everyone remained silent out of fear of the king. The king went outside on account of business. Then, seeing the royal assembly devoid of the king, the company of scholars blamed him: "Oh, the ignorance of the king! What is the use of serving him? He gave a hundred thousand \[coins\] to his court poets who are proficient in the Vedas and Śāstras. What good is this, even if pleased? And this Śaṅkara is a mere village poet. What boldness does he possess!" While such an uproar was occurring, someone arrived: wearing golden gem-set earrings, draped in a divine garment, like a prince, his limbs anointed with musk-paste, his head adorned with fresh flowers, alluring with the fragrance of sandalwood ointment—like pleasure incarnate, like poetry embodied, like the throbbing flow of the aesthetic flavor of erotic love, like Indra accompanied \[by splendor\] who had arrived on the circle of the earth—a scholar. Seeing him, that assembly of scholars became an object of fear and wonder. He bowed to them all and said, "Where is King Bhoja?" They told him, "He has just now gone into the interior of the palace." Then he, having given betel to each one of them, sat like a lion among a herd of noble elephants. - [Previous: 76\_214](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.76_214) - [Next: 76\_216](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.76_216) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.76_215](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.76_215) · Pramāṇa