[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) › p30 # Bhojaprabandha p30 English (machine translation) p30 - **Language:** English ### [p30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.p30) All this notwithstanding, it is perhaps not quite proper to give the Bhojaprabandha excessive historical significance. Its characters, numerous poets, were not contemporaries delighting in poetry; their active periods are distinct and diverse. Under these circumstances, it is far more appropriate and correct to regard the Bhojaprabandha as an entertaining collection of poetic aphorisms. It is a 'diversion of poetry,' which served wise men for whiling away their time. It is the very thing by which King Śūdraka in Bāṇabhaṭṭa's Kādambarī passed his days 'surrounded by a circle of cultivated men, composing poetic works' and celebrated joyfully with prince-companions who reflected his own self and 'were skilled in activities such as \[interpreting\] poetry, drama, narratives, historical romances, paintings, and commentaries.' A strange sigh of despair escapes when one recalls those bygone days amidst the profusion of evenings spent shuffling cards in clubs and gambling halls alongside today's newly rich. Where is that enviable, sweet hour of wise men spent in 'the diversion of poetry and learning,' and where is this dreadful age, running out in vice, sleep, and strife? Perhaps those days will not return—'those days of ours are gone'; but if only they could return……? - [Previous: p29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.p29) - [Next: p31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.p31) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.p30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.short_stories.bhojaprabandha~en-mt.p30) · Pramāṇa