History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s6.37

v3.c34.s6.37

Like his father, Lakshmaṇasena was himself a learned man and a patron of learned men. Noted Sanskrit pandits whose works still survive, floating on the surface of the ocean of time, sat in his court such as Halāyudha, Umāpatidhara, Śaraṇa Govardhanāchārya, Dhoyī, Jayadeva (author of Gītagovinda) and Srīdharadāsa. The king was a Vaiṣṇava as he distinctly calls himself so in his records while his ancestors were Śaivas and the modern poets who sing the praises of Hari in Bengal perhaps go back to his time. He was the pioneer of the worship of Hari in Bengal as his father was the rehabilitator of the Varṇāśrama Dharma as also the founder of the curious system of Kulīna marriages, both of which facts we shall have to notice in our general survey of the country in this sub-period. "Lakshmaṇasena was a monarch of exceptional personal qualities. Trustworthy persons affirm that no one, great or small, suffered injustice at his hands and his generosity was proverbial" (E. H. I. p. 400, Smith.)