Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c13.54

c13.54

After Subandhu comes Bāṇa Bhaṭṭa whose novel, Kādambarī, was for the most part composed probably at the Court of Harṣa, Emperor of North India, in the first half of the seventh century. It was completed by his son Bhūṣaṇa Bhaṭṭa who in the Uttarabhāga successfully imitates the ponderous style of his father. In its opening pages the Kādambarī idealises universal dominion. It applauds a king's generosity and literary patronage which resulted in the foundation of many literary societies. When painting a picture of glorious Ujjain, it applauds freedom of thought. "Though the flight of the mountains was stayed, the flight of thought was free." An ideal realm is a heaven of perfect peace, quiet, harmony, prosperity and virtue. There is no intermixture of castes. The monarch must needs be absolute but he should hearken to the words of his preceptors.¹