Education in Ancient India c6.s1.22

c6.s1.22

1. Aśvaghosha and Charaka were the proteges of Kanishka. The Sātavāhanas of the Deccan were famous for their patronage of scholarship. Numerous are the stories still current of the liberality of Chandragupta Vikramāditya to men of letters. His successors Kumāragupta, Tathāgatagupta, Narasimhagupta and Budhagupta endowed a number of villages to Nālandā University. Emperor Harsha was not only a patron of letters, but himself a good poet and dramatist. Bhavabhūti and Vākpati belonged to the entourage of king Yaśovarman of Kanauj. King Mahendrapāla and Mahīpāla of the same city were the patrons of the famous dramatist Rājaśekhara. Kings Muñja, Sindhurāja and Bhoja of the Paramāra dynasty are subjects of numerous anecdotes illustrative of their love of learning. The last mentioned one was himself a great author. Vikramāditya VI of the Chālukya dynasty invited poet Bilhaṇa to his court from Kashmir and extended his patronage to Vijñāneśvara, whose Mitāksharā is still regarded as authoritative in law courts. Umāpatideva, Dhoi, Govardhana and Jayadeva were living at the court of king Lakshmaṇasena of Bengal, Hemachandra at the court of king Kumārapāla of Gujarat and Śrīharsha, the author of Naishadhacharit, at the court of kings Vijayachandra and Jayachandra of Kanauj.