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Bhoja Raji of Dhar and his Homonyms.—By Basu 
RAJENDRALALA Mitra. 
The name of Bhoja Pramara is the most celebrated in the annals 
of India. It stands pre-eminent as the emblem of a glorious sove- 
reign, a distinguished author, and a noble patron of learning ; and 
our poetry, our romances and our nursery tales have alike selected it 
as the theme of their laudations. It is remarkable, however, that 
little seems to be known of the identity of the individual who gave it 
such greatness. ‘ While Hindu literature survives,” said Col. Tod, 
“the name of Bhoja Pramara and the ‘ nine gems’ of his court cannot 
perish,” and: yet at the time the learned historian of the Rajputs had 
three claimants before him, every one of whom asserted his right to the 
glories of the Bhoja Pramara, and he was obliged to admit “that it is 
difficult to say which of the three princes was the greatest, as they all 
appear to have been distinguished patrons of science and literature.” 
‘Since his time the researches of Indian antiquarians have brought to 
light more than a dozen princes who have, at different times, borne 
that illustrious name, but whose history is shrouded in mystery 
which legendary tales, in the absence of authentic evidence, cannot 
solve. It may not be uninteresting, therefore, to ascertain and bring 
together the sum of our knowledge regarding the several monarchs 
of the name of Bhoja that have been from time to time met with. 
It might, to some extent, help to remove a prolific source of error 
to many hasty antiquarians who frequently jump into conclusions 
regarding the age of undated—and not rarely of dated—ainsceriptions 
from the mere circumstance of the word Bhoja occurring in them. 
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