Express Focus -- HERITAGE -- by Indian Express

December 07, 2000

Ruins of memory

The birthplace of Sanskrit litterateur Bhavbhuti in Maharashtra is a monument to neglect and apathy. SRAVANI SARKAR reports

Around two and a half kilometers down the road linking Amgaon to Salekasa in Gondia district in Maharashtra is a hillock infested with weeds and human refuse. There’s also a weather-hewn boulder of sandstone, balanced neatly upon two smaller stones atop this hillock.

There’s nothing in these surroundings that attracts the eye. For, unless it is actually told, there’s no reason to believe that around 1,300 years ago, the natural shelter formed by these three sandstone boulders was the abode and work place of one of the most prolific Sanskrit litterateurs, the dramatist Bhavbhuti.

If Bhavbhuti was born in the adjacent village Padmapur, the natural rock shelter is where the prolific litterateur probably created some of his best known works. Though it’s not assertively established, it can be assumed that Bhavbhuti wrote his acclaimed Mahavircharita here. In the prologue to this acclaimed drama, Bhavbhuti mentions his birth place and his work abode being a nearby hillock.
However, both the village — which, for some time, was also the capital of the powerful Vakataka kings of Vidarbha — and the hillock haven’t withstood the test of time.

Just 100 kms away, Kalidasa has it better. The dramatist — who came in from northern India to become a part of Vakataka ruler Prabhavati Gupta’s court — has been honoured in the form of a huge memorial and a complete Sanskrit University in his name at Ramtek, in the adjoining Nagpur district, Bhavbhuti, a son of the soil, hasn’t got similar treatment.

The hillock with the natural rock shelter is often used by villagers to relieve themselves. On the outskirts of Padmapur village lie the ruins of another heritage structure, a huge Jain temple that was probably built during the time of the Vakatakas. The few beautifully carved idols and remains of pillars lie scattered there, among overgrowth, cowdung and garbage.

The hillock site is supposedly protected by the State Archaeological Survey, but the only proof of this is a rusted board perched atop the hillock. The Jain mandir too was once protected by the Government of India, but it was inexplicably delisted some years.

‘‘Excavation at these sites can throw up a lot of important archaeological evidences. Padmapur is important historically, and can turn into a major tourist attraction if properly developed. It’s a shame that the place is neglected,’’ commented Dr A.K. Sharma, formerly with the State Archaeological Survey.

The only feeble attempt to redeem the lost glory of the place and the person who made it famous was about two years ago, when the then Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra announced a Rs one crore grant towards construction of a memorial at a spot falling between the hillock and the village. But the step, taken at the behest of the then irrigation minister Mahadevrao Shivankar who hails from and represents Amgaon in the state assembly, came a bit too late. Soon after the announcement, the alliance government lost power and the proposal was shelved.

Perhaps, it’s the fate of Bhavbhuti, who always had to walk in Kalidasa’s shadow. Born four centuries after Kalidasa created his Meghdootam from Ramtek, Bhavbhuti, whose era is considered to be the early eigth century, had to seek cultural patronage from the Naga kings of northern India and finally King Yashovarman of Kanauj. This is because no powerful family reigned in Vidarbha after the Vakatakas since the mid-sixth century.

Bhavbhuti’s best known literary works include Uttara Ramacharita and Mahavir Charita, which deal with the life of Rama and Malati-Madhavam, a fictional romance. He was considered more of a dramatist than a poet, and his dramas were staged in several important fairs held during his time.

Though Bhavbhuti had to move away from his birthplace for his survival, his love for his land remained intact. In one of his verses, he lamented the lack of fame and appreciation and expressed the hope that ‘someone one day would understand and appreciate me.’ That ‘someone’ does not seem to have arrived yet.