The Harsacharita

Banabhatta was a powerful fiction writer in the court of Shri Harshavardhana, King of Kanauj (604-647 A.D.). He grew up in an intellectually and materially rich domestic atmosphere, imbibiihng the knowledge of all Shastras, arts and lores. Unfortunately he lost his mother Rajadevi when he was a child and his father Chitrabhanu who nurtured him carefully also passed away when Bana was fourteen years old. His contribution to Sanskrit literature is unique. The father of an ornate florid style, Bana created a new genre of prose romances by writing a historical tale, the biography of his patron king, under the title Harshacharita and Kadambari.