Bana

Bana (flourished 7th century) was one of the greatest masters of Sanskrit prose, famed principally for his chronicle, Harshacharita (c. 640; “The Life of Harsha”), depicting the court and times of the Buddhist emperor Harsha (reigned c. 606–647) of northern India.

Bana gives some autobiographical account of himself in the early chapters of the Harshacharita. He was born into an illustrious family of Brahmans; his mother died when he was a small child, and he was raised by his father with loving care. His father died, however, when Bana was 14, and for some years he traveled adventurously, visiting various courts and universities with a colourful group of friends—including his two half brothers by a lower-caste woman, a snake doctor, a goldsmith, a gambler, and a musician. At last he returned home and married; then one day he was called to the court of Harsha. Treated coolly at first by the emperor, perhaps because of some gossip about his wayward youth, in time he won the emperor’s high regard.

Bana’s biography of Harsha provides valuable information about the period, though with some obvious exaggeration in the emperor’s favour. Written in the ornate kavya style, involving extremely lengthy constructions, elaborate descriptions, and poetic devices, the work has great vitality and a wealth of keenly observed detail. His second great work, the prose romance Kadambari, is named for the heroine of the novel. The book describes the affairs of two sets of lovers through a series of incarnations. Both works were left unfinished; the second was completed by the author’s son, Bhusanabhatta.