HARSHAVARDHANA

1. Early life

• The founder of the family Harsha was Pushyabhuti. Pushyabhutis were the feudatories of the Guptas. They called themselves Vardhana. After the Hun invasions, they assumed independence.
• The first important king of the Pushyabhuri dynasty was Prabhakaravardhana.
• Thaneswar, north of Delhi was his capital. He assumed the title Maharajahiraja and Paramabhattaraka.
• After Prabhakaravardhana’s death, his elder son Rajyavardhana came to the throne.
• He had to face problems right from the time of his accession. His sister, Rajasri had married the Maukhari ruler called Grihavarman.
• The ruler of Malwa, Devagupta in league with Sansanka, the ruler of Bengal had killed Grihavarman.
• Rajyavardhana marched against the king of Malwa and routed his army. But before he could return to his capital, he was treacherously murdered by Sasanka and Rajyasri escaped into the forests. Harsha now succeeded his brother at Thaneswar.
• His first responsibility was to rescue his sister and to avenge the killings of his brother and brother-in-law. He first rescued his sister when she was about to immolate herself.

2. Military conquests

• Harsha drove Sasanka from Kanauj and made it his new capital. This made him the most powerful ruler of north India.
• Harsha fought against Dhuruvasena II of Valabhi and defeated him. Dhuruvasena II became a vassal.
• The most important military campaign of Harsha was against the Western Chalukya ruler Pulakesin II.
• Both the accounts of Hiuen Tsang and the inscriptions of Pulakesin II provide the details of this campaign.
• Harsha with an ambition to extend his kingdom south of the Narmada River marched against the Chalukya ruler. But the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II mentions the defeat of Harsha by Pulakesin, who after this achievement assumed the title Paramesvara.
• Hiuen Tsang’s accounts also confirm the victory of Pulakesin. He also led another campaign against the ruler of Sindh, which was an independent kingdom. But, it is doubtful whether his Sind campaign was a successful one. Nepal had accepted Harsha’s overlordship.
• Harsha established his control over Kashmir and its ruler sent tributes to him.
• He also maintained cordial relations with Bhaskaravaraman, the ruler of Assam.
• Harsha’s last military campaign was against the Kingdom of Kalinga in Orissa and it was a success and established his hold over the whole of north India.
• The regions of modern Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa were under his direct control. But his sphere of influence was much more extensive.
• The peripheral states such as Kashmir, Sind, Valabhi and Kamarupa acknowledged his sovereignty.

3. Buddhism

• In their early life Harsha was a devout Saiva but later he became an ardent Hinayana Buddhist.
• Hiuen Tsang converted him to Mahayana Buddhism. Harsha prohibited the use of animal food in his kingdom and punished those who killed any living being. He erected thousands of stupas and established travellers' rest all over the kingdom. He also erected monasteries at the sacred places of Buddhists.
• Once in five years he convened a gathering of representatives of all religions and honoured them with gifts and costly presents. He brought the Buddhist monks together frequently to discuss and examine the Buddhist doctrine.

4. Kanauj Assembly

• Harsha organized a religious assembly at Kanauj to honour the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang towards the close of his reign.
• He invited representatives of all religious sects. It was attended by 20 kings, 1000 scholars from Nalanda University, 3, 000 Hinayanists and Mahayanists, and 3,000 Brahmins and Jains. The Assembly went on continuously for 23 days.
• Hiuen Tsang explained the values of the Mahayana doctrine and established its superiority over others. However, violence broke out and there were acts of arson.
• There was also an attempt at the life of Harsha. Soon, it was brought under control and the guilty were punished. On the final day of the Assembly, Hiuen Tsang was honoured with costly presents.

5. Allahabad Conference

• Hiuen Tsang mentions in his account the conference held at Allahabad known as Prayag.
• It was one of the conferences routinely convened by Harsha once in five years.
• Harsha gave away his enormous wealth as gifts to the members of all religious sects.
• According to Hiuen Tsang, Harsha was so lavish that he emptied the treasury and even gave away the clothes and jewels he was wearing. His statement might to one of admiring exaggeration.

6. Administration

• The administration of Harsha was organized along the same lines as the Guptas did.
• Hiuen Tsang a detailed picture about this.
• The king was just in his administration and punctual in discharging his duties. He made frequent visits of inspection throughout his dominion.
• Taxation was also light and forced labour was also rare. One-sixth of the produce was collected as land tax.
• Cruel punishments of the Mauryan period continued in the times of Harsha.
• Hiuen Tsang condemned the trials as barbarous and superstitious. His army consisted of the traditional four divisions-Foot, horse, chariot and elephant.
• The number of cavalries was more than one lakh and the elephants were more than sixty thousand. This was much more than that of the Mauryan army.
• The maintenance of public records was the salient feature of Harsha’s administration.
• The archive of the Harsha period was known as nilopitu and it was under the control of special officers.

7. Society and Economy under Harsha

• Both Bana and Hiuen Tsang portray social life in the times of Harsha.
• The fourfold division of the society – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vysya and Shudra was prevalent.
• The Brahmins were the privileged section of society and they were given land grants by the kings. The Kshatriyas were the ruling class. The Vishyas were mainly traders.
• Hiuen Tsang mentions that the Sudras practised agriculture. There existed many subcastes. The position of women was not satisfactory.
• The institution of Swyamvara (the choice of choosing her husband) had declined. Remarriage of widows was not permitted, particularly among the higher castes. The system of dowry had also become common. The practice of sati was also prevalent.
• Hiuen Tsang mentions three ways of disposal of the dead cremation, water burial and exposure in the woods.
• Trade and commerce had declined during Harsha’s period.
• This is evident from the decline of trade centres, less number of coins, and the slow activities of merchant guilds.
• The decline of trade in turn affected the handicrafts industry and agriculture. Since there was no large-scale demand for goods, the farmers began to produce only in a limited way.
• This led to the rise of a self-sufficient village economy. In short, there was a sharp economic decline as compared to the economy of the Gupta period.

8. Cultural Progress

• The art and architecture of Harsha’s period are very few and mostly followed the Gupta style.
• Hiuen Tsang describes the glory of the monastery with many storeys built by Harsha at Nalanda.
• He also speaks of a copper statue of Buddha at eight feet in height.
• The brick temple of Lakshmana at Sirpur with its rich architecture is assigned to the period of Harsha.

9. Literary works

• Harsha was a great patron of learning.  His biographer Banabhatta adorned his royal court. Besides Harshacharita, he wrote Kadambari.
• Other literary figures in Harsha’s court were Matanga Divakara and the famous Barthrihari, who was a poet, philosopher and grammarian.
• Harsha himself authored three plays - Ratnavali, Priyadarsika and Nagananda.
• Harsha patronised Nalanda University with his liberal endowments.
• It attained an international reputation as a centre of learning during his reign. Hiuen Tsang visited Nalanda University and remained a student for some time.

10. Nalanda University

• The Chinese travellers of ancient India mentioned several educational institutions. The most famous among them were the Hinayana University of Valabhi and the Mahayana University of Nalanda.
• Hiuen Tsang gives a very valuable account of Nalanda University.
• The term Nalanda means “giver of knowledge”. It was founded by Kumaragupta I during the Gupta period. It was patronised by his successors and later by Harsha. He
• The professors of the University were called pandits. Some of its renowned professors were Dingnaga, Dharmapala, Sthiramati and Silabadhra. Dharmapala was a native of Kanchipuram and he became the head of Nalanda University.
• Nalanda University was a residential university and education was free including boarding and lodging.
• It was maintained with the revenue derived from 100 to 200 villages endowed by different rulers. Though it was a Mahayana University, different religious subjects like the Vedas, Hinayana doctrine, and Sankhya and Yoga philosophies were also taught.
• In addition to that, general subjects like logic, grammar, astronomy, medicine and art were in the syllabus. It attracted students not only from different parts of India but from different countries of the East.
• Admission was made using an entrance examination. The entrance test was so difficult that not more than thirty per cent of the candidates were successful. Discipline was very strict. More than lectures, discussion played an important part and the medium of instruction was Sanskrit.
• Recent archaeological excavations have brought to light the ruins of Nalanda University. It shows the grandeur of this centre of learning and confirms the account given by the Chinese pilgrims.
• It had numerous classrooms and a hostel attached to it. According to Itsing, the Chinese pilgrim, there were 3000 students on its rolls.
• It had an observatory and a great library housed in three buildings. Its fame rests on the fact that it attracted scholars from various parts of the world. It was an institution of advanced learning and research.