Harsha

Pointers to include in each of them –

➢ Background
➢ Sources
➢ Political dynamics, Cultural contributions and social life
➢ Important rulers and their significance, legacy of the dynasty
➢ Decline and introduction to the succeeding one

The decline and destabilization of the Gupta Empire led to a political fragmentation of north India resulting into
chaos and a power vacuum for about 100 years. The north India was divided into a number of independent states
and the chief among them were- the Late Guptas (Pataliputra), Varmans (Gaud-Kamarupa), Shashank (Gaud),
Maukharis (Kanauj), Pushyabhuti or the Vardhans (Sthanishwar), Maitrakas (Vallabhi), Pallavas (Kanchi),
Chalukyas (Badami), etc. Apart from this, the disappearance of the Gupta empire also witnessed the Hun
invasions in India.

Background: -

The Maukharis of Kanauj and Vardhans of Thanesar had a bitter sweet relationship identical to the Satavahanas
and Shaka Kshatrapas. The appearance of the Vardhans is seen in the post Gupta or the post classical age.
Banabhatta informs us that the founding king of this dynasty was Pushyabhuti and that the family was known
as Pushyabhuti Vamsha. The capital of Vardhans was Sthanishwar or Thansehwara in Sri Kantha district.

Rulers of the Vardhan dynasty: -

• Pushyabhuti – founder
• Maharaj Naravardhan
• Maharaj Rajyavardhan
• Maharaj Adityavardhan
• Parambhattaraka Maharajadhiraj Prabhakarvardhan, also known as Pratap Sila – He had
married Devi Yashomati who beared him four children. They were PM RajyaVardhan, PM
Harshavardhan, Rajyashri and Krishna III.
• PM RajyaVardhan
• PM Harshavardhan
• Krishna III (no specific mentions)

Rulers of the Maukhari: -

• Hari Varman
• Aditya Varman
• Ishvara Varman
• Ishana Varman
• Sarva Varman
• Avanti Varman
• Graha Varman. He married the Vardhan princess Rajyashri, Harsha’s sister
Analysis and times leading Harsha: -

It is believed that the Vardhans might have been feudatory/ tributary under the Maukharis. The dynasty revived
during the reigns of Prabhakarvarman. He took the title of Parambhattaraka Maharajadhiraj which symbolises
a title associated with respect, ownership of huge property and the one to whom other kings and rulers pay
allegiance to. The power and legitimacy of Maukharis was respected until the times of Ishana Varman under
whom their decline is witnessed with the upcoming Vardhan dynasty in its place.
In relation to Prabhakarvardhan, Harshacharita describes him as a great general with many military victories to
his credit. His power is described as “The Huna Derr, burning fever to the king of Sindh, trouble to the sleep of
Gurjara, destroyer of elephant land of Gandhara, destroyer of skill of Lata and axe to creeper which is the
goddess of Malwa”. He married to Yashomati and was father to 4 children- Rajyavardhan, Harshavardhan,
Rajyashri and Krishna III. With the marriage of princess Rajyashri to the Maukhari ruler Grahavarman, an
important marriage alliance was forged between the Vardhans and the Maukaris of Kanauj . Following this,
Prabhakarvardhan died and was succeeded by his son Rajyavardhan in 605 A.D on the basis of hereditary rule.
After the demise of her husband, Yashomati committed Johar (self-immolation)- reflection of social life and
position of women.

Turning point and the twist: -

There were a series of dramatic events that followed the death of Prabharvardhan. Close to the heels of this
event, Grahavarman was killed by the King Devagupta of Malwa and King Shashank of Gaud. Along with this
Harsha’s sister- Rajyashri was taken captive (imprisoned). Rajyavardhana, Harsha's elder brother led a military
expedition to avenge the death of his brother-in-law and capture of his sister against Malwa. Leaving the reigns
in the hands of his younger brother Harsha, Rajyavardhan marched towards defeating the king of Malwa. After
defeating the Malwa king, his next encounter was with the army of Shashank who is believed to have killed
Rajyavardhan via a stratagem. These circumstances made Harsha the default ruler of Thaneshwar.
• Checklist of Harsha after becoming the king -
• Avenge his brother’s murder, kill Shashank
• Rescue Rajyashri
• Sought help of other kings
• Consolidate the empire

Harsha as a King: -

After rescuing his sister and Grahavarman's widow Rajyasri who was on the verge of committing Johar, Harsha
was offered the throne of the Maukharis ministers as they had no heir. Harsha now occupied the throne of
Kanauj and thus began to rule over the two territories of Pushyabhutis and of Maukharis. After ascending the
throne, Harsha shifted his capital from Thaneswar to Kanauj which was centrally located. For avenging the
death of his brother and sister’s kidnap, Harsha required help and support from other dynasties and kingdoms
as well as he was alone. For this purpose, he put forth a world-wide quest for the kings to join his battle against
King Shashank of Gaud and started consolidating his empire. He began subjugation of the four quarters, i.e.
delineating the extends of his territories similar to Samudragupta (mentioned in Allahabad Prashasti). In his
journey, the King of Pragyotisha (Assam) Bhaskarvarman provided assistance to Harsha. He quoted “I’ll only
pay homage to Shiva”. It meant that as Harsha was a Shaivate, Bhaskarvarman believed this ally as a cultural
calling and joined hands with him.

Harsha now swore revenge on Shashanka and attacked those eastern kingdoms that refused to support him.
However, neither Banabhatta nor Xuan Zang provided information about the actual conflict between Shashanka
and Harsha.
Harsha then undertook a number of military campaigns that led to a territorial expansion of Vardhans under
him. He was victorious against the ruler of Sindh in north-west, Vallabhi and Gurjaras in west and south India
respectively. The kingdoms of Harsha and Pulakesin II- the famous Chalukya ruler, crossed the border of the
Narmada River. Pulakesin in his Aihole inscription says that Harsha's joy vanished from fear when his elephants
fell in battle. On the claim of Pulakesin's heirs that he obtained the title of Parameshvara by defeating
Sakalottarapathesvara. By the time Xuan Zang was at Bhaskarvarman’s court in Kamarupal (Assam), Harsha
had taken over Orissa and Magadha post Shashank’s death.

Extend of Harsha’s empire: -

He inherited Thanesar, parts of East Punjab and East Rajasthan. During his reigns, he appears to have occupied
parts of present-day UP, southern Bihar, Nepal, Assam, Malwa, Lata and Orissa. We know by the fact that when
Rajyashri escaped from her enemies into the Vindhyan ranges, Harsha was able to cross the area without any
interference. This indicates that the forest chiefs of Vindhyan ranges recognised Harsha’s overlordship. Besides
Bhaskaravarman, the ruler of Kamarupa was his junior ally, and Harsha also had influence over the king of
Jalandhara and parts of Kashmir. The title- Sakalottarapathanatha Swamin entails that Harsha also had parts of
Sindh, if not, had an influence at the least. In the south, the Narmada is the border where Pulakesin II ruled.

Socio-cultural conditions: -

We don’t have much details about the administration under Harsha’s reign. However there seems to be a broad
continuity in official designations from the Gupta period. Bana mentions the forest guards as vanapalas. There
were a few titles that were used by the kings of the sovereign state like Maharajadhiraj, Parameshwara,
Parambhattaraka, and others subordinate rulers used titles like raja, samanta, mahasamanta, ranaka, etc. The
highest title of Harsha's reign was Param Bhattarakamaharajadhiraja. The inscriptions of Harsha and Pulakesin
II informs us that Harsha ruled as per the guidelines laid down by Dharmashastras. He is described to have a
six-fold army.

Harsha’s title
• Sakalottarapathesvara : meaning, “lord of Sailkot” or “lord of the entire north/ uttarapatha”
It also gives an indication of his territorial expansion
• Siladitya : the upholder of morality

Harsha’s religiousity – multiple in nature

• Kuladevta : Surya (Suryavanshi)
• Ishtadevta : Shiva (Shaivite)
• Aradhyadevta : Buddha, after Xuan Zang’s influence

Harsha’s literary contributions

• He was a great patron of learning and arts.
• He authored three dramas- Ratnavali, Priyadarshika, Nagananda,
a work on grammer, two sutras.
• He also gave Banskhera and Madhuban inscriptions along with his autograph
• Banabhatta’s Harshacharita is a biography of Harsha

Socio-cultural contribution and Xuan Zang’s account: -

Xuan Zang, a Chinese pilgrim travelled to India between 629 and 645 AD. He spoke about the prosperity of
Kanauj under Harsha. He introduced Harsha as a follower of Mahayana Buddhism and had 41 Pushyabhutis
and the resurrection of Harsha, which famously described the Buddhist meeting at Kanauj during his reign. It
was a grand assembly where Xuan Zang along with other gave scholarly discourses. It also mentions that this
patronage of the Mahayanas of Harsha was disturbed by the Hinayanas and the Brahmins as Xuan Zang was
close to Harsha and this led to an increase in anonymity amonsgt other religious sects of the period.

However, the grand assembly was soon disrupted as the tent caught fire and Harsha along with 100 Hinayana
scholars and Brahmins and banished. After this, Xuan Zang left Harsha’s court and continued his journey
towards Pataliputra. His last destination was Bamiyan where he has described the existence of 3 Buddhas which
remains an archaeological mystery today.

Xuan Zang is believed to have set out on a pilgrimage to retrace Buddha’s steps, to collect Buddhist knowledge
from the monasteries. Although a monk, he was a keen observer of politics, landscape, climate, produce, cities,
social systems and various customs of the people. He had presented Harsha as a virtuous and a brave ruler,
favourably inclined towards Buddhism. majority of the scholars today maintain that Xuan Zang was an unbiased
observer and his accounts are the most important sources for historical survey.

Decline :-

Harsha’s death in 648 A.D was accompanied by a political confusion until the rise of Yashovarman in 715-45
A.D. Thereafter, a number of lineages fight for the control over Kanauj. One of the striking features of the
political histories of this time is the Tripartite struggel between the Rashtrakutas, Palas and the Gurjara-
Pratiharas.