Harsha

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"Harshvardhan" redirects here. For other people with similar names, see Harsha Vardhan.
For other uses, see Harsha (disambiguation).

Harsha
Maharajadhiraja
Harshavardhana Circa AD 606-647.jpg
Coin of Harshavardhana, circa 606–647 CE.[1]
Ruler of North India
Reignc. 606 – c. 647 CE
PredecessorRajyavardhana
SuccessorArunāsva
Born590 CE
Died647 CE
DynastyVardhana (Pushyabhuti)
FatherPrabhakarvardhana
MotherYasomati
ReligionBuddhism[2][3][4]
Empire of Harsha, 7th century CE India.[5]

Harshavardhana (c. 590–647 CE) was an Indian emperor who ruled North India from 606 to 647 CE. He was a member of the Vardhana dynasty; and was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who defeated the Alchon Huna invaders,[6] and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, a king of Thanesar, present-day Haryana.

At the height of Harsha's power, his Empire covered much of North and Northwestern India and South until Narmada River; and eventually made Kannauj (in the present Uttar Pradesh state) his capital, and ruled till 647 CE.[7] Harsha was defeated by the south Indian Emperor Pulakeshin II of the Chalukya dynasty in the Battle of Narmada when Harsha tried to expand his Empire into the southern peninsula of India.[8]

The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a centre of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors from far and wide.[7] The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the court of Harsha and wrote a very favourable account of him, praising his justice and generosity.[7] His biography Harshacharita ("Deeds of Harsha") written by Sanskrit poet Banabhatta, describes his association with Thanesar, besides mentioning the defence wall, a moat and the palace with a two-storied Dhavalagriha (white mansion).[9]

Origins[edit]

Palace ruins at "Harsh ka tila" mound area spread over 1 km

After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century, North India was split into several independent kingdoms. The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatory states. Prabhakara Vardhana, the ruler of Sthanvisvara, who belonged to the Vardhana family, extended his control over neighbouring states. Prabhakar Vardhana was the first king of the Vardhana dynasty with his capital at Thaneswar. After Prabhakar Vardhana's death in 605, his eldest son, Rajya Vardhana, ascended the throne. Harsha Vardhana was Rajya Vardhana's younger brother. This period of kings from the same line has been referred to as the Vardhana dynasty in many publications.[10][11][12][13]

At the time of Hwen Tshang's visit, Kanoj was the capital of Raja Harshvardhan, the most powerful sovereign in Northern India. According to Xuanxang, Emperor Harsha was of the Vaishya caste [Fei-she]. [14] However, Alexander Cunningham said it might be possible that Xuanxang conflated Vaishya with Vais. On the contrary, Thomas Rhys says that Xuanxang had ample opportunities for learning the antecedents of the royal family, so his assertion must have had some ground.

However, Mañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa, an 8th century Buddhist text also agrees with Xuanxang and says Emperor Harsha belonged to the Vaishya caste. [15] KP Jayaswal concurs with this explanation and considers Harsha to be a Vaishya Emperor.

Ascension[edit]

Harsha's sister Rajyashri had been married to the Maukhari king, Grahavarman. This king, some years later, had been defeated and killed by king Devagupta of Malwa and after his death, Rajyashri had been cast into prison by the victor. Harsha's brother, Rajya Vardhana, then the king at Thanesar, could not accept this affront on his family. So he marched against Devagupta and defeated him. However, Shashanka, king of Gauda in Eastern Bengal, then entered Magadha as a friend of Rajyavardhana, but in secret alliance with the Malwa king. Accordingly, Shashanka treacherously murdered Rajyavardhana.[16] On hearing about the murder of his brother, Harsha resolved at once to march against the treacherous king of Gauda, but this campaign remained inconclusive and beyond a point, he turned back. Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16.

Reign[edit]

As North India reverted to small republics and small monarchical states ruled by Gupta rulers after the fall of the prior Gupta Empire, Harsha united the small republics from Punjab to central India, and their representatives crowned him king at an assembly in April 606 giving him the title of Maharaja. Harsha established an empire that brought all of northern India under his control.[7] The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a centre of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors from far and wide. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the court of Harsha, and wrote a very favourable account of him, praising his justice and generosity.[7]

Autograph of King Harsha.

Pulakeshin II repelled an invasion led by Harsha on the banks of Narmada in the winter of 618–619. Pulakeshin then entered into a treaty with Harsha, with the Narmada River designated as the border between the Chalukya Empire and that of Harshavardhana.[17][18]

Xuanzang describes the event thus:

"Shiladityaraja (i.e., Harsha), filled with confidence, marched at the head of his troops to contend with this prince (i.e., Pulakeshin); but he was unable to prevail upon or subjugate him".

In 648, Tang dynasty emperor Tang Taizong sent Wang Xuance to India in response to emperor Harsha having sent an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harsha had died and the new king Aluonashun (supposedly Arunāsva) attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates.[19] This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet,[20] also secured a reported Buddhist relic for China.[21] He fought back to India with Tibet and Licchavi force, during the war, an apocryphal story written many centuries later,[citation needed] it's claimed that the new king was among the captives during Wang Xuance's attack.[22][23]

Religion[edit]

"King Harsha pays homage to Buddha", a 20th-century artist's imagination

Like many other ancient Indian rulers, Harsha was eclectic in his religious views and practices. His seals describe his ancestors as sun-worshippers, his elder brother as a Buddhist, and himself as a Shaivite. His land grant inscriptions describe him as Parama-maheshvara (supreme [parama] great lord [mahā-īśvara]), and his play Nāgaāanda tells the story of the Bodhisattva Jīmūtavāhavana, and the invocatory verse at the beginning is dedicated to the Buddha, described in the act of vanquishing Māra (so much so that the two verses, together with a third, are also preserved separately in Tibetan translation as the *Mārajit-stotra.[24] His court poet Bana describes him as a Shaivite.[25]

According to the Chinese Buddhist traveller Xuanzang, Harsha was a devout Buddhist. Xuanzang states that Harsha banned animal slaughter for food, and built monasteries at the places visited by Gautama Buddha. He erected several thousand 100-feet highs stupas on the banks of the Ganges River, and built well-maintained hospices for travellers and poor people on highways across India. He organized an annual assembly of global scholars and bestowed charitable alms on them. Every five years, he held a great assembly called Moksha. Xuanzang also describes a 21-day religious festival organized by Harsha in Kannauj; during this festival, Harsha and his subordinate kings performed daily rituals before a life-sized golden statue of the Buddha.[25]

Since Harsha's own records describe him as Shaivite, his conversion to Buddhism would have happened, if at all, in the latter part of his life. Even Xuanzang states that Harsha patronised scholars of all religions, not just Buddhist monks.[25]

Literary prowess[edit]

Harsha is widely believed to be the author of three Sanskrit plays Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadarsika.[26] While some believe (e.g., Mammata in Kavyaprakasha) that it was Dhāvaka, Harsha's one of court poets who wrote the plays as a paid commission, Wendy Doniger is "persuaded, however, that king Harsha really wrote the plays ... himself."[26]

In popular culture[edit]

A 1926 Indian silent film, Samrat Shiladitya, about the emperor was directed by Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani.[27]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Research Coins: Electronic Auction cngcoins.com. Retrieved 27 July 2021
  2. ^ He was a Buddhist convert in a Hindu era. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harsha
  3. ^ Harsha was a worshiper of Shiva in the beginning but later became a Mahayana Buddhist. https://www.worldhistory.org/Harsha/
  4. ^ He was a Hindu who later embraced Mahayana Buddhism. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/ncert-notes-king-harshavardhana/
  5. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 146, map XIV.2 (d). ISBN 0226742210.
  6. ^ India: History, Religion, Vision and Contribution to the World, by Alexander P. Varghese p.26
  7. ^ a b c d e International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania by Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda p.507
  8. ^ Ancient India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar p.274
  9. ^ Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala (1969). The deeds of Harsha: being a cultural study of Bāṇa's Harshacharita. Prithivi Prakashan. p. 118.
  10. ^ Harsha Charitra by Banabhatt
  11. ^ Legislative Elite in India: A Study in Political Socialization by Prabhu Datta Sharma, Publ. Legislators 1984, p32
  12. ^ Revival of Buddhism in Modern India by Deodas Liluji Ramteke, Publ Deep & Deep, 1983, p19
  13. ^ Some Aspects of Ancient Indian History and Culture by Upendra Thakur, Publ. Abhinav Publications, 1974,
  14. ^ Watters, Thomas; Davids, T. W. Rhys (Thomas William Rhys); Bushell, Stephen W. (Stephen Wootton); Smith, Vincent Arthur (1904). On Yuan Chwang's travels in India, 629-645 A.D. Cornell University Library. London : Royal Asiatic Society.
  15. ^ K. P. Jayaswal (1934). An Imperial History Of India. p. 49.
  16. ^ Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha (1977). Dynastic History of Magadha, Cir. 450-1200 A.D. Abhinav. p. 151.
  17. ^ "Pulakeshin's victory over Harsha was in 618 AD". The Hindu. 25 April 2016. p. 9.
  18. ^ "Study unravels nuances of classical Indian history". The Times of India". Pune. 23 April 2016. p. 3.
  19. ^ Bennett, Matthew (1998). The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient & Medieval Warfare. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 336. ISBN 978-1-57958-116-9.
  20. ^ Sen, Tansen (2003). Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8248-2593-5.
  21. ^ Chen, Jinhua (2002). "Śarīra and Scepter. Empress Wu's Political Use of Buddhist Relics". The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. International Association of Buddhist Studies: 45.
  22. ^ Henry Yule (1915). Cathay and the Way Thither, Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China. Asian Educational Services. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-81-206-1966-1.
  23. ^ Odorico (da Pordenone); Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb; Francesco Balducci Pegolotti; Joannes de Marignolis; Ibn Batuta (1998). Cathay and the Way Thither: Preliminary essay on the intercourse between China and the western nations previous to the discovery of the Cape route. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 69.
  24. ^ Michael Hahn (1996). ""The *Mārajitstotra by Harṣadeva, a third version of the Nāndī of the Nāgānanda?", Festschrift Dieter Schlingloff". Reinbek. p. 109-126.
  25. ^ a b c Abraham Eraly (2011). The First Spring: The Golden Age of India. Penguin Books India. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-670-08478-4.
  26. ^ a b Harsha (2006). "The Lady of the Jewel Necklace" and "The Lady who Shows Her Love". Translated by Wendy Doniger. New York University Press. p. 18.
  27. ^ Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-135-94325-7.

Further reading[edit]

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