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Harsha or Harshavardhana (590–647) was a Buddhist emperor who ruled Northern India for over forty years. He was the son of a king of Thanesar. At the height of his power his kingdom spanned the Punjab, Bengal, Orissa and the entire Gangetic plain North of the Narmada River.
After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the sixth century C.E., North India reverted back to small republics and small monarchial states. Harsha united the small republics from Punjab to Central India, and they, at an assembly, crowned Harsha king in April 606 AD when he was merely 16 year old. RN Kundra & SS Bawa, History of Ancient and Meddieval India
Harsha's Clan
According to the historians Bhim Singh Dahiya Bhim Singh Dahiya "> Bhim Singh Dahiya, Jats, the Ancient Rulers, A clan study in the Pre Islamic period, 1982, Sterling Publishers New Delhi and Thakur Deshraj Thakur Deshraj, Jat Itihas (Hindi), Maharaja Suraj Mal Smarak Shiksha Sansthan, Delhi, 1934, 2nd edition 1992 page 87-88. Harsha’s clan was Virk, but Dilip Singh Ahlawat, Carlyle and Alexander Cunningham Alexander Cunningham ">Alexander Cunningham, History of Sikhssay that he belonged to the Bains clan of Jats. The Virk clan is linked to the Virks of Mandsaur, Central India, and Bains to the Punjab. Both Bains and Virk are clans of the Jats.
Prabhakar Vardhan
Prabhakar Vardhan, the ruler of Thanesar, who belonged to the Bains or Virk family, extended his control over all other feudatories.
Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Bains or Virk clan with his capital at Thanesar. Thanesar is now a small town in the vicinity of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana near Delhi.
Rajya Vardhan
After Prabhakar Vardhan’s death in 606 AD, his eldest son, Rajya Vardhan, ascended the throne. Harsha Vardhana was Rajya Vardhan’s youger brother.
Harsha's Ascension
Rajya Vardhan’s and Harsha’s sister Rajyasri had been married to the Maukhari king, Grahavarman. This king, some years later, had been defeated and killed by king Deva Gupta of Malwa and after his death Rajyasri had been cast into prison by the victor. Harsha's brother, Rajya Vardhan, then the king at Thanesar, could not stand this affront on his family, marched against Deva Gupta and defeated him. But it happened just at this moment that Sasanka, king of Gauda in Eastern Bengal, entered Magadha as a friend of Rajya Vardhana, but in secret alliance with the Malwa king. Accordingly Sasanka trencherously murdered Rajya Vardhan. On hearing about the murder of his brother, Harsha resolved at once to march against the treacherous king of Gauda and killed Deva Gupta in a battle. Harsha Vardhan ascended the throne at the age of 16.
Harsha's Wars
Though quite a young man when he came to power, Harsha proved himself a great conqueror and an able administrator. After his accession, Harsha united the two kingdoms of Thanesar (Kurukshetra) and Kannauj and transferred his capital from Thanesar to Kannauj.
Harsha defeated Sasank, the ruler of Bengal. He also brought the Eastern Panjab (present day Haryana), Bengal, Bihar and Orissa under his control. He conquered Dhruvasena of Gujarat and married his daughter to him. He also conquered Ganjam, a part of the modern Orissa State.
Harsha's ambition of extending his power to the Deccan and Southern India were stopped by Pulakesin II, the Chalukya king of Vatapi in Northern Karnataka. Pulakesin defeated the Harsha army on the Banks of the River Narmada in 620 AD. A truce was arrived at the River Narmada that marked the river as the southern boundary of Harshas kingdom.
Administration
Harsha ruled with the assistance of the Jat republics of North India. The areas he conquered paid him revenue, and sent soldiers when he was fighting wars. They accepted his sovereignty, but remained rulers over their own kingdoms.
Patron of Buddhism and Literature
Harsha was a tolerant ruler and supported all faiths - Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism. Early in his life he himself followed the Vedic religion, which included Sun Worship before he converte to Buddhism. His sister Rajyashri followed Buddhism.
According to the Chinese Pilgrim Hsuan Tsang who Harsha built numerous Stupas in the name of Buddha. Hsuan Tsang entered a a grand competition orgranized by Harsha and won the theological debate. Harsha also became a patron of art and literature. He made numerous endowments to the University at Nalanda. Two seals of Harsha have been found in Nalanda in the course of the excavations. All these favours and donations of the great emperor were crowned by the construction of a lofty wall enclosing all the buildings of the university to defend the institution from any other possible attack. In 643 he held a Buddhist convocation at Kanauj which was reputedly attended by 20 kings and thousands of pilgrims.
Harsha was a noted author on his own merit. He wrote three Sanskrit plays – Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika.
His reign is comparatively well documented, thanks to his court poet Bana and Hsuan Tsang. Bana composed an account of Harsha's rise to power in Harsha Charitha, the first poetic work in Sanskrit language. Hieun Tsang wrote a full description of his travels in India in his book SI-YU-KI.· Beal, Samuel, Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. 2 vols., 1884, Translated by Samuel Beal. London. 1884. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969
After Harsha
Harsha died in the year 647 AD. He ruled over India for 41 years. After Harsha's death, apparently without any heirs, his empire died with him. The kingdom disintegrated rapidly into small states. The succeeding period is very obscure and badly documented, but it marks the culmination of a process that had begun with the invasion of the Huns in the last years of the Gupta Empire.
References
- Sri-harsha-charita, trans. Cowell and Thomas (1897)
- Ettinghausen, Harsha Vardhana (Louvain, 1906).
- Political and Social history of the Jats, Dr B K Dabas,2001 Sanjay Prakashan, New Delhi, India
- Jat Ithihas- Thakur Deshraj, 1938, republished Surajmal Education Society, New Delhi India
- Jat Viron ka Itihaas, Dilip Singh Ahlawat, 1998, Mathan Press, Rohtak, India
- Jats, The Ancient Rulers, Bhim Singh Dahiya. 1982, Sterling Punlishers, New Delhi
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