For more content visit timeline Best history content for IAS 2014 HARSHA VARDHANA (606 - 647 A.D.) Harsha Vardhana one of the famous ruler in Indian History, He established a great dynasty in early 7th century. Extension of the Empire Though the inscription at Nalanda and Banskhera and coins of that age also provides us some information regarding Harsha’s reign, the most useful information is provided by Harsha Charita of Banabhatta and the description of the Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang. Hiuen Tsang described that Harsha conquered the entire country within the first six years of his reign. However, the statement is not to be taken seriously. Harsha did not occupy even North India completely nor his wars and conquests were limited to the first six years of his reign. Harsha first invaded Bengal. The campaign was not very successful because evidences prove that Sasanka continued to rule over the greater part of Bengal and Orissa till 637 A.D. It was only after the death of Sasanka that Harsha succeeded in his mission. The armies of Harsha and Bhaskara Varman, king of Kamarupa, attacked Bengal after the death of Sasanka and succeeded. East Bengal was occupied by Bhaskara Varman and West Bengal was occupied by Harsha. Hiuan Tsang described that Harsha ruled over Kannauj from the beginning of his reign. But it is not correct. He first carried on the administration of the kingdom of Kannauj in the name of his sister Rajyasri and it was six years after the beginning of his reign that he united the kingdom of Kannauj with that of his own at the request of its ministers. He then also transferred his capital to Kannauj which, thereafter, became the centre of gravity of politics in Northern India. Towards the West, the Malavas, the Gurjaras and the rulers of Gujarat were the hereditary enemies of Harsha. Harsha first succeeded against Dhruvasena II or Dhruvabhatta of Gujarat (Valabhi) but Dhruvasena revived his strength with the help of the Gurjaras and his other neighbouring rulers. However, the rivalry between the two kingdom with the marriage of Dhruvaseaa with the daughter of Harsha. War with Pulakesin II The progress of Harsha towards the South was checked by the Chalukya king Pulakesin II who was trying to be the sovereign of the Deccan. The battle between Harsha and Pulakesin II took place near the bank of the river Narmada or most probably much further towards the north. Harsha had taken the aggressive step but he failed to defeat Pulakesin and retreated. There occurred certain border disputes between Harsha and the rulers of Sindh, Kashmir and Nepal but these kingdoms remained independent of the influence of Harsha. Thus, the attempts of Harsha to create an extensive empire in India succeeded only partially. Administration Harsha maintained the administrative set-up of his empire on the model of previous great Hindu rulers. He himself was the head of the state, and all administrative, legislative and judicial powers were concentrated in his hands. He was also the first Commander-in-Chief of his army. Harsha assumed the titles of Maharajadhiraja and Param Bhattaraka. He was a benevolent ruler and supervised the administration personally. He was not only a capable ruler but was also very hardworking. Hiuen Tsang writes, “He was indefatigable and the day was too short for him.” He regarded the welfare of his subjects as his foremost duty and, except the rainy season, constantly travelled over different parts of his empire to see things with his own eyes. He was in touch with his village-subjects to look after their welfare. Councils of ministers The king was assisted by a council of ministers which was quite effective. It advised the king both matters of foreign policy and internal administration. Harsha was offered the throne of Thaneswar and later on the throne of Kannauj by the then ministers of the respective states. Besides the ministers there were many other important officials of the state of whom a detailed list was given by Banabbatta in his Harshacharita. Among the high imperial officers were a Mahasandhivigrahadhikrita, a Mahabaladhikrita and a Mahapratihara. Besides, Avanti was the officer who looked after the affairs of war and peace; the Commander-in-Chief of the army called the Singhanad; Kuntala was the head of the cavalry; Skanda Gupta was the head of war-elephants; and the head of the civil administration was called the Samanta-Maharaja. Provincial Administration The empire was divided into bhuktis and then further into vishayas (districts) for the sake of administrative convenience. The village was the smallest unit of administration. The principal officer of a province was Uparika, that of a district Vishayapati and that of a village Gramika. Various other officers of the local administration bearing the titles bhogpati, and ayuktaka and pratipalaka. purushas are referred to in Harsha-charita. Thus, the administrative units of Harsha and their officers were similar to those of the great Gupta rulers. Harsha also utilised the services of his feudatories for the administration of his empire who were called Mahasamanta or Samanta Maharaja. The high officers of the state were not paid in cash. They were assigned jagirs in return of their services. Thus, jagirdari system (feudalism) was given further impetus during the reign of Harsha. Hiuen Tsang described that the ministers and high officials of Harsha were not paid salaries in cash. Instead cities or lands were assigned to them as jigirs. According to Hiuen Tsang ¼ land of the state was kept reserved for the officials of the state and ¼ was kept reserved for public welfare and religions purposes. Army Harsha kept a strong standing army at the centre. The cavalry, the infantry, chariots and war-elephants were the chief constituents of his army. According to Hiuen Tsang the army of Harsha constituted 60,000 war-elephants, 50,000 strong cavalry and 1,00,000 strong infantry. Hiuen Trang described that the war elephants were given swords in their trunks. The Commander-in-Chief fought while on the back of an elephant. The chariots were drawn by four horses. High officers sat in them while fighting. The infantary-soldiers were hereditory-professionals, courageous and fought well with the help of sword, bow and arrow, shield, etc. The commander of the army was called Baladhikrata or Mahabaladhikrita and that of the cavalry Vrahadasvatara. Above them was the maha-senapati of all the armed forces. Yet, the supreme commander of the force was the king himself. Judiciary As compared to the Guptas, the administration of justice was severe during the reign of Harsha. The usual punishments were imprisonment for life, and loss of limbs. Ordeals by fire, water etc. were sometimes resorted to for determining the innocence or guilt of an accused person. But, in spite of the severity of laws and punishments, there was no peace and security within the empire as compared to the Gupta period. The Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang himself was looted and deprived of his belongings several times while travelling through the country. He had good relations with China as well and sent his emissary to that country in 641 A.D. and, in return, received two emissaries from that country in 643 A.D. and 646 A.D. respectively. Culture and Civilization There did not occur any significant change in the culture and civilization of India during the period of Harsha. The traditions and values which were established during the Gupta age continued during this period in all spheres of life. Social Condition The four-fold division of the Hindu society in castes continued to be effective though, of course, sub-castes were also emerging. The caste-system was getting more rigid though interdining and intercaste marriages were possible. The downward trend in the position of women persisted during this age. The practice of Sati was getting encouragement, though restricted only to higher castes. There was no Purdah system but there were several restrictions on the movements of women in society. However, public morality was high. People pursued a simple and moral life and avoided consumption of meat, onion and liquor. Economic Condition In general, there was prosperity within the empire. Agriculture industries and trade, both internal and external, were in a flourishing condition. Cities like Peshawar and Taxila in the North-West were, of course, destroyed by the invasions of the Hunas and Mathura and Pataliputra had lost their previous significance but Prayag (Allahabad), Banaras and Kannauj were prosperous cities within the empire. The capital city, Kannauj was an extensive, prosperous and well protected city. It had large buildings, beautiful gardens and swimming-pools. It was inhabited by the rich, cultured and highly learned people. The people, in general were interested literary activities and fine arts. Religious Condition Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism were still the popular religions in India. Hinduism was continuing its popular hold on the people and temples of various gods and goddesses were built in large numbers. Vishnu and his different incarnations and Siva were the most popular gods of the Hindus. Prayag and Banaras were the main centres of Hinduism. The popular sect of Buddhism was Mahayanism. Its main centres were Kashmir, Jallundhar, Kanyakubja, Gaya and Swetpur. Nalanda was the primary centre of Buddhist learning and its university had gained fame far and wide. Jainism was also quite popular in different parts of India. Thus, all the three religions of India coexisted with a spirit of mutual toleration though Hinduism was the predominant religion at that time also. Education and Literature Harsha himself was a scholar and wrote three plays, entitled Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika. As Sanskrit was the popular and predominant language at that time, he wrote these plays in Sanskrit and each of them has received wide acclaim from Indian scholars. Besides, Harsha was a patron of learning and scholars. It has been said that he spent one-fourth of his income on education and learning. He patronised the Chinese ‘traveller Hiuen Tsang while Banabhatta, the celebrated author of Harshacharita and Kadambari, and scholars like Mayura, Divakara and Jayasena ware at his court. The universities of Nalanda, Valabhi and the one run by Divakara in Vindhya forest were centres of learning at that time. According to Banabbhatta the institution looked after by Divakaramitra in the forest of Vindhyas provided education primarily in Hindu-shastras but also looked after the ‘study of Jaina and Buddhist texts. Among them the University of Nalanda was the most celebrated, student’s and scholars from all parts of the country as well as from foreign countries gathered for education and learning. Nearly 5,000 students received free education there. It was not only the centre of learning of Buddhist studies but also of Hindu-texts and religion. In certain inscriptions, it has been described as Mahagrahàhara. There were nearly 1,500 teachers in the university and when Hiuen Tsang visited India, its chief Acharya was a Brahmana named Shilabhadra. Besides him, there were scholars-like Dharmpal, Gunamati, Prabhamitra, Jinamitra, etc. at that time. Hiuen Tsang himself received education there for five years. Nearly 1,000 lectures were delivered every day in the university. Indian Culture in Foreign Countries Indian culture continued to spread in foreign countries during the period of Harsha. While the Hindu religion increased its popularity in the countries of South East Asia, the Buddhist monks and scholars went as far as Tibet and China for the propagation of Buddhism. Among those who went to China, Kumarajiva, Parmartha, Sudhakara and Dharamdev were the most prominent while among those who went to Tibet Shantaraksita, Patmasambhava, Kamalashila, Sthirmati and Buddhakirti were the noted ones. These scholars translated Buddhist texts in the local languages of the people and thus formed a base for the propagation of Buddhism in those countries. Thus, both Buddhism and Hinduism made progress in different foreign countries. Estimate Banabhatta and Hiuen Tsang have described Harsha as one of the greatest rulers of Northern India. Many modern historians have accepted their version and have, therefore, concluded that “Harsha was the last great empire-builder of Hindu period and his death marked the end of all successful attempts to restore the political unity of India.” Harsha was a brave ruler and possessed qualities of a practical statesman which helped him in establishing quite an extensive empire in Northern India.” Harsha was a capable commander but certainly no military genius or a great conqueror. He did not succeed much against Sasanka and was defeated by Pulakesin II while the friendship of Valabhi ruler was bargained by entering into matrimonial alliance with him. Therefore, Harsha cannot be regarded as a successful military commander though, of course, he was respected by his neighbouring rulers, both friends and foes; who certainly did not dare to attack his kingdom but, on the contrary, decided to befriend him. Harsha was certainly a capable, scholarly and tolerant king. His subjects were happy and prosperous under his rule. Harsha personally supervised the details of administration, worked for the welfare of his subjects and certainly succeeded in it.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 10:14:01 +0000
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