Harsha and his Times

At a Glance

• Reign AD 606 to 647
• Capital Kanauj
• Rivals Shashanka; Pulakeshin II
• Sources Harshacharita, Hsuan Tsang
• Nature of rule Feudal, decentralised
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms

Where Does It Fit?

This is the eleventh topic of the category on the Gupta age and post-Gupta kingdoms. The previous topic covered eastern India, and this one covers Harsha. The next topic covers Nalanda and Buddhism in his age. Previous topic: Spread of Civilisation in Eastern India. The contest for Kanauj after Harsha is in The Tripartite Struggle for Kannauj Among the Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas and Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty (8th–10th Century).

How Did Harsha Build His Kingdom?

In short: Harsha united a group of feudatories in north India and shifted his seat to Kanauj.

The Guptas, with their seat in UP and Bihar, ruled north and western India for about 160 years until the mid-sixth century, after which north India split into several kingdoms. The white Hunas established supremacy over Kashmir, Punjab and western India from about AD 500, and north and western India passed under about half a dozen feudatories. One of them, the dynasty at Thanesar in Haryana, extended authority over the others under Harshavardhana (AD 606 to 647). Harsha’s father Prabhakaravardhana fought the Gurjaras and Hunas and married his daughter Rajyasri to the Maukhari king Grahavarman of Kanauj. After the death of his brother Rajyavardhana, killed by Shashanka, Harsha became king, rescued Rajyasri and, invited by the magnates of Kanauj, united the two kingdoms and moved his seat to Kanauj. Kanauj, in Farrukhabad district, rose to prominence from the second half of the sixth century. Pataliputra declined as trade and money declined and power moved to military camps (skandhavaras) at strategic places. Kanauj was on an elevated area, easily fortified, and central in the doab, so soldiers could be moved by land and water. Its rise typifies the coming of the feudal age in north India, as Pataliputra represents the pre-feudal order. The Gupta background is in Chandragupta II and the Fall of the Gupta Empire.

How Was Harsha’s Empire Governed?

Harsha is called the last great Hindu emperor, but he was neither a staunch Hindu nor ruler of the whole country: his authority was limited to north India excluding Kashmir, with Rajasthan, Punjab, UP, Bihar and Orissa directly under him and a wider sphere of influence among peripheral states. Harsha governed on Gupta lines, but his administration was feudal and decentralised. The army of 100,000 horses and 60,000 elephants attributed to him seems astonishing against the Mauryan 30,000 cavalry and 9000 elephants, and can be explained only if every feudatory contributed his quota. Land grants continued for priests, and more importantly Harsha is credited with giving land to officers by charters, which allowed the same concessions as earlier grants. Hsuan Tsang says revenue was divided into four parts: for the king’s expenses, for scholars, for endowing officials and public servants, and for religious purposes. Ministers and high officers were endowed with land. The practice of rewarding officers with land seems to have begun under Harsha, which explains why few of his coins are known. Taxes included bhaga, the land tax of one-sixth in kind, and hiranya, paid in cash. Law and order was not well kept: Hsuan Tsang himself was robbed, though severe punishments were prescribed, and under Buddhist influence punishments were mitigated to life imprisonment.

What Do the Sources and Society Show?

The early history of Harsha’s reign is reconstructed from Banabhatta’s Harshacharita, the first formal biography of a king, written by his court poet in an ornate style, which can be supplemented by the account of the Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang, who stayed in India about fifteen years and left China in AD 629 and returned in AD 645 by one count. Inscriptions such as the Madhuban and Banskhera copper plates also help. The pilgrim’s account is richer and more reliable than Fa-hsien’s. It shows Pataliputra and Vaishali in decline and Prayag and Kanauj rising. Brahmanas and kshatriyas are reported to have led a simple life while nobles and priests lived in luxury, indicating differentiation within the higher varnas. Hsuan Tsang calls the shudras agriculturists, a significant change from earlier texts, and he notes the untouchables living outside villages. Harsha is credited with three plays, Priyadarshika, Ratnavali and Nagananda, though several medieval scholars doubt his authorship and suggest they were composed by another person in his name. As an analytical point, praise of the royal patron was a common method of validating power, following Harishena’s practice in the Gupta age. Harsha’s religion and the great assemblies are in Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s Age, and the south Indian rivals in Chalukyas, Pallavas and the Kalabhra Revolt.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Transition topic Ancient to medieval
• Sources Bana and Hsuan Tsang
• Rivals Chalukya and Gauda

What Came Next?

The next topic describes Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s age. Next topic: Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s Age.

Key People and Terms

• Harshacharita Bana’s biography of Harsha
• Skandhavara Military camp as administrative centre
• Thanesar Original seat of Harsha
• Kanauj Harsha’s later capital
• Bhaga Land tax in kind
• Hiranya Tax paid in cash

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about Harsha’s rule as a transitional state. These points add depth.

• Politics Feudatory-based empire
• Administration Land grants
• Sources Bana, Hsuan Tsang