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ViewsHarshavardhanaFrom Jatland Wiki(Redirected from Harsh Vardhan)
Harsha or Harshavardhana (590–647 AD) (हर्षवर्धन) was a Buddhist Jat emperor who ruled Northern India for over forty years. He was the grandson of king Pushyamitra of Thanesar and son of Prabhakar Vardhana. At the height of his power his kingdom spanned the Punjab, Bengal, Orissa and the entire Gangetic plain North of the Narmada River. He ruled from 606-647 AD.
Harsha's ClanAccording to the historians Bhim Singh Dahiya and Thakur Deshraj Harsha’s clan was Virk, but Dilip Singh Ahlawat, Carlyle and Alexander Cunningham say 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 VardhanPrabhakar Vardhan, the ruler of Thanesar, who belonged to the Bains or Virk family, extended his control over all other feudatories. Prabhakar Vardhan had two sons - Rajya Vardhan and Harshavardhan and one daughter - Rajyasri. 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 VardhanAfter 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 AscensionRajya 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 treacherously 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 WarsHarsha's empire at its greatest extentThough 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. AdministrationHarsha 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 LiteratureHarsha 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 Harshacharita. Hieun Tsang wrote a full description of his travels in India in his book SI-YU-KI. After HarshaHarsha 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. Recent researchesA newly discovered copper-plate grant, dated year 8 of the Harsa era (A.D. 614–15), along with the seal, of maharajadhiraja Harsavardhana of the Pusyabhuti dynasty, has been deciphered, edited and studied for the first time. Discovered in a village in the Nabha district, Punjab, the inscription is the earliest of the three known epigraphs of this ruler and the only one from Punjab. The other two—the Banskhera copper-plate (year 22) and the Madhuban copper-plate (year 25) are from Uttar Pradesh. This is the only one of Harsa's inscriptions that has been discovered along with the seal that was attached to it. The grant refers to the donation of a village named Pannarangaka in the Darikkani visaya of the Jayarata bhukti to a Brahmin named Ulukhasvamin of Bhargava gotra for the increase of merit and fame of Harsa's parents and elder brother Rajyavardhana.[1] References
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