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Thread: Raja Harshvardhana and his capital Thanesar

  1. #1
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    Raja Harshvardhana and his capital Thanesar

    As most people know Harshvardhan was one of the great kings of India. Uski Rajdhani Thanesar thee. Thanesar Haryana mein located hae. Does anyone know any remaining ancient monuments or anything at all that remains of city of thanesar. Waise thansear exactly kahan hae? :D
    Last edited by amritkharb; August 21st, 2009 at 11:19 AM.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by amritkharb View Post
    As most people know Harshvardhan was one of the great kings of India. Uski Rajdhani Thanesar thee. Thanesar Haryana mein located hae. Does anyone know any remaining ancient monuments or anything at all that remains of city of thanesar. Waise thansear exactly kahan hae? :D
    Thanesar Kurukshetra mein hai(it is part of kurukshetra)GT road se touched area thanesar hai
    Dream is not what you see while sleeping. Dream is that which won't let you sleep

  3. #3
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    Kya aapne thanesar dekha hae? Is thanesar a small town or kya woh ek gaon hae? kuch bacha hae wahan jo raja harsha ke time se hae? bahut bahut dhanyawad.

  4. #4
    Could someone upload some photos of Sthaneswar, as it is today.

    Do a small writeup?


    Ravi Chaudhary

  5. #5

    Raja Harshvardhan and his Capital Thanesar

    Amrit Ji,
    Thanesar is a good medium size city and known for its being one of the sites of Kumbh. It is located about four miles away to the right on the Delhi Ambala (G.T.) Road. Itis developing fast in several posh colonies coming closer to the above highway. It has several monuments in its vicinity which answer the description of the areaby the chinese traveller Hieun Tsang, who stayed their for quite sometime and learnt Sanskrit language at the feet of local scholars. Harshvardhan had to rise to the occasion when his eldewr brother refused to shoulder the responsibility of a king. But Harsh had to soon leave for Kannauj to resurrect the kingdom of his brother-in-law, the late husband of his sister Rajyashri. I should be able to post a fuller article on the subject (which is dear to me) very soon.
    Thanks

  6. #6
    With info added from Rana Saheb we have write up on Jatland Wiki here: http://www.jatland.com/home/Thanesar

    Members may expand here.
    Regards,
    Laxman Burdak

  7. #7
    Thanesar is a part of kurukshetra city.Kurukshetra university, NIT kurukshetra,Brahm Sarover,Birla mandir,panorma etc. comes under Thanesar. Thanesar railway station is just opposite to Kurukshetra University's Gate No.2. Modern Thanesar is kurukshetra city.
    The word "EQUAL" has no meaning in human life

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by drssrana2003 View Post
    Amrit Ji,
    Thanesar is a good medium size city and known for its being one of the sites of Kumbh. It is located about four miles away to the right on the Delhi Ambala (G.T.) Road. Itis developing fast in several posh colonies coming closer to the above highway. It has several monuments in its vicinity which answer the description of the areaby the chinese traveller Hieun Tsang, who stayed their for quite sometime and learnt Sanskrit language at the feet of local scholars. Harshvardhan had to rise to the occasion when his eldewr brother refused to shoulder the responsibility of a king. But Harsh had to soon leave for Kannauj to resurrect the kingdom of his brother-in-law, the late husband of his sister Rajyashri. I should be able to post a fuller article on the subject (which is dear to me) very soon.
    Thanks
    Ky aap yaan koi aur post kar sakte haen pictures of city of thanesar's ancient monuments.
    When you say it has "ancient monuments" are they from the time of king Harsha or from much latter periods? Bahut bahut dhanyawad.

  9. #9
    Harshvardhan (606-647 AD)

    After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the sixth century AD, North India was again split into several independent kingdoms. The Huns established their supremacy over the Punjab and certain other parts of Central India. The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatories. Gradually, one of them, Prabhakar Vardhana, the ruler of Thanesar, who belonged to the Pushabhukti family, extended his control over all other feudatories.

    Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhan dynasty with his capital at Thanesar now a small town in the vicinity of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana nearly 150 km. from Delhi. After his death in A.D. 606, his eldest son, RajyaVardhan, ascended the throne. He was killed in a battle which he won against Devagupta who had killed Grahavarman, the husband of his sister Rajyashri and usurped the throne of Kannauj.

    Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16. Though quite a young man, he proved himself a great conqueror and an able administrator. After his accession, Harsha first rescued his sister just as she was going to commit Sati. At the request of his sister, he united the two kingdoms of Thanesar (Kurukshetra) and Kannauj and transferred his capital from Thanesar to Kannauj. Harsha waged many wars. he defeated Sasank of Bengal. He also brought the five Indies i.e. Eastern Punjab (present day Haryana, Kannauj, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa under his control. He conquered Dhruvasena of Gujarat. He also conquered Ganjam, a part of the modern Orissa State.

    His empire included territories of distant feudal kings too. Harsha governed his empire on the same lines a the Guptas. The kings he conquered paid him revenue and sent soldiers when he was fighting war. They accepted his sovereignty, but remained rulers over their own kingdoms. 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 Mysore.

    His reign is comparatively well-documented, thanks to his court poet Bana and Hieun Tsang. Bana composed an account of Harsha's rise to power in 'Harshacharita'. Hieun Tsang was a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who came to India during this time to collect Buddhist literature and to visit places connected with Buddhism. He wrote a full description of his journey in his book 'SI-YU-KI'. Harsha died in the year 647 AD. He ruled over India for 41 years. He was the last empire builder of ancient India. Harsha supported the development of philosophy and literature and wrote three well-known plays - Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika.

    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 which had begun with the invasion of the Hunas in the last years of the Gupta empire. Meanwhile, the kingdoms of the Deccan and the south became powerful.

    Courtesy:
    http://www.haryana-online.com/history/harshvardhan.htm
    योगेन्द्रसिंह

    Treat Life As Sea, Heart as Seashore and Friends like waves.
    It never matters how many waves are there?
    What matters is which one touches the Seashore.

  10. #10
    Ticketed Monuments - Haryana
    Sheikh Chilli’s Tomb, Thanesar
    The site of Kurukshetra is synonymous with the Mahabharata war. It is situated south of the now dried-up bed of the river Saraswati, modern Sarsuti and north of the river Drshadvati, which ormed the holy land of Brahmavarta. Thanesar (ancient Sthanis/v/ara) was the capital of the Vardhana or the Pushyabhuti Dynasty who ruled over a major part of North India. The great Sanskrit poet Banabhatta, in his Harshcharita has also described the association of Harsha with Thanesar in detail. He mentions in his text, the defence wall, a moat and the palace with a two-storied dhvalagriha.

    The present town of Thanesar (760 49'; 290 30') is located on an ancient mound, which is quite large both in terms of its height and area. It is about 163 kms, North-West of Delhi, between Ambala and Karnal. To reach Kamal one takes the Grand Trunk Road to Pip Ii from where it is approx. 8 kms further west.

    In the Historical period, the Grand Trunk road must have passed through the town of Thanesar, as there still exists an old Bridge and Sarai adjacent to the Sheikh Chilli's Tomb which probably is datable to the reign of Sher Shah Suri or slightly later. This beautiful tomb and attached Madarsa are associated with the Sufi Saint Abd-ur-Rahim, alais Abd-UI-Karim, alais Abd-ur-Razak, popularly known by the name of Sheikh Chehli, believed to be the spiritual Guru of the Mughal Prince, Dara Sikoh (A.D. 1650).

    The architectural plan shows considerable Persian influence. Due to its unique and higWy sophisticated architectural value is ranked second only to the Taj Mahal is Northern India. The monument was protected and declared as of National importance under section 4 of the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958; Vide No. 8516, dated 27-03-1919.

    Close to the western gate of the Madarsa, is the small yet elegant Pathar Masjid of red sandstones. It is remarkable for its fluted minarets, which are attached to its back wall. The ceiling of the mosque, resting on pillars is decorated with floral designs carved in low relief. The pillars are also profusely decorated with floral designs, while the bases over the mouldings show chaitya-window motifs. The qibla in the centre of the western wall is flanked on either side by two arched niches inscribed with verses from the Quran. The masonry terrace forming the front court was added at a later date. The masjid is assignable to the seventeenth Century A.D.

    Adjoining the southern flank of the complex (i.e. north of the tomb of Sheikh Chilli) is a large sized building which on account of both stratigraphic evidence and style of construction appears to be a garden complex following the pattern of a typical Mughal Garden and is divided into four equal, symmetrical parts (the charbagh pattern) with a square hauz in the centre. Water to the hauz (tank) was supplied by terracotta pipes from the east, concealed within the wall. On the eastern side of the central hauz there is a small rectangular tank connected with a raised open drain coming from further east. The tank had on the northern side a small cistern having cusped patterns on both longitudinal ends and a copper fountain in the centre. The water used to run through a concealed conduit pipe provided below the lime plastered surface, meant for the flow of water from the cascade.

    The Park now popular as the Harshvardhan Park is entered through an elaborate double-storeyed gateway, located in the centre of the eastern wall from which one of the paths leads to all its four sides, hosting on the exterior, a series of double- roomed chambers, on three sides i, e, the east, north and west respectively with provision of niches and alcoves on its walls. The western wing of this sarai however had double storeyed chambers which could be reached through a flight of steps provided at the centre and towards the extreme south-western corner.

    Exactly opposite to the main entrance gateway was another majestic structure, constructed just like the main entrance gateway. However this structure didn't carry any entrance from the ground floor, but had an opening towards the west on the upper storey. This opening on the upper floor gave a direct accessibility from the Raja Harsha-ka- Tila located west of the sarai and the chamber is constructed in such a way that probably this was the place from where an authority used to address the gathering below within the sarai.

    West of the tomb are the ruins of Harsh-ka- Tila. Excavations conducted at this site revealed a continuous habitation at the site from about the first century A.D. to the late Mughal period. The findings of a few sherds of painted Grey Ware along with associated plain grey, black-slipped and red wares in pre-Kushana levels also suggest the inhabitation of the site in the first millennium B.C. On the basis of various identifiable remains, the excavations revealed a sequence of six cultural periods. These are the Kushana period (1st-3rd century AD) Gupta period (4th-6th century AD) Post Gupta or Vardhana period (6th-7th cent AD) Rajput 8th-12th cent AD) and Mughal period (16th-19th cent AD).



    The monument is open on all 7 days of the week

    http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_haryana_thanesar.asp
    योगेन्द्रसिंह

    Treat Life As Sea, Heart as Seashore and Friends like waves.
    It never matters how many waves are there?
    What matters is which one touches the Seashore.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by drssrana2003 View Post
    Harshvardhan had to rise to the occasion when his eldewr brother refused to shoulder the responsibility of a king. But Harsh had to soon leave for Kannauj to resurrect the kingdom of his brother-in-law, the late husband of his sister Rajyashri.
    Thanks
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Such details point to Harshvardhan's helpful outlook towards his sister.
    I have noticed that even in today's Jat community, a brother has a special place in the married sister's household (ref: rituals like 'Bhat Bharna').
    Attention seekers and attention getters are two different class of people.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Milu View Post
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Such details point to Harshvardhan's helpful outlook towards his sister.
    I have noticed that even in today's Jat community, a brother has a special place in the married sister's household (ref: rituals like 'Bhat Bharna').


    does it imply jat origine? no.
    i think in northern india bhat bharna or bhat dena is a common practice in each caste ,whethwer jat or gujar or any upper or lower caste.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by ysjabp View Post
    Harshvardhan (606-647 AD)

    After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the sixth century

    Yogender jee,

    Is it Gupta empire or gupt empire (gupt was middle name used in ancient time) like Chandra gupta maurya, Chitra Gupta ec.
    -Virender M.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by singhran View Post
    does it imply jat origine? no.
    i think in northern india bhat bharna or bhat dena is a common practice in each caste ,whethwer jat or gujar or any upper or lower caste.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
    If you read _carefully_ I am not conferring a Jat identity to Harshvardhana in the quoted post. However, you have already made up your mind that he was _not_ a Jat. Perhaps keeping an open mind would be helpful in having meaningful discussions. Cheers!
    Attention seekers and attention getters are two different class of people.

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