King Harshavardhana

Introduction

King Harshavardhana belonged to the Pushyabhuti or Vardhana dynasty. Prabhakar Vardhana, the father of the great king.

Image 1 − Harshavardhana's Time's Coins

King Harshavardhana, was the founder of the Vardhana dynasty. King Harshavardhana ruling time began from 606 CE and ended in 647 CE.

His dynasty was spread from the north to the northwest as well as the southern part of India. His dynasty was starting in the Northern region and ends in the Narmada region which was the southern part of India.

The capital of The Pushyabhuti dynasty was Kannauj at the time of the great king. He created many policies for common people that always helped to make prosperity and peace between people.

Who was King Harshavardhana?

King Harshavardhana was a powerful king of The Vardhan dynasty. He was born in 590 AD to Prabhakara Vardhana, and his religion was Hindu, however, he was greatly influenced by Buddhism in his later life. He was the first king in his dynasty who converted his religion to Mahayana Buddhism. King Harshavardhana was married to Durgavati and had three children.

The ministers of the great king made a conspiracy against the king and killed his two sons. His daughter was married to a king who was the ruler of Vallabhi. Famous Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang came in Harshavardhana’s time.

The traveller mentioned the great king’s name in his writing and he hugely praised the deeds of the king. During Harshavardhana’s tenure, there was a person named Banabhatta, who was primarily a writer and poet for his kingdom, inscribed amazing plays in Sanskrit for the king like Ratnavali, Nagananda, and Priyadarshika.

Harshavardhana admired the writer and travellers for their skills and crafty nature. The military sector became strong in his time and he had a wise administrator in his time. Nalanda University flourished with the help of the great king. The king was the last great Hindu king of India before the Muslim emperors captured the whole country.

King Harshavardhana: Ascension

The Thanesar’s throne successor was Rajyavardhana the elder son of Prabhakar Vardhana after his death. Rajyashri was the sister of the great king who married Grahavarman. King Grahavarman was the ruler of Makuhari and Sasanka killed him. Sasanka was the ruler of Gauda who imprisoned the sister of the great king. Rajyavardhana went to fight against Sasanka but the hand of Sasanka killed him.

Image 2 − History of Vardhana Dynasty

The great king Harshavardhana became a ruler at the age of sixteen after his brother’s death. He became a king in 606 AD and he went to rescue his imprisoned sister. The Kamrupa’s king popularly known as Bhaskaravarman also wanted to defeat the Gauda’s king. Harshavardhana marched his soldiers with the Bhaskaravarman’s alliances. The hand of the great king defeated the treacherous king of Gauda and finally Harshavardhana was called the king of Kannauj.

King Harshavardhana: Empire

King Harshavardhana made united Kannauj and Thanesar and moved his capital to Kannauj. The northern part of India was divided into various different parts during the falling time Gupta dynasty. The great king tried to make a united nation under his jurisdiction.

The great king also captured Odisha, Bengal and Bihar after the death of Gauda king Sasanka. The King captured Gujrat by defeating the king of Vallabhi. King Dhruva Bhatta and the daughter of Harshavardhana marriage happened for the treaty between Vallabhi’s king and Harshavardhana.

The great king wanted to spread his dynasty in the southern part of India but Pulakesin II defeated the great king. Pulakesin II was the king of Chalukya and the Vardhana dynasty stopped its spread in the Narmada region just because of the king of Chalukya.

King Harshavardhana: Feudalism in India

Feudalism was first introduced in India 606 to 647 AD during the time of Harshavardhana. The country was divided into two rules one type follows the commands of the king and another part depended on Feudalism. The great king beautifully balanced the two differences in his time. Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana and the central part were the territories of the great king. A few territories like Sindh, Jalandhar, Nepal, and Kashmir were part of Feudalism.

King Harshavardhana: Death

Harshavardhana ruled over forty-one long years and he died in 647 AD. The great king was the last successor in the Vardhana dynasty because his two sons were dead at the hand of his own ministers.

Arjuna was the chief among the ministers and he became the king after Harshavardhana’s death. Tibetians attacked in the year of 648 AD and Arjuna was defeated in the war. The huge empire of Vardhana disintegrated soon after the death of the great king.

Conclusion

The great king Harshavardhana was the main discussable topic of the above article. His father was the founder of the Vardhana dynasty and he became the king after his brother’s death. The king had a brother who was the king after his father's death.

The king of Gauda whose name was Sasanka killed his brother-in-law and imprisoned his sister. His brother was death on this purpose and Harshavardhana took over the responsibility of the throne. He made his dynasty huge, which spread from the north to the southern part of India. The huge dynasty soon falls down because of the death of the successors of the empire.

FAQs

Q1.Why King Harshavardhana was famous among people?

Ans.The great king was very generous and created many systems for the peace of the people. The administration system, religious tolerance, and diplomatic relations made him famous among people.

Q2.What was the name of the court poet at the time of Harshavardhana?

Ans.Banbhatta was a famous poet during the time of Harshavardhana. The poet wrote the biography of the great king and the book's name was Harshacharita.

Q3.Who helped to convert the religion of Harshavardhana?

Ans.Harshavardhana’s father Pravakara Vardhana was a great admirer of Buddhism. He offered a bunch of red lotuses to the sun and for this reason, the great king, as well as his brother, started to admire Mahayana Buddhism.