The Pushyabhutis of Thaneswar

Let’s begin with a basic historical principle — when a great empire like the Guptas collapses, the vacuum it leaves behind becomes an opportunity for smaller powers to rise.

One such ambitious dynasty was the Pushyabhutis of Thaneswar, who emerged in the post-Gupta period and eventually gave India one of its most notable monarchs — Harshavardhana.

🔱 Origin and Rise of the Pushyabhutis

• The Pushyabhutis were originally feudatories of the Guptas, meaning they served under them and held power at the regional level.
• After the Huna invasions destabilized the Guptas, the Pushyabhutis declared independence and began carving out their own authority.
• The dynasty was Shaivite, and its founder is referred to as Pushyabhuti. The dynasty is also called the Vardhana dynasty, and its core territory was Thaneswar, in present-day Haryana.

🧱 Foundation Laid by Prabhakaravardhana (580–605 CE)

• The real consolidation of this dynasty began under Prabhakaravardhana, who can be called its first historically significant ruler.
• He took on high imperial titles like:
  • Maharajadhiraja (King of Great Kings)
  • Paramabhattaraka (Supreme Lord)
• His capital remained Thaneswar, and under his leadership, the dynasty began expanding militarily and politically.

⚔️ The Tragedy of Rajyavardhana (605–606 CE)

After Prabhakaravardhana’s death, his elder son Rajyavardhana ascended the throne. But his rule was short and marked by family tragedy and political betrayal.

🧩 What happened?

• Rajyavardhana’s sister, Rajyashree, was married to Grihavarman, the ruler of the Maukharis of Kanauj.
• A powerful coalition formed between:
  • Devagupta of Malwa
  • Shashanka, the ruler of Gauda (Bengal)
• This coalition killed Grihavarman and imprisoned Rajyashree.

🗡️ A Heroic but Tragic Response

• Hearing of this injustice, Rajyavardhana marched east, killed Devagupta of Malwa.
• But before returning home, he was treacherously killed by Shashanka, who now occupied Kanauj and held Rajyashree captive.

🌟 The Rise of Harshavardhana (606–647 CE): Unifier of the North

Harsha, the younger son of Prabhakaravardhana, then took charge in 606 CE, and this marked the beginning of the Harsha Era.

Harsha’s story is not just about military conquests; it’s about revenge, rescue, and rebuilding.

🧘 Rescuing Rajyashree

• Rajyashree had escaped captivity and was about to commit sati (self-immolation) in the forests.
• With the help of:
  • Local forest chiefs like Vyaghra-ketu, Bhukampa, and Nirghata
  • A wise ascetic named Divakamitra
    → Harsha successfully rescued her.

🏹 Driving Out Shashanka

• Harsha drove Shashanka out of Kanauj, reunited his family’s honor, and later made Kanauj his capital.
• With this, he began consolidating northern India under a central authority once again.

🏙️ The Shift of Power: From Pataliputra to Kanauj

This period also saw a geographical shift in political power.

🧭 Why did Kanauj rise while Pataliputra declined?

Factors	Explanation
Economic Decline	Pataliputra’s importance was tied to trade and toll-based economy. As trade declined, the system shifted to land grants (agrarian revenue), making Pataliputra less central.
Strategic Location	Kanauj was located on a natural elevation, making it easier to fortify than Pataliputra which sat on the plains.
Military Importance	New military strategies required skandhavaras (military camps), and Kanauj’s central location in the Gangetic Doab made it ideal for controlling both eastern and western regions.

Thus, Kanauj emerged as the new nerve center of power in North India.

🛡️ Harsha’s Military Conquests: Uniting North India

⚔️ Conflict with Shashanka (Gauda)

• Shashanka had earlier taken Kanauj and cut down the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya (a symbolic anti-Buddhist act).
• Harsha drove him out of Kanauj and later conquered Magadha and Bengal after Shashanka’s death.

⚔️ Conquest of Other States

• Harsha also defeated or received submission from rulers of:
  • Sindh
  • Gujarat (Dhruvasena II Baladitya of Valabhi)
  • Kashmir
  • Odisha

All accepted Harsha’s supremacy.

⚔️ Harsha vs Pulakesin II: The Only Defeat

• Harsha’s most famous military campaign was against the Western Chalukya ruler Pulakesin II.
• Pulakesin II stopped Harsha’s southern expansion at the Narmada River and defeated him.
• After this victory, Pulakesin II assumed the title Paramesvara (Supreme Lord).

📜 Sources:

• Aihole Inscription of Pulakesin II
• Account of Hiuen Tsang — both confirm Pulakesin’s victory.

🗺️ Extent of Harsha’s Empire

Although not pan-Indian, Harsha’s empire was the most extensive in North India after the Guptas.

Region Type	Territories
Direct Control	Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha
Acknowledged Sovereignty	Kashmir, Sindh, Valabhi (Gujarat), Kamarupa (Assam)

Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang called him Sakalottarapathanatha – “Lord of all of Northern India.”

🧘 Was Harsha a Hindu Emperor?

This can be a potential UPSC analytical question.

• In his early years, Harsha was a devout Shaiva (worshipper of Shiva).
• Later, under the influence of Hiuen Tsang, he embraced Mahayana Buddhism.
• Hence, calling him the “last great Hindu emperor” is inaccurate.
• Also, he never ruled the entire subcontinent, only North India.

🧾 Sources for the Study of Harsha: How Do We Know About His Reign?

History isn’t fiction — we rely on concrete sources to reconstruct the past. In the case of Harsha, we are fortunate to have rich literary and epigraphical sources.

📚 Literary Sources: Words that Painted Harsha’s World

✍️ Harshacharita by Banabhatta

• A Sanskrit biography of Harsha, written by his court poet, Banabhatta.
• Though not a full biography, it gives us:
  • Harsha’s genealogy (family tree),
  • His conflict with Shashanka, and
  • Events leading to his accession to the throne.
• Style: It is highly ornate and poetic, sometimes bordering on exaggeration — so historians treat it with caution, but it’s invaluable.

🧠 Think of it as a royal autobiography filtered through a loyal court poet.

🌏 Hiuen Tsang’s (Xuan Zang’s) Account (630–645 CE)

• A Chinese Buddhist monk, Hiuen Tsang (also spelled Xuanzang), visited India during Harsha’s reign.
• He stayed at Harsha’s court as a royal guest for several years.
• His observations provide:
  • First-hand details of the administration, economy, and society,
  • Rich descriptions of religious sects,
  • Cultural and political insights far more detailed and objective than those of Fa Hien (who came earlier, during Gupta rule).

🧭 His account is one of the most reliable foreign sources for ancient Indian history.

🎭 Dramas Written by Harsha

Harsha was not just a king — he was a scholar-king, a patron of literature and an author himself.

• His three plays give us a glimpse into the court life, values, and culture of the time:
  • Ratnavali and Priyadarshika: Romantic comedies based on court intrigues and royal love stories.
  • Nagananda: A deeply humanistic drama that portrays Harsha’s compassion and charity, with themes influenced by Buddhism.

🎭 These plays reflect Harsha’s own transformation from Shaivism to Mahayana Buddhism.

🪧 Epigraphical Sources: Carved in Copper and Stone

Inscriptions are the objective, administrative records — less emotional than poems or plays, but more concrete.

🪙 Key Inscriptions:

Inscription	Location	Significance
Madhuban Copper Plate	Uttar Pradesh	Genealogy of Harsha, land grants to Brahmanas.
Sonpat Inscription	Haryana	Confirms administrative presence in northern India.
Banskhera Copper Plate	Uttar Pradesh	Mentions Harsha’s signature. Gives us data on administration and economy.
Aihole Inscription	Karnataka	Composed by Ravikirti, court poet of Pulakesin II. It’s a Prashasti (eulogy) that mentions Harsha’s defeat. Includes wordplay — after the defeat, Harsha was no longer Harsha (joyful)!

✅ These inscriptions help us verify, cross-check, and date historical events.

🛡️ Administration under Harsha: Decentralized Power with Feudal Features

Let’s now move from literary impressions to actual governance.

🏛️ Decentralization and Feudalism

• Harsha’s empire was not a highly centralized state like that of the Mauryas.
• His administration followed the Gupta model, but with increased feudal tendencies:
  • More regional lords (samantas)
  • More land grants instead of cash salaries

🪖 Military Strength: Bigger Than the Mauryas!

Dynasty	Cavalry	Elephants
Mauryas	30,000	9,000
Harsha	100,000	60,000

• Harsha commanded a massive army, made possible due to the military contributions of his feudatories.

⚔️ This wasn’t a standing army in the modern sense — it was a federated force, where each vassal provided troops.

🏞️ Land Grants: Officers Paid in Land

• Brahmanas were rewarded for religious and social services.
• State officials and military commanders were also paid with land grants, not salaries.
• Result? There was less need for coinage — hence, fewer coins of Harsha’s reign have been found.

🧑‍⚖️ Law and Order: Harsh but Declining

Although Harsha was a powerful emperor, law and order remained a challenge.

🚨 Problems:

• Highway robbery was common. Even Hiuen Tsang was robbed, despite royal protection!
• Criminal justice was severe and archaic:
  • Trial by ordeal — fire, water, or poison.
  • Robbery = Second Treason — punishment: amputation of the right hand.

However, under the influence of Buddhist values, Harsha’s punishments softened over time:

• Criminals were increasingly imprisoned for life, rather than mutilated.

⚖️ This shows the blending of harsh dharmashastric punishments with Buddhist compassion in Harsha’s administration.

Understanding Harsha’s reign isn’t just about battles and administration — it’s also a window into what India looked like socially, economically, and culturally in the early 7th century CE. For this, we again rely heavily on Banabhatta and Hiuen Tsang, who offer vivid and complementary accounts.

👥 Society under Harsha: Structured by Varna, Stratified by Practice

➤ Fourfold Varna System Still Dominant

Banabhatta and Hiuen Tsang both confirm that varna stratification continued strongly.

Varna	Role in Society
Brahmanas	Most privileged class. Received land grants and performed religious duties.
Kshatriyas	Ruling and warrior class — including kings, nobles, and feudatories.
Vaishyas	Engaged in trade and commerce, but their influence had declined.
Shudras	Traditionally viewed as servile, but Hiuen Tsang notes that they were practicing agriculture — indicating a functional shift from earlier texts.

🧠 The shift of Shudras into agriculture suggests fluidity within varna roles in practice, despite rigid theoretical prescriptions.

❌ Untouchability and Exclusion

• Hiuen Tsang notes social exclusion of certain castes — scavengers, executioners, etc.
• They:
  • Lived outside village boundaries.
  • Ate “impure” foods like garlic and onion.
  • Had to announce their presence loudly when entering towns.

📌 This indicates the deep-rootedness of purity-pollution taboos, even as Buddhism flourished at the royal level.

👩‍🦰 Status of Women: Declining Autonomy

Despite Buddhist influence on the king, the social position of women was far from equitable.

• Widow remarriage was not permitted, especially among higher castes.
• Dowry became common, further reducing women’s agency in marriage.
• The practice of Sati — though not widespread — existed.

🧠 Reflects the growing patriarchy and caste orthodoxy despite some royal reformist leanings.

💰 Economy under Harsha: Agrarian Growth but Commercial Decline

🌾 Agriculture

• Continued to be the backbone of the economy.
• Land tax: One-sixth of the produce (as in earlier periods).
• But Harsha’s regime also imposed additional taxes, such as:
  • Grazing tax
  • Pond tax

🪙 Trade and Commerce: On the Decline

• Reduction in number of trade centers
• Fewer coins issued (supports the idea of land-based remuneration for officers)
• Merchant guilds less active
• Hiuen Tsang notes that:
  • Traders were heavily taxed at ferries and checkpoints.
  • This likely discouraged long-distance commerce.

🧠 India under Harsha was moving toward a feudal, agrarian economy with decentralized trade — a departure from the Gupta-era urban prosperity.

🕉️ Religion under Harsha: From Shaivism to Mahayana Buddhism

🕉️ Early Phase: Harsha was a devout Shaiva.

🪷 Later Phase: He converted to Mahayana Buddhism, influenced by Hiuen Tsang.

• He adopted Buddhist values of compassion, but continued supporting all sects.

🏯 Kanauj Assembly (Mahayana Sammelan)

Harsha convened a grand religious assembly at Kanauj to:

• Publicly honour Hiuen Tsang
• Promote Mahayana Buddhism

Key Features:

• Attended by:
  • 20 rulers (including Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa)
  • Thousands of priests from various sects
• Hiuen Tsang delivered theological lectures, asserting the superiority of Mahayana doctrine
• No one refuted him for five days!
• But soon, violence erupted — a plot to kill both Hiuen Tsang and Harsha was uncovered.
• The culprits were punished.
• On the final day, Hiuen Tsang was lavishly honoured.

🧠 This assembly was not just spiritual — it was a political declaration of Harsha’s pan-Indian influence and his patronage of Buddhist diplomacy.

🌊 Prayag Assembly: A Prototype of the Kumbh Mela?

Every five years, Harsha organized a grand assembly at Prayag (confluence of Ganga and Yamuna).

• Representatives of all religions were invited.
• Harsha donated all his wealth, even his clothes and jewels.
• According to Hiuen Tsang, this event might be the first historical record of a Kumbha Mela-type gathering.

🧠 This reflects Harsha’s religious tolerance, generosity, and symbolic sacrifice of materialism.

🎨 Cultural Contributions: Modest but Meaningful

Though Gupta art cast a long shadow, Harsha’s period had its own cultural glow.

🏛️ Architecture

• Few surviving monuments.
• Best known example: Lakshmana Brick Temple at Sirpur (Chhattisgarh) — Gupta-inspired.

🛕 Buddhist Contributions

• Thousands of stupas built across the empire.
• Rest houses and monasteries for pilgrims and scholars.
• Patronized Nalanda University with liberal donations — securing its place as a world-class Buddhist institution.

✍️ Literature and Arts

Harsha’s court attracted some of the greatest minds of his time:

Name	Contribution
Banabhatta	Harshacharita, Kadambari
Mayur	Surya Shataka, Mayur Shataka
Matanga Divakara	Scholar
Bhartrihari	Philosopher-poet-grammarian (Shataka-traya)

🎭 Harsha himself wrote three Sanskrit plays:

• Ratnavali and Priyadarshika – Romantic comedies
• Nagananda – Buddhist-themed drama focusing on self-sacrifice

🎶 Harsha was also a Veena player, reflecting the integration of music, literature, and royalty.