6.Chapter 17.The Era of Harsha.History.

Chapter 17

The Era of Harsha

KAPSKAT pale HURAS SINOND INDUS D.2 After the fall of the Gupta dynasty, the country was disintegrated and many new kinossomo nean in India.  During this time the Vardhman dynasty started increasing their power under their first ruler, Prabhakarvardhana who ruled from 580 CE to 605 CE.  He conquered many places and established a large kingdom) He was succeeded by his son, Rajyavardhana (605 CE to 606 CE) to the throne of Thanesar, Shashank, the ruler of Bengal, got him killed.  Now Harshavardhana HARSHAVARDHANA EMPIRE 606 CE - 647 CE was crowned as the King of Sthanvisvara (now Thanesar, Haryana) in STHANVISVARA Yang 606 CE.  He was only 16 years old at that time.  OKARAVE Moyra We know about this Sumatra MAGADWA period mainly from four ain sources - i) Contemporary inscriptions, coins and some rockedicts, (ii) Travel of account of Hiuen - Tsang, a Chinese traveler, (iii) Suvnagin o Pattoli GURJAR Borne DAS WHAINI  son Bodh Gaye VALABHI Territory w BOJAKAS M Pode ITINKAS LALONGA Bay Arabian Sea Bengal Ke Harshacharita written Satya Puso Coway CHOLA by Banabhatta, (iv) Priyadarshika, Naganand and Ratnavali written by Anche Harsha himself.  INDIAN OCEAN Harsha Empire 1.43

19 R HARSHAVARDHANA EMPIRE Harshavardhana ruled form 606 CE to 647 CE.  His empire included present Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar.  Administration The king was all powerful.  He was the head of judicial and civil administration.  He was also the Commander - in - Chief of his army and led his forces in war.  His administration was quite similar to that of the Guptas.  He had a Council of Ministers to assist and adviseh him.  His ministers were known as Sachivs or 60 Amatyas.  The provinces were also known as Bhuktis or Desh.  These were divided into Vishyas Pradesh Uparika was the Harshvardhana head of the province.  His work was supervised by Uparika maharajg or Kumaramatya, who was normally a prince) GNE There were village panchayats which were headed by Gramik.  He looked after the needs of the villages.  There were other officials also to help the Gramik) Harsha was a benevolent ruler.  He built temples, chaityas, vihars, dharmashalas, schools, etc. Nalanda University was granted the income, received from 200 villages, for its development and maintenance.  Religion in the beginning, Harsha was a devotee of Shiva and worshipped Shiva and Surya.  Some coins have been found in Farukhabad (UP) bearing images of Parvati and Surya but after coming in contact with Hiuen - Tsang, there was a greater impact of Buddhism on him.  He was very tolerant and respectful towards all the religions) Vaishnavism and Shaivism were the most popular sects of Hinduism during this period, Harsha used to organize a conference at Prayaga, Allahabad, the sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, every five years.  At this occasion, he used to give alms (dan) to about five lakh needy and poor people of all religions, for the Hindus Do You Know?  Hiuen - Tsang a Chinese traveler Harsha used to give away all his wealth and belongings - clothes, ornaments, etc.  , collected during the last five years.  He would then request his sister, Rajshree, to give him clothes to wear.  This was repeated after every five years at the time of Magha Mela at Prayag.  144

Social Condition (The society was mainly divided into four Varnas, le. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and shudras The Brahmins were highly respected. They led a plous life. People lived harmoniously, The Shudra did not have a good position in the society. They  had to live outside the towns. Economic Condition The economy was well - developed and people were prosperous and happy. Trade was flourishing and Kapisha ya WANT Telemacy was the center of international trade. Tamrallpt was a selfie mother  Agriculture was the main signature of Harsha occupation of the people. They had to pay 1/6 th of the produce as tax. DAS Nalanda University: Nalanda University was an international center of education. It was situate near Patna, the capital of Bihar  It had a very large library, Students from all over the world came t study at Nalanda) Cafter the death of Harsha in 647 CE, the Vardhan empire lost its glory.  There was a quick emergence of many small independent kingdoms.  In the south, Chalukyas and Pallavas AMALAN became more powerful Nalanda University Keywords benevolent charitable and generous person / king.  Contemporary people or persons living at the same time period.  devotee person wholly or spontaneously devoted to religion or some god.