Question

What do you know about Harshavardhana? Describe the main events of his life.

Answer 1

Hint:
Harsha was also called Harshavardhana after the Vardhan Empire which was another name for the Pushyabhuti Dynasty. The Vardhana Empire was established around the late 5th century AD by Naravardhana.


Complete answer:
-Harshavardhana took over the kingdom in 606 AD after the death of his brother Rajyavardhana.
-Vardhan empire flourished under Harshavardhana.
-He rescued his sister Rajyasri from Sasanka after killing her husband Grahavarman.
-A Chinese pilgrim named Hieun-Tsang toured Harsha’s court, wrote a book called ‘Shi-Yu-Ki’ which meant “the world of the west” after taking off to China. Along with Harshavardhan, Hiuen-Tsang in his book also acclaimed two other kings- Narsimhavarman of Pallava dynasty and Pulkesin II of the Chalukya dynasty. A grand assembly was organized by Harshavarshana for Hieun-Tsang. It was attended by twenty kings, thousands of Buddhist and Jain monks.
-A great poet called Banabhatta lived in the court of Harshavardhana. He wrote a book called “Harshacharitra” which describes the glorious life of King Harshavardhana.
-The death of Harshavardhana was at the hands of Pulakesin II, a great king of the Vijaynagar kingdom. The elements of the battle are mentioned in the Aihole inscriptions of Karnataka. He died at Kannauj in 647AD

Additional Information: -
Harshavardhana was a great writer and scholar. He has written three famous Sanskrit plays called “Ratnavali”, “Priyadarsika” and “Nagananda”.
In the same way as other old Indian rulers, Harsha was varied in his strict perspectives and practices. His seals portray his predecessors as sun-admirers, his senior sibling as a Buddhist, and himself as a Shaivite. His territory award engravings depict him as Parama-maheshvara (incomparable devotee of Shiva), and his play Nagananda is committed to Shiva's associate Gauri. His court writer Bana likewise depicts him as a Shaivite.


Note:
Harshavardhana was also called Sakalottarapathanatha. The term can be split into three parts: - “sakal” implying “entire”, “uttara path” implying “North India”, and “nath” implying “lord”. He claimed himself to be the lord of north India.