{"id":1463,"date":"2018-02-03T10:14:41","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T10:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/who_is_who_new\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2018-04-07T06:14:11","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T06:14:11","slug":"harshavardhana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/who-is-who\/history\/harshavardhana.html","title":{"rendered":"Harshavardhana Biography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harshavardhana Biography<\/b><\/h2>\n

Harshavardhana was an Indian emperor who belonged to Pushibhukti family. He was born around 580 AD and is believed to be the son of Prabhakar Vardhan, the founder of Vardhan Dynasty. At the height of his glory his kingdom spanned the Punjab, West Bengal, Orissa and the entire Indo-Gangetic plain north of the Narmada river.He ascended the throne after his elder brother Rajya Vardhana got murdered by Sasanka, King of Gauda. At this time he was just 16 years of age. After his accession to the throne he merged the two kingdoms of Thanesar and Kannauj and shifted his capital to Kannauj.<\/p>\n

Harsha was a secular ruler and respected all the religions and faiths. In his early life he used to be a sun-worshipper but later he became the follower of Shaivism and Buddhism. According to the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who visited the kingdom of Harsha in 636 AD, Harsha built many Buddhist Stupas. He was also a great patron of the Nalanda University. He was the first to establish the Sino-Indian diplomatic relationships.<\/p>\n

He was a good scholar and a noted author. He wrote three plays in Sanskrit namely Ratnavali, Priyadarsika and Nagananda. We can find well-documented record of his reign in the work of his court poet Banabhatta. Bana wrote Harsha Charita, the first historical poetic work in Sanskrit language. Work of the Chinese traveler, Xuanzang also provides a deep insight into the life during Harshavardhana’s rule.<\/p>\n

He ruled India for almost forty years, and died in 647 AD, leaving behind no heir to the throne. After his death his empire disintegrated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Facts and Information about Harshvardhana<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Born<\/b><\/td>\n590 A.D.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Father<\/b><\/td>\nPrabhakara Vardhana<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wife<\/b><\/td>\nDurgavati<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sons<\/b><\/td>\nVagyavardhana and Kalyanvardhana (both were murdered by Arunashwa, a chief minister in Harsha’s court)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brother<\/b><\/td>\nRajya Vardhana (king of Thanesar, Haryana)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Religion<\/b><\/td>\nHindu Brahman but later converted to Buddhism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sister<\/b><\/td>\nRajyasri (married to the Maukhari king Grahavarman)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Predecessor<\/b><\/td>\nPrabhakara Vardhana<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kingdom spanned<\/b><\/td>\nHe was successful in spanning the regions of Gujarat, Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha and the entire Indo-Gangetic plain to the north of Narmada.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wars and reign<\/b><\/td>\nThanesar and Kannauj were two kingdoms during his reign. Later he transferred his capital from Thanesar to Kannauj.<\/p>\n

He also formed an association with the king of Kamarupa, Bhaskaravarman to fight against Shashanka.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Works<\/b><\/td>\nRatnavali<\/em> and Priyadarshika<\/em> are the famous comedies in classical style written by him.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Court Poets<\/b><\/td>\nBanabhatta, the author of Harsha-Charita<\/em> and Kadambari<\/em>, was the court poet of Harsha.
\nMaurya and Bhartrihari, the authors of Mayurashataka<\/em> and Vakyapadiya<\/em>, respectively, also lived in the court of Harsha.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
War with Chalukya king Pulakeshi II<\/b><\/td>\nThe Chalukya Emperor Pulakeshi II of Badami in northern Karnataka along the banks of river Narmada turned out to be an obstacle for Harsha as he stopped him from extending his territory. Pulakeshi defeated Harsha’s army on the banks of Narmada River in 630 AD.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Patron of Buddhism and knowledge<\/b><\/td>\nChief patron of the University of Nalanda
\nHarsha was a Mahayana Buddhist
\nHe supported Buddhism, Vedism and Jainism
\nHe was a patron of Shaivism and Buddhism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stupas<\/b><\/td>\nAs per the Chinese Pilgrim Xuanzang, Harsha had built many stupas in the name of Buddha.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harshavardhana Biography Harshavardhana was an Indian emperor who belonged to Pushibhukti family. He was born […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history"],"yoast_head":"\nHarshavardhana Biography, History and Facts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Harshavardhana was an Indian emperor who belonged to Pushibhukti family. He was born around 580 AD and is believed to be the son of Prabhakar Vardhan, the founder of Vardhan Dynasty. At the height of his glory his kingdom spanned the Punjab, Bengal, Orissa and the entire Indo-Gangetic plain north of the Narmada river. He ascended the throne after his elder brother Rajya Vardhana got murdered by Sasanka, King of Gauda. 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