King Harshvardhan Biography

King Harshvardhan (590-647 AD)

In the sixth century AD, there was a powerful kingdom in North India, named Thaneshwar! King Prabhakarvardhan used to rule in Thaneshwar. He was brave, valorous and an able ruler. King Prabhakarvardhan assumed the titles of Maharajadhiraj and Param Bhattarak in place of Maharaj. King Prabhakarvardhan defeated the Malavas, Gurjars, and Huns in the latter half of the sixth century, but the Hunas were often at loggerheads on the north-west frontier of the kingdom.

Rock Harshvardhan

Birth of Harsha:

 The name of the queen of King Prabhakarvardhan was Yashomati. In June 590, a supremely brilliant child was born from Queen Yashomati's womb. This child later became famous in the history of India as King Harshavardhana. Harshvardhan even had a brother named Rajyavardhan. Rajyavardhan was four years older than Harshavardhana. Harshvardhan's sister Rajyashree was about one and a half years younger than him. There was immense love among these three sisters and brothers.

Harsha was born in Thanesar (present-day Haryana). There are 1 Peeth out of 51 Shaktipeeths here. An inscription has been received with reference to the origin and origin of Harsha, which has been discovered in Gunda district of the state of Gujarat. Harshvardhan even had a brother named Rajyavardhan. king Harshvardhan's sister's name was Rajshree. During his reign, Kavauj ruled in the Kauraja dynasty king Avanti Varma.

Metal Coin

Sihansanaruddha:

 Harsha's father's name was Prabhakarvardhan. After the death of Prabhakarvardhan, Rajyavardhana was king, but Malav Naresh Devgupta and Gaur Naresh Shashank were killed on a strong note. That is, after the assassination of elder brother Rajyavardhana, Harshavardhana was handed over the Rajapat in 606. At the playing age, Harshavardhana had to enter the battlefield against King Shashank. It was Shashank who killed Rajyavardhan.

After the fall of the Gupta Empire, there was a state of anarchy in North India. In such a situation Harsha's rule provided political stability.

Dynastic expansion of Harshavardhana: 

The great king Harshavardhana extended his kingdom for almost half a century i.e. from 590 AD to 647 AD. Harshavardhana left Punjab and ruled the rest of northern India. Harsha ruled for nearly 41 years. In these years, Harsha expanded his empire to Jalandhar, Punjab, Kashmir, Nepal and Ballabhipur. It also subjected Aryavarta. India was touching the heights of progress under Harsh's efficient rule. During Harsha's reign, India had made a lot of financial progress.

Harshavardhana is also believed to have invaded Arabia, but was intercepted in an area of ​​the desert. It is mentioned in the Bhavishya Purana.

Harsh Empire

Harsha's Expedition: 

It is believed that king Harshvardhan's army had more than 1 lakh soldiers. Not only this, the army
More than 60 thousand elephants were kept in But Harsha was defeated by Pulakeshin II, the Chalukyavanshi ruler of Badami. It is mentioned in the Aihole Commendation (634 AD). The Chalukyas were very powerful in South India during the 6th and 8th CE. Pulakesin, the first ruler of this kingdom, ruled in 540 CE and after conquering many splendid victories he established a powerful empire. His sons Kirtivarman and Mangalesa achieved success in several wars with their neighbors, including the Mauryans of Konkan and further expanded their kingdom.

Kirtivarman's son Pulakesan II was one of the great rulers of the Chalukya kingdom. He ruled for almost 34 years. During his long reign, he consolidated his position in Maharashtra and conquered large tracts of south. His greatest achievement was to fight a defensive war against Harshavardhana.

Literature composed by Harsha: 

harsh-visit

king Harshavardhana also composed the dramas named 'Ratnavali', 'Priyadarshika' and 'Nagaranand'. Banabhatta, the author of 'Kadambari', was one of his (Harshavardhana) friends. Poet Banabhatta has written in detail his biography 'Harshach Charit'.

Better relations with China: In 641 AD, Maharaja Harsha sent a Brahmin to China as his envoy. In 643 AD, the Chinese emperor sent an envoy named 'Liang-hoi-king' to Harsha's court. In about 646 AD, another Chinese envoy came under Harsha's court under the leadership of 'Leenya Pyaan' and 'Wang-Hannon-Tse'. According to history, China's famous Chinese traveler Xuan Tsang had been like her friend in Harsha's court for 8 years. Harsha died before the third messenger board reached India.

king Harshvardhan had 2 sons from his wife Durgavati - Vagyavardhana and Kalyanavardhan. But both his sons were killed by a minister named Arunashwa. Due to this, there was no heir to Harsh. After Harsha's death, his empire also slowly fell apart and then came to an end.