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RISE OF FEUDALISM IN INDIA - THE HARSHAVARDHANA PERIOD
- ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

Origin, Facts, Characteristics, Political Administration, Economy, Trade, Religion, Social & Literature Works of Harshavardhan Period

Posted By Careericons Team

Introduction to Rise of Feudalism in India :

One of the most important changes that took place after the decline of the Gupta Empire was the growth of the feudal states. The government officials of the Gupta Empire, local chiefs, defeated rajas and their supporters - who were paid by assigning to them revenue-yielding villages - reasserted their independence once the Gupta kingdom disintegrated.

They were able to carve out a sphere of authority with the help of armed support and later began to not only gradually collect land revenue but also assume increased amounts of administrative powers, such as the right of awarding punishments and exact fines on their own, which were considered royal privileges during the Gupta period. They constantly contended against each other and tried to enhance their spheres of authority and privileges.


FACTS ABOUT THE VARDHANAS
(AD 550 – 647)

As the Gupta Empire disintegrated, the kingdom of Sthaneshwar emerged as a seat of power in the region of Kanauj (earlier known as Thaneswar). The first known king of this kingdom was Pushyabhuti. Their forefathers were never full kings as they were subordinates or appointed officials under the Imperial Guptas or the Hunas.

Many records testify to the rise of the Vardhanas to power and how they flourished under Prabhakaravardhana and his two sons, Rajyavardhana and Harshavardhana.


FACTS ABOUT THE HARSHAVARDHANA (AD 606 – 646)

Harshavardhana, the younger son of Prabhakaravardhana, belonged to the Pushyabhuti family who ruled in Thanesar, north of Delhi. He ascended the throne in AD 606 in difficult circumstances at a very young age of 16 years. Prabhakaravardhana had a daughter, Rajyashree, who was married to Grihavarman, the Maukhari King of Kanauj. After Prabhakaravardhana's death, the King of Malwa, Devagupta, attacked Kanauj, killed Grihavarman and took Rajyashree as a prisoner.

His elder brother, Rajyavardhana, who had succeeded his father to the throne, attacked the Malwa king to restore Kanauj and free his sister. Rajyavardhana was killed in the battle and it was later Harshavardhana who defeated Devagupta and his allies and reclaimed Kanauj. As his brother-in-law Grihavarman had no heir to the Kanauj throne, Harshavardhana merged it with his kingdom. He later moved his capital from Sthaneshwar to Kanauj.

He established a strong empire conquering Bengal, Malwa, eastern Rajasthan and the entire Gangetic plain up to Assam. Under Harshavardhana, North India was reunited briefly, but neither the Guptas nor Harsha controlled a centralised state, and their administrative styles rested on the collaboration of regional and local officials for administering their rule rather than on centrally appointed personnel.

However, he was successful in consolidating all the North Indian feudal states, which had emerged because of land grants after the fall of the Gupta Empire, under his sovereignty. By the end of his reign, Harsha's Empire extended from the Brahmaputra to eastern Punjab, from the Himalayas to the Narmada.


TOP 5 IMPORTANT KNOW FACTS ABOUT HARSHAVARDHAN PERIOD

1. ADMINISTRATION OF HARSHAVARDHAN PERIOD

  • Harshacharita by Bana and the biography of the Chinese traveller Huien Tsang by Heuili throw light on Harshavardhana's reign.
  • Harshavardhan personally supervised all the businesses in the state.
  • The empire was divided into provinces called bhuktis and put under the charge of governors called the bhuktis.
  • Bhuktis were further sub-divided into districts called visayas, tehsils or pathaks and villages or gramas.
  • A large army was maintained during his reign. The tax levied by him was a convenient one-sixth of the produce.

2. ECONOMY /TRADE OF HARSHAVARDHAN PERIOD

  • The main sources of income were land taxes and revenue paid by the kings whose land had been conquered.
  • Soldiers were also sent by them when the emperor had to fight a war.

3. RELIGION FACTS OF HARSHAVARDHAN PERIOD

  • Harshavardhana was initially a Hindu but later on converted to Buddhism. He was, however, tolerant towards all religions.
  • He patronised both Hinduism and Buddhism.
  • He held many religious conferences and among them, the most significant was the Kanauj Conference and the Prayaga Conference in which all religions were given equal importance.
  • He sent a Brahmin priest as an ambassador to the Chinese king and welcomed Wand-Hue-Its, an ambassador of the Chinese king, into his court.

4. SOCIAL IMPACTS OF HARSHAVARDHAN PERIOD

  • There was no purdah system, but sati was prevalent.
  • The government used to adequately support all public welfare causes and adopted measures to keep people happy.
  • Hospitals and rest houses were built in good numbers to help the sick and poor people and travellers.
  • The Nalanda University was patronised by the king and a fixed amount of funds were deposited with the university administrators to carry out the proper functioning of the university.

5. LITERATURE WORKS OF HARSHAVARDHAN PERIOD

  • Harshavardhana had a profound interest in literature and administration. A prominent Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang, who stayed in India during the reign of Harshavardhana wrote a detailed account of India as it was at that time.
  • He described Indians as hot-tempered but honest and observed that there was no death sentence.
  • He studied at Nalanda, a Buddhist university and a famous centre of Buddhism, which flourished during Harshavardhana's period.
  • He stayed in India for 8 years (AD 635–643).
  • Another Chinese traveller, Yuangchang, wrote Si-yu-ki (a record of the western kingdom), which also discounted Harsha's reign. Banabhatta, one of the four poets of Harshavardhana wrote Harshacharita, a biography of the king.
  • The history of Harshavardhana is reconstructed from a study of these two works.
  • Bana also wrote Kadambri and Chandishataka but Harshacharita is the most prominent of them all. Haridatta, Siddhasana, Mathangadivakara, Mayura (author of Suryashathakam) and Bhartruhari (who wrote Bhartruharishatakam) are prominent literary figures of this era.
  • The latter penned various dramas, prominent among them are Ratnawalli, Naganandan and Priyadarshika, which were considered to be of very high standard by the Chinese traveller I-tsing, in his accounts of India. I-tsing had visited India sometime after the death of Harsha.

The Ceylon Kings

On the Island of Lanka (Ceylon), the 58th and the last king listed in the Mahavamsa was Mahasena (ruled 334–362).

The first of the 125 kings listed up to 1815 in the Culavamsa, Srimeghavarna, repaired the monasteries destroyed by Mahasena. Mahanaman (ruled 409–431) married the queen after she murdered his brother, Upatishya. Buddhaghosha was converted to Buddhism and went to Lanka during the reign of Mahanaman. There he translated and wrote commentaries on numerous Buddhist texts.

His Visuddhimagga explains ways to attain purity by presenting the teachings of Buddha in three parts on conduct, concentration and wisdom. Buddhaghosha also collected parables and stories illustrating Buddhist ethics by showing how karma brings the consequences of actions back to one, sometimes in another life. One story showed how a grudge could cause alternating injuries between two individuals from life to life.

Yet if no grudge is held, the enmity subsides. In addition to the usual vices of killing, stealing, adultery and a judge taking bribes, occupations that could lead to hell include making weapons, selling poison, being a general, collecting taxes, living off tolls, hunting, fishing and even gathering honey. The Buddhist path is encouraged with tales of miracles and by showing the benefits of good conduct and meditation.

The clan chief Dhatusena (ruled 460–478) became the king of Lanka and expelled foreigners from the island, but his eldest son Kashyapa (ruled 478–496) took him prisoner and usurped the throne, but lost it with his life to his brother, Maudgalyayana (ruled 496–513), who had the coast guarded to prevent foreign attacks and gave his umbrella to the Buddhist community as a token of submission.

His son, Kumaradasa (ruled 513–522), was succeeded by his son, who was quickly deposed by a usurping uncle, who was soon killed by Upatishya (ruled 522–524), who was succeeded by his son, Shilakala (ruled 524–537). Maudgalyayana II (ruled 537–556) had to fight for the throne; but he was a poet and was considered a pious ruler who was loved by the people.

Two rulers were killed before Agrabodhi I (ruled 559–592) and Agrabodhi II (ruled 592–602) built monasteries and dug water tanks for irrigation. A revolt by the general Maudgalyayana III (ruled 602–608) led to a series of civil wars and succession battles suffered by the Lankan people that continued until Manavarman managed to rule Lanka for 35 years (ruled 668–703).


THE RAJPUTS (AD 650–1200)

After Harshavardhana, the Rajputs emerged as a powerful force in western and central India and dominated the Indian political scene for nearly 500 years from the seventh century.

They emerged from the political chaos that surfaced after the death of Harshavardhana. Out of the political disarray prevalent in North India, the Rajputs chalked out the small kingdoms of Gujarat and Malwa.

From the eighth to twelfth century they struggled to keep themselves independent. But as they grew bigger the in fighting made them brittle, they fell prey to the rising domination of the Muslim invaders.

Among them the Gujara of Pratihara, the Gahadwals of Kanauj, the Kalachuris of Chedi, the Chauhans of Ajmer, the Solankis of Gujarat and the Guhilotas of Mewar are important. The first Gujara–Pratihara ruler was Nagabhatta I. He was the ruler of Awanti in AD 650.

The kings who succeeded him were,

  1. Vasturaja (AD 775–860);
  2. Mihira Bhoja (AD 836–885);
  3. Mahindrapala I (AD 886–910);
  4. Mahipala (AD 912–944);
  5. Rajyapala (AD 944–948).

The later kings became weak and the kingdom began to deteriorate. After the Pratiharas, the Gahadvala of Kanauj surfaced during AD 1085 under King Chandradeva. He died in AD 1100 and his son Madanpal came to power. Madanapala was repeatedly harassed by Masaud III (King of Ghazni), but it was his son, Govindachandra, who drove Masaud III out of India. Lakshmi Dhara, a scholar (author of Kritya Kalpataru), was a minister in his court. In AD 1154 Govindrachandra made his son Vijaychandra the king. King Jayachandra was the son of Vijaychandra.

Kanauj was later destroyed by Mohammad Ghori in AD 1192. Chandela kingdom was founded by Yashovarma of Chandel in the region of Bhajeka Bhutika (later came to be known as Bundelkhand). Their capital was Mahoba. Their prominent kings were Dhanga and Kirthiverma. The last ruler from this dynasty merged with Prithviraj Chauhan in AD 1182. Kirthiverma, the Chandela ruler defeated the Chedi ruler in the eleventh century.

Later, Lakshamanaraja emerged as a powerful Chedi Rajput ruler. His kingdom was located between the Godavari and the Narmada and his capital was Tripura (near Jabalpur). Like Kanauj, Malwa was the symbol of the Rajputana power. Krishnaraja (also called King Upendra) founded this kingdom. Their capital was Dhar (Madhya Pradesh).

The prominent kings from this dynasty were Vakpatiraju-Munjana II, Bhoja I, and Bhoja II. In Malwa, the Parmars ruled and the most famous of them was King Bhoja. The Chauhans were an important clan of the Rajputs. They ruled in Ajmer and Sambar. The Ajmer Rajputs left a significant mark on Indian history.

Among the Ajmer Chauhans, Vigraharaja IV and Prithviraj were the most prominent. Vigraharaja is remembered for conquering Delhi and defeating Toramana. Prithviraj Chauhan ruled over Delhi and Agra and fought two important battles, the First Battle of Tarain, fought in AD 1191 between the forces of Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori, in which the latter was defeated and the Second Battle of Tarain, fought in AD 1192 when Muhammad Ghori again invaded India, in which Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated, captured and later on Stained.

The kingdom of Delhi fell to Muhammad Ghori. The Battles of Tarain had great significance in the Indian political scene as they led to the establishment of Muslim rule over North India and subsequently in the south for several centuries. Jai Chand Rathor was the last Rajput king who was also defeated and killed by Ghori in AD 1194. The Mewar Rajput Dynasty was founded by Sri Guhadattan. Its capital was Chittoor.

Shaktamara was their most powerful ruler. The contribution of his successor Chaitrasimha is also considered as he is remembered as the only Rajput who gave a death blow to the Muslim invasions. His son Ratnasimha succeeded him as the king of Mewar, whose queen, Rani Padmini, was a woman of awesome beauty. The Muslim ruler, Alauddin Khilji was besotted by her beauty and in an attempt to capture her, he besieged Mewar.

Other notable rulers from this clan are Rana Sangram, Rana Pratap Singh and Rana Raj Singh. But all of them were dominated by the Moghul rulers who had set their feet firmly on the Indian soil by that time. Malwa was the most important Rajput kingdom. Rana Kumbha was the famous ruler of this state. He defeated Mohammed Khalji and erected the Tower of Victory in Chittoor. The Pala kings ruled in Bihar and the Sena kings ruled in Bengal.


Top 6 Salient Features of the Rajput Kingdoms

  1. The country remained free of invasions but lost foreign contact.
  2. The caste system was rigid.
  3. The Rajputs were proud, warlike people but hospitable.
  4. Culturally, many great fortresses and temples were built by them such as
    1. Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh,
    2. Bhubaneswar in Orissa,
    3. Sun temple at Konark,
    4. The Jagannath temple at Puri, and
    5. The Dilwara temple at Mt Abu.
  5. Jayadeva was the great court poet of this era.
  6. Lack of unity and foresight, caste system and defective military organization were some of the causes of the downfall of the Rajputs.

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