The Last Classical Emperor: Harsha's India and the End of the Ancient Period

Harsha and His Times

The Gupta Empire, with its seat of power in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, ruled over north and western India for about 160 years, till the middle of the sixth century AD. After its collapse, north India again split into several kingdoms. The white Hunas established their supremacy over Kashmir, Punjab, and western India from about AD 500 onwards. North and western India passed under the control of about half a dozen feudatories who parcelled out the Gupta empire among themselves.

Gradually one of these dynasties, ruling at Thanesar in Haryana, extended its authority over all the other feudatories. The ruler who achieved this was Harshavardhana (AD 606–647), making him the last major unifier of north India before the medieval period.

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Why Did Pataliputra Fall and Kanauj Rise?

Pataliputra owed its power and importance to trade and commerce and the widespread use of money — tolls from traders coming by four rivers sustained it. Once money became scarce and trade declined, officers and soldiers began to be paid through land grants. The city lost its importance. Power shifted to military camps (skandhavaras) and places of strategic importance which dominated long stretches of land.

Kanauj, situated in Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh, emerged into political prominence from the second half of the sixth century. Its rise typifies the advent of the feudal age in north India, just as Pataliputra represents the pre-feudal order.

• Kanauj was easily fortifiable — situated on an elevated area
• Located right in the middle of the doab — controlling eastern and western wings of the doab simultaneously
• Soldiers could be moved by both land and water routes

Harsha made Kanauj the seat of his power and extended his authority in all directions.

Extent of Harsha's Empire

Harsha is called the last great Hindu emperor of north India — though this characterisation is only partly true:

• His authority extended practically over the whole of north India except Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Orissa (these were under direct control)
• His sphere of influence spread over a much wider area — peripheral states acknowledged his sovereignty
• His southward march was stopped on the Narmada river by the Chalukyan king Pulakesim, who ruled over a great part of modern Karnataka and Maharashtra with his capital at Badami (modern Bijapur district)
• Except this, Harsha did not face serious opposition and succeeded in giving political unity to a large part of the country

Sources for Harsha's Reign

Two major sources:

1. Banabhatta: Harsha's court poet; wrote Harshacharita — the early history of Harsha's reign in an ornate style that became a model for later writers
2. Hsuan Tsang (Hieun Tsang): Chinese pilgrim who left China in AD 629, travelled all the way to India, stayed for about 15 years, and returned to China in AD 645; he studied at Nalanda University and collected Buddhist texts; his account sheds light on the economic and social life and religious sects of the period — much richer than Fa-hsien's account

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Harsha governed his empire on the same lines as the Guptas, except that his administration had become more feudal and decentralised.

Military Strength

Harsha had an enormous army:

• 1,00,000 horses and 60,000 elephants
• Compare: the Mauryas, who ruled over practically the whole country except the deep south, maintained only 30,000 cavalry and 9,000 elephants
• Harsha could possess a larger army only by mobilising the support of all his feudatories at the time of war
• Every feudatory contributed his quota of foot soldiers, horses, and elephants — making the imperial army vast in numbers

Revenue Division

Hsuan Tsang informs us that revenues of Harsha were divided into four parts:

1. One part for the expenditure of the king
2. A second for scholars
3. A third for the endowment of officials and public servants
4. A fourth for religious purposes

Land Grants to Officers

Harsha is credited with granting land to officers by charters — these grants allowed the same concessions to priests as were allowed by earlier grants. The feudal practice of rewarding and paying officers with grants of land seems to have begun under Harsha. Ministers and high officers of the state were endowed with land.

Law and Order

In Harsha's empire, law and order was not well maintained. Hsuan Tsang himself was robbed of his belongings — though the laws of the land provided severe punishments for crime:

• Robbery was considered second treason for which the right hand of the robber was amputated
• Under the influence of Buddhism, the severity of punishment was mitigated and criminals were imprisoned for life (rather than executed)

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Urban Decline

Hsuan Tsang's account confirms that Pataliputra was in a state of decline; so was Vaisali. On the other hand, Prayag and Kanauj in the doab had become important.

Social Conditions

• Brahmanas and kshatriyas are reported to have led a simple life
• Nobles and priests led a luxurious life
• Hsuan Tsang calls the sudras agriculturists — significant because in earlier texts they are represented as serving the three higher varnas
• The Chinese pilgrim took notice of untouchables such as scavengers, executioners, etc. They lived outside the villages, took garlic and onion, and announced their entry into town by shouting loudly so that people might keep away from them

Economic Conditions

The economy was becoming increasingly non-monetary:

• Too few coins were issued by Harsha
• Land grants replacing cash payments to officials
• Trade and commerce declining

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Harsha's Religious Policy

• Harsha followed a tolerant religious policy
• A Shaiva in his early years, he gradually became a great patron of Buddhism
• He held at Prayag a great assembly attended by all tributary princes, ministers, nobles, etc. An image of the Buddha was worshipped; Hsuan Tsang gave discourses. At the end, Harsha gave away everything except his personal clothing.
• Hsuan Tsang describes Harsha in glowing terms: kind, courteous, and helpful
• Harsha was a literary figure: he wrote three plays and rewarded and patronised literary men

Nalanda University

• The Buddhists were divided into 18 sects in the time of Hsuan Tsang; old centres of Buddhism had fallen on bad days
• The most famous centre was Nalanda — a great Buddhist university meant for Buddhist monks
• Said to have had as many as 10,000 students, all monks
• They were taught Buddhist philosophy of the Mahayana school
• Buildings were raised and renovated over a period of 700 years from the fifth century AD
• The monastery at Nalanda was supported from the revenues of 200 villages
• In AD 670, another Chinese pilgrim I-tsing visited Nalanda; he mentions only 3000 monks living there (reasonable — excavated buildings could not have accommodated 10,000)

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• Harsha represents the last attempt at political unification of north India in the ancient period
• His reign marks the transition from the pre-feudal (Gupta) to the fully feudal (medieval) political order
• The shift from Pataliputra to Kanauj reflects the structural transformation from trade-based to land-based economy
• Nalanda University under Harsha became the greatest centre of Buddhist learning in the world, attracting pilgrims from China
• Harsha's era coincides with the flourishing of regional states in peninsular India (Chalukyas, Pallavas)
• His defeat at the Narmada by Pulakesim marks the effective limit of north Indian imperial expansion southward

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• GS Paper I — Medieval History Transition: Harsha's reign = hinge between ancient (Gupta) and medieval India; feudal administration marks the beginning of the medieval political order
• GS Paper I — Art and Culture: Nalanda University, Harsha's literary works (Harshacharita by Banabhatta), Buddhist patronage
• Economic History: The shift from monetary economy (Pataliputra) to land-grant economy (Kanauj) illustrates the origins of Indian feudalism
• Social History: Hsuan Tsang's account provides a snapshot of varna-based social hierarchy, untouchability, and sudra conditions — directly relevant to social history questions
• Interlinking: Harsha ↔ Gupta decline ↔ Feudalism origins ↔ Chalukya-Pallava rivalry ↔ Nalanda ↔ Chinese pilgrim accounts
• Historiography: Banabhatta's Harshacharita vs Hsuan Tsang's account — one is a court panegyric (ornate, biased), the other a foreign eyewitness (more balanced); useful for source-criticism questions

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• Harsha's dates: AD 606–647 (not 630–645, which are Hsuan Tsang's India-stay dates). Hsuan Tsang LEFT China in AD 629 and RETURNED in AD 645.
• Fa-hsien vs Hsuan Tsang: Fa-hsien visited during Chandragupta II's reign (399–414 AD). Hsuan Tsang visited during Harsha's reign (7th century AD). I-tsing visited Nalanda in AD 670 — a third, distinct pilgrim. All three are frequently confused.
• Banabhatta's Harshacharita: This is the source for the EARLY history of Harsha's reign, not his entire reign. It is a court panegyric in ornate Sanskrit style.
• Harsha 'last great Hindu emperor': Only partly true — his authority did NOT extend to the whole country. Kashmir, and effectively most of peninsular India, were outside his control.
• Pulakesim stopped Harsha: It was Pulakesim II (Chalukya), NOT a north Indian ruler, who stopped Harsha on the Narmada. Pulakesim's capital was Badami (modern Bijapur district, Karnataka).
• Nalanda — 10,000 students: This is Hsuan Tsang's figure. I-tsing (AD 670) found only 3000 monks. Do not cite 10,000 as a confirmed figure — the excavated buildings could not accommodate that many.
• Harsha's revenue division: Four parts — king, scholars, officials/public servants, religious purposes. This is a specific and frequently tested fact. Do not add a 'fifth part' or confuse the categories.
• Harsha as Shaiva then Buddhist: He was initially a Shaiva (not a Buddhist from birth). His gradual conversion to Buddhism patronage is a nuanced fact.
• Skandhavaras: Military camps that replaced trade cities as centres of power — a key concept for understanding the political geography of the post-Gupta period. Do not confuse with 'Skandagupta' (a Gupta emperor).

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• Harshavardhana: AD 606–647; Thanesar → Kanauj as capital
• Stopped on Narmada by Chalukya Pulakesim II (capital: Badami)
• Sources: Harshacharita (Banabhatta) + Hsuan Tsang's account
• Hsuan Tsang: left China AD 629; returned AD 645; studied at Nalanda
• Army: 1,00,000 horses + 60,000 elephants (via feudatory contributions)
• Revenue: 4 parts — king, scholars, officials, religious
• Land grants to officers by charters: feudal practice begins under Harsha
• Robbery = second treason; right hand amputated; Buddhism mitigated punishments → life imprisonment
• Nalanda: 10,000 students (Hsuan Tsang); 3,000 monks (I-tsing, AD 670); supported by revenues of 200 villages; 700 years of building from 5th century AD; Mahayana Buddhism taught
• Harsha: initially Shaiva → great patron of Buddhism; Prayag assembly; wrote 3 plays
• Hsuan Tsang's social observations: sudras = agriculturists; untouchables outside villages, announced entry by shouting; brahmanas/kshatriyas simple life; nobles/priests luxurious life
• Pataliputra declined (trade-based); Kanauj rose (strategic, feudal-age capital)