Pushyabhuti dynasty | NCERT - GCERT Notes For UPSC And GPSC & Govt. Exams
The Pushyabhuti dynasty (IAST: Puṣyabhūti), also known as the Pushpabhuti dynasty or Vardhana dynasty, ruled parts of northern India during 6th and 7th centuries. The dynasty reached its zenith under its last ruler Harsha-Vardhana, whose empire covered much of north and north-western India, and extended till Kamarupa in the east and Narmada River in the south. The dynasty initially ruled from Sthanvishvara (modern Thanesar, Haryana), but Harsha eventually made Kanyakubja (modern Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh) his capital, from where he ruled until 647 CE.
Pushyabhuti Etymology and name
According to Harsha-charita, composed by the court poet Bana, the family was known as Pushyabhuti dynasty (IAST: Puṣyabhūti-vaṃśa) or Pushpabhuti dynasty (IAST: Puṣpabhūti-vaṃśa). The manuscripts of Harsha-charita use the variant "Pushpabhuti", but Georg Bühler proposed that this was a scribal error, and that the correct name was Pushyabhuti. Several modern scholars now use the form "Pushpabhuti", while others prefer the variant "Pushyabhuti". Pushya refers to the constellation of stars and Vibhuti means the sacred ash or blessing, thus Pushyabhuti literally means "the blessings of auspicious star constellation" enoting the "divine/heavenly blessings" or "the fulfillment of prophecy".
Some modern books describe the dynasty as "Vardhana", because the names of its kings end with the suffix "-vardhana". However, this may be misleading as the names of kings of other dynasties also end with this suffix.
Pushyabhuti Origin
No concrete information is available about the origins of the dynasty. Harshacharita by the 7th century poet Bana gives a legendary account of their origin, naming Pushyabhuti as the dynasty's founder. According to this legend, Pushyabhuti lived in the Srikantha janapada (modern Kurukshetra district), whose capital was Sthanvishvara (modern Thanesar). A devotee of Shiva, Pushyabhuti became involved in a tantric ritual at a cremation ground, under the influence of Bhairavacharya, a teacher from "the South". At the end of this ritual, a goddess (identified with Lakshmi) anointed him the king and blessed him as the founder of a great dynasty
The Pushyabhuti mentioned in Bana's account appears to be a fictional character, as he is not mentioned in the dynasty's inscriptions or any other source.
Pushyabhuti History
The Pushyabhuti dynasty originally ruled a small area around their capital Sthaneshvara (Thanesar). According to Hans T. Bakker, their ruler Aditya-Vardhana (or Aditya-Sena) was probably a feudatory to Sharva-Varman, the Maukhari king of Kannauj. His successor Prabhakara-Vardhana may have also been a feudatory to the Maukhari king Avanti-Varman in his early days. Prabhakara's daughter Rajyashri married Avanti-Varman's son Graha-Varman. As a result of this marriage, Prabhakara's political status increased significantly, and he assumed the imperial title Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja. ("the one to whom the other kings bow because of his valour and affection").
According to the Harshacharita, after Prabhakara's death, the king of Malava attacked Kannauj, supported by the ruler of Gauda. The Malava king killed Graha-Varman, and captured Rajyashri. Bana does not mention this king, but historians speculate him to be a ruler of the Later Gupta dynasty. Prabhakara's elder son Rajya-Vardhana defeated the Malava ruler, but was killed by the Gauda king.
The Harshacharita further states that Prabhakara's younger son Harsha-Vardhana then vowed to destroy the Gauda king and their allies. Again, Bana does not mention the name of the Gauda king, but historians identify him with Shashanka-Deva, a Maukhari vassal (mahasamanta). Harsha formed an alliance with Bhaskar Varman, the king of Kamarupa, and forced Shashanka to retreat. Subsequently, in 606 CE, Harsha was formally crowned as an emperor. He captured a large part of northern India (see the Empire of Harsha). There are different assessments of the exact extent of Harsha's empire, but he controlled major parts of northern India; his overlordship was accepted by the king of Vallabhi in the west and the Kamarupa king Bhaskaravarman in the east; in the south, his empire extended up to the Narmada River.
Harsha eventually made Kanyakubja (modern Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh) his capital, and ruled till c. 647 CE. He died without an heir, leading to the end of the Pushyabhuti dynasty.
Pushyabhuti Rulers
The following are the known rulers of the Pushyabhuti or Vardhana dynasty, with estimated period of reign (IAST names in bracket
Pushyabhuti (Puṣyabhuti), possibly mythical
- Naravardhana c. 500-525 CE
- Rajyavardana 1 c. 525-555 CE
- Adityavardhana (Ādityvardhana or Ādityasena), c. 555-580 CE
- Prabhakara-vardhana (Prabhākaravardhana), c. 580-605 CE
- Rajya-vardhana (Rājyavardhana 2), c. 605-606 CE
- Harsha-vardhana (Harṣavardhana), c. 606-647 CE
Harsha (Harshavardhana) of Thanesar
Harsha (c. 590–647 CE), also known as Harshavardhana, was an Indian emperor who ruled North India from 606 to 647 CE. He was a member of the Vardhana dynasty; and was the son of Prabhakarvardhana who defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, a king of Thanesar, present-day Haryana. At the height of Harsha's power, his Empire covered much of North and Northwestern India, extended East till Kamarupa, and South until Narmada River; and eventually made Kannauj (in present Uttar Pradesh state) his capital, and ruled till 647 CE. Harsha was halted by the south Indian Emperor Pulakeshin II of the Chalukya dynasty, when Harsha tried to expand his Empire into the southern peninsula of India.
The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a centre of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors from far and wide.The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the court of Harsha and wrote a very favourable account of him, praising his justice and generosity.His biography Harshacharita ("Deeds of Harsha") written by Sanskrit poet Banabhatta, describes his association with Thanesar, besides mentioning the defence wall, a moat and the palace with a two-storied Dhavalagriha (white mansion).
Harshavardha's Origins
After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century, North India was split into several independent kingdoms. The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatory states. Prabhakara Vardhana, the ruler of Sthanvisvara, who belonged to the Vardhana family, extended his control over neighbouring states. Prabhakar Vardhana was the first king of the Vardhana dynasty with his capital at Thaneswar. After Prabhakar Vardhana's death in 605, his eldest son, Rajya Vardhana, ascended the throne. Harsha Vardhana was Rajya Vardhana's younger brother. This period of kings from the same line has been referred to as the Vardhana dynasty in many publications.
Sources suggest that Harsha, like the Guptas, was a member of the Vaishya Varna.The Chinese traveller Xuanzang mentions an emperor named Shiladitya, who had been claimed to be Harsha. Xuanzang mentions that this king belonged to "Fei-she". This word is generally translated as "Vaishya" (a varna or social class).
Harshavardhana's Ascension
Harsha's sister Rajyashri had been married to the Maukhari king, Grahavarman. This king, some years later, had been defeated and killed by king Devagupta of Malwa and after his death Rajyashri had been cast into prison by the victor. Harsha's brother, Rajya Vardhana, then the king at Thanesar, could not accept this affront on his family. So he marched against Devagupta and defeated him.
However, Shashanka, king of Gauda in Eastern Bengal, then entered Magadha as a friend of Rajyavardhana, but in secret alliance with the Malwa king. Accordingly, Shashanka treacherously murdered Rajyavardhana.[13] On hearing about the murder of his brother, Harsha resolved at once to march against the treacherous king of Gauda, but this campaign remained inconclusive and beyond a point he turned back. Harsha ascended the throne at the age of 16.
Harshavardhana's Reign
As North India reverted to small republics and small monarchical states ruled by Gupta rulers after the fall of the prior Gupta Empire, Harsha united the small republics from Punjab to central India, and their representatives crowned him king at an assembly in April 606 giving him the title of Maharaja. Harsha established an empire that brought all of northern India under his control. The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a centre of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors
from far and wide. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the court of Harsha, and wrote a very favourable account of him, praising his justice and generosity.
Pulakeshin II defeated Harsha on the banks of Narmada in the winter of 618-619. Pulakeshin entered into a treaty with Harsha, with the Narmada River designated as the border between the Chalukya Empire and that of Harshavardhana.
Xuanzang describes the event thus:
"Shiladityaraja (i.e., Harsha), filled with confidence, marched at the head of his troops to contend with this prince (i.e., Pulakeshin); but he was unable to prevail upon or subjugate him".
In 648, Tang dynasty emperor Tang Taizong sent Wang Xuance to India in response to Harsha having sent an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harsha had died and the new king attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates. This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet and then, leading a joint force of over 7,000 Nepalese mounted infantry and 1,200 Tibetan infantry attacked the Indian state on June 16. The success of this attack brought Wang Xuance the prestigious title of the "Grand Master for the Closing Court.” He also secured a reported Buddhist relic for China. The new king Arjun Jha was among the captives during Wang Xuance's attack. After captured, King Arjun Jha was brought to Chang'an city of Tang dynasty by Wang Xuance
Harshavardhana's Religion
Like many other ancient Indian rulers, Harsha was eclectic in his religious views and practices. His seals describe his ancestors as sun-worshippers, his elder brother as a Buddhist, and himself as a Shaivite. His land grant inscriptions describe him as Parama-maheshvara (supreme devotee of Shiva), and his play Nagananda is dedicated to Shiva's consort Gauri. His court poet Bana also describes him as a Shaivite.
According to the Chinese Buddhist traveler Xuanzang, Harsha was a devout Buddhist. Xuanzang states that Harsha banned animal slaughter for food, and built monasteries at the places visited by Gautama Buddha. He erected several thousand 100-feet high stupas on the banks of the Ganges river, and built well-maintained hospices for travellers and poor people on highways across India. He organized an annual assembly of global scholars, and bestowed charitable alms on them. Every five years, he held a great assembly called Moksha. Xuanzang also describes a 21-day religious festival organized by Harsha in Kannauj; during this festival, Harsha and his subordinate kings performed daily rituals before a life-sized golden statue of the Buddha.
Since Harsha's own records describe him as Shaivite, his conversion to Buddhism would have happened, if at all, in the later part of his life. Even Xuanzang states that Harsha patronised scholars of all religions, not just Buddhist monks.
Literary Prowess Harsha is widely believed to be the author of three Sanskrit plays Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadarsika. While some believe (e.g., Mammata in Kavyaprakasha) that it was Bana, Harsha's court poet who wrote the plays as a paid commission, Wendy Doniger is "persuaded, however, that king Harsha really wrote the plays ... himself."
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