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Harshavardhana
Harshavardhana ( IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had 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 territory covered much of north and northwestern India, with the Narmada River as its southern boundary. He eventually made Kannauj (in present Uttar Pradesh state) his capital, and ruled till 647 CE.International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania by Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda p.507 Harsha was defeated by the Emperor Pulakeshin II of the Chalukya dynasty in the Battle of Narmada, when he 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 tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pushyabhuti Dynasty
The Pushyabhuti dynasty ( IAST: Puṣyabhūti), also known as the Vardhana dynasty ruled in northern India during 6th and 7th centuries. The dynasty reached its zenith under its last ruler Harsha Vardhana (c. 590–647 CE), and the Empire of Harsha covered much of north and north-western India, extending till Kamarupa in the east and Narmada River in the south. The dynasty initially ruled from Sthanveshvara (in modern Kurukshetra district, Haryana), but Harsha eventually made Kanyakubja (modern Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh) his capital, from where he ruled until 647 CE. 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 no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Narmada
The Battle of Narmada (Kannada : ನರ್ಮದೆ ಕದನ) was fought between king Pulakeshin II of Chalukya dynasty and king Harshavardhana of Pushyabhuti dynasty on the banks of the river Narmada, India. The battle resulted in the great victory of Pulakeshin II and retreat of Harsha and his forces Batte at Narmada The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin boasts the ''harsha'' (mirth) of Harsha melted away by fear, as his elephants fell in the battle. The only other inscription from his reign that mentions this battle is the Bijapur-Mumbai inscription. The Rashtrakutas, who ultimately overthrew the Chalukyas several years after Pulakeshin's death, also boast that they defeated the dynasty that claimed victory over Harshavardhana, thus indirectly confirming Pulakeshin's achievement. The Aihole inscription poetically states that Pulakeshin's elephants had to avoid the neighbourhood of the Vindhya mountains beside the Narmada River, because they "by their bulk, rivalled the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulakeshin II
Pulakeshin II ( IAST: Pulakeśin, r. c. 610–642 CE) was the most famous ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (present-day Badami in Karnataka, India). During his reign, the Chalukya kingdom expanded to cover most of the Deccan region in peninsular India. A son of the Chalukya king Kirttivarman I, Pulakeshin overthrew his uncle Mangalesha to gain control of the throne. He suppressed a rebellion by Appayika and Govinda, and decisively defeated the Kadambas of Banavasi in the south. The Alupas and the Gangas of Talakadu recognized his suzerainty. He consolidated the Chalukya control over the western coast by subjugating the Mauryas of Konkana. His Aihole inscription also credits him with subjugating the Latas, the Malavas, and the Gurjaras in the north. The most notable military achievement of Pulakeshin was his victory over the powerful northern emperor Harshavardhana, whose failure to conquer the Chalukya kingdom is attested by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang. In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arunāsva
Arunāsva, also known as Aluonashun by the Chinese, ruled Tirhut, Kannauj, and the surrounding area for a brief period after Harshavardhana, who died heirless. He usurped the throne, succeeding the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He is known for repulsing an invasion launched by the Arab Muslims of the Rashidun Caliphate. Reign After emperor Harshavardhana's death, he usurped the throne and became the new king of Kannauj. He was the emperor's former minister. In 648, the Tang dynasty's emperor Tang Taizong sent Wang Xuance to India in response to emperor Harsha having sent an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harsha had died and the new king Aluonashun (supposedly Arunāsva) attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates. This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet and then mounting a joint of over 7,000 Nepalese mounted infantry and 1,200 Tibetan infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kannauj
Kannauj (Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the classical name ''Kanyakubja''. It was also known as ''Mahodaya'' during the time of Mihira Bhoja Kannauj is an ancient city. It is said that the Kanyakubja Brahmins who included Shandilya (teacher of Rishi Bharadwaja) were held one of the three prominent families originally from Kannauj. In Classical India, it served as the center of imperial Indian dynasties. The earliest of these was the Maukhari dynasty, and later, Emperor Harsha of the Vardhana dynasty.Tripathi, ''History of Kanauj'', p. 192 The city later came under the Gahadavala dynasty, and under the rule of Govindachandra, the city reached "unprecedented glory". Kannauj was also the main place of war in the Tripartite struggle between the Gurjara-Pratihara, the Palas and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 after India had become a republic. It was a successor to the United Provinces (UP) during the period of the Dominion of India (1947–1950), which in turn was a successor to the United Provinces (UP) established in 1935, and eventually of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh established in 1902 during the British Raj. The state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts, with the state capital being Lucknow, and Prayagraj serving as the judicial capital. On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand), was created from Uttar Pradesh's western Himalayan hill region. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, meet at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, a Hindu pilgrimage site. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of his journey to India in 629–645 CE, his efforts to bring over 657 Indian texts to China, and his translations of some of these texts.Li Rongxi (1996), ''The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions'', Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, , pp. xiii-xiv Xuanzang was born on 6 April 602 in Chenliu, what is now Kaifeng municipality in Henan province. As a boy, he took to reading religious books, and studying the ideas therein with his father. Like his elder brother, he became a student of Buddhist studies at Jingtu monastery. Xuanzang was ordained as a '' śrāmaṇera'' (novice monk) at the age of thirteen. Due to the political and social unrest caused by the fall of the Sui dyna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalukya Dynasty
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan) until the end of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alchon Huns
The Alchon Huns, ( Bactrian: αλχον(ν)ο ''Alchon(n)o'') also known as the Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alkhan, Alakhana and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries CE. They were first mentioned as being located in Paropamisus, and later expanded south-east, into the Punjab and central India, as far as Eran and Kausambi. The Alchon invasion of the Indian subcontinent eradicated the Kidarite Huns who had preceded them by about a century, and contributed to the fall of the Gupta Empire, in a sense bringing an end to Classical India. The invasion of India by the Huna peoples follows invasions of the subcontinent in the preceding centuries by the Yavana (Indo-Greeks), the Saka (Indo-Scythians), the Palava ( Indo-Parthians), and the Kushana (Yuezhi). The Alchon Empire was the third of four major Huna states established in Central and South Asia. The Alchon were preceded by the Kidarites and succeeded by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thanesar
Thanesar city or old Kurukshetra city is a historic town and an important Hindu pilgrimage centre in Kurukshetra district of the state of Haryana in northern India. It is located in Kurukshetra district, approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. Thanesar city means old name of kurukshetra city. Kurukshetra (Sthanishwar city ) was the capital and seat of power of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, whose rulers conquered most of Aryavarta following the fall of the Gupta Empire. The Pushyabhuti emperor Prabhakarvardhana was a ruler of Thanesar in the early seventh century CE. He was succeeded by his sons, Rajyavardhana and Harsha. Harsha, also known as Harshavardhana, consolidated a vast empire over much of North India by defeating independent kings that fragmented from the Later Guptas. History The name Thanesar is derived from its name in Sanskrit, ''Sthanishvara'' which means ''Place/Abode of God''. (Sthana-Place/region, Ishvara-Lord). The present town of old Kurukshetra city ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harshacharita
The ''Harshacharita'' ( sa, हर्षचरित, ) (''The deeds of Harsha''), is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'', meaning ''Court Poet'', of Harsha. The ''Harshacharita'' was the first composition of Bana and is considered to be the beginning of writing of historical poetic works in the Sanskrit language. The ''Harshacharita'' ranks as the first historical biography in Sanskrit although it is written in a florid and fanciful style. Bana's detailed and vivid descriptions of rural India's natural environment as well as the extraordinary industry of the Indian people exudes the vitality of life at that time. Since he received the patronage of the emperor Harsha, his descriptions of his patron are not an unbiased appraisal and presents the emperor's actions in an overly favourable light. Contents The ''Harṣacharita'', written in ornate poetic prose, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiladitya
Shiladitya (IAST: Śīlāditya) is the title of a 7th-century Indian king mentioned in the writings of the Chinese traveler Xuanzang (Hieun Tsang). Xuanzang mentions him in Fascicle V of ''Dà Táng Xīyù Jì'' (''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions''). He is described as a prince reluctant to accept the throne. His citizens persuaded him to accept the throne, which he did. As his first act, Shiladitya gathered an army of 50,000 foot soldiers, 5,000 elephant-mounted soldiers and 20,000 cavalry to avenge the wrongful assassination of his elder brother. Over a six year campaign, he subdued the five regions of India (north, west, south, east, central), expanding his army as he won over new territories. Then, for thirty years he raised no weapons of war against anyone, and ruled in peace. He banned meat-eating in his lands, announced capital punishment for anyone killing any living creature (not such human being). He built numerous stupas along the Ganges river, many 100 feet hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
