|
Harsha
Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, son of Prabhakaravardhana and last king of Thanesar. He was one of the greatest kings of the Kingdom of Kannauj, which under him expanded into a vast realm in Hindustan, northern India. At the height of Harsha's power, his realm covered much of northern and northwestern India, with the Narmada River as its southern boundary. He eventually made Kannauj, Kanyakubja (present-day Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh state) his imperial capital, and reigned 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 South India, southern penin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pushyabhuti Dynasty
The Pushyabhuti dynasty (IAST: Puṣyabhūti), also known as the Vardhana dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Thanesar in northern India during the 6th and 7th centuries. The dynasty reached its zenith under its last ruler Harshavardhana, Harsha Vardhana (), whose empire 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 Thanesar, Sthanveshvara (modern-day Thanesar, Haryana), but Harsha eventually made Kanyakubja (modern-day Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh) his capital, from where he ruled until 647 CE. Etymology and Origins According to ''Harshacharita, Harsha-charita'', composed by the court poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa, 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, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulakeshin II
Pulakeshin II (IAST: Pulakeśin r. –642 CE) popularly known as Immaḍi Pulakeśi, was the greatest Chalukyan Emperor who reigned from Vatapi (present-day Badami in Karnataka, India). During his reign, the Chalukya empire expanded to cover most of the Deccan region in peninsular India. A son of the Chalukya monarch 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 Chalukyan territories to the south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harshacharita
The ''Harshacharita'' (, ; English: ''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. Historical Biography 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 pros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bāṇabhaṭṭa
Bāṇabhaṭṭa () was a 7th-century Sanskrit prose writer and poet from India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'' in the court of the Emperor Harsha, during his reign at Kanyakubja. Bāna's principal works include a biography of Harsha, the ''Harshacharita The ''Harshacharita'' (, ; English: ''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 ...'' (The Life of Harsha), and one of the world's earliest novels, '' Kadambari''. Bāṇa died before finishing the novel and it was completed by his son Bhūṣaṇabhaṭṭa. Both these works are noted texts of Sanskrit literature. The other works attributed to him are the ''Caṇḍikāśataka'' and a drama, the ''Pārvatīpariṇaya''. Banabhatta gets an applause as "''Banochhistam Jagatsarvam''" meaning Bana has described everything in this world and nothing is left. Biograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thanesar
Thanesar (IAST: Sthāṇvīśvara) is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merges with Thanesar. Thanesar was the capital 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. Demographics The 2011 census of India noted that Thanesar had a population of 154,962. Males constituted 55% of the population and females 45% (83,65571,307). Thanesar had an average literacy rate of 85.73%, higher than the national average of 74.04: male literacy is 89.89%, and fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Narmada
The Battle of Narmada () 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 the retreat of Harsha and his forces Battle 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 neighborhood of the Vindhya mountains beside the Narmada River, because they "by their bulk, rivaled the mountains". Historian K. A. Nilakanta Sastr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kannauj
Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 113 km (71 mi) from Etawah, 93 km (58 mi) from Kanpur, 129 km (81 mi) from Lucknow. The city's name is an evolved form of the classical name ''Kanyakubja''. During the ancient Vedic period, it was the capital city of the Pañcāla, Panchala Kingdom during the reign of king Vajrayudha. In the medieval era, it formed the core of the Kingdom of Kannauj and was ruled by multiple successive royal families. It was also known as ''Mahodaya'' during the time of Mihira Bhoja. It is situated 104 kilometres west of the state capital, Lucknow. Kannauj is famous for distilling of scents and perfumes. It is known as "India's perfume capital" and is famous for its traditional Kannauj Perfume, a g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalukya Dynasty
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of south India, 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 Dynasty, 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 Plateau, 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 (mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajyavardhana
Rajyavardhana, also known as Rajya Vardhan, was the king of Thanesar from 605 to 606, and the eldest son of Prabhakarvardhana and member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He ascended the throne after his father's death and was succeeded by his younger brother, Harsha. Contemporary information regarding the life of Rajyavardhana is limited in scope and utility. He is mentioned by Xuanzang, the Chinese traveller, and in ''Harshacharita'', a seventh-century CE work by the poet and bard Bāṇabhaṭṭa. Neither offer impartial accounts and they differ in substantive details. The military historian Kaushik Roy describes ''Harshacharita'' as "historical fiction" but with a factually correct foundation. Rajyavardhana was the elder of two sons of Prabhakarvardhana and his queen, Yasomati. The couple also had a daughter, Rajyashri, who married Grahavarman, a member of the Maukhari ruling family at Kannauj. Prabhakarvardana was the powerful ruler of the Thanesar region around 585-606 CE, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arunāsva
Arunāsva (also known as Aluonashun in Tang dynasty, Chinese sources and as Arjuna) was the governor of Mithila (region), Tirabhukti (modern north Bihar) who later usurped the throne of Kannauj. He had been the governor of Tirhut and a minister at the court of Harsha and usurped the throne after his death, succeeding the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He is known for repulsing an invasion launched by the Arabs, Arab Muslims of the Rashidun Caliphate. Reign The historian, Yogendra Mishra, was of the view that Arunasva was likely a prince related to the Maukhari dynasty who had established a base of operations for himself in the region of Mithila (region), Tirhut where he served as a governor for Harshavardhana. After emperor Harshavardhana's death, he usurped the throne and became the new king of Kannauj including his former possessions in Tirabhukti. He was the emperor's former minister. In 648, the Tang dynasty's emperor Emperor Taizong of Tang, Tang Taizong sent Wang Xuance to India in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of his journey to the Indian subcontinent in 629–645, his efforts to bring at least 657 Indian texts to China, and his translations of some of these texts. He was only able to translate 75 distinct sections of a total of 1335 chapters, but his translations included some of the most important Mahayana scriptures. Xuanzang was born on 6 April 602 in Chenliu, near present-day Luoyang, in Henan province of China. 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 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yasomati
Yasomati (died 604 or 605 or 606 CE) was an ancient Indian queen as the chief wife of King Prabhakaravardhana of Thanesar. Name Yasomati is also known as Yasovati, and as Yasomati Devi ("devi" meaning 'goddess'). Since the "s" in the common English spelling of her name is pronounced "sh" (as in "fish"), her name is also spelled Yashomati. Biography According to a theory, Yasomati was a daughter of King Yashodharman of Malwa and a sister of King Shiladitya of Malwa. Yasomati married Prabhakaravardhana (member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty), and she had three children with him: *King Rajyavardhana *King Harsha (हर्षवर्धन) * Rajyashri, Queen consort of Kannauj Yasomati burnt herself to death. This is sometimes considered '' sati'', although ''sati'' is a term usually used for the ''widows'' who died by self-immolation, whilst Yasomati killed herself before her husbandʻs death. Poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa mentioned in ''Harshacharita'' that Yasomati distributed her jewe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
