Chapter-6 Vardhans And Their Times

Chapter-6 Vardhans And Their Times

 

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

 

Q1. Throw light on the Political changes in north India after the fall of Gupta Empire.

Ans. After the fall of the Gupta Empire, many independent States rose to power in northern India. The famous Kingdoms were- The Hunas an uncivilized Tribe of central Asia in the north-west. Tormana and Mihirakula were the most famous kings of Hunas, the later Gupta of Magadha founded in 550 A.D. Damodar Gupta and Mahasena Gupta were the famous kings of this empire, the Maitrakas of Vallabhi Strengthened their position during 6^th and 7^th centuries and Dhruva sena II was the famous king of Vallabhi, the Maukhris of Kannauj Sarva Varman and Grihvarman were the famous rulers of this dynasty. In the beginning of 7 Century A.D a celebrated King Harsha Varhana of Vardhana dynasty rose to power at Thaneshwar and re-established political unity in northern India. He was a great ruler, whose reign witnessed remarkable development in the field of literature, art religion and administration.

 

Q2. Briefly describe the political changes in Deccan India after the fall of Gupta Empire.

Ans. After the fall of the Gupta Empire many important changes took place in South India. Several independent States came into power. In Southern India the most important States were- the Chalukyas of Badami rulers ruled in India from 6^TH to 8^TH Century. In this dynasty Pulakesin II was the most powerful and diplomatic ruler. Kirti Varman II was the last king of this dynasty. The Pallavas of Kanchi ruled more than 300 years. Mahendra Verman was a benevolent king and a great scholar of this dynasty. Mattavilasa Prahasana was his most famous composition. Narasimha Verman was also a powerful ruler and built a beautiful rock cut temple in Mahabali Puram. The Pandyas of Madurai ruled for 300 years.

Q3. What kind of relations did Harsha Vardhana have with their subordinate rulers?

Ans. Harsha Vardhana had different types of relations with all his subordinate rulers. They had accepted Harsha as Maharajadhiraj. They paid him tribute regularly and provided him military help in the time of war. On many occasions, they had to be present in the court of the king to give salutations to the emperor. Some subordinate ruler had to send their sons or close relatives to stay at Harsha’s Court.

 

Q4. Give a detail note about Harshas Administration units and their officers.

Ans. Harsha Vardhana was a not only a conqueror but also an able administrator. Heiun Tsang was greatly influenced with the administration of Harsha vardhana. Harsha had divided his empire in the provinces. The province was called “Bhukti” and provincial governor was called “Uparika” The main duty of Uparika was to maintain the law order and enforce the order of the king. The “Bhukti” was further divided into “Vishaya” under “Vishyapati”. The smallest unit of the administration was gram. The head of the gram was known as “Gramika” who administered the village with the help of Panchayata and other important subjects. In their temples students received free education at schools.

 

Q5. Who was Hieun-Tsang? What was the information he gave about Harsha Vardhana?

Ans. Hieun-Tsang was a Chinese traveller. He remained in India from 629 A.D to 644 A.D for nearly 8 years he remained at the court of Harsha. He has described his Indian sojourns in his famous book Si-Yu-Ki. In this book he gives us very important information about the political, social, religious and educational system at the time of Harasha Vardhana. He writes that Harsha Vardhana was a hardworking and dutiful ruler. We was very kind and generous ruler. The main aim of Harsha’s administration was the welfare of the public. Harsha was a devotee of Vishnu but later he became a Buddhist. Yet he followed a policy of religious tolerance towards other religions. Hieun Tsang gives us a valueable information about Harsha’s reign.

 

Q6. Write a brief note on Kanauj assembly?

Ans. In the year 643 A.D Harsha Vardhana held a great religious assembly in his capital Kanauj. The purpose of this assembly was to highlight the teaching of Buddha. This assembly was held in the honour of Hieun Tsang (Chinese traveller). During this assembly Brahmans had planned to kill Harsha and Hieun Tsang but they failed in their motives.

 

Q7. What do you know about the Prayag conference held by Harsha Vardhana?

Ans. Every five years, Harsha Vardhana called for a conference at Prayag. This ceremony began with the worship of Surya, Shiva and Buddha in 643 A.D. At the Prayag conference he donated all his possessions and wealth. So much, so that he was left with no clothes to wear. He then took saffron robes from his sister Rajyasri to wear. It is difficult to find a similar example of large-heartedness and generosity in history.

 

Q8. Write about the Nayernara and Alvar Bhakti of the South?

Ans. In the south the Bhaktas (devotees) of Shiva were called Nayanaras and the Bhakti of Vishnu was known as Alvara. They composed many hymns in the praise of their gods. These hymns were written in Tamil language. These devotees spread the message of love and devotion. These thoughts had great impact on the minds of people.

 

Q9. What was the significance of temples during the Vardhana dynasty?

Ans. These temples became the main centers of social and cultural life during the Vardhana period. Besides preaching religion, education was also imparted in these temples. In temples students used to receive information about religion, education and other important subjects. In these temples students received free education at school.

 

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

 

Question 1: Describe the historical sources that tell us about the reign of Harsha Vardhna?

Answer:

1. Hiuen Tsang’s travel account of Indian - Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese traveler who started his journey from China in 629 A.D. and stayed in India for approximately 15 years. He spent many years in the court of Harshavardhan. He gave various accounts of Harshavardhana’s personality, character and administration. He also wrote about the social, economic and religious life of the citizens of his kingdom. Hiuen-Tsang participated in the religious assemblies held in kannauj and Prayag. A large number of religious and learned scholars from all over India participated in the assemblies. On the request of Harsha, Hiuen-Tsang gave a speech on Mahayana Bhuddhism which led to a controversy among the followers of various sects. In Prayag assembly Harsha donated his riches to the scholars, saints, beggars etc.

 

2. Bana Bhatta: Bana Bhatta was a literary scholar and a poet in the Royal court of Harsha Vardhana. “Harsh Chart” and “Kadambari” are the two widely acknowledged works of Bana Bhatta.

 

3. Harsh Charita: It is divided into eight parts. The first part gives an account of the life and family of the author himself. The second, third and fourth chapters give details about the ancestral history of Harsha. The fifth chapter deals with Rajyavardhans’s encounter with the Hunas, illness and death of Prabhakar Vardhan and observance of the ritual of sati by Yashhomati. The sixth and seventh part tells us about the conquests and triumphs of Harsha. Eight chapter gives an account of Harsha’s search of his widowed sister Rajyashri, when she was about to immolate herself and the various tribes residing in the region.

 

4. Kadambri: It is a poetic creation of Bana Bhatta. It gives information about the life of the people during Harsha’s time.

 

5. Harsha’s Creations: Harsh himself was a great scholar. He wrote three plays Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda in Sanskrit. These plays depict the social and religious life during Harhsa’s time period. These plays also depicts the life of royals “Nagananda” tells us about the charitable and liberal nature of Harsha. The other two plays gives an account of the conspiracies in the court of Harsha.

 

6. Inscriptions: Two main inscriptions of Harsha’s reign were found namely Bans-Khera plate and Madhuban plate. These plates tells us about the family and good administration of Harshavardhana. His love for an art can also be forced through these inscriptions. The copper seal discovered at Sonepat helps us to understand the historical information of the Vardhana’s rulers.

 

Question 2: Write a note on the conquests of Harshavardhana.

Answer: Harsha Vardhana was coronated in 606 AD. The capital of his kingdom was Kannauj. After becoming the king he fought many battles with the help of his powerful army.

 

1. Conquest of Bengal: Harsha tried to invade Bengal but his first campaign yielded no results. However, in his second attempt with the help of the king Bhaskar Varman of Assam, he was able to inflict defeat upon Shashank. Shashank lost heavily and escaped to Orissa but as long as he was alive he did not let Harshavardhana to gain control of Bengal. At last in 619 A.D., after the death of Shashank, Harsha annexed Bengal into his empire.

2. Conquest of five Indies: Harsha captured Bihar and Orissa from 606A.D. to 612A.D. In addition to these Punjab, Kannauj and Bengal were also included in his empire. Hence, by 612 A.D., he _ established his supremacy over almost whole of the northern India.

 

3. Conquest of Vallabhi: Harsha defeated Dhruvsena II, the ruler of Vallabhi (Gujarat) in western India. However, Harsha not only returned Vallabhi to Dhruvsena II but also married his daughter to him.

 

4. War with Pulakesin II: In order to fulfill his ambition, Harsha tried to invade the Chalukiya kingdom, in 633 A.D. but suffered a defeat at the hands of Pulakesin II. After the defeat, Narmada River became the border between the two kingdoms and Harsha never tried again to invade southern states.

 

5. Conquest of Ganjam: Harsha’s last victory was the conquest of Ganjam, a state situated to the south of Orissa. After several efforts Harsha was able to capture it in 643A.D.

 

6. Friendly relations with foreign countries: Besides these conquests, Harsha established cordial relations with China and Persia. He exchanged gifts with the ruler of these countries.

 

7. Extent of Empire: Harsha established a vast empire which was extended from Himalaya in the north, to river Narmada in the south, from Kamroop in the east to Punjab in the North West and Arabian sea in the west.

 

Question 3: Briefly describe the administration of Harsha Vardhana?

Answer:

 

1. Maharaja: Maharaja was the foremost controller of affairs of the kingdom. Although, his powers were unlimited yet Harsha never misused them. He adopted the titles like ‘Samrata’, ‘Maharajadhiraja’, ‘Parmeshwara’ etc.

 

2. Central Ministry: For governing the country efficiently Harsha appointed ministers to advise him in foreign affairs etc. Banabhatta writes in ‘Harshacharitra’ Bandhi was his Prime Minister, Avanti was the minister of war and foreign affairs and Singhnad was the minister of Military organisation.

 

3. Provincial and Local Administration: Harsha Vardhana had divided his empire into Bhakti, Vishya and Grams. Province was called Bhakti and the head of Bhakti was known as Uparika Maharaja. District was called Vishya and its head was known as Vishyapati. The smallest administrative unit was village. And village was known as Grama whose incharge was called Gramika.

 

4. Feudal System: The number of feudal lords had increased in the period of Harsha Vardhana through subordinate and conquered rulers. They were known as Mahasamanta and Samanta according to their power. They were liable to give Harsha a fixed amount of wealth.

 

5. Income and Expenditure: The main source of Harsha Vardhana’s income was land revenue. It was estimated at 1/6^th part of the total yield. The government also charged octroi and sales tax on the merchandise from traders and criminals were levied fines. Hiuen-Tsang writes that the government income was divided into four parts.

Prat of Income	Spent on
First part	Official work of the Kingdom
Second part	Salaries of ministers
Third part	Donated amongst Monks and Brahmans
Fourth part	Distributed as rewards among scholars

 

6. Penal Code: The penal code at the time of Harsha Vardhana was very severe. Limbs and nose were cut off for small crimes. Traitors were given death penalty or were expelled from the Kingdom. Minor offenders were punished by fines.

 

7. Military Administration: Harsha had funded a large and powerful army. It included sixty thousand elephant soldiers, one lakh cavalry soldiers and fifty thousand infantry.

 

8. Department of Records: Record was kept of every event that happened in the reign of Harsha. There was a special department for record keeping and all the orders issued by Harsha.

 

Question 4: Write a brief note on ancient Nalanda University.

Answer: In ancient period Nalanda University was established by the emperor Kumaragupta | of Gupta dynasty in fifth century A.D. The remains of this University were founded in Bihar, 95 kms away from Patna and 13 Kms away from Rajgir. It was flourished under Harsha Vardhana. It attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. Nalanda was the Asia’s first University.

 

- Hiuen Tsang: Hiuen Tsang, the famous traveler from China came here and_ studied and taught for approximately one and half years in this University. At that time Nalanda University had over ten thousand students and fifteen hundred teachers.

 

- System of Education: Sheelbhadhra was the chancellor of this University at the time of Harsha. Only meritorious students were given admission in this University. Students received free education and liberal grants. Teachers also stayed in University at free of cost. For running expenditure of this university Harsh Vardhana granted rent free land of 200 villagers. Here subjects like Vedic Literature, Buddhist Literature, Grammar, Astrology, Mathematics, and Medical Science were taught. Here knowledge was imparted through discussions and debates.

 

- A big library in this university which comprised of three parts.

 

Name of library	Meaning
Ratanasagara	Ocean of Jewels
Ratnodadhi	Sea of Jewels
Ratnaranjaka	Jewel-a domed

 

 

Aryabhatta, Aryadeva, Chandrakrit, Dnarmkrit, Nagarjuna, and Shilabhadra were historical figures of this university.

 

- Destruction of Nalanda University: In 1193 A.D. Baktiyar Khiliji set fire to the great library of Nalanda and burned down nearly 9 million manuscripts and it was continuously burned for three months. With this large source of knowledge ended.

 

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam proposed the idea for survival of Nalanda University. Nalanda International University was established, a few kilometers away from an ancient university.