HARSA

born c. 590 died c. 647 also spelled Harsha, also called Harsavardhana ruler of a large empire in northern India from 606 to 647. He was a Buddhist convert in a Hindu era. His reign seemed to mark a transition from the ancient to the medieval period, when decentralized regional empires continually struggled for hegemony. The second son of Prabhakaravardhana, king of Sthanvisvara (Thanesar, in the eastern Punjab), Harsa was crowned at age 16 after the assassination of his elder brother, Rajyavardhana, and an encouraging communication with a statue of the Buddhist Avalokitesvara bodhisattva. He soon made an alliance with King Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa and warred against King Sasanka of Gauda, his brother's assassin. At first he did not assume the title of king but merely acted as a regent; after making his position secure, however, he declared himself sovereign ruler of Kannauj (in Uttar Pradesh) and formally transferred his capital to that city. Though never defeating Sasanka, his large army waged incessant warfare for six years, conquering the five Indies, thought to be Valabhi, Magadha, Kashmir, Gujarat, and Sind. His influence extended from Gujarat to Assam, but the area directly under his control probably comprised no more than the modern Uttar Pradesh, with parts of Punjab and Rajasthan. He attempted to conquer the Deccan (c. 620) but was driven back to the Narmada River by the Calukya emperor Pulakesin II. Bringing most of the north under his hegemony, Harsa apparently made no attempt at building a centralized empire but ruled according to the traditional pattern, leaving conquered kings on their thrones and contenting himself with tribute and homage. Harsa is known mainly through the works of Bana, whose Harsacarita (Deeds of Harsa) describes Harsa's early career, and of the Chinese pilgrim Hsan-tsang, who became a personal friend of the king, though his opinions are questionable because of his strong Buddhist ties with Harsa. Hsan-tsang depicts the emperor as a convinced Mahayana Buddhist, though in the earlier part of his reign Harsa appears to have supported orthodox Hinduism. He is described as a model rulerbenevolent, energetic, and just, and active in the administration and prosperity of his empire. In 641 he sent an envoy to the Chinese emperor and established the first diplomatic relations between India and China. He established benevolent institutions for the benefit of travelers, the poor, and the sick throughout his empire. He held quinquennial assemblies at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers at Prayag (Allahabad), at which he distributed treasures he had accumulated during the previous four years. A patron of men of learning, Harsa sponsored the chronicler Bana and Mayura, a lyric poet. Himself a poet, Harsa composed three Sanskrit works: Nagananda, Ratnavali, and Priyadarsika. A period of anarchy, or at least a splintering of his empire, followed Harsa's death, with the later Guptas ruling over a portion of it.