Gupta Age - Society and Civilization of Harshvardhan's Period — HISTORY STD 11 Arts — Question
Gujarat BoardEnglish MediumSTD 11 ArtsHISTORYGupta Age - Society and Civilization of Harshvardhan's Period5 Marks
Question
Under what circumstances did Emperor Harsh Vardha come to power? Evaluate his contribution to the propagation of Buddhism.
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Answer
In the history of India, the post-Gupta period is called "Harshakala".
The splendor and splendor of the Gupta period faded in the late fifth century, and in the middle of the sixth century, the Gupta Empire of Magadha came to an end.
Emperor Harshavardhana’s accession to power: On the eve of the Gupta Empire, the Vardhana dynasty was founded by a chief named Navvardhana of the Pushyabhuti dynasty in Thaneswar (present-day Haryana).
In his dynasty there was a king named Prabhakar Vardhan.
He defeated the Hunas, the Gurjars of Sindh, the kings of Malwa and Gandhara and assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja.
She had two sons named Rajyavardhan and Harshavardhana and a daughter named Rajya Shri.
To strengthen his political position, he married his daughter Rajshree to King Grihavarman of Kanoja.
On the death of Prabhakar Vardhan, the throne was handed over to Rajyavardhan.
King Devgupta of Malwa took the opportunity to attack Kanoja and kill Grihavarman, and imprisoned his widow Rani Rajyashree in the palace of Kanoja.
Upon receiving this news, Rajyavardhan marched towards Malwa with the army.
He defeated and killed King Devgupta of Malwa.
Provoked by this news, King Shashank of Devgupta's friend Gaud called Rajyavardha under the pretext of holding talks and killed him.
As a result, the kingdoms of Kanoja and Thaneshwar became kingless.
The responsibility of saving these two states fell on Harshavardhana.
Harshavardhana was made the king of Thaneshwar on the advice of ministers and state leaders.
At this time the kingdom of Kanoja was without a king.
The enmity between Malwa and Gaud was raging over him.
Therefore, the cabinet and courtiers of Kanoja requested Harshavardhana to accept the throne of Kanoja on behalf of his nephew as the prince of Kanoja, which he accepted.
Thus the power of Thaneshwar and Kanoja came into the hands of Emperor Harshavardhana and his power increased a lot.
Emperor Harshavardhana's contribution to the propagation and propagation of Buddhism: Emperor Harshavardhana was a civilized and pious king in addition to being a conqueror and an efficient administrator.
From his copperplates and the Harsh Charit of the arrow it is known that Harshavardhana was a Shaivite like his ancestors.
But reports from the Chinese traveler Yuan Shuang show that in later years of his life he showed a special fondness for Buddhism.
He became more interested in Buddhism through his contact with the Buddhist Acharya Diwakar.
He built many rest houses, hospitals, monasteries and monasteries for the propagation of Buddhism.
He banned life and meat in his state.
He helped Nalanda Buddhist University a lot.
Harshavardhana used to convene a Buddhist meeting every year and every five years at Prayag Mukham he convened a large Dharmaparishad by inviting Pandits of different religions.
He convened a special synagogue in Prayag in honor of the Chinese traveler Yuan Schwag.
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