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King Harshavardhana & Pushyabhuti Dynasty GK Questions & Answers
King Harshavardhana (r. 606–647 CE) ruled northern India from the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty, ascending the throne of Thanesar at age sixteen following the assassination of his elder brother Rajyavardhana by King Shashanka of Gauda. Harsha united the crowns of Thanesar and the Maukhari kingdom of Kannauj after rescuing his sister Rajyashri, shifting his administrative seat to Kannauj (Kanyakubja) and instituting the Harsha Samvat calendar in 606 CE. While he conquered Malwa, Magadha, and Odisha, his southward military push was repulsed on the banks of the Narmada River around 618–619 CE by Western Chalukya sovereign Pulakeshin II, as chronicled in the Sanskrit Aihole inscription by court poet Ravikirti. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) spent eight years traversing Harsha's territories between 630 and 644 CE, documenting royal administrative practices, land taxation, and monastic scholasticism at Nalanda Mahavihara under Abbot Shilabhadra in his travelogue Si-Yu-Ki. In 643 CE, Harsha convened the Kannauj Assembly to propagate Mahayana Buddhist philosophy and the quinquennial Prayag Mahamoksha Parishad at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, distributing imperial treasuries in charitable almsgiving. Harsha's court poet Banabhatta authored the Harshacharita and Kadambari, while Harsha personally composed three celebrated Sanskrit dramas: Ratnavali, Priyadarsika, and Nagananda.
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King Harshavardhana was the son of Prabhakaravardhana and Queen Yashomati, belonging to the Pushyabhuti (or Vardhana) dynasty based originally at Thanesar in modern Haryana.
Harsha ascended the throne in 606 CE at sixteen years of age and inaugurated the Harsha Era (Harsha Samvat), an epigraphic dating calendar used across northern India.
Following the assassination of Maukhari king Grahavarman by Devagupta of Malwa and Rajyavardhana by Gauda ruler Shashanka, Harsha rescued his sister Rajyashri from the Vindhya forests and merged Thanesar with Kannauj.
Harsha transferred his imperial capital from Thanesar to Kannauj (Mahodaya / Kanyakubja), establishing it as the supreme political and cultural metropolis of North India.
Harsha's southern military advance was halted at the Battle of the Narmada River (c. 618–619 CE) by Western Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II, who earned the title 'Parameshvara' for the victory.
The famous Aihole Prashasti, composed in Sanskrit by court poet Ravikirti and inscribed on the Meguti Jain temple in Karnataka (634 CE), records Pulakeshin II's decisive triumph over Harsha.
Chinese Buddhist monk and traveler Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), styled the 'Prince of Pilgrims', visited Harsha's empire between 630 and 644 CE during the Tang dynasty rule of Emperor Taizong.
Xuanzang spent several years studying Buddhist logic and Yogachara philosophy at Nalanda University in modern Bihar under the venerable chancellor and scholar Shilabhadra.
Xuanzang authored the travel memoir 'Si-Yu-Ki' (Buddhist Records of the Western World), which detailed 7th-century Indian socio-economic conditions, penal laws, and administrative practices.
In 643 CE, Harsha convened a grand assembly at Kannauj attended by 20 kings, 3,000 Buddhist monks, and 2,000 Brahmanas, presided over by Xuanzang to establish the supremacy of Mahayana doctrine.
Harsha organized the 'Mahamoksha Parishad' every five years at Prayag (modern Prayagraj) at the sacred confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna, where he distributed all accumulated state treasuries to religious ascetics and the needy.
Banabhatta was Harsha's chief court poet (Asthana Kavi), authoring the 'Harshacharita' (the earliest surviving historical biography in classical Sanskrit) and the ornate romance 'Kadambari'.
Harsha was an accomplished playwright and calligrapher, authoring three major Sanskrit plays: 'Ratnavali' (a four-act Natika romance), 'Priyadarsika', and 'Nagananda' (narrating the Buddhist Bodhisattva Jimutavahana).
The Madhuban copper plate (dated 631 CE in Mau district, UP) and Banskhera copper plate (dated 628 CE in Shahjahanpur, UP) contain Harsha's royal charters and his ornate personal calligraphy signature.
Under Harsha's administrative system, civil servants and soldiers were remunerated primarily through assignments of land revenues rather than cash salaries, accelerating early medieval feudalization.
Emperor Harshavardhana shifted his imperial capital from Thanesar (Kurukshetra) to which city on the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh?
Verified Explanation
Harshavardhana united his ancestral realm of Thanesar with the Maukhari kingdom and made Kannauj (Kanyakubja) the political hub of northern India.
2ID: GK-HIST-00612
mediumAncient India & Indus Valley
Which Chalukya monarch defeated Emperor Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada River around 618–619 CE, halting Harsha's southward expansion?
Verified Explanation
Pulakeshin II of the Badami Chalukyas defeated Harsha on the banks of the Narmada River, an achievement immortalized by his court poet Ravikirti in the Aihole Inscription.
3ID: GK-HIST-00237
mediumAncient India & Indus Valley
The Aihole Inscription, which records the victory of Pulakeshin II over Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada, was composed by:
Verified Explanation
Ravikirti, the Jain court poet of Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, composed the Sanskrit Aihole Prashasti on the walls of the Meguti temple in 634 CE.
4ID: GK-EPIG-00110
hardRoyal Prashastis, Pillars & Temple Charters
The Banskhera Copper Plate Inscription (dated Regnal Year 22 / 628 CE) concludes with which celebrated calligraphic Sanskrit phrase confirming Emperor Harshavardhana's own handwriting?
Verified Explanation
The Banskhera Copper Plate of Harsha (Shahjahanpur district, UP) famously preserves the ornate, flowing royal signature of Emperor Harshavardhana engraved in the bottom line: 'Svahasto mama Maharajadhiraja-Sri-Harshasya' (This is the own signature of me, the Supreme King of Kings, the illustrious Harsha), demonstrating his celebrated calligraphic skill.
5ID: GK-EPIG-00402
hardRoyal Prashastis, Pillars & Temple Charters
The Banskhera Copper Plate Inscription (628 CE) of King Harshavardhana is renowned among epigraphists because its final line contains which rare direct personal artifact of the emperor?
Verified Explanation
The Banskhera copper plate (Shahjahanpur, UP) concludes with Harshavardhana's beautifully executed personal calligraphic signature in ornate Siddhamatrika script: 'Sva-hasto mama Maharajadhiraja-Sri-Harshasya' (In the own hand of myself, the Emperor Sri Harsha).
Who wrote the 7th-century Sanskrit biographical chronicle 'Harshacharita', narrating the life and deeds of King Harshavardhana of Kannauj?
Verified Explanation
Banabhatta (Bana), the court poet (Asthana Kavi) of King Harshavardhana in the 7th century CE, authored 'Harshacharita' (the first formal historical biography in Sanskrit) as well as the famous romance 'Kadambari'.
8ID: GK-HIST-00416
easyVedic Period & Mahajanapadas
Which Chalukya king defeated King Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada River in 618–619 CE?
Verified Explanation
Pulakeshin II of the Badami Chalukya dynasty successfully checked Harshavardhana's southward expansion, as recorded in the Aihole Inscription.
9ID: GK-EPIG-00236
easyCopper-Plate Charters & Ancient Indian Coinage
The Banskhera Copper Plate Inscription (628 CE) found in Shahjahanpur (UP) is uniquely celebrated for containing which remarkable feature of Emperor Harshavardhana?
Verified Explanation
The Banskhera Copper Plate of Harsha concludes with his elegant signature in ornate Kuá¹ila characters reading: 'Sva-hasto mama Maharajadhiraja Sri Harshasya' (This is the royal signature of me, Maharajadhiraja Sri Harsha), demonstrating his mastery of calligraphy.
10ID: GK-EPIG-00289
hardRoyal Prashastis, Pillars & Temple Charters
In the 7th-century Banskhera Copper Plate Inscription (628 CE), Emperor Harshavardhana records the royal endowment of the village of Markatasagara in the Ahichchhatra Bhukti to two learned Rigvedic Brahmanas named what?
Verified Explanation
The Banskhera plate of Harsha records the grant of village Markatasagara to the Rigvedic Bhatta Balachandra and Bhatta Bhattasvamin, containing the administrative hierarchy from Samanta to Gramika and ending with Harsha's calligraphic royal signature.
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