Post Gupta Period – Vardhana Dynasty

After the decline of the Gupta empire, the post gupta period, the Vardhana dynasty, emerged as  the strongest dynasty in ancient times. This dynasty is also known as the Pushyabhuti dynasty. The kingdom extended from West Bengal, Punjab, Odisha and from the Himalayas to the Gangetic plain in the North  Narmada river. Naravardhan is considered to be the first ruler and founder of the Vardhana dynasty. Rajyavardhana is the eldest son of Prabhakar Vardhana known as the fourth ruler of the vardhana dynasty who ruled to the north from the 6th to 7th  centuries; after his father died, the throne was passed to him rather than his younger brother Harshavardhana. He became the king of Thaneswar, and later, after his brother-in-law, who was the ruler of Kanauj was defeated and killed by the Bengal king,

We get to know about the details of the post gupta period was known as vardhana dynasty from archaeologist resources as well as from foreign visitors and from historical literature and poets and from the given information in coins

Historical Poet and Literature during the post gupta period

In the post-gupta period, The court poet of the vardhana dynasty is Banabhatta, who wrote the Harshacharitra literature book for the king in which we get all the information of the vardhana dynasty in Sanskrit Languages. The first king of the Vardhana dynasty is Naravardhan. Harshacharitra includes eight chapters which are called Ucc Vasas in which three parts describe the autobiography. The second chapters describe the early life of king Harshavardhana as well as the first meeting of Banabatta with the king at the military camp in Manitara. The third chapter describes the relationships of Harshavardhana with Pushyabhuti as well as the fourth part gives information about his father Prabhakar Vardhana. The fifth and sixth chapters describe the death of his father Prabhakar Vardhana and the demonstration of Huna and the disturbance period of Rajyavardhana. The seventh and eighth Ucch vasa means chapter gives the military source and the proposal of friendship sent by the Kamarupa (the king) as well as Bhaskarverma to the ruler of vardhana dynasty, but also tell the information of the release and acceptance of his sister or the king’s daughter Rajyashree who married with the king of Maukhari which is the capital of Kanauj.

Foreign Traveller- Hsuan-Tsang

In the post-gupta period, the traveller from China visited India during the Harshavardhana period and stayed for 16 years. We know that Harshavardhana was the lord of North India, and Harsha had large numbers of elephants and many well-developed armies and cavalry. From the information of Hsuan Tsang writing, we know that Harsha is a religious person and passed his day by doing religious and State affairs work. The punishment process of the Vardhana period was that if a person committed any crime, they might be punished as imprisonment for life and abundance in the forest.

Establishment of Military Camp

 Harsha has won many wars and ruled over Punjab, Odissa Kanauj, and West Bengal,  but also put all his effort to bring the southern part under his kingdom. Harsha maintains a well-developed army with many camels, elephants, and cavalry. He purchased Horses for his army from Persia.

Harshavardhana’s Management system and Economics

The administration system was absolute, and his management’s success depended upon his ability. The king ensures peace and happiness to the people and also gives charity to the poor people. The king also supervised his minister for implementing any action and decision-making. All the areas, including rural and urban areas, get his equal attention as he always tours to balance the work. He also made a fair decision for the criminals and punished them. The economy also increased during his rule, including trade and commerce, and the demands of the consumer encouraged village people to engage in agriculture to meet the demands.

Religion Practises

Harshavardhana’s father, Prabhakara Vardhana, was the worshipper of the lord Sun, but his brother Rajyavardhana is the worshipper of Shiva as well as Buddha. He built many expensive temples for Buddhism’s preaching and built the stupa for the sake of Buddha. All this information we get from the writing of Banabhatta and from the conversation with the foreign travellers.

Conclusion:

In Short, we can say from the information through the Harshacharita, visit of Hiuen-Tsang, and coins about Harshavardhana, the ruler of the Vardhana dynasty who is known as Harshalord to the people. He ruled his dynasty for 41 years and died in 647 A.D by ensuring and fulfilling the people’s needs and has succeeded in his economic field but also as a religious person who never stopped preaching Buddhism. With the death of Harsha, his dynasty also declined. His administrative and military skills have been well developed, and he ruled all over north India with his great ruling strategies.