| Script: Yagya
Sharma and Anand Prakash Singh
Illustrator: Madhu
Powle
ISBN: 81-7508-047-7
Vol. No: 627
If Harsha is remembered till
this day as a great ruler, it is not only because he was a brave military
leader, but also because he was a man of noble impulse, a great patron
of learning and letters and he had great scholars like Banabhatta, Mayura
and Divakara in his court.Harsha came to occupy the throne of Thaneshwar
at a very critical moment in its history. His father had died and a powerful
enemy had murdered his elder brother. The neighbouring kingdom, Kannauj,
ruled by Harsha’s brother-in-law, had been overrun. Harsha not only surmounted
these difficulties, but also raised the small kingdom of Thaneshwar into
the most powerful kingdom of Northern India.Banabhatta’s ‘Harshacharita’
gives a detailed account of Harsha’s life till he rescues Rajyashri. We
know more about political and economic conditions of his times from the
account of Hiuen Tsang, who visited India during his reign.
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