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Events towards the end of Harsha's reign are described in Chinese sources. His contemporary, the T'ang emperor Tai Tsung, sent an embassy to his court in 643 and again in 647. On the second occasion the Chinese ambassador found that Harsha had recently died and that the throne had been usurped by an undeserving king. The Chinese ambassador rushed to Nepal and Assam and raised a force with which the allies of Harsha defeated the usurper, who was taken to China as a prisoner. His name is recorded on the pedestal of Tai Tsung's tomb. The kingdom of Harsha rapidly disintegrated into small states after his death. Harsha Charita written by Bana Bhatta under the patronage of Harshavardhan throws light on Harshavardhana's life and rule. It has eight chapters. The book traces the, history of Harshavardhana's family till the rescue of Rajyashri who was getting ready to immolate herself. Written in Sanskrit, it throws light on social, political, religious and economic conditions of the period. It is a biographical account written in an ornate style. Bana Bhatta also wrote Kadambari, which is prose romance, a story of love and wonder. Harsha maintained contact with public opinion both through his officers and by his own tours, which gave him the opportunity of supervising the administration. By the seventh century a centralized system identical with that of the Mauryas was unworkable in the context of political and economic relations in northern India, and Harsha's extensive tours were an attempt at compromise. He took upon himself, as it were, the duties of a royal inspector and looked into the collection of taxes, listened to complaints, inspected the general working of the administration, and in addition gave charitable donations. Another significant feature of this period was that salaries were sometimes paid not in cash but in grants of land, as is evident both from the frequency of land-grant inscriptions (in stone and metal) found from this period onwards and also from the specific reference to this practice by Hsuan Tsang in his account of India. Cash salaries were paid for military services alone. next page >> |
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