Harsha Art, Society, Religious Policy - Ancient India Materials

Religious Policy

Harsha was a worshipper of Siva at least up to 631 CE.
But he embraced Buddhism under the influence of his sister Rajyasri and the Buddhist monk Hieun Tsang.
He subscribed to the Mahayana school of thought.
Yet he held discourses among learned men of various creeds.
Slaughter of animals and consumption of meat was restricted.
Harsha summoned two Buddhist assemblies (643 CE), one at Kanauj and another at Prayag.
The assembly at Kanauj was attended by 20 kings including Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa.
A large number of Buddhist, Jain and Vedic scholars attended the assembly.
A golden statue of Buddha was consecrated in a monastery and a small statue of Buddha (three feet) was brought out in a procession.
The procession was attended by Harsha and other kings.

Harsha convened quinquennial assemblies known as Mahamoksha Parishad at Prayag (at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna).
He distributed his wealth among Buddhists, Vedic scholars and the poor people.
Harsha offered fabulous gifts to the Buddhist monks on all the four days of the assemblage.
Hieun Tsang observed that the principles of Buddhism had deeply permeated the Hindu society.
According to him, people were given complete freedom of worship.
Social harmony prevailed among the followers of various creeds.
Harsha treated the Vedic scholars and the Buddhist bikshus alike and distributed charities equally to them.

Caste system was firmly established in the Hindu society.
According to Hieun Tsang, the occupations of the four divisions of society continued to be in practice as in the previous times.
People were honest and not deceitful or treacherous in their conduct.
The butchers, fishermen, dancers and sweepers were asked to stay outside the city.
Even though the caste system was rigid, there was no social conflict among the various sections of the society.

Hieun Tsang’s account also provides us information on the position of women and the marriage system of the times.
Women wore purdah.
Hieun Tsang, however, added that the purdah system was not followed among the higher class.
He pointed out that Rajyasri did not wear purdah when listening to his discourse.
Sati was in practice.
Yasomatidevi, wife of Prabhakara Vardhana, immolated herself after the death of her husband.

The life pattern of the people of India during the rule of Harsha is known from the accounts of Hieun Tsang.
People lived a simple life.
They dressed in colourful cotton and silk clothes.
The art of weaving fine cloth had reached perfection.
Both men and women adorned themselves with gold and silver ornaments.
The king wore extraordinary ornaments.
Garlands and tiaras of precious stones, rings, bracelets and necklaces were some of the ornaments used by the royalty.
The wealthy merchants wore bracelets.
Women used cosmetics.

Hieun Tsang also noted that Indians were mostly vegetarians.
The use of onion and garlic in the food preparation was rare.
The use of sugar, milk, ghee and rice in the preparation of food or their consumption was common.
On certain occasions, fish and mutton were eaten.
Beef and meat of certain animals were forbidden.

Harsha patronised literary and cultural activities.
It is said the state spent a quarter of its revenue for such activities.
Bana, the author of Harshacharita and Kadambari, was a court poet of Harsha.
The emperor himself was a renowned litterateur, which is evident from the plays he wrote such as Priyadarsika, Rathnavali and Nagananda.
Harsha gifted liberally for the promotion of education.
Temples and monasteries functioned as centres of learning.
Renowned scholars imparted education in the monasteries at Kanauj, Gaya, Jalandhar, Manipur and other places.
The Nalanda University reached its utmost fame during this period.

Hieun Tsang recorded the fame of the Nalanda University.
Students and scholars from the Buddhist countries like China, Japan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Tibet and some other countries of Central and Southeast Asia stayed and studied in the university.
Shilabhadra, a reputed Buddhist scholar, who probably hailed from Assam, was the head of the University during the visit of Hieun Tsang.
As an educational centre of international fame, Nalanda had 10,000 students on its rolls.
Dharmapala, Chandrapala, Shilabhadra, Bhadrihari, Jayasena, Devakara and Matanga were important teachers in the university receiving royal patronage.

Hiuen Tsang, hailed as the prince of pilgrims, visited India during the reign of Harsha.
Born in China in 612 CE he became a Buddhist monk at the age of twenty.
During his travels, he visited various sacred places of northern and southern India.
Hieun Tsang spent about five years in the University of Nalanda and studied there.
Harsha admired him for his deep devotion to Buddha and his profound knowledge of Buddhism.
Hieun Tsang carried with him 150 pieces of the relics of Buddha, a large number of Buddha image in gold, silver, sandalwood and above all 657 volumes of valuable manuscripts.