HARSHAVARDHANA

SOURCES FOR THE HARSHAVARDHANA RULE There are mainly three important sources to under­stand the history of Harshavardhana and other rulers of the Vardhana dynasty: (i) literary sources, (ii) foreigners' accounts, and (Hi) archaeological findings. Harshavardhana, himself a great scholar,
was a patron of literature. Hence there is enough. literary information regarding his rule.

Literary Sources The main literary sources are as follows.
(i) Harshaclulrita Written in Sanskrit by Banabhatta, Harshacharita is an important book to understand Harsha's rule. This book has eight sections. While the first three sections cover the autobiography of Banabhatta, the remain­ing five describe the life history of Harshavardhana.
(ii) Kadambari Kadambari, written by Banabhatta, is considered the greatest novel of Sanskrit literature. The novel deals with social and religious life during the times of Harsha.
(iii) Aryamanjushreemulkalpa It is a Mahayana book with 1,000 hymns. It deals with the ancient Indian history covering the period between seventh century Be and eighth century AD.

Foreign Accounts Foreign travellers, mainly Chinese pilgrims, have left accounts of the time.
(i) Hsuan- Tsang's Account A Chinese pilgrim, Hsuan­Tsang, spent about eight years in the dominions of Harsha and earned the king's friendship. Hsuan-Tsang's book Si­Yu-Ki throws light on political and cultural life in India during Harsha's times.
(ii) Biography of Hsuan- Tsang The biography of Hsuan­Tsang was written by his friend Wu-Li. This book also makes available important information related to Harsha's period.
(Hi) I-tsing's Account I-tsing was a Chinese traveller. His description of the times is very useful. His accounts were translated into English by the Japanese Buddhist monk, Takkusu, under the title A Record of the Buddhist Religion.