POLITY AND SOCIETY UNDER HARSHA

POLITY AND SOCIETY UNDER HARSHA

Harsha's administration was based largely on his magnetic person­ality as well as on his benevolent attitude and ceaseless exertion. Harsha controlled the machinery of government with the help of a central ministry and a secretariat comprising various departments. The provinces (bhukti) were divided into districts (vishaya). The village was the lowest unit of administration. The administration was feudal and more decentralised than before. Taxation was light. Criminal law was more severe than it had been in the Gupta period. Hsuan- Tsang says that there was a rigid caste system. Under Harsha, Kanauj became the premier city of northern India and eclipsed the glory of Pataliputra. Hsuan-Tsang has left a detailed account of a grand assembly held at Kanauj in 643 attended by representatives of Hinduism and Jainism besides kings.

Harsha used to celebrate a solemn festival at Prayag (Allahabad), at the end of every five years. Hsuan-Tsang was a witness to the sixth such quinquennial festival, which lasted for 75 days.

Harsha's ancestors were worshippers of the sun. Epi­graphic evidence shows that Harsha was a devotee of Siva, at least for the first 25 years of his reign. Towards the later part of his life, however, he was attracted towards Bud­dhism.
Harsha was a great patron of learning. He made large endowments to Nalanda, the world famous centre of learning. He further extended patronage to men of literature and was himself a poet of no mean repute. His court was adorned by Banabhatta, the author of Harshacharita and Kadambari. Harsha himself wrote three well-known dramas: the Ratnavali, the Nagananda and the Priyadarshika.