Expansion of Empire Harshavardhana ruler of Vardhan dynasty

We cannot fully ascertain the victories of Harsh. The victories done by him are doubtful and it is also difficult to determine the expansion of Harsh’s empire.

Some scholars consider the expansion of Harsh’s empire from the Himalayas in the north to Vindhyaparvat in the south and the vast tract of land from Kamrup in the east to Surashtra in the west.

Majumdar does not have any part of Harsh empire outside Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. Harsh’s ancestral state Thaneshwar included South Punjab and East Rajputana. After the death of Grahvarma, he annexed the Maukhari kingdom of Kannauj into his empire, which included some part of the whole of Uttar Pradesh.

History of the Maukhari ruler Grahavarma.

The rise of Magadh Mahajanapada.

It becomes clear based on the writings of Banskhera and Madhuban, that the territories of Ahichh and Shravasti were under Harsh. He organized the Mahamoksh Parishad in Prayag, who gives information of his right there. Huanseang neither mentions the names of the kings of many states of the north, nor mentions their political status-Following are such Names

Kulto, Shatdu, Thaneshwar, Shrughan, Brahmapur, Suvarnagotra, Ahichatra, Kapith, Ayodhya, Haymukh, Prayag, Kaushambi, Vishoka, Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Ramgam, Kushinara, Varanasi, Vaishali, Vrijji, Magadh, Hiranyaparvatna, Champa, Champa Samutat, Tamralipti, Karna-Suvarna, Odra and Kongod.

Finally, they can be considered as subject to Harsh. Again he calls Mathura, Matipur, Suvarnagotra, Kapisha, Kashmir, Vairat, Kapilvastu, Nepal, Kamarup, Maharashtra, Valabhi, Bhonch, Ujjain, Maheshwarpur, Sindh etc. as independent states. His authority over Magadha is confirmed from Chinese sources, where he has been called Magadhraj. After the death of Shashank, Harsh had captured Bengal and Orissa. Thus in the east, the portion of the Brahmaputra river was under Harsh.

The kingdom of Sindh was under its influence in the northwest. On the basis of the description of Hunsang, we can say that Jalandhar, Kuloot, Shatadru, etc. were also subject to Harsh. The name of his name is found in the seal obtained from Sonpat to the west of the Yamuna, which indicates the right of Harsh there.

It seems that the kingdoms of Western Malwa, Ujjain, Jajakbhukti, Maheshwarpur, Bairat etc. were also included in the kingdom of Harsh in the west. The states of Eastern Malwa and Balabhi also accepted his subjugation. In this way all the part between Yamuna and Narmada in the west was included in the kingdom of Harsh. In the north, Harsh’s empire extended to the border of Nepal.

Conclusion:

Thus we can say that Harsh’s empire included the whole of North India. It extended from the Himalayas in the north to the Narmada River and the Vindhya Mountains in the south and from the Brahmaputra in the east to Surashtra and Kathiawa in the west. In the Chalukya writings, he is called Sakalottarpathnath.

There were three types of kingdoms in Harsh’s empire –

1. Directly governed state – There were states in this category, which Hunsang does not mention.
2. Semi independent state – Those states in this category were Balbhi, Western Malwa, Sindh.
3. Friendly state – The states of Kashmir and Kamrup were included in this category.

Apart from all this, Harsh also established friendly relations with external countries – Which are as follows In 641 AD, Harsh sent a Brahmin envoy to the court of King Taisung. In response, the Chinese King sent an ambassador named Liang-Hoi-Qing. It was accompanied by a Chinese official named Vang Huentse. He traveled to Buddhist sites and returned home in 647 AD.

Harsh reigned until 647 AD. Harsh had no successor, Hence, after his death, chaos spread again in North India and Kannauj was captured by a local ruler named Arjun.

Reference : https://www.indiaolddays.com