Post-Gupta & Harsha's Era

It marks the end of Ancient India and the beginning of early medieval India — the shift to regional kingdoms, land grants and a temple-centred society.

500–647 AD; capital at Thaneswar — in Haryana, ⚠️ NOT UP.
They began as Gupta feudatories.

• Prabhakaravardhana — 580–605 AD; the first important ruler; took the title Parambhattaraka Maharajadhiraja
• Rajyavardhana — defeated Devagupta of Malwa; treacherously killed by Shashanka

606–647 AD; ascended at the age of 16; also known as Shiladitya.
His first act was rescuing his sister Rajyashri from sati in the Vindhyas.

The Harsha Era = 606 AD.
He united the Pushyabhuti and Maukhari kingdoms, with capital at Kannauj.

A 6-year campaign that brought Punjab, Kannauj, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa under him.
He was defeated at the Narmada by Pulakeshin II (Chalukya) — which checked his southward expansion.

A feudal confederation, not a centralised state.
Revenue: 1/6th; types — Bhaaga, Bhoga, Hiranya (cash tax).

It was stricter than Gupta law and used trial by ordeal — by fire, water, poison and weighing.

• Avanti — war minister
• Simhanada — commander of cavalry

Originally Shaiva, later a Mahayana Buddhist.
Hiuen-Tsang found Harsha supportive of Buddhism — ⚠️ NOT antagonistic.
He donated 100 villages to Nalanda.

643 AD — to honour Hiuen-Tsang and promote Mahayana.
Attended by 20 kings, lasting 23 days.

643–644 AD — the Maha-moksha-parishad, at which Harsha gave away all his wealth.
Held every 5 years; regarded as the beginning of the Kumbh Mela tradition.

By Banabhatta, Harsha's court poet.
The earliest historical biography in Sanskrit; 8 chapters, of which the first 3 are autobiographical.

By Banabhatta — the first long prose romance in Sanskrit.
Left unfinished; completed by his son Bhushanabhatta.

• Nagananda — the only play with a Bodhisattva theme (Jimutavahana's self-sacrifice)
• Ratnavali and Priyadarshika — romantic comedies about King Udayana

• Mayura — composed the Surya Shataka, 100 verses praising the Sun God
• Divakara Mitra — a Buddhist monk at Harsha's court

• Banskhera — shows Harsha was a calligraphist (bears his own signature)
• Madhuban — provides the genealogy
• Sonpat — a Buddhist copper-plate

He died in 647 AD without an heir; the throne was usurped by Arunashva.

629–645 AD; a Chinese Buddhist monk called the 'Prince of Pilgrims'.
Travelogue: Si-Yu-Ki; his biography was written by Hwui Li.

Yogachara, for 5 years, under Acharya Shilabhadra.

• Caste was rigid; Chandalas lived outside cities and had to strike a wooden clapper to announce themselves
• Roads were NOT safe from robbery; there was trial by ordeal and duties collected at ferries

Buddhism was declining while Hinduism was reviving; many monasteries lay in ruins.
Nalanda had 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers, and only 20% of applicants were accepted.

Megasthenes (302 BC) → Fa-Hien (399 AD) → Hiuen-Tsang (629 AD) → I-Tsing (673 AD)

• Pushyabhutis / Vardhanas — 500–647 (Harsha 606–647)
• Maukharis — 6th–7th cen.
• Maitrakas — 475–766
• Shashanka — ~600–637

• Pallavas — 275–897
• Chalukyas — 543–757
• Rashtrakutas — 757–973
• Cholas — from 897

• Succession: Chalukyas → Rashtrakutas (757); Pallavas → Cholas (897)
• Merger: Maukharis + Pushyabhutis → Harsha (606)
• Anarchy: Shashanka dies → Matsyanyaya ~100 yrs → Palas (750)

Correct: Pushyabhutis, Maukharis, Maitrakas.
⚠️ WRONG: Paramaras and Yadavas — these are medieval, much later.

Gupta feudatories; capital Kannauj, 6th–7th cen. AD.
Grahavarman married Harsha's sister Rajyashri; he was killed by Devagupta, after which the kingdom merged with the Pushyabhutis under Harsha.

Capital Valabhi (Gujarat), founded by Bhatarka; 475–766 AD.
The Valabhi Era = Gupta Era; Valabhi was a centre of Buddhist learning.

The first ruler of Bengal, ~600–637 AD; capital Karnasuvarna (near Murshidabad).
A Shaiva who persecuted Buddhists and cut down the Bodhi Tree.

Literally the 'law of the fishes' — anarchy in which the strong devour the weak.
It followed Shashanka's death and lasted ~100 years, until the Palas (750 AD).

Continuous warfare between the Chalukyas of Badami, the Pallavas of Kanchi and the Pandyas of Madurai.

Founder of the Chalukyas of Badami (543–757 AD); capital Vatapi (Badami).
Performed the Ashvamedha. His successor was Kirtivarman.

609–642 AD; the greatest Chalukya ruler.
Defeated Harsha at the Narmada and took the title Parameshvara.

He sent an ambassador to the Persian king Khusrau II.
He was killed by Narasimhavarman I (Pallava); Vatapi was sacked in 642 AD.

• Vikramaditya I — recovered Vatapi after 13 years
• Vikramaditya II — captured Kanchi but did NOT destroy it
The dynasty was overthrown by the Rashtrakutas in 757 AD.

Composed by Ravikirti in 634 AD; court poet of Pulakeshin II.
It is Jain — opening with 'Victorious is the holy Jinendra'.

Ravikirti compares himself to Kalidasa and Bharavi — giving the earliest epigraphic reference to Kalidasa.
Written in Sanskrit using Old Kannada script; it details Pulakeshin II's conquests.

The Vesara style of the Deccan — a blend of Nagara and Dravida.

• Aihole — the 'Cradle of Indian Temple Architecture'; the 'Town of Temples', with ~70 temples
• Pattadakal — a UNESCO site with Nagara and Dravida style temples side by side

4 rock-cut caves — 3 Hindu + 1 Jain.
Dynasty–site pairs: Chalukya – Badami; Pallava – Panamalai.

575–600 AD; the first important Pallava ruler; defeated the Kalabhras.

Titles: Mattavilasa, Vichitrachitta, Gunabhara.
Authored the Mattavilasa Prahasana; began the rock-cut tradition.
Converted from Jainism to Shaivism by Appar.

Title Vatapikonda ('conqueror of Vatapi'); killed Pulakeshin II.
Built Mamallapuram; sent a naval expedition to Sri Lanka to support his ally Manavarma.

Built the Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchi and the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram.
He also sent an embassy to China.

• Nandivarman II — built the Vaikuntha Perumal Temple at Kanchi
• Aparajita — the last Pallava; defeated by the Chola king Aditya I

Mahendravarman stage — rock-cut caves at Mandagapattu and Mamandur.
The overall Pallava idiom is the Dravida style; capital Kanchipuram (275–897 AD).

Mamalla (Narasimhavarman I) stage — monolithic rathas: the Pancha Rathas, named after the Pandavas.
Also Arjuna's Penance / Descent of the Ganges — 27 m × 9 m, the largest open-air rock relief.

• Stage 3 — Rajasimha: structural temples; the Shore Temple (UNESCO; faces east to the Bay of Bengal) and the Kailasanatha Temple
• Stage 4 — Aparajita: mature structural style, transitioning to the Chola style

Both are rock-cut monuments — though Ajanta is Buddhist cave excavation and Mamallapuram is Hindu monolithic carving.

• Eripatti — tank maintenance land, whose income funded irrigation upkeep (UPSC 2016)
• Taniyurs — Brahmana villages
• Ghatikas — temple colleges

They spread Indian culture to SE Asia — Cambodia, Java, Vietnam.
The Pallava script is the parent of the Khmer, Thai and Javanese scripts.

Trade declined and villages moved towards agrarian self-sufficiency.
Shrenis (guilds) were still active but declining.

A bill of exchange — an instrument for transferring money without physically moving it.
It emerged post-Harsha.

• Brahmadeya — grants to Brahmanas
• Devadana — grants to temples
• Agrahara — tax-free villages

• sa-dashaparadha — the right to try the ten offences
• sa-chauroddharana — the right to punish theft
These mark the growth of feudalism, as royal authority devolved to grantees.

It begins in South India.
• Nayanars — 63 Shaiva saints; their hymns form the Tevaram (Appar among them)
• Alvars — 12 Vaishnava saints

• Buddhism declining; Jainism strong in Karnataka and Gujarat; a temple-centred society emerged
• Caste became more rigid
• Women's status declined — sati, purdah, and the devadasi system in South Indian temples

About 200 years, fought over the Krishna–Tungabhadra Doab.

• Round 1: Pulakeshin II attacks → Narasimhavarman I retaliates and sacks Vatapi (642)
• Round 2: Vikramaditya I recovers Vatapi

• Round 3: Vikramaditya II captures Kanchi but does NOT destroy it — a sign of cultural maturity
• End: Chalukyas → Rashtrakutas (757); Pallavas → Cholas (897)

Pallavas → Palas → Pratiharas → Cholas