History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c11.s1.11

c11.s1.11

That some of these portions were actually within the empire of Harṣa can be proved by means of independent evidence. We have already discussed above that his ancestral kingdom comprised Sthānvīśvara (Thanesvar), the valley of the Saraswati river and parts of eastern Rajputana. The findspots of the Banskhera,¹ and Madhuban plates,² recording grants of land, show that Ahicchatra and Śrāvastī formed bhuktis or divisions of his empire. If the Śīlāditya coins found in the Bhitaura hoard (Fyzabad district) are to be attributed to Harṣa, as has been done by Sir Richard Burn,³ we have then direct proof that Ayodhyā was under Harṣa. Likewise, Prayāga was certainly included, since it was the scene of his great charitable distribution. We may also add that Harṣa’s title “King of Magadha,” found in the Chinese documents connected with his embassy, unmistakably points to the same conclusion. Again, the fact that Silāditya held his court at Kajangala in his progress to East India is conclusive proof, as has been shown above, that his empire extended so far. We further know that Harṣa was carrying on military operations in Kongodha as late as the year 643 A. D. Lastly, regarding Orissa it is clear from the *Life*¹ that he exercised his authority there.