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History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c12: Chapter VI. Glimpses of Harṣa's Government

History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c12

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Chapter VI. Glimpses of Harṣa's Government

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It is evident from the foregoing account that the Kanauj kingdom under Harṣa mostly extended towards the east, and it was probably natural too that he should aspire to control the territories lying on this side, since the southern routes were already blocked by the mighty arms of Pulakeśi II. In those early times the Ganges was the highway of traffic linking up all the country from Bengal to "Mid India", and it was therefore necessary for the commerce and prosperity of the kingdom that Kanauj should be supreme over this vast Gangetic region. Indeed, the tendency of its kings to conquer Magadha and even the territories beyond it is noticeable throughout the course of its chequered history. Harṣa succeeded in bringing nearly the whole of the Gangetic plain under his yoke, and the kingdom having thus developed into gigantic proportions the task of its successful governance became all the more complicated and difficult. It was an age of mutually repellent and warring states engaged in petty internecine jealousies, and hence statesmanship and military skill of a high order were called forth to hold the empire together, and ensure its peaceful and orderly progress.

Military Strength

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The first thing that Harṣa did was to increase his military strength, both to keep the unsubdued kingdoms overawed and to fortify his own position against internal upheavals and foreign aggressions. Yuan Chwang informs us : “Then having enlarged his territory he increased his army bringing the elephant corps upto 60,000 and the cavalry to 100,000.”¹ It was thus on this large and strong force that the empire ultimately rested.² These high figures might at first appear incredible, but there are grounds for supposing that the maintenance of an unwieldy force was quite usual with an ambitious Indian potentate. The force at the command of Mahāpadma Nanda is said to have numbered 80,000 horse; 200,000 foot; 8,000 chariots and 6,000 fighting elephants. This huge force was greatly augmented by Candragupta Maurya, who raised the numbers of the infantry to 600,000 and also had 30,000 horse, and 9,000 elephants, besides chariots.³ In the 16th century (1509-30 A. D.) Kriṣṇa-deva, the Rājā of Vijayanagar, led against Raicur an army consisting of 703,000 foot, 32,600 horse, and 531 elephants, besides camp followers.⁴ Thus, as compared with these huge numbers Harṣa’s army was small, and it speaks much for the effectiveness of his government.

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¹ Watters; I, p. 343 ; Beal, I, p. 213. Bāṇa says that horses were recruited “from Vanāyu, Āraṭṭa, Kamboja, Bharadvāja, Sindhu and Persia” (Hc. C. T., p. 50). It is significant that both Bāṇa and Yuan Chwang omit to make any mention of chariots in Harṣa’s army, although the latter authority speaks of the four traditional elements of the army in his general description (Watters, I, p. 171). At one place Bāṇa refers to “troops of camels” also (Hc. C. T., p. 46).

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² We are told that “the military guard the frontiers, or go out to punish the refractory. They also mount guard at night round the palace” (Beal, I, p. 87).

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³ Early Hist. of India, 4th ed., p. 132.

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⁴ Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, p. 147. Compare also the remark of Sewell : “I can only call attention to the fact that large armies seem to have always been the rule in India.”

Alliances

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But the army is merely an arm of policy. Harṣa secured and strengthened his position by other means as well. He concluded an “undying alliance” with the king of Assam at the very beginning, which gave Harṣa the help and co-operation of a powerful ruler both in his external and internal affairs. In ancient India, as in mediæval Europe, royal marriages played a very important part in the politics of the country. Harṣa, therefore, cemented his alliance with Valabhi after the termination of hostilities by giving the hand of his daughter to its king. Thereby he not only gained a valued ally, but it must have also meant the opening of the southern routes for him. Further, he maintained diplomatic intercourse with the Chinese empire. A Brahman envoy, whom he had sent to the Tang Emperor of China, Tai-Tsung, in 641 A. D. returned in 643 A. D., accompanied by a Chinese mission bearing a reply to Harṣa’s dispatch.¹ His diplomatic relations with China were probably meant as a counterpoise to the friendship that Pulakeśi II, his southern rival, cultivated with the king of Persia about which we are informed by the Arab historian Tabari.²

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¹ *Early Hist. of India*, 4th ed., p. 366.

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² *J. R. A. S.*, N. S., XI (1879), pp. 165-66.

Harṣa’s exertions

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In an oriental despotism the sovereign being the centre of the state much of the success in administration necessarily depends on his benevolent example. He must needs pay laborious attention to details in order to infuse life into the governmental machinery, and to check the corruption and laxity of officers placed in authority over distant areas. With this end in view Harṣa appears to have essayed the difficult task of supervising personally the affairs of his wide dominions. Yuan Chwang informs us that “the king’s day was divided into three periods, of which one was given up to affairs of government, and two were devoted to religious works. He was indefatigable and the day was too short for him.”¹ But in spite of this overwork Harṣa was not content to rule from the luxurious surroundings of the palace only. He freely went in the midst of the populace, albeit to make the imperial decrees more effective. “If there was any irregularity,” observes the pilgrim, “in the manners of the people of the cities, he went amongst them.”² Except during the rainy season when it was not possible to keep on moving with a huge retinue, camping out being also prohibited by the Buddhist rule at this time of the year, Harṣa insisted on going about from place to place to “punish the evil doers and reward the good.” We are told by Yuan Chwang that “the king made visits of inspection throughout his dominions, not residing long at any place but having temporary buildings erected for his residence at each place of sojourn, and he did not go abroad during the three months of the rain-season retreat. At the royal lodges every day viands were provided for 1,000 Buddhist monks and 500 Brahmans.”³ During the course of these tours the subjects must have been afforded opportunities to ventilate their grievances to the king. At any rate Bāṇa informs us that during the course of his march against the Gauḍa king the country folk approached Harṣa, “bringing to light imaginary wrongs of former governors, lauding hundreds of past officials, reporting ancient misdeeds of knaves.”⁴ While Harṣa halted in extremely unassuming constructions built of grass—which were burnt when leaving—¹ his progress was marked by pomp and circumstance. The *Life* records that as Śilāditya marched, he was accompanied by several hundred persons with golden drums, who beat one stroke for every step taken, and this was called "music-pace-drums."² This method was reserved for Harṣa only, and no other king was permitted to adopt it. It would perhaps be interesting to note here some of the places where Harṣa appears to have camped. The *Life* tells us that when Yuan Chwang first met Harṣa, he was visiting different parts of the empire, and was camping as far distant from Kanauj as Kie-shu-ho-ki-lo (Kajughira or Kajangala) in Bengal³. The Banskhera and Madhuban plates issued from Vardhamānakoṭi and Kapitthika (Yuan Chwang's Kapitha or Sankasya) respectively give us two more camps. Among his other places of sojourn were Prayāga, Maṇitāra (Oudh) along the Ajirāvatī river⁴, and Orissa⁵. Thus denying himself the comforts of the palace, Harṣa toured round his far-flung empire to promote the weal and well-being of the subjects, halting in simple structures of grass and boughs raised for the occasion, and known as "travelling palaces" or "pavilions of travel."⁶

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¹ Watters, I, p. 344; Beal, I, p. 215.

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² Ibid.

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³ Ibid.

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⁴ Hc. C. T., p. 208.

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¹ Watters, II, p. 183. ² *Life*, p. 173. ³ *Ibid.*, p. 172; Watters, II, p. 183. ⁴ *Hc. C. T.*, p. 46. ⁵ The fact that all these places where Harṣa is known to have camped lie eastward or in the U. P. probably further tends to confirm our view about the limits of the Kanauj kingdom under Harṣa. To the other places in the south he went in the capacity of an unwelcome invader, and not as a ruler anxious to relieve the distress of his subjects. ⁶ *Life*, p. 173.

CIVIL administration

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Our authorities on Harṣa unfortunately yield us very meagre data for the then existing system of government. Probably Harṣa was assisted in the task of administration by an advisory council as favoured and advocated by ancient Indian political thinkers.¹ According to Yuan Chwang, Harṣa was invited to accept the crown of Kanauj by the statesmen and ministers of that kingdom, led by Poni; and it does not seem unreasonable to believe that they may have continued to wield some sort of control even during the palmy days of Harṣa’s power. The pilgrim even goes so far as to assert that “a commission of officers held the land.”²

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¹ See e.g., Kauṭilya’s *Arthaśāstra*, Bk. I, ch. VII, p. 13 : “Sovereignty is possible only with assistance. A single wheel can never move. Hence, he shall employ ministers and hear their opinion.”

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² Beal, I, p. 210.

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Further, owing to the large extent of territory and the scanty and slow means of communication, it was necessary to establish strong centres of government in order to keep the loosely-knit parts of the empire together. The outlying provinces were, therefore, put in charge of governors, as we are informed by the following passage in the *Harṣacarita*: “Atra lokanāthena diśāṃ mukheṣu parikalpitāḥ lokapālāḥ,” i.e., “he, the protector of all people, appointed protectors in the several directions.”³ They were sometimes also known as Sāmantas and Mahāsāmantas. They maintained law and order in the distant parts of the empire, and must have been invested with considerable power. Probably Mādhavagupta was one such governor or local ruler. This assumption seems irresistible if the testimonies of the *Harṣacarita* and the Aphsad inscription are considered in conjunction. The former mentions Mādhavagupta, Prince of Malwa, as a youthful companion of Harṣa at the Thanesvar court; whereas from the latter it is evident that he was ruling over the Magadha region, and is further credited "with the desire to associate himself with the glorious Harṣadeva."¹ This political arrangement was perhaps made by Harṣa either to reward his services rendered during the initial crisis, or to make him a bulwark against the aggressions of Śaśāṅka, who was in power at least till 619 A.D. Or, it may be that by the appointment of a strong lieutenant in Magadha, Harṣa was only manœuvring to further his designs against Śaśāṅka’s territories in Bengal and the coastal regions. Mādhavagupta’s family, however, declared the independence of Magadha in the confusion following Harṣa’s death, as we shall see later on.

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³ *Harṣacarita* (Cal. ed.), p. 211. Compare also the Juna-gaḍh rock inscription of Skandagupta, which speaks of similar appointments : “Sarveṣu deśeṣu vidhāya goptṝn,” i.e., “having appointed protectors in all countries.” (*C. I. I.*, III, No. 14, pp. 59, 62). It may, however, be remarked that the above passage in the *Harṣacarita* does not admit of an unambiguous interpretation. There is evidently a play on words, and Bāṇa also compares Harṣa with a great god, who appoints regents of the several quarters.

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¹ C. I. I., III, No. 42, pp. 204, 207. Cf. "Śri-Harṣadeva nija-saṃgama-vāñcchayā."

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"Since administration means many functions and not one, which are moreover not restricted to a single place," success in government must largely depend upon the efficient organisation of a Bureaucracy. We may, therefore, indicate some of the state-functionaries, civil and military, that are mentioned in the *Harṣacarita* and the inscriptions :—

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I. *Mahāsandhivigrahādhikrita*, or the "supreme minister of peace and war," who also probably accompanied the king to the battlefield. Bāṇa mentions Avanti as the incumbent of this office.

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II. *Mahābalādhikrita*, or officer in supreme command of the army.

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III. *Balādhikrita*, or commander.

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IV. *Senāpati*, literally “lord or chief of the army,” i.e., a general.¹ The *Harṣacarita* gives his name as Simhanāda.

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¹ *C. I. I.*, III, p. 167.

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V. *Brihadaśvarāra*, or the head-cavalry officer. He is called Kuntala in the *Harṣacarita*.

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VI. *Kaṭuka*, or commandant of the elephant force. Bāṇa names him Skandagupta. Mr. Y. R. Gupte, on the other hand, says that *Kaṭukas* “apparently mean any persons (officers, members of a religious assembly not generally held in respect at the time, etc.) who are disagreeable to the public.”²

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² *Ep. Ind.*, XIII, p. 117, Note 9.

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VII. *Pāti* (*Pāṭhī*)-*pati*, or “superintendents of soldiers’ barracks.”

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VIII. *Cāṭa-bhaṭa*, or irregular and regular soldiers.³ Vogel, however, thinks that *Cāṭa* is equivalent to modern *Cār* or “head of a pargana responsible for the internal management of a district for the collection of revenue and the apprehension of criminals.” According to the same scholar *bhaṭa*, which is usually compounded with *Cāṭa*, should be taken to mean “an official subordinate to the head of a pargana.”⁴

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³ Bühler, *Ind. Ant.*, (V), 1876, p. 115 Note; Fleet, *C. I. I.*, III, p. 98, Note 2.

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⁴ *Antiquities of the Camba State*, Part I, pp. 131-32. Indraji translates the term as “Cāṭān prati bhaṭaḥ,” i.e., soldiers against robbers (*Ind. Ant.*, IX, p. 175, Note 41).

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IX. *Yāma-ceṭis* or *Yāmakinyaḥ* or “women-watchers of the night.”

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X. *Dūta*, i.e., Envoy or Ambassador. His duty was to promote and foster friendly relations between different states. For instance, we learn from the Harṣacarita that the king of Assam sent one Haṁsavega to conclude an “imperishable alliance” with Harṣa.

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XI. Rājasthānīya, literally it denotes an officer who had to deal with other Rājasthānas or kingdoms, i.e., Foreign Secretary¹. A better meaning would be a Viceroy or Governor, since in the Mandasor inscription (Fleet, C. I. I., No. 35) the term “Rājasthāna” is used in the sense of a province. The explanation of the word in the Lokaprakāśa (iv), as given by Bühler, is : “Prajā pālanārtham-udvahati rakṣayati ca sa rājasthānīyaḥ,” i.e., “He, who carries out the object of protecting subjects and shelters them, is called a Rājasthānīya.”² From this description it is clear that this office must have been an important one and invested with considerable authority. It is, however, curious that in the Maliya grant of Dharasena II (Fleet’s No. 38) and in the Deo-Baranārk inscription (No. 42) the Rājasthānīya is mentioned rather low down in the list of officials.

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¹ Indraji, Bom. Gaz., Vol. I, pt. I, p. 82.

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² Ind. Ant., V, p. 207. According to Dr. Stein, this officer was equivalent to a modern chief justice (Rājat., Trans. Bk. VII, p. 316, Note).

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XII. Kumārāmātya, literally a counsellor of the prince.³ But it may also be explained as “Kaumārād ārabhya amātyaḥ,” or “one who was in the service of the king from the time when he was a boy.”⁴ This office frequently occurs in Gupta records, and so some scholars interpret it as referring to the princes of the blood royal “who formed a council of the nobles, and who were consulted by the ruling chiefs on points of imperial importance.”⁵

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³ C. I. I., III, p. 16, Note 7.

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⁴ Bloch, Ep. Ind., X, p. 50, Note 2.

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⁵ Ibid., XI, p. 176. Bühler translated it as “princes and ministers” (Ind. Ant., IV, p. 175).

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XIII. Uparika. This, along with Mahārāja, was an official title of the Governor of a province;¹ hence its holder may be considered equivalent to a provincial governor. Probably the Emperor himself appointed this exalted functionary. At any rate, such was the case in the Gupta times, as is clear from the expression “tatpāda-parigrahita.”

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¹ Ep. Ind., XV, pp. 114, 127, etc.

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XIV. Viṣayapati, i.e., the head of a Viṣaya corresponding roughly to a modern district. We do not know who appointed them during the reign of Harṣa, but some light with regard to their position may be thrown on the basis of the Gupta records. It appears from the Damodarapur copper plates that the Viṣayapatis were known as “tanniyuktakas,” and were directly responsible to the provincial governors. They had their headquarters in Adhiṣṭhānas (towns), where their offices (adhikaraṇas) were located. These grants also reveal to us another interesting fact that these District officers were assisted in their administration (saṁvyavahāra) by a Board of four Advisers representing the principal local interests of those times, viz.,

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(a) Nagara-Sreṣṭhin, who probably represented the upper ten of the urban population.

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(b) Sārthavāha—the chief merchant, perhaps representing the trade-guilds.

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(c) Prathama-Kulika—the chief artisan, who was the spokesman of the artisan classes.

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(d) Prathama-Kāyastha—the chief scribe, probably a representative of the scribes as a class.

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XV. Mahattara, literally meaning one high in rank, from which it presumably came to connote those who were the recognised headmen of the village.² They were prominent by either ability, age, experience, or wealth.

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² Ep. Ind., XV, p. 136; Ind. Ant., 1910, p. 213. The Life informs us that Ta-kwan or official guides also bore the designation Mo-ho-ta-lo, (see p. 189).

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XVI. *Pramātri*, literally “a person fit to perceive or judge” from root *mā*; hence it may mean an officer entrusted with justice. Some scholars think it denoted an officer whose work was to make a survey of the land. Bühler, on the other hand, translates it as “spiritual councillor.”¹

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, I, p. 118, Note 36.

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XVII. *Dauṣsādhanika*, literally one who undertook difficult tasks. If, however, this term is identical with “Dauṣsādhika” or “Dauḥsādhasādhanika,” we may with Dr. R. G. Basak render it as “porter or superintendent of villages.”²

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² *Ibid.*, XII, pp. 43, 141.

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XVIII. *Bhogika* or *Bhogapati*, i.e., one responsible for the collection of the *bhoga* or the state share of the land produce taken in kind, as a rule one-sixth. Fleet, however, was of opinion that “in the inscriptions it is a technical official title, possibly connected with the territorial terms Bhoga and Bhukti.”³ Another scholar, Dr. R. G. Basak, explains the word by “groom.”⁴

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³ *C. I. I.*, III, p. 100, Note 2.

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⁴ *Ep. Ind.* XII, p. 43; see also Monier-Williams’ *Sanskrit Dictionary*.

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XIX. *Aynktaka*, literally meaning appointed. This term was probably applied to minor officials of the government. The word “āyukta” or “āyuktaka” occurs in Pāṇini’s *Aṣṭādhyāyī* (II, 3, 40) where it denotes a person appointed to some small work of a special character. Dr. Thomas has also pointed out that in the *Arthaśāstra* “yukta” or “yuktaka” occurs in the sense of a minor official.⁵ It may further be held that the Āyuktakas were identical with the “Āyuktapuruṣas” mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta (line 26).

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⁵ *J. R. A. S.*, 1909, p. 467.

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XX. *Mahāpratīhāra*, i.e., Chief warder or Usher. This officer invariably finds mention in records, which shows that he must have been an important figure in the states of ancient India. According to the *Harṣacarita*, Pāriyātra was Harṣa’s “chief of the doorkeepers.”

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XXI. *Pratīhāra* or Chamberlain.

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XXII. *Mīmāṃsakas*, or justices. Or, were they interpreters of *Mīmāṃsā* or sacred philosophy?¹

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XIV, p. 325.

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XXIII. *Dīrghādhvaga*, i.e., express couriers,² who “continually went and returned.”³ They used to deliver messages pretty quickly, as for instance, we learn from the *Life* that a messenger sent by Kumārarāja of Kāmarūpa (Assam) was able to present a letter to Śilabhadra at Nalanda after two days only.⁴

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² *Hc.*, ed. by Führer (Bombay, 1909), p. 223; *Hc. C. T.*, p. 145.

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³ Beal, I, p. 215.

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⁴ *Life*, p. 169.

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XXIV. *Lekhahāraka*, or letter-carrier. This term is also found in the *Harṣacarita*,⁵ but we do not know with certainty whether it was synonymous with *Dīrghādhvaga* or denoted a separate class of couriers.

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⁵ *Hc.*, (Calcutta edition), p. 600; *Hc. C. T.*, p. 223.

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XXV. *Sarvagataḥ*,⁶ literally denoting going everywhere. They were probably officers of the secret service.

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⁶ *Hc.*, (Bombay, 1909), p. 57; *Hc. C. T.*, p. 27.

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XXVI. *Grāmākṣapaṭalika*, or the village notary. It may be noted that it was the village notary who presented to Harṣa “a new-made golden seal with a bull for its emblem” on the occasion of his first haṣt.⁷

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⁷ *Hc.*, p. 274; *Hc. C. T.*, p. 198.

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XXVII. *Akṣapaṭalika*, or keeper of records. Yuan Chwang also mentions that there are separate custodians for the archives and records. “The official annals and state papers are called collectively *Ni-lo-pi-tu* (or *ca*); in these good and bad are recorded, and instances of public calamity and good fortune are set forth in detail."¹

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¹ Watters, I, p. 154.

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XXVIII. *Mahākṣapaṭalādhikaraṇādhikrita*, i.e., office of "one appointed to the post of notary-in-chief. This expression occurs in the Banskhera and Madhuban copper plates, which respectively name this officer Mahāsāmanta Mahārāja Bhānu and Sāmanta Mahārāja Īśvaragupta.

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XXIX. *Pustakakrit* or *Pustakrit*.² In the Damodarpur copper plates the term "Pustapāla" occurs. According to Dr. R. G. Basak they were "those who were made aware of the title to all lands. The Govt. sanctioned land-sales only after these record-keepers had, on receipt of application from purchasers, determined the title to the land under proposal of transfer and sent in their report to the government." (*Ep. Ind.*, XV, p. 128).

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² *Hc.*, ed. by Führer (Bombay, 1909), p. 67; *Hc. C. T.*, p. 33.

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XXX. *Lekhaka*, or writer.³

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³ *Ibid.*

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XXXI. *Karaṇi* or *Karaṇika*, i.e., clerk.⁴ He was probably responsible for drafting documents (*Karaṇa*). It is worth noticing that certain Candrāsenīya Kāyastha Prabhus of the Deccan, who are supposed to have migrated from Oudh in the United Provinces, still bear the surname Karṇika or Karaṇika.⁵

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⁴ *Hc.*, p. 274; *Hc. C. T.*, p. 198.

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, XVIII, p. 224, Note 1.

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XXXII. *Dūtaka*. This was the designation of an officer employed in connection with formal grants. His duty, as remarked by Fleet, "was to carry, not the actual charter itself, for delivery into the hand of the grantee but the king's sanction and order to the local officials, whose duty it then was to have the charter drawn up and delivered.”¹ The *Dūtaka* of the Banskhera copper plate was Mahāpramātā Mahāsāmanta-Srī-Skandagupta. It was signed by Harṣa himself, as is clear from the expression “Svahasto mama Mahārājādhirāja Śrī-Harṣasya” i.e., “given under my own hand and seal.”

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¹ *C. I. I.*, III, p. 100, Note 3.

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XXXIII. Bāṇa also mentions the *Adhyakṣas*, which shows that probably the subordinate officials were under their departmental superintendents.

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XXXIV. *Sevaka*. This term occurs in the Banskhera and Madhuban charters, and perhaps denotes any menial servant in state employ.

Territorial divisions

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According to the inscriptions of Harṣa the country was divided for administrative purposes into the following divisions :—

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(a) *Bhukti*, i.e., province or division, as for instance the Śrāvasti *Bhukti*, or the Ahicchatra *Bhukti* mentioned in the Madhuban and Banskhera grants respectively.

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(b) The *Bhukti* was further subdivided into *Viṣayas* corresponding to modern districts. The Madhuban record gives us the name of Kuṇḍadhāni *Viṣaya*, whereas the Banskhera copper plate mentions the Angadīya *Viṣaya*

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(c) *Pathaka*.² This was a still smaller territorial term perhaps of the size of the present day Tahsil or Talukā.

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² See the Banskhera inscription.

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(d) *Grāma* or village. This was the lowest unit of administration in ancient times, as it is even now. We have for example the Soma-Kuṇḍa-kā-grāma in the Madhuban charter.

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Regarding the general features of the government, it appears that it was founded on benign principles. Yuan Chwang was impressed favourably, and he observes: “As the Government is generous official requirements are few. Families are not registered, and individuals are not subject to forced labour contributions . . . . . Taxation being light, and forced service being sparingly used, every one keeps to his hereditary occupation and attends to his patrimony”¹ The people were thus left to grow in their own surroundings free and unfettered by the shackles of over-government. Harṣa being “just in his administration, and punctilious in the discharge of his duties,”² society was not choked by a grinding bureaucracy, or overburdened by a heavy system of taxation. The main source of revenue was the traditional one-sixth of the produce,³ and “light duties at ferries and barrier stations,”⁴ paid by tradesmen, who went to and fro bartering their merchandise. The Madhuban and Banskhera grants tell us of other dues, viz., the *Tulya-meya* (taxes depending on the weight and measure of the commodities); *Bhāgabhogakarahiraṇyādi* (share of the enjoyment or produce, payments in cash, and other kinds of income.⁵

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¹ Watters, I, p. 176. Yuan Chwang does not mention these conditions in relation to any particular kingdom, but probably he had Kanauj—the leading state of that time—in view.

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² *Ibid.*, p. 343.

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³ *Ibid.*, p. 176; cf. *Manusmriti*, VII, 130-31; VIII, 308.

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⁴ Watters, I, p. 176.

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, I, pp. 73, 75; *Ibid.*, IV, p. 211. See also *Infra*.

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The enlightened nature of Harṣa’s government may further be judged by its expenditure. It is indeed remarkable that besides other items, liberal provision was made for charity to various religious communities. “Of the royal land,” says Yuan Chwang, “there is a four-fold division. One part is for the expenses of government and state-worship, one for endowment of great public servants, one to reward high intellectual eminence, and one for acquiring religious merit by gifts to various sects”¹ With regard to payment of officials we are told that “ministers of state and common officials all have their portion of land, and are maintained by the cities assigned to them,” but “those who are employed in the government service are paid according to their work.”²

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¹ Watters, I, p. 176.

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² Ibid., pp. 176-77.

Criminal administration

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Owing to the well-organised character of the government there do not seem to have been many instances of violent crime. Yuan Chwang testifies to this rather amazing fact : “As the government is honestly administered and the people live together on good terms the criminal class is small.”³ But the roads and river routes were by no means immune from bands of brigands, Yuan Chwang himself being stripped by them more than once. At one time, when the pilgrim had proceeded eastward from Ayodhyā (not very distant from Kanauj) and was going down the Ganges with about eighty other fellow-passengers on board a ship, the robbers selected him on account of his handsome form as an offering to the goddess Durgā, whom they paid worship; and it was fortunately through the intercession of Nature that he escaped meeting a cruel death at their hands. We learn that all of a sudden a “black tempest” (typhoon) arose, which terrified the pirates, and interpreting it as an indication of divine anger they sincerely felt repentance for their evil ways and not only spared Yuan Chwang’s life but also “took on themselves the five obligations of a lay-believer.”¹

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³ Watters, I, p. 171.

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¹ *Life*, pp. 86-90. This incident clearly proves that human sacrifices to propitiate the gods or goddesses were then not unknown. Bāṇa also at one place refers to them (*Hc. C. T.*, p. 92). ² *Life*, p. 73. ³ Watters, I, p. 172. ⁴ *Hc. C. T.*, p. 111. ⁵ Watters, I, p. 172; Beal, I, pp. 83-84.

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Once while he was in the Panjab, Yuan Chwang had similarly to encounter a band of fifty bandits in a great forest of *Po-lo-che* trees (Palāśas) near the town of *Che-kia-lo* (Sākala). He and his companions were deprived of all their clothes and goods, and hotly pursued by the gang with drawn swords. A Brahman peasant, who appeared on the scene with eighty armed men just at the right time, however, saved their lives and dispersed the robbers².

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The law against crime appears to have been exceptionally severe. Imprisonment for life was the ordinary penalty for transgressions of the statute law and conspiracy against the sovereign, and we are informed that the prisoners were so cruelly treated that they were not at all considered as members of the community.³ The *Harṣacarita* on the other hand refers to the custom of releasing prisoners on festive and joyous occasions. Thus Harṣa’s birth saw “disorderly crowds of freed prisoners, their faces hairy with long matted beards.”⁴ The other punishments were more sanguinary than in the Gupta period: “For offences against social morality, and disloyal and unfilial conduct, the punishment is to cut off the nose, or an ear, or a hand, or a foot, or to banish the offender to another country or into the wilderness.”⁵ Minor offences could be “atoned for by a money payment.” Ordeals by water, fire, weighing, or poison, were esteemed as efficient instruments to determine the innocence or guilt of an accused person, and the Chinese pilgrim apparently describesthem with approval.¹ The severity of the criminal administration was no doubt largely responsible for the infrequency of violations of the law, but it may also have been due to the character of the Indian people, who are described as of “pure moral principles.” Yuan Chwang adds: “They will not take anything wrongfully, and they yield more than fairness requires. They fear the retribution for sins in other lives, and make light of what conduct produces in this life. They do not practise deceit and they keep their sworn obligations.”²

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¹ Watters, I, p. 172; Beal, I, p. 84.

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² Watters, I, p. 171; Beal, I, p. 83. For a discussion on Harṣa’s administrative system, see also Dr. R. K. Mookerji, Harṣa (p. 84 f.) where the author has copiously supplemented it by the evidence of the Gupta inscriptions.

Kanauj under Harṣa

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The prosperity and importance of Kanauj, so well begun during the time of the Maukharis, grew tremendously under Harṣa; and it now easily became the premier city of Northern India supplanting Pāṭaliputra, the older centre, through which the main currents of political life had flowed since the days of the Buddha. To the observant eyes of a foreigner it must have appeared as a great cosmopolitan town, whose inhabitants were equally divided between orthodoxy and heterodoxy. There were one hundred Buddhist monasteries with more than 10,000 brethren who were students of both the “Vehicles.” The Deva-temples amounted to more than two hundred, and the non-Buddhists were several thousands in number.³ The town itself had grown to enormous proportions. With the river Ganges flowing down its western base Kanauj was above twenty *li* in length and four or five *li* in breadth (i.e., about five miles long and 1¼ miles broad). According to the traditional practice the city was very strongly defended by quadrangular walls, broad and high, and had lofty structures everywhere. "There were beautiful gardens and tanks of clear water, and in it rarities from strange lands were collected".¹ Yuan Chwang is silent regarding further details of the appearance of the metropolis, but the following general description of the system of town-planning then in vogue may be of some interest in this connection: "The thoroughfares are narrow tortuous passages. The shops are on the highways and booths (or, inns) line the roads. Butchers, fishermen, public performers, executioners, and scavengers have their habitations marked by a distinguishing sign. They are forced to live outside the city and they sneak along on the left when going about in the hamlets".² Thus people following certain occupations were segregated, and these regulations must have doubtless been galling to them. As to the construction of houses in Kanauj, we must here refer to the general character of Indian buildings described by Yuan Chwang. "Their halls and terraced belvederes have wooden flatroofed rooms, and are coated with *chunam*, and covered with tiles burnt or unburnt. They are of extraordinary height." But the more modest dwellings "thatched with coarse or common grass are of bricks or boards; their walls are ornamented with *chunam*; the floor is purified with cow-dung and strewn with flowers of the season."³ They were onthe whole comfortable and simple, or in the words of Yuan Chwang “sumptuous inside and economical outside.” The houses of the rich were probably decorated and whitewashed on ceremonious occasions. Bāṇa at any rate informs us that at the time of Rājyaśrī’s marriage painters “painted auspicious scenes” and workmen “mounted on ladders, with brushes upheld in their hands and plaster pails on their shoulders, whitened the top of the street wall of the palace”¹ at Thanesvar.

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³ Watters, I, p. 340; Beal, I, p. 207

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¹ Watters, I, p. 340; Beal, I, p. 206.

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² Watters, I, p. 147; Beal, I, pp. 73-74.

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³ Watters, I, p. 147; Beal, I, p. 74.

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¹ Hc. C. T., p. 124.

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The wealth and prosperity of Kanauj was further manifest in the people who “had a refined appearance and dressed in glossy silk attire.”² There were families with great wealth. Fruit and flowers were abundant. Yuan Chwang describes the usual clothing of the Indians thus: “The men wind a strip of cloth round the waist and up to the armpits and leave the right shoulder bare. The women wear a long robe which covers both shoulders and falls down loose.”³ It is, however, remarkable that the inner and outer dress had no tailoring. As to colour, the people preferred fresh white garments and did not at all esteem motley or embroidered. The inhabitants varied in their personal tastes. Some clipped their moustaches; others adopted fantastic fashions. They wore garlands on their heads and necklaces on their bodies.⁴

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² Watters, I, p. 340; Beal, I, p. 207. Yuan Chwang mentions four kinds of cloths, viz., Kiao-shê-ye (Kauseya) or silk; Ch‘u-mo (Kṣauma) or linen; Han (Kan)-po-lo (Kambala) or woollen texture; Ho-la-li (Ral ?) being a texture made from the wool of a wild animal (‘-atters, I, p. 148; Beal, I, p. 75). Bāṇa speaks of soft textures of linen, cotton, bark-silk, spider’s thread, muslin, and shot silk(Hc. C. T., p. 125).

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³ Watters, I, p. 148; Beal, I, p. 75.

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⁴ Ibid. Bāṇa mentions jewelled rings, earrings, necklaces, armlets etc. as ornaments (Hc. C. T., pp. 92, 97).

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Lastly we are told that the citizens were given to learning and the arts, while they were clear and suggestive in discourse. Thus says Yuan Chwang in praise of the people of “Mid India” (which term probably stands for Kanauj and adjacent territories) at this time: “They are pre-eminently explicit and correct in speech, their expressions being harmonious and elegant, like those of the Devas, and their intonation clear and distinct serving as rule and pattern for others.”¹ The monasteries also at Kanauj were far-famed as repositories of learning. One such college was the Bhadravihāra, where Yuan Chwang stayed for three months studying under the direction of Viryasena, a celebrated doctor of the Three Piṭakas.² In short, Kanauj was under Harṣa the centre of culture and crafts, power and politics, religion and riches; while its grandeur was apparently so great that according to the *Cach-Nāma* long afterwards the expression “you want Kanauj” passed into a proverb, meaning “you want the impossible.”³

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¹ Watters, I, p. 153; Beal, I, p. 77.

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² *Life*, p. 84.

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³ English Translation, p. 52.

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