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History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c13.s2: Section B

History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c13.s2

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English

Contents

Section B

Quinquennial distributions at Prayāga

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³ The account of the Prayāga assembly is based on the *Life* (pp. 183-87).

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When the special assembly at Kanauj broke up, Yuan Chwang began to make preparations for his homeward journey, but Harṣa invited him to attend another imposing ceremony, which the sovereign used to hold every five years at Prayāga at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna. The ultra-sacredness of this site “due to the crescent-shaped formation of the land, where the two holy rivers united, went back to the earliest vedic times;”⁴ and as it was thought “more advantageous to give one mite in charity in this place than a thousand in any other place,”⁵ this spot had come to be known as the “Arena of Charitable Offerings.”⁶ Harṣa explained to his illustrious guest that during the last thirty years he had celebrated five of these great quinquennial distributions of alms called the Mahā-mokṣa Pariṣad, and it was now time to hold the sixth. Yuan Chwang, although homesick, was too religiously-minded to refuse Harṣa’s invitation to witness this display of charity wherein the accumulated treasure would be freely distributed to the poor and needy, as well as to the devout of all denominations. He, therefore, agreed to be present at that unique function saying, “if Your Majesty does not grudge his treasure for the good of others, how can Yuan Chwang grudge a short delay (in his departure).”¹ Attended by the “kings of eighteen kingdoms” and by Yuan Chwang, Harṣa then arrived in *Po-lo-ye-kia* or Prayāga to find already assembled there a huge concourse of people amounting to about 500,000—Śramaṇas, heretics, Nirgranthas, the poor, the orphans, and the solitary (bereaved) of the Five Indias who had been summoned by an imperial decree.² The “Great Distribution Arena” was the vast sandy plain, fourteen or fifteen *li* in circuit, bounded on the north by the Ganges (*King-kia*), and on the south by the Jumna (*Yen-mu-na*). The arrangements for the solemn ceremonial were completed before the arrival of the royal cortége. A great square space was marked off by a bamboo hedge 1,000 paces on each side, and in the middle “many scores of thatched buildings” were erected to deposit all the treasures (intended for distribution); to wit, gold, silver, fine pearls, red glass, and other valuables; while the less costly articles such as silk and cotton garments, the gold and silver money; were placed in “several hundred store-houses” constructed by the side of the above. Outside this quadrangle were pavilions for refreshments, and there were also constructed “some hundred or so long buildings ...in which some thousand people might sit down for rest.”¹ Besides these numerous erections, there was the tent of Harṣa pitched on the north bank of the Ganges, and that of Tu-lu-po-pa-cha (Dhruvabhaṭa), “king of South India,” who had located himself on the west of the junction of the two mighty rivers. The camp of the king of Assam was on the south side of the Jumna, whereas the space lying to the west of the Valabhi camp was occupied by the numerous people who had collected there to receive the royal bounty. The proceedings of this grand assembly lasted for seventy-five days, commencing with a military procession of the followers of Harṣa and of Kumārarāja, embarked in ships, and the attendants of Dhruvabhaṭa mounted on elephants, which proceeded in an impressive array to the scene of the distribution. The “Kings of the eighteen countries” followed in the order previously arranged.

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⁴ E. B. Havell, *Aryan Rule in India*, p. 204.

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⁵ *Life*, p. 184.

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⁶ It was also called the “Field of great Beneficence” (*Life*, p. 90), or “the Grand Arena of Largesse” (Watters, I, p. 364).

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¹ *Life*, p. 184.

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² *Ibid.*, p. 185.

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¹ Life, p. 185.

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The religious services were of the curiously eclectic kind so characteristic of Hindu society and worship. On the first day the image of the Buddha was set up in one of the temporary shrines built upon the sands; flowers were offered, and vast quantities of precious articles and clothing of the finest quality were lavishly distributed. On the second day the image of Ādityadeva (Sun) was worshipped with similar rites; and on the third day the image of Īśvara-deva (Śiva) received adoration, but in each case the gifts bestowed were of only half the value of those consecrated to the Buddha on the opening day. On the fourth day began the distribution of the stupendous treasures thus dedicated to the service of the divinity. To each of the selected ten thousand of the “religious community” (Buddhist monks probably) were given one hundred pieces of gold, one pearl, one cotton garment, various drinks and meats; flowers and perfumes. During the next twenty days the Brahmans were the recipients of generous gifts. The next ten days were reserved for the bestowal of largess on those described in the *Life* as “heretics,” i.e., probably Jains and members of other sects.¹ The same number of days were spent on bestowing alms upon those mendicants who had come from distant countries, whilst it took a month to distribute charity to the poor, the orphans, and the destitute. By this time nothing was left of all the surplus of the imperial coffers that had accumulated in the previous five years. There now remained only the horses, elephants, and military accoutrements of the imperial forces, “which were necessary for maintaining order and protecting the royal estate.”² Then in imitation of the Prince Siddhārtha Gautama at the hour of his great Renunciation, Harṣa freely and without stint gave away his gems and goods, his clothing and necklaces, earrings and bracelets, chaplets, neck-jewel, and bright head-jewel.³ The Chinese author, Hwui-li, informs us in conclusion that “all being given away, he (Harṣa) begged from his sister (Rājyaśrī) an ordinary second-hand garment, and having put it on he paid worship to the Buddhas of the ten regions,” and rejoiced that his treasure had thus been exhausted in the “field of religious merit.”⁴ At the close of the “magnificent convocations” the assembled kings redeemed by their money Harṣa’s regalia, court vestments, and other costly presents from the persons on whom they had been bestowed, and restored them to the king. Harṣa, however, after the lapse of a few days again distributed them, and thus established a record in individual charity and liberality hardly equalled in history.¹

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¹ For an idea of the variety of religious sects, see Appendix I.

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² *Life*, p. 186.

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³ *Ibid.*, p. 187.

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⁴ *Ibid.*

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¹ But this sort of munificence must have been a heavy drain on the treasury. Was it, therefore, responsible for the sudden collapse of the kingdom after Harṣa’s death?

Yuan Chwang’s departure

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After the successful termination of the proceedings of the Prayāga convocation Yuan Chwang begged leave to depart, and his request was granted on condition that he would stay yet another ten days as the state guest of the king of Kanauj. Harṣa suggested to the Chinese pilgrim that if he selected the southern sea-route,² i.e., by way of Java or Sumatra, he should be accompanied by official attendants, but Yuan Chwang preferred to return by the northern road. Both the sovereigns of Kanauj and Assam offered the Master of the Law every sort of valuable gift; he, however, declined to accept anything except a cape called *ho-la-li* of coarse skin designed as a protection from rain. Thus he took his departure, and Harṣa saw him off with a large retinue for a long distance. He also provided his honoured guest with a military escort of “a king of North India called Udhita” to carry the books and images on horseback, but the advance being slow king Śīlāditya afterwards “attached to the escort of Udhitarāja a great elephant, with three thousand gold pieces and ten thousand silver pieces”³ to meet the necessary expenses of the pilgrim’s arduous journey overland to China. This separation from his spiritual instructor troubled Harṣa, and three days later he, in company with Kumārarāja, Dhruvabhaṭa, and several hundred horsemen, overtook Yuan Chwang in order to spend a little more time with him before taking final leave. The great sovereign of Kanauj then commanded four *Ta-kwan* (official guides) called *Mo-ho-ta-lo* (Mahattaras), giving them letters on "fine white cotton stuff and sealed with red wax," which they were ordered to present "in all countries through which they conducted the Master, to the end that the princes of these countries might provide carriages or modes of conveyance to escort the Master even to the borders of China."¹ Thus the fame and influence of the Kanauj monarch had extended to far-off lands, and their rulers were ready to comply with his wishes.

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² This was the route followed by Fa-hian on his return journey home. It also shows that sea-voyages were common, and Harṣa’s administration was quite familiar with the sea-route to China.

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³ *Life*, p. 189.

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¹ *Ibid.*, p. 190.

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Harṣa's religion and devotion

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From an account of Harṣa's benevolent activities we pass on to a consideration of his system of beliefs, which urged him to scorn delights incidental to his position, and work untiringly for the moral progress and material well-being of his subjects. It may at the outset be mentioned that Harṣa did not inherit Buddhism. His father, Prabhākaravardhana was an ardent devotee of the Sun, and "kneeling eastwards upon the ground in a circle smeared with saffron paste" he daily offered to that luminary "a bunch of red lotuses set in a pure vessel of ruby and tinged, like his own heart, with the sun's hue."² This fact is confirmed by the Sonpat seal and the Madhuban and Banskhera inscriptions, which apply the epithet "paramādityabhaktaḥ" to Prabhākara. We also learn from these epigraphs that Harṣa's grandfather Ādityavardhana, and great-grand-father Rājyavardhana were votaries of the Sun. The Harṣacarita further testifies that Harṣa's remote ancestor Puṣpabhūti "entertained a great, almost inborn, devotion towards Siva the adorable."¹ We have even grounds to believe that Harṣa himself, was in his earlier days a devotee of the god Siva. When he started on his campaign he "had with deep devotion offered worship to the adorable Nilalohita," and "bestowed upon Brahmans sesamum vessels of precious stones, silver, and gold in thousands."² At the time of his first halt the golden seal presented to him by the village notary was inscribed with the emblem of a bull,³ which is regarded in Hindu mythology as the Vāhana or carrier of Siva. Similarly, there is the reclining Nandi symbol on the Sonpat copper seal of Harṣa. It was also probably due to his Saiva tendencies that he complimented the king of Assam through the latter's envoy saying "to whom save Siva need he pay homage? This resolve of his increases my affection."⁴ But the most important testimony is that of the copper plates—Banskhera plate of the year 22 of his reign = 628 A. D., and Madhuban plate of the year 25 i.e., 631 A. D.—which definitely call Harṣa a "Paramamāheśvara" or a devout worshipper of the god Maheśvara or Siva.⁵

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² *Hc.* C. T., p. 104.

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¹ Ibid., p. 84.

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² Ibid., p. 197.

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³ Ibid., p. 198.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 219. Cf. "Harāt-ṛite kam-anyam namasyati. Saṃvardhitā me prītiḥ amunā saṃkalpena..." (Hc., Cal. ed., p. 589).

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⁵ Ep. Ind., IV, p. 211; I, pp. 72, 74. These documents record Harṣa's grants of villages to orthodox vedic Brahmans, thus pointing to his Brahmanist proclivities.

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In his latter years, however, Harṣa appears to have inclined towards Buddhism, and eventually adopted it with a coating of a curious sort of eclecticism. It is difficult to determine what inner feelings and compunctions of conscience brought about this mighty religious transformation; but there seems little doubt that his earlier repeated calamities, his protracted campaigns of violence and bloodshed, his fondness for his dead brother Rājyavardhana, a "paramasaugata," and his association with his sister Rājyaśrī, also an earnest Buddhist, stimulated his interest in the Buddha's gospel of peace and non-violence. Probably the philosophy of the Sammatiya school of Buddhism, of which Rājyaśrī was an exponent,¹ originally held the chief place in Harṣa's affections, but after meeting with Yuan Chwang and listening to his brilliant exposition of the doctrines of the Mahāyāna he transferred his allegiance to this "advanced" school. Thenceforward he stood as its redoubtable champion, and convoked a special assembly at Kānyakubja for the avowed purpose of exhibiting "the refinements of the great Vehicle" and of making "manifest the exceeding merit of the Master." On this occasion Harṣa also showed some amount of open partiality and narrow sectarian spirit for the Mahāyāna. He interdicted and stifled free discussion on the pretext that the Chinese pilgrim's life was in danger, and further offered a slight to the chief gods of the Brahmans—Sakra and Brahmā—by representing them as mere attendants on the Buddha during the celebrations. The Si-yu-ki even states that the assembled Brahmans, who "had scarcely been spoken to," felt so keenly insulted at their neglect that they hatched an unsuccessful plot to kill the king.² It must not, however, be understood that henceforth Harṣa became a sort of royal missionary, like Aśoka, preaching and propagating the Dharma with the aid of his vast resources. On the contrary, he maintained the eclectic character of his public worship, and officially honoured the Brahmanical deities of Āditya (sun) and Śiva in the Prayāga gathering. He also made handsome gifts to the Brahmans, although it is true that the Buddhists had the first place in his scheme of charities. As proof of Harṣa's catholicity we may add here the information furnished by Yuan Chwang that the former was accustomed to provide viands every day for 500 Brahmans along with 1,000 Buddhists at the "royal lodges" during his tours.¹

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¹ Life, p. 176.

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² See supra.

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

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Among other activities of Harṣa which betray his special favour and marked leanings towards Buddhism, we may first mention his "forcible" appropriation of the tooth-relic of the Buddha from Kashmir, and its subsequent enshrinement in a *Sanghārāma* in Kanauj.² Yuan Chwang also notes some of Harṣa's measures, calculated to promote the well-being of the Buddhist order and give an impetus to its propagation. We are told that "once a year he summoned all the Buddhist monks together, and for twenty-one days supplied them with the regulation requisites. He furnished the chapels and liberally adorned the common halls of the monasteries. He brought the Brethren together for examination and discussion, giving rewards and punishments according to merit and demerit."³ Yuan Chwang adds further that the best and most learned of them were "advanced to the Lion's Throne" (i.e., promoted to the highest places), and Harṣa considered them as his spiritual guides. Those who were merely perfect in the observance of the ceremonial rules were "honoured with formal reverence." But others guilty of unbecoming conduct were "banished from his presence and from the country."⁴ Indeed, Harṣa was so interested in the right diffusion and dissemination of the Buddhist doctrine that at one time, having noticed the ascendancy of the Hīnayāna in Orissa, he sent for four eminent doctors from the Nalanda convent in order to overthrow in discussion the upholders of that system. In response to his message Śīlabhadra, "the treasure of the true doctrine," commissioned Sāgaramatī, Prajñārasmi, Simharasmi, and the Master of the Law; but before they could start on their mission Harṣa sent word to the effect: "There is no immediate pressure for my former request; let them wait, and afterwards come here."¹ Again, we are informed that Harṣa erected thousands of topes on the banks of the Ganges, and Buddhist monasteries at the sacred places of the Buddhists.² These structures, the construction and multiplication of which was so dear to the heart of every believing Buddhist in order to gain merit, were perhaps built of very flimsy materials, and so they have not been able to withstand the ravages of time and nature. Their disappearance may also be due to the fact that they lay in the track of the hosts of Islam, and were exposed to their iconoclastic zeal. In conclusion, we may mention some promulgations of Harṣa, which had a distinctly Buddhist flavour. The king of Kanauj is represented to have "practised to the utmost the rules of temperance" and "sought to plant the tree of religious merit to such an extent that he forgot to sleep or to eat."³ He also prohibited the taking of life and the use of animal food under severe penalties.⁴ Further, Harṣa copied the benevolent institutions of Aśoka, and "in all the highways of the towns and villages throughout India he erected hospices (*puṇyaśālās*), provided with food and drink, and stationed there physicians, with medicines for travellers and poor persons round about, to be given without any stint.”¹ Thus Harṣa anticipated the deeds of modern Christianity,² and his lively sympathy with all creatures, human and animal, found powerful expression in the extensive provision of relief that he made throughout his dominions for the sick, the dumb, and the distressed. As a result of Harṣa’s benevolent exertions and untiring attentions there was a marked growth of Buddhism in Kanauj, though it was visibly on the wane in other centres. While Fa-hian in the early quarter of the fifth century A. D. could find only two monasteries of small consequence in Kanauj, Yuan Chwang after the lapse of just over a couple of centuries notices as many as a hundred “with more than 10,000 Brethren who were students of both the “Vehicles.”³

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² *Life*, pp. 181, 183.

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³ Watters, I, p. 344; Beal, I, pp. 214-15.

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⁴ Ibid.

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¹ *Life*, pp. 160-61.

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² Watters, I, p. 344.

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³ Beal, I, p. 214; Watters, I, p. 344.

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⁴ *Ibid.*; *Ibid.*

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¹ Beal, I, p. 214.

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² On the strength of a remark of Dr. Edkins, quoted in the *Athenaeum*, 3rd July, 1880, p. 8, Dr. R. K. Mookerji makes the statement that Harṣa “had some touch with Christianity too” (*Harṣa*, p. 145, Note 1). The learned Professor, however, has entirely misunderstood the sense. The passage referred to informs us that the same emperor who welcomed the pilgrim Yuan Chwang *on his return from India*, laden with Sanskrit manuscripts, “received with equal favour the Syrian Christians, Alopen, and his companions, who had arrived in A. D. 639.” It is thus evident that we have here a distinct reference to the Emperor of China, and not to Harṣa (See also my article in *J. R. A. S.*, July, 1928, p. 629). The same misapprehension occurs in *Ind. Ant.*, XII, p. 232, Note 19; Max Müller’s *India, What can it teach us?* p. 286, Note 4.

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³ See Appendix I.

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