History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c13.s2.t2.17

c13.s2.t2.17

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