History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c13.s2.t2.6

c13.s2.t2.6

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