The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c17.12.5

c17.12.5

let them bend their heads or their bows, grace their ears with my commands or their bowstrings; crown their heads with the dust of my feet or with helmets."³ Such was the formula of the Digvijaya or conquest of all the quarters, which was a time-honoured institution. Harṣa performed his Digvijaya with 5,000 elephants, 20,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry. There is no mention of any Aśvamedha sacrifice anywhere. The Digvijaya might well have resulted in some annexations but it left numerous rulers semi-independent within the region which generally acknowledged the suzerainty of Harṣa. Their existence, indeed, is regarded as part of the order of the day. The size of their domains and their prestige varied enormously. Numbers of them appear on many occasions in Harṣacarita.