POST GUPTA DYNASTY:
PUSHYABHUTI DYNASTY:
- Founded by
NAVARDHANA
- Capital city
located in Thaneswar(present haryana) and Kanauj(present Uttar pradesh)
HARSHA VARDHANA (606 A.D - 647A.D)
1.
Greatest ruler also called as
"Siladitya" and started Harsha Era in 606 A.D
2.
Defeated GAUDA SASANKA(desecrated
bodi Tree) who had killed his Brother in law GRIHA VARMA
3.
He was defeated by PULIKESHI
SECOND of Chalukyaa in the battle of NARMADA.
4.
He was converted to MAHAYANA
BUDDHISM by Hieun Tsang who wrote Si-yu-Ki( Experience of traveller)
5.
He also conducted Dharmayatras
like Ashoka
6.
He himself wrote NAGANANDAM ,
RATNAVALI and PRIYADARSIKA.
7.
BANABHATTA his court poet wrote
HARSHACHARITA , PARVATI PARINAYAM and KADAMBARI.
ALLAHABAD ASSEMBLY
●
Harsha gave away all his enormous wealth as
gifts to the members of all the religious sects.
SOCIETY AND ECONOMY
●
The four fold division of the society -
Brahmin , Kshatriyas , Vyshya and
Shudra was prevalent. The Brahmins were
the privileged section of the society and they were granted land by the kings.
●
The positions of the women were
not Satisfactory. The institution of SWAYAMVARA (the choice of choosing her
husband) had declined
●
Remarriage of womens were not
permitted particularly among the higher casts
●
The system of dowry has also
become common. The practice of sati was also prevalent
●
Hieun Tsang mentions three ways of
disposal of the dead - cremation , water burial , exposure in the wood.
●
Trade and commerce had declined
during Harsha's period. This is evident from the decline of trade centres ,
less number of coins and slow activities of merchant guilds.
CHALUKYAS OF BADAMI:
1.
Founded by PULAKESIN FIRST
2.
Capital city located in Badami.
PULAKESIN II
●
The most important ruler of this
dynasty was Pulakesin II. The Aihole
inscription issued by Ravikirti gives
the details of his reign.
●
Notable achievement of Pulakesin
II was the defeat of Harshavardhana on the banks of the river Narmada and took
the title of Parameswara.
●
He sent an ambassador to the court
of Persian King Khusrau.
●
He was defeated and killed by Narasimha Varman I of Pallavas.
Administration and Society:
●
Highly centralized unlike that of
the Pallavas and the Cholas. Village autonomy was absent under the Chalukyas.
●
Pulakesin I performed the Asvamedha
sacrifice.
●
A number of temples in honour of
Vishnu, Siva and other gods were also built during this period.
Art and Architecture:
●
They developed the vesara style in the building of
structural temples which reached its culmination only under the Rashtrakutas
and the Hoysalas.
●
No cement or mortar was used;
stones were aligned together to form edifices.
●
Two stage in temple construction
●
Aihole group
●
Meguti temple
●
Vishnu temple
●
Ladh khan temple
●
Durga temple
●
Pattadakal group
●
Papanath temple
●
Virupaksha temple
●
Sangamesvara temple
THE
PRATIHARAS OR GURJARA PRATIHARAS
●
One of the four
prominent clans of
the Rajputs, ruled from Gurjaratra (in Jodhpur).
●
In the 6th century A.D. (CE), Harichandra laid the foundation of the
Gurjara dynasty. Nagabhata
I was the first and prominent ruler of Pratiharas.
●
In the 8th century, he ruled over
Broach and Jodhpur and extended his dominion upto Gwalior. He repulsed the
invasion of the Arabs of Sind from the east and checked their expansion
●
Vatsaraja, who desired to dominate the whole of North India. His
attempt to control over Kanauj
brought him into conflict with the Pala ruler Dharmapala
●
Vatsaraja’s successors
Nagabhatta-II and Rambhadra did not do anything impressively. Mihirabhoja or Bhoja, son of Rambhadra,
within a few years of his accession, succeeded in consolidating the power of
the Pratiharas.
●
As a strong ruler, Bhoja was able
to maintain peace in his kingdom.
The Arab menace
was firmly tackled by him.
●
After Bhoja, the Pratihara
Empire continued its full
glory for nearly a century. Having successfully resisted the
Arabs, the Pratiharas turned their attention towards the east and by the end of
millennium, they ruled over a large part of Rajasthan and Malwa.
●
They also held Kanauj for some time. The Rajputs fought each other endlessly in
the 11th and 12th centuries.
●
Taking advantage of these internecine
quarrels, many local kings succeeded in making themselves independent.
PALAS
●
Gopala, who founded the Pala
dynasty, did not have royal antecedents.
●
He was elected by the people for
his superior capabilities. During
his reign from
750 to 770,
●
Gopala laid the foundations for the future greatness
of this dynasty in Bengal.
DHARMAPALA
●
Dharmapala, son of Gopala, made
the Pala kingdom a powerful force in northern Indian politics.
●
He led a successful campaign against
Kanauj.
●
He
was a great patron of Buddhism.
●
He founded Vikramashila Monastery,
which became a great centre of Buddhism
DEVAPALA
●
Dharmapala was succeeded by his
son, Devapala, who extended Pala control eastwards into Kamarupa (Assam)
●
Devapala was also a great patron of Buddhism.
He gifted five villages to Buddhists.
●
He also constructed many temples along with
monasteries in Magadha. According to the historian R.C. Majumdar, ‘The reigns
of Dharmapala and Devapala constitute the most brilliant chapter in the history
of Bengal.’
●
After Devapala, five rulers ruled the region
insignificantly.
MAHIPALA
●
The kingdom attained unprecedented glory when
Mahipala ascended the throne in 988.
●
Mahipala I
was the most powerful
ruler of the Pala dynasty.
●
He is called the founder of the second Pala
dynasty.
●
The decline of Pratiharas gave the
Palas an opportunity to take a leading
role in north Indian affairs.
●
But he could not extend his
domain beyond Banaras
because of the impressive
campaigns of the Chola king from the South, Rajendra Chola.
●
Mahipala restored the old glory of
the Palas.
●
He constructed and repaired a
large number of religious buildings at Banaras,
Sarnath and Nalanda.
●
The Pala dynasty declined soon
after the death of Mahipala and gave way to the Sena dynasty.
CONTENT CREDITS: LEO SRILEKHA
