Harshacharita (socio-cultural Study)
by Mrs. Nandita Sarmah | 2014 | 67,792 words
This page relates ‘Royal Titles’ of the English study on the Harshacharita: A Sanskrit (poetical work) which can be studied as a Historical book of Indian society during the 7th century. It was originally written by Banabhatta who based his Harsacarita on the life of the Gupta emperor Harshavardhana. This study researches the religion, philosophy, flora and fauna and society of ancient India as reflected in the Harsha-Charita.
Part 5: Royal Titles
In simple term the king is known as rājā. But the Gupta rulers used selfimposed titles in the 7th century A.D.; the great king was called maharājā, who stood as the sovereign power in relation to the feudatories. It is found in the Harṣacarita that Prabhākaravardhana was the first to be endowed with the title rājādhirāja.[1] In the family inscriptions he is mentioned as mahārājadhirāja and paramabhaṭṭāraka.[2] Bāṇa mentions in the Harṣacarita, that Harṣa was well-known as parameśvara.[3] In the Madhuban copper plate inscription[4] Harṣa is called paramabhaṭṭāraka, maheśvara and mahārājādhirāja. Rājyavadhana too adopted the title paramasaugata.[5] Moreover, they (three) were called paramādityabhakta, which shows that they were great devotees of the Sun.[6] Queen Yaśomatī (wife of Prabhākaravardhana) got the title of mahādevī[7] also.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
prabhākaravardhano nāma rājādhirājaḥ, Ibid.,IV. p.56
[2]:
[a] See the Banskhera copper plate in Corpus Inscriptional Indicarum,IV, No.29.p.208
[b] Madhuban copper plate inscriptions, in Epigraphica Indica, vol.I,pp. 66
[4]:
Epigraphica Indica, vol.I,pp. 66
[5]:
Ibid.
[6]:
Corpus Inscriptional Indicarum,IV, No.29.p.208
[7]:
[a] yaśomatī nāma mahādevī…., Harṣacarita, IV. p.58 [b] Epigraphica Indica, vol.I,pp. 66