Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty

Dynasty Level 2 ★ Major power

c. 500 CE – c. 647 CE

Dynasty of Harshavardhana, the last great north Indian emperor before the Pratiharas.

🗺 See on map in 631 CE

Capital: Thanesar, later Kannauj
Region: North
Duration: 147 years
Main period: Post-Gupta / Early Medieval

Changing extent

c. 500 CE — ≈ 30,000 km²: Thanesar
c. 606 CE — ≈ 280,000 km²: Harsha at Kannauj
c. 630 CE — ≈ 970,000 km²: Harsha's greatest extent: the Punjab to Bengal, the Narmada in the south

Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).

At a glance

Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.

Rulers

Prabhakaravardhana Rajyavardhana Harshavardhana

Events

Extent

500 CE550 CE600 CE647 CE

Rulers

Prabhakaravardhana King
c. 580 CE – c. 605 CE
Rajyavardhana King
Killed by Shashanka.
605 CE – 606 CE
Harshavardhana Emperor
Kannauj assembly; Banabhatta's Harshacharita.
606 CE – 647 CE

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

Key events

Year	Event	Place
606 CE	Harsha becomes king	Thanesar
c. 612 CE	Harsha makes Kannauj his capital Kannauj became the imperial city of north India.	Kannauj
c. 636 CE	Xuanzang studies at Nalanda Chinese pilgrim travelled in India c. 630-645.	Nalanda
643 CE	Harsha's assemblies at Kannauj and Prayag	Kannauj
647 CE	Death of Harsha	Kannauj

Personalities

c. 602 CE – c. 664 CE

Chinese pilgrim who studied at Nalanda and visited Harsha's court

active c. 630 CE

Author of the Harshacharita and Kadambari

📚 Recommended reading on the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty

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Contemporaries

Powers that coexisted with the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.

Anuradhapura Kingdom ★

Sri Lanka · c. 437 BCE – c. 1017

Overlap: 147 years

Gupta Empire ★

Gangetic Plain · c. 240 CE – c. 550 CE

Overlap: 50 years

Pallava Dynasty ★

South · c. 275 CE – c. 897 CE

Overlap: 147 years

Chalukyas of Badami ★

Deccan · c. 543 CE – c. 753 CE

Overlap: 104 years

Kalabhra Interregnum

South · c. 250 CE – c. 600 CE

Overlap: 100 years

Kadamba Dynasty

South · c. 345 CE – c. 525 CE

Overlap: 25 years

Western Ganga Dynasty

South · c. 350 CE – c. 1000

Overlap: 147 years

Northeast · c. 350 CE – c. 1140

Overlap: 147 years

Licchavi Kingdom of Nepal

Himalaya · c. 400 CE – c. 750 CE

Overlap: 147 years

Alchon Huns (Hunas)

Northwest · c. 460 CE – c. 560 CE

Overlap: 60 years

Maitraka Dynasty

West · c. 475 CE – c. 776 CE

Overlap: 147 years

Rai Dynasty of Sindh

Northwest · c. 489 CE – c. 632 CE

Overlap: 132 years

Later Guptas of Magadha

East · c. 490 CE – c. 750 CE

Overlap: 147 years

Maukhari Dynasty

Gangetic Plain · c. 550 CE – c. 606 CE

Overlap: 56 years

Gauda Kingdom (Shashanka)

East · c. 590 CE – c. 626 CE

Overlap: 36 years

Pandya Kingdom (First Empire)

South · c. 590 CE – c. 920 CE

Overlap: 57 years