THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAThe central area of the realm, the Doab between Kanauj and Prayag
(Allahabad) and east of Varanasi (Benares) seems to have been firmly
under Harsha’s control. This central part of the empire was quite large.
Harsha was even in a position to cancel the land grant of a Brahmin at a
place which was at a distance of about 250 miles from Kanauj, because
the Brahmin could produce only a forged document (kutashasana); his
land was promptly transferred by the royal chancellor to another grantee.
This seemed to be very much like the central control exercised by the
Guptas.
But in other respects the organisation of Harsha’s realm was much more
decentralised. Magadha, for instance, was under the control of
Purnavarman, a member of the Maukhari dynasty which Harsha had
displaced at Kanauj. Purnavarman ruled that part of the country on
Harsha’s behalf but probably enjoyed a great amount of autonomy. Bengal
was divided between Harsha and his ally, King Bhaskaravarman of
Kamarupa (Assam), after Shashanka’s death. But there is no evidence of
Harsha’s direct rule over Bengal. The Guptas had appointed governors and
even district officers in Magadha and Bengal but Harsha was obviously not
in direct control of those areas.
But it was not only the more restricted area under central control
which distinguished Harsha’s realm from the Gupta empire. There was
also a different type of control within the central core area which showed
a definite change in the structure of the state. An inscription of 632
concerning a land grant which Harsha gave to two Brahmins at
Madhuban, north of Varanasi, throws light on the structure of the
internal administration of this central part of the empire.^1 The inscription
mentions ‘Great Neighbours’ (mahasamanta), ‘Great Kings’ (maharaja),
‘Guardians of the Royal Gateway’ (dauhsadika), judges (pramatara),
vice-regents (rajasthaniya), ministers belonging to the royal family
(kumaramatya), governors of provinces (uparika), district officers
(vishayapati), regular and irregular troops (bhata, cata), servants and the
local population (janapada) as all those who are duly notified and thus
guarantee the validity of the grant. The donation was made on behalf of
a royal officer named Skandagupta, and it was executed by Ishvaragupta,
the royal chancellor (mahakshapatalika). Skandagupta was addressed as
Mahasamanta and Maharaja whereas Ishvaragupta was only called
Samanta and Maharaja. This list of dignitaries does not start with the
governor of the province or a royal prince as one would have expected
but with a mahasamanta. The institution of the samanta was the main
innovation which distinguished the medieval Hindu kingdom from the
ancient empires. The term samanta originally meant ‘neighbour’ and
referred to the independent ruler of an adjacent territory. The ‘border
kings’ (pratyanta-nripati) mentioned by Samudragupta in his Allahabad
inscription were such samantas in the original sense of the term. But by