at Kanauj was attended by kings including Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa. A large number of Buddhist, Jain and Vedic scholars attended the assembly. A golden statue of Buddha was consecrated in a monastery and a small statue of Buddha (three feet) was brought out in a procession. The procession was attended by Harsha and other kings.
Buddhist Assembly at Prayag Harsha convened quinquennial assemblies known as Mahamoksha Parishad at Prayag (at the confl uence of the Ganges and Yamuna). He distributed his wealth among Buddhists, Vedic scholars and the poor people. Harsha off ered fabulous gift s to the Buddhist monks on all the four days of the assemblage. Each vishaya was further divided into Pathakas.
Each such area was divided into several villages for the sake of administrative convenience. Harsha Charita refers to a number of offi cials who took care of the local administration. Only their titles are known. What they did isn’t available in Harsha Charita .
We learn that bhogapathi, ayuktha, pratpalaka-purusha and the like looked aft er the local administration. Cities and Towns Hieun Tsang describes the structure, aesthetics and safety measures of the cities, towns and villages of India. In his view, India was the land of innumerable villages, numerous towns and big cities like China. He pointed out that Pataliputra lost its prominence and its place was taken by Kanauj.
Th e elegance of Kanauj with its loft y structures, beautiful gardens and the museum of rare collections is described. Th e refi ned appearance of its residents, their costly dressings and love for learning and art are also pointed out in his account. Most of the towns, according to Hieun Tsang, had outer walls and inner gates. Th ough the walls were wide and high, the streets and lanes were narrow.
Residential houses had balconies made of wood and coated with lime mortar. Floors were smeared with cow dung for the purpose of purity and hygiene. Big mansions, public buildings and Buddhist monasteries and viharas were magnifi cent multi-storeyed structures. Th ey were built of kiln-fi red bricks, red sandstone and marble.