Tag: history

Rajya Vardhanas and Harshas sister Rajyashri had been married to the Maukhari king, Grahavarman. This king, some years later, had been defeated and killed by king Devagupta of Malwa and after his death Rajyashri had been cast into prison by the victor. Harsha's brother, Rajya Vardhana, then the king at Thanesar, could not stand this affront on his family, marched against Devagupta and defeated him. But it so happened at this moment that Shashanka, king of Gauda in Eastern Bengal, entered Magadha as a friend of Rajyavardhana, but in secret alliance with the Malwa king. Accordingly, Shashanka treacherously murdered Rajyavardhana. On hearing about the murder of his brother, Harsha resolved at once to march against the treacherous king of Gauda and killed Shashanka in a battle.

Harshacharita (life and works of Kinga Harsha) was written by Sanskrit poet Banabhatta or Bana (7th century CE). He was the court poet of King Harsha. Harsha or Harshavardhana was the North Indian king, who ruled between 606 to 647 CE. His capital was Kannauj (present Uttar Pradesh). Harshacharita was written in a poetic manner or and it is regarded as the first historical biography in Sanskrit. Harsha wrote three Sanskrit plays- Nagananda, Ratnavali, and Priyadarshika.

The brilliance and skill of players like the great Dhyan Chand brought India a string of Olympic gold medals. Between 1928 and 1956, India won gold medals in six consecutive Olympic Games. During this golden age of Indian dominance, India played 24 Olympic matches, and won them all, scored 178 goals (at an average of 7.43 goals per match) and conceded only seven goals. The two other gold medals for India came in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Cricket has its origins in England which have colonized India for almost 200 years. During these years British influenced Indians in many ways and one of them is cricket. Cricket was brought to India by the British rulers. In the beginning, the game was played amongst the British nationals. Later it struck deep roots in the Indian soil as a result of the patronage extended to it by the ruling class and the princely households. Cricket also gave rise to nationalistic feelings as Indians were not allowed to play autonomously and were a part of the team of the Great Britain.

The rich were amateurs for two reasons. One, they considered sport a kind of leisure. To play for the pleasure of playing and not for money was an aristocratic value. Two, there was not enough money in the game for the rich to be interested. The poor who played it for a living were called professionals.