Starting off as the ruler of tiny Thaneshwar, Harsha (7th century AD) rose to become the powerful monarch of the kingdom of Kanauj. He avenged the wicked assassination of his elder brother and the cowardly abduction of his sister. His biographer Bana Bhatta and the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang were unanimous in their praise of this learned king, whose fame did much to create a glowing image of India in lands far away.