Rājaputra Śilāditya,Chakravartī Samrāṭa Harṣa of Kannauj, the crest jewel of Pushpabhuti Dynasty of Thaneswar.
His father Prabhakara Vardhana was a powerful sovereign and was the first ruler of this dynasty to assume the imperial title 'Mahārājādhirāja Paramabhattäraka'.

He had 2 siblings, elder brother Rajyavardhana and younger sister Rajyashri.
Rajyashri was married to Maukhari prince of Kannauj, Grahavarman.
Although, Bāṇā didn't mention about the lineage of this dynasty in detail, yet he gave a hint of it while describing this wedding.

Bāṇā called it the union of Sun & Moon houses.

As we know from Maukhari Inscription, the Maukharis were Solar Kṣatriyas and claimed descent from Ashvapati. It means the other house was of Lunar origin which dismisses the claim of Pushpabhutis being a 'Bais' Rajputs.

After the death of Mahārājādhirāja Prabhakara Vardhana, Rajyavardhana succeeded to the throne of Thaneswar.
Death of the king seemed like an opportunity to few of their feudal lords who revolted against them, and attacked Kannauj, killed Grahavarman and imprisoned Rajyashri.

The news enraged Rajyavardhana who started a campaign to punish the traitors and left his younger brother behind to handle the affairs of the kingdom.
Rajyavardhana defeated and punished the rebellious king of Malwa ,but was treacherously murdered by Shashanka of Gaud.

Death of his father & brother was too much for the young prince. It certainly made the kingdom appear weak. But who ascended to the throne next, was destined to be one of the greatest kings ever. At that time, Harṣa only wanted to punish Shashanka and save his sister.

The 16 Y/O marched with a large army against Shashanka. On his way he met his cousin Bhandi who was campaigning with Rajyavardhana. He told him that Rajyashri is somewhere in Vindhya range. Harṣa asked Bhandi to lead the army and he himself rushed to Vindhya to find his sister.

During this march, Bhaskarvarman, prince of Kāmarupa, offered his allegiance to Harṣa which was accepted by Harṣa. Their combined armies attacked Gaud, Shashanka fled to south. On the other hand, Harṣa found his sister who was about to commit suicide.

Both Thaneswar and Kannauj were under Harṣa, who later made Kannauj his new capital. It changed the fortunes of Kannauj, and Kannauj became as important as the Pataliputra during Maurya Era. It was the seat of power till 13th century, which all the rulers wished to conquer.

Harṣa, who ascended to the throne in 606 A.D. and soon started his 'DigVijaya'. He conquered North, within next 6 years of his 'DigVijaya', with an Army of 5000 Elephants, 20000 Cavalry, and 50000 infantry, a comparatively small but highly efficient force.

Harṣa-Vardhana was a peaceful king, but he knew that there would be no peace without war. Other than few exceptions, he accepted submission of defeated kings and let them rule their region as they used to. The only loss he suffered was against Chalukya King Pulakeśin II.

Although Pulakeśin II died around 640 A.D. and his empire crumbled, yet Harṣa didn't try to invade that land. He was the most powerful ruler at that time with a standing army of 60000 Elephants, and 100000 cavalry. He was a military king who ruled peacefully in later part.

As the great Harṣa marched, he was always accompanied by several hundred persons with golden drums, who beat one stroke on every step taken; they called them the 'music-pace-drums.' Except Harṣa, no other king was permitted to adopt this practice.

Harṣa ruled in compliance with Sashtras, following all the traditions of Kingship, the ideals of which were very high.
His empire stretched from Kāmarupa to Kashmir and Himalayas to Vindhya.After every 4 years, Samrāṭa Harṣa used to donate all his wealth among the subjects.

Harṣa passed away in 647 A.D. He was the Lion among men, one of the greatest to ever rule & second only to great Samrāṭa Aśoka. His name has been immortalised in our history, and his rule was a Rāma-Rājya in true sense.

(Size of army as told by various Historians).

@Maverickmusafir @Vyasonmukh