Abstract: This study examines the religious assemblies convened by Harshavardhana (606–647 CE) as deliberate instruments of religious diplomacy and imperial statecraft in early seventh-century North India. Moving beyond conventional narratives that portray these gatherings merely as expressions of personal piety or Buddhist patronage, Harshavardhana strategically deployed large-scale religious congregationsmost notably the Kannauj Assembly and the quinquennial assemblies at Prayaga, as mechanisms for consolidating political authority, negotiating sectarian plurality, and projecting supralocal sovereignty. Drawing upon literary sources such as Hiuen Tsang’s travel account, the Harshacharita of Banabhatta, epigraphic records, and later historiographical interpretations, the study situates these assemblies within broader patterns of early medieval kingship, ritual sovereignty, and interstate diplomacy.

 Harsha’s assemblies functioned simultaneously on multiple levels: as forums of inter-religious engagement among Buddhists, Brahmanical groups, and other ascetic traditions, as spectacles of royal generosity reinforcing dharmic kingship; and as diplomatic platforms that facilitated alliances, tributary relations, and cultural exchange across regional polities. By publicly honouring diverse religious traditions while privileging Mahayana Buddhism in certain contexts, Harsha crafted an image of universal kingship rooted in ethical sovereignty rather than coercive domination. These assemblies also reinforced transregional connections, particularly with Buddhist networks extending to Central Asia and Tang China, thereby situating Harsha’s empire within a wider cosmopolitan sphere.Through a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, engaging political theology, ritual theory, and early medieval state formation, thereligious assemblies under Harshavardhana were neither episodic nor merely ceremonial. Instead, they constituted structured diplomatic events designed to stabilize authority in a politically fragmented post-Gupta landscape. By reframing Harsha’s public congregations as instruments of sacred diplomacy, this research contributes to broader debates on the relationship between religion and power in premodern South Asia and challenges simplistic binaries between spiritual patronage and political ambition.

Keywords: Harshavardhana; religious diplomacy; early medieval India; imperial assemblies; sacred kingship; inter-sectarian negotiation; political ritual; state formation; Kannauj Assembly; Prayaga Assembly; ritual sovereignty.