During whose reign did the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang (Hsuan Tsang)…

Concept

A historical traveller is placed in a ruler’s reign by matching the traveller’s dated journey with the ruler’s established chronology.

Similar names from the same broad period must be separated by dynasty and century before identifying the overlap.

Application

1. Xuanzang travelled through India from about 630 to 644 CE and recorded the political and religious life of the subcontinent.

2. Harshavardhana ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE, so his reign overlaps Xuanzang’s Indian journey.

Contrast

• Samudragupta belonged to the fourth-century Gupta period, well before Xuanzang’s journey.

• Chandragupta II ruled in the late fourth and early fifth centuries; Faxian, not Xuanzang, travelled in India during that period.

• Skandagupta ruled in the fifth century, also before Xuanzang’s seventh-century journey.

Cross-check and result

The independent date ranges 630–644 CE and 606–647 CE overlap, while the reigns of all three Gupta rulers listed do not.

Therefore, Xuanzang visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana.