After Harshavardhana's death, who usurped power at Kannauj and was later captured by a Chinese envoy?

After Harshavardhana's death in 647 CE, a minister named Arunashva (also called Arjuna or Arunasva in Chinese records) usurped the throne of Kannauj (Kanyakubja).

The story:

• Harsha died without leaving an heir, and his empire broke up.
• Arunashva, one of his ministers, seized power at Kannauj.
• At that time, a Chinese mission led by Wang Xuance (Wang Hiuen-tse) was on its way to Harsha's court, sent by the Tang emperor Taizong.
• Arunashva's forces attacked the Chinese mission, killed some members and looted their goods.
• Wang Xuance escaped to Tibet and Nepal, where he obtained troops from the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo and the Nepali king (Narendradeva).
• With these troops, he returned, defeated Arunashva, and took him captive to China.

Sources:

This story is told in Chinese historical records, and is not mentioned in Indian sources.

Northern India after Harsha:

• After Harsha's death, there was a period of political confusion in northern India.
• Kannauj continued to be an important city.
• In the 8th century, Yashovarman, a powerful king, ruled from Kannauj; he was a patron of the poets Bhavabhuti and Vakpatiraja.
• Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir defeated Yashovarman.
• Later, Kannauj became the centre of a long struggle between three powerful dynasties.

Relations between India and China:

• Harsha sent ambassadors to China, and the Tang emperor sent missions in return.
• Buddhist pilgrims and scholars travelled between the two countries.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Shashanka was an earlier king of Gauda.
• ✗Yashovarman ruled Kannauj in the 8th century.
• ✗Nagabhata I was a Gurjara-Pratihara ruler.