After emperor
Harshavardhana's death, he usurped the throne and became the new king of
Kannauj. He was the emperor's former minister. In 648, the
Tang dynasty's emperor
Tang Taizong sent
Wang Xuance to India in response to emperor Harsha having sent an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harsha had died and the new king Aluonashun (supposedly Arunāsva) attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates.[4] This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet and then mounting a joint of over 7,000
Nepalesemounted infantry and 1,200
Tibetaninfantry and attack on the Indian state on 16 June. The success of this attack won Xuance the title of the "Grand Master for the Closing Court." (Note that this is not a prestigious title, only in the 5th rank of Tang's nine-rank official system) [5] He also secured a reported Buddhist relic for China.[6] 2,000 prisoners were taken from Magadha by the Nepali and Tibetan forces under Wang.[7] Tibetan and Chinese writings document describe Wang Xuance's raid on India with Tibetan soldiers.[8] Nepal had been subdued by the Tibetan emperor
Songtsen.[9] The Indian pretender was among the captives.[10][2] The war happened in 649.[11] Taizong's grave had a statue of the Indian pretender.[12] The pretender's name was recorded in Chinese records as "Na-fu-ti O-lo-na-shuen" (Dinafudi is probably a reference to
Tirabhukti).[13][14]