Emperor Harshavardhana was a Shaivite like his ancestors.
It had the symbol of Nandi on its seal.
Later, his devotion to Buddhism grew due to his elder brother Rajyavardhan's interest in Buddhism and the help of Buddhist monk Divakarmitra in finding Rajshree.
In the "Moksha Parishad" at Prayag in $643,$ he also worshiped a Buddhist idol along with Shiva.
Thus people's attachment to Buddhism increased.
He built Buddhist monasteries, monasteries, Chaityas and Vidyadham all over the state and gave special welcome and respect to the Buddhist saints.
Harshavardhana tried to prove the superiority of the Mahayana sect in the Sarva Dharma Parishad of Kanoja.
In it he was given the presidency and royal hospitality by Yun-shwang.
He obtained the remains of the Buddha's teeth from the king of Kashmir and kept them safe at Sangaram in Kanoja.
He sent four great preachers to honor the Mahayana sect in place of the Hinayana sect in Odisha.
The Nalanda Buddhist University was given statehood and a Dharmaparishad was held there regularly.
Due to the efforts of Harshavardhana, the capital Kanoja became the main center of Buddhism.
There were only two Buddhist monasteries in Kanoja during the Gupta period and the tourist Fahian.
At the time of Harshavardhana, the traveler Yun-shuang noted that there were $100$ Buddhist monasteries.
He used to worship Hindu deities along with Buddha at Prayag's Moksha Parishad every five years.
At his court, Brahmin scholars like Rajkavi Bana, Mayur Bhatt and Buddhist scholars like Yuan-Shwang, Jessen and Divakarmitra received equal respect.