harsa had been a cultured man with much to offer his people but became as prone to the influence of certain favourites and as corrupt, cruel and profligate as his predecessors. he, too, indulged in incest and stein has said that he was after an initial period during which the economic fortunes of the kingdom appear to have improved, as evidenced by the issue of gold and silver coinage, the situation deteriorated and even night soil was taxed, while temples were looted to further raise money to fund his failed military ventures and his indulgent lifestyle. all but two of the statues of buddha in his kingdom were destroyed during his rule. it is possible that his iconoclasm was influenced by the ingress of the muslim faith in areas surrounding kashmir, although certainly he garnered much needed wealth from his destruction. even in 1099, when his kingdom was ravaged by plague, flood and famine, as well as by lawlessness on a large scale, harsa continued to plunder the wealth of his subjects.