Today in this article we are going to tell you about the history of Shunga dynasty (about 184-72 BC).
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The beginning of the Shunga dynasty
After killing Brihadratha, the last ruler of the Maurya dynasty, Pushyamitra Shunga took the throne of the empire in 184 BC and established the Shunga dynasty. The Shungas were Brahmins. After Ashoka banned the yagyas, he renounced the work of a priest and adopted a military attitude.
Pushyamitra was the chief commander of the last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha. According to Divyavadana he was the son of Pushyadharma. One day, while inspecting the army, Brihadratha killed him by deceit. He had assumed the title of fighter. Even after becoming king, he retained this title.
Pushyamitra Shunga, by securing his authority over the Magadha Empire, protected the country from the invasion of Yavanas, on the other hand, by establishing peace and order in the country, the Vedic religion and ideals, which had been neglected during the reign of Ashoka, were restored. honored. That is why his period is called the period of Vedic reaction or Vedic renaissance.
Vidarbha War
According to Malavikagnimitra, the war of Vidarbha was fought in about 184 BC during the period of Pushyamitra, Pushyamitra was victorious and the state was divided into two parts, the Wardha river became the boundary of both the states. Madhav Sen got a part of this state. The king of both the parts accepted Pushyamitra as his emperor and Pushyamitra's sphere of influence extended to the south of the river Narmada.
Invasion of the soldiers
During the period of Brihadratha, till the time of Pushyamitra, there were one or two invasions of the Yavanas and they had to be defeated at the hands of Pushyamitra (in the form of commander and king). This was the most important event of Pushyamitra's reign.
Rule of the Shunga Empire
Pushyamitra's empire extended from the Himalayas in the north to Virar in the south and from Punjab in the west to Magadha in the east. The capital of the empire was Pataliputra. According to Divyavadan and Taranath, he also had authority over Jalandhar and Sialkot. Pushyamitra believed in the theory of the origin of the goddess. His son Agnimitra was the king of Vidisha. Dhandev was the governor of Kaushal. The prince also operated the army.
There was also a council of ministers to assist in governance. Even at this time, the village was the smallest unit of government. By this time, there was a slack in the Mauryan central control and the tendencies of feudalization started becoming active.
Although the capital was Pataliputra during the Shunga period, the political and cultural importance of Vidisha increased and later it replaced Pataliputra. Pushyamitra became the only emperor of North India.
Pushyamitra destroyed 84000 stupas built by Ashoka. According to the Buddhist text Divyavadana, Pushyamitra had appointed some Buddhists as his ministers. Therefore, calling him anti-Buddhist is not entirely true. According to the Puranas, Pushyamitra ruled for about 36 years.
Agnimitra (148-140 BC)
After the death of Pushyamitra (148 BC), his son Agnimitra became the king of the Sunga dynasty. He ruled for a total of 8 years i.e. till about 140 BC. He is the protagonist of Kalidasa's play Malavikagnimitra. Agnimitra was followed by Vasujeyashtha or Sujyeshtha king.
From Vasumitra to Devabhuti (140- 72 BC)
The fourth king of the Sunga dynasty was Vasumitra, who defeated the Yavanas. He was the governor of the North-West Frontier Province during the reign of Pushyamitra. He ruled for 10 years till about 130 BC. One day while enjoying the dance, a person named Mujdev or Mitradev killed her.
After Vasumitra, Andhraka, Ghosha and Vajramitra became kings. The ninth ruler of this dynasty was Bhagwat or Magabhadra. He became a mighty king. In the 14th year of his rule, the ambassador of the Yavana king Ntyalkidus of Taxila, Heliodorus, was present in his court in Vidisha. He adopted the Bhagavata religion and worshiped Bhagwat Vishnu by setting up the Garuda pillar in Vidisha.
According to the Puranas, the tenth and last king of the Sunga dynasty was Devbhuti. He ruled for 10 years. He was a very luxurious ruler. His Kanva Amatya Vasumitra killed him. Thus ended the Shuga dynasty.
The kings of the Sunga dynasty protected the central part of the Magadha empire from foreigners and by establishing peace and order in central India, kept the trend of decentralization for some time.
Shungite culture
Child marriage became prevalent in the society during Shunga period and the marriage of girls started at the age of 8 to 12 years. Pataliputra, Kaushambi, Vaishali, Hastinapur, Varanasi and Taxila were the major trading cities during this period.
The period of kings is considered to be the period of renaissance of Vedic or Brahmin religion. At this time Bhagwat religion emerged in the society. There was a revival of Sanskrit language in the Shunga period. Maharishi Patanjali had a major contribution in the revival of Sanskrit. Patanjali wrote a Mahabhashya based on Panini's sutras.
Apart from Mahabhashya, the present form of Manusmriti was probably composed in this era. According to some scholars, the Shantiparva of Mahabharata and Ashwamedha were also modified during the Shunga period.
The best monuments of the Shunga period are stupas. The art of Bharhut, Shanchi, Besnagar is also excellent. A small stone altar has been found around the huge temple of Bodh Gaya, which was constructed during the Shunga period. On this also Chitrakoot similar to Bharhut's paintings are found again.
In these engraved paintings, the king, queen, man, animal, Bodhi tree, Kalpavriksha, etc. are prominent. The chapter depicting the charioteering Sun in one picture and Shri Lakshmi in the other is artistic.