Shunga Dynasty History Of India | Ancient India History-In this article we published the important history and facts about the Shunga Dynasty which was ruled in India after succeed of Mauryan Empire.
Shunga Dynasty
The period which began in about 200 BC did not witness a large empire like that of the Mauryas, but it is notable for intimate and widespread contacts between Central Asia and India. In Eastern India, Central India and the Deccan, the Mauryas were succeeded by a number of native rulers such as the Shungas, the Kanvas and the Satvahanas. In North-Western India, they were succeeded by a number of ruling dynasties from Central Asia. Among them, the Kushanas became the most famous.
The Sunga Dynasty ( 185-75 BC)
- The information about the Sunga dymasty is found in Gargi Samhita, the Mahabhasya of Patanjali, Malvikagni mitram of Kalidas and the Harshcharita of Bana. The capital of the Sungas was Patliputra and Vidisha.
- Pushyamitra Sunga, who assassinated the last Mauryan king Brihadrath in 184 BC, was the founder of this dynasty. According to the Puranas, Pushyamitra ruled for 36 years and his reign ended in 148 BC. The great grammarian Patanjali was contemporary of Pushyamitra.
- Pushyamitra performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice. Pushyamitra was succeeded by his son Agnimitra, who was the hero of Kalidas’s drama Malvikagnimitram. He ruled for eight years. The next important ruler of this dynasty was Vasumitra, who was the son of Agnimitra.
- The next important ruler of this dynasty was Bhagwat, who is identified with Bhagabhadra of Vidisha pillar inscription.
- The last king of this dynasty was Devbhuti. According to Puranas, he was an incapable and ease loving ruler. He was put to death by his minister Vasudeva Kanva in 75 BC. Thus, the kingdom of Magadha was passed from the Sungas to the Kanvas.
- The Sunga period is remarkable for the revival of Brahmanism and growing importance of Bhagavata religion. The Sunga dynasty’s greatest achievement was the safeguarding of India from the invasions of resisted the Hunas attacks and saved India from being destroyed.
Hunas
- Hunas were one of the fierce tribes from Central Asia. They had been invading India since the Sunga period. They were resisted by the rulers until the second half of AD 5th Century. But the weakness of Gupta Empire provided them with a chance to occupy Eastern Malva and a good portion of Central lndia.
The Kanva Dynasty (75-20 BC)
- Vasudeva was the founder of this dynasty in Magadha. There were only 4 Kanva kings who ruled from Patliputra. They altogether ruled for 45 years. Bhumimitra succeeded Vasudeva, who was followed by his son Narayana. Narayana was succeeded by his son Susarman. According to Puranas, the Andhrabhrityas overthrew this dynasty. However, there is no evidence of Magadha occupation by Satavahanas.
Important Points related to Shunga Dynasty
- Brihadratha was the last ruler of the Maurya Empire.
- And, his Brahmin commander was Pushyamitra Sunga.
- Who founded the Sunga dynasty in 185 BC.
- The capital of Sunga dynasty was Vidisha city of Madhya Pradesh.
- Capital of the shung dynasty during the reign of Pushyamitra Shung was Patliputra.
- Pushyamitra Sunga belonged to the Brahmin clan.
- And, the Brahminical influence was very less during the Mauryan period.
- Because at that time Jainism and Buddhism had a lot of influence.
- And, Emperor Ashoka also did a lot for the propagation of Buddhism.
- Therefore, Pushyamitra Sunga revived the Brahmanical influence during the Sunga dynasty.
- Because of which, the Bhagavata Dharma became very important.
- Pushyamitra Sunga was a staunch follower of orthodox Hinduism.
- And, Pushyamitra Sunga also performed two ‘Ashwamedha Yagyas‘ during your reign.
- Whose priest was a person named Patanjali.
- Patanjali was born in Gonarda in central India.
- And, he was also the author of ‘Mahabhashya’.
- During the Sunga period, Pushyamitra Sunga made his son Agnimitra the hero of this play in the play ‘Malvikagnimitra‘ written by Kalidasa.
- And, King Pushyamitra also got the fine entrance railing built around the Sanchi Stupa built by Ashoka during his reign.
- However, Agnimitra was followed by a series of weak rulers like Vasumitra, Vajramitra, Bhagabhadra, Devabhuti,
- This led to the downfall of the Sunga dynasty.
Important Questions Related To Shunga Dynasty
| S.N. | QUESTION | ANSWER |
| 1 | How long did the reign of Shunga dynasty last? | 185 BC to 73 BC |
| 2 | Where did the Sunga rulers establish their capital? | Vidisha |
| 3 | What was the major event of Pushyamitra Shunga’s reign? | war with vidarbha |
| 4 | Which Indo-Greek ruler was defeated by Pushyamitra Shunga in the battle? | Minder |
| 5 | Who built the Bharatuh Stupa? | Pushyamitra |
| 6 | For how many years did Pushyamitra rule? | 36 years |
| 7 | In whose reign Ramayana, Mahabharata and Manusmriti were composed? | Pushyamitra |
| 8 | Who was the ruler of Vidisha? | Agnimitra |
| 9 | Whose son was Agnimitra? | Pushyamitra |
| 10 | Who was the ruler of Vidarbha? | Yagyasen |
| 11 | Who was the ninth king of Shunga dynasty? | Bhagwat |
| 12 | Who was the 10th and last king of Shunga dynasty? | Devbhuti |
| 13 | Who killed Devbhuti? | Vasudev Kanva |
| 14 | Who founded the Kanva dynasty on Magadha? | Vasudev Kanva |
| 15 | For how many years did the Kanva dynasty rule Magadha? | 45 |
| 16 | How many kings of Kanva dynasty ruled Magadha? | four |
| 17 | Who was the last ruler of Kanva dynasty? | susharma |
| 18 | Who killed Susharma? | Shimuk |
| 19 | Who was Shimuk? | Susharma’s commander |
| 20 | Who established the Satavahana dynasty on Magadha? | Shimuk |
| 21 | which was the capital of the shung dynasty during the reign of pushyamitra shung? | Patliputra |
Shunga Dynasty History In details