Everything about Sunga Empire totally explained
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For other uses of the term Sunga see Sunga (disambiguation)
The
Sunga Empire (or
Shunga Empire) is a
Magadha dynasty that controlled North-central and Eastern India as well as parts of the northwest (now
Pakistan) from around
185 to
73 BCE. It was established after the fall of the Indian
Mauryan empire. The capital of the Sungas was
Pataliputra. Later kings such as
Bhagabhadra also held court at
Vidisa, modern
Besnagar in Eastern
Malwa. The Sunga Empire is noted for its numerous wars with both foreign and indigenous powers. Although very much isn't known, the
Mathura school of art and the works of
Patanjali colored North India during this empire.
Origins
The
Sunga dynasty was established in
185 BCE, about 50 years after
Ashoka's death, when the king
Brhadrata, the last of the
Mauryan rulers, was assassinated by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces,
Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne.
Pushyamitra Sunga became the ruler of the
Magadha and neighbouring territories. The kingdom of Pushyamitra was extended up to
Narmada in the south, and controlled
Jalandhar and
Sialkot in the Punjab in the north-western regions, and the city of Ujjain in central India. The Kabul Valley and much of the Punjab passed into the hands of the
Indo-Greeks and the
Deccan to the
Satavahanas.
Pushyamitra died after ruling for 36 years (187-151 BCE). He was succeeded by son
Agnimitra. This prince is the hero of a famous drama by one of India's greatest playwrights,
Kalidasa. Agnimitra was viceroy of Vidisha when the story takes place. The power of the Sungas gradually weakened. It is said that there were ten Sunga kings.
The Sungas were succeeded by the
Kanva dynasty around
73 BCE.
Buddhism
Following the Mauryans, the first
Brahmin king was
Pusyamitra Sunga, who is frequently linked in tradition with the persecution of Buddhists and a resurgence of
Brahmanism that forced Buddhism outwards to
Kashmir,
Gandhara and
Bactria. However, there's doubt as to whether he did persecute Buddhists actively.
Brahmanism competed in political and spiritual realm with Buddhism
Wars of the Sungas
War and conflict characterized the Sunga period. They are known to have warred with the Kalingas, Satavahanas, the Indo-Greeks, and possibly the Panchalas and Mathuras.
The Sunga Empire's wars with the Indo-Greek Kingdom figure greatly in the history of this period. From around
180 BCE the
Greco-Bactrian ruler
Demetrius, conquered the Kabul Valley and is theorized to have advanced into the trans-Indus. The Indo Greek Menander is credited with either joining or leading a campaign to Pataliputra with other Indian Kings; however, very little is know about the exact nature and success of the campaign. The net result of these wars remains uncertain.
Some interpretations of the Mahabharata and Yuga Purana have attempted to account for this:
The
Anushasanaparava of the
Mahabharata affirms that the city of Mathura was under the joint control of the Yavanas and the
Kambojas.
Also the Hindu text of the
Yuga Purana, which describes Indian historical events in the form of a prophecy, relates the attack of the Indo-Greeks on the capital Pataliputra, a magnificent fortified city with 570 towers and 64 gates according to
Megasthenes, and describes the ultimate destruction of the city's walls:
» "Then, after having approached
Saketa together with the
Panchalas and the
Mathuras, the Yavanas, valiant in battle, will reach Kusumadhvaja ("The town of the flower-standard",
Pataliputra). Then, once Puspapura (another name of Pataliputra) has been reached and its celebrated mud[-walls] cast down, all the realm will be in disorder." (
Yuga Purana, Paragraph 47-48, 2002 edition.)
Pushyamitra is recorded to have performed two Ashvamedha Yagnas and Sunga imperial inscriptions have extended as far as Jalandhar. Scriptures such as the Divyavadhana note that his rule extended even farther to Sialkot, in the Punjab. Moreover, if it was lost, Mathura was regained by the Sungas around 100 BCE (or by other indigenous rulers: the
Arjunayanas (area of Mathura) and
Yaudheyas mention military victories on their coins ("Victory of the Arjunayanas", "Victory of the Yaudheyas"), and during the 1st century BCE, the Trigartas,
Audumbaras and finally the
Kunindas also started to mint their own coins). Accounts of battles between the Greeks and the Sunga in Northwestern India are also found in the
Mālavikāgnimitram, a play by
Kālidāsa which describes a battle between Greek cavalrymen and Vasumitra, the grandson of
Pushyamitra, on the Indus river, in which the Indians defeated the Greeks and Pushyamitra successfully completed the Ashvamedha Yagna.
Nevertheless, very little can be said with great certainty. However, what does appear clear is that the two realms appeared to have established normalized diplomatic relations in the succeeding reigns of their respective rulers.
The Indo-Greeks and the Sungas seem to have reconciled and exchanged diplomatic missions around
110 BCE, as indicated by the
Heliodorus pillar, which records the dispatch of a Greek ambassador named
Heliodorus, from the court of the
Indo-Greek king
Antialcidas, to the court of the
Sunga king
Bhagabhadra at the site of
Vidisha in central
India.
Cultural Contributions
While there's much debate on the religious politics of the Sunga dynasty, it's recognized for a number of contributions. Art, education, philosophy, and other learning flowered during this period. Most notably, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and Mahabhasya were composed in this period. It is also noted for its subsequent mention in the Malavikaagnimitra. This work was composed by Kalidasa in the later Gupta period, and romanticized the love of Malavika and King Agnimitra, with a background of court intrigue.
Artistry on the subcontinent also progressed with the rise of the Mathura school, which is considered the indigenous counterpart to the more Hellenistic Gandhara school of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During the historical Sunga period (
185 to
73 BCE), Buddhist activity also managed to survive somewhat in central India (
Madhya Pradesh) as suggested by some architectural expansions that were done at the
stupas of
Sanchi and
Barhut, originally started under King Ashoka. It remains uncertain whether these works were due to the weakness of the control of the Sungas in these areas, or a sign of tolerance on their part.
The last of the Sunga kings was
Devabhuti (83-73 BCE). He was assassinated by his minister (Vasudeva Kanva) and is said to have been overfond of the company of women. The Sunga dynasty was then replaced by the subsequent
Kanvas.
Image:SungaYakshi2-1CenturyBCE.jpg|Sunga Yakshi, 2nd-1st century BCE.
Image:SungaMasculine.jpg|Sunga masculine figurine (molded plate). 2nd-1st century BCE.
Image:SungaWithChild.jpg|Sunga woman with child. 2nd-1st century BCE.
Image:SungaYaksa.JPG|Sunga Yaksa. 2nd-1st century BCE.
Image:SungaFecondity.jpg|Sunga fecundity deity. 2nd-1st century BCE.
Image:SungaFecondity2.jpg|Sunga fecundity deity. 2nd-1st century BCE.
Script
The script used by the Sunga was a variant of
Brahmi, and was used to write the Sanskrit language. The script is thought to be an intermediary between the
Maurya and the
Kalinga brahmi scripts.
List of Sunga kings
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sunga Empire'.
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