Bihar in the Post- Mauryan Period

Shunga Dynasty

• Pushyamitra Shunga, the general of the Mauryas, killed the last Maurya ruler Vrihadratha and established the Shunga dynasty in 185 BCE.
• During the reign of Pushyamitra Sunga, the conquest of Vidisha was completed by his son Agnimitra, in which he conquered the Greeks.
• The capital during the Shunga period was Patliputra, but later Vidisha took its place.
• Pushyamitra Shunga, being a Brahmin, performed two Ashwamedha Yagyas in which Patanjali was the priest.
• It was during the Shunga period that Patliputra was attacked by the Yavana invader Demetrius.
• Pushyamitra assumed the title of a Senani. Being the general of the army of the Mauryas for a long time, he was famous in this form and he retained this title even after becoming the king.
• After Pushyamitra Sunga, there were nine more rulers in this dynasty, the main ones being Agnimitra, Vasujyeshtha, Vasumitra, Bhadrak, Bhagwat and Devbhoomi.
• There was a revival of Sanskrit language and Brahmanism during the Sunga period. The present form of Manusmriti was composed in the Shunga period itself, in which Brahmins were said to be the best among the four varnas.
• While on the one hand, Pushyamitra Shung protected the country from the invasion of the Yavanas by asserting his authority over the Magadha Empire, on the other, he established Vedic religion and ritualistic ideals in his empire, which were neglected during the reign of Emperor Ashoka. For this reason, this period is called the period of Vedic/Brahmin religion renaissance.
• According to the scholars, changes were also made in the Shantiparva of the Mahabharata and the Ashwamedha Yagya during the Sunga period itself.
• According to Buddhist texts, Pushyamitra, being a Brahmin religionist, tortured Buddhists a lot and destroyed many Buddhist places.
• According to Buddhist texts, Pushyamitra destroyed 84 thousand stupas built by Ashoka. Howevers he had also appointed some Buddhists as his ministers.
• According to the Puranas, Pushyamitra ruled for 36 years. In this way, his period is considered till 148 ВСЕ.
• Pushyamitra’s empire extended from the Himalayas in the north to Berar in the south and from Punjab in the west to Magadha in the east.
• After the death of Pushyamitra Sunga, his son Agnimitra became the ruler. This is discussed in the play Malavikagnimitram composed by Kalidas.
• With the efforts of Pushyamitra Shuang, Patanjali wrote Mahabhashya on difficult texts like Panini’s Ashtadhyayi.
• Famous grammarian and author of Ashtadhyayi, Panini was a resident of Maner (Patna).
• In the 14th year of the reign of 9th Shunga ruler Bhagabhadra (Bhagvata), in honour of Vasudeva, a Garuda pillar was established by Heliodorus, the ambassador of Yavana ruler Antialkids of Taxila.
• In the Sunga period, the stone craft reached its pinnacle taking the form of architecture. Bodh Gaya’s stupas, altars, archways are proof of this.
• Shunga period’s pillar obtained from Bulandibagh, has immense religious significance.
• A small stone platform has been found around the huge temple of Bodh Gaya. It was also built during the Shunga period. Lotus, king, queen, man, animal, Bodhi tree, parasol, Triratna, Kalpa tree are prominent in this.
• Child marriage was prevalent in the Shunga society and girls were married at the age of 8 to 12 years.
• The last ruler of the Shunga dynasty was Devbhuti.

Kanva Dynasty

• After killing Devbhuti, the last ruler of Shunga dynasty in 75 BCE, his secretary Vasudev (Brahmin) established Kanva dynasty in Magadha. Later, Vasudev, Bhumidev, Narayan and Susharma became the rulers.
• Vasudev remained the ruler for 9 years. The only source of information about this dynasty is the Puranas. Kanva was a Brahmin.
• During his reign, the state of Magadha probably got limited to the area of Pataliputra and the political importance of Magadha almost ended.
• The last ruler of the Kanva dynasty was deposed by the Andhra-Satavahanas.

Kushan Dynasty

• The Kushan dynasty was founded by Kujul Kadphis around 100 BСЕ.
• Vim Kadphises became the king after the death of Kujul Kadphises. Vim got gold and copper coins issued on which figures of Shiva, Nandi and Trishul have been found.
• Kanishka became the king of the Kushan dynasty after Vim Kadphis. He was the most majestic and powerful king of the Kushan dynasty.
• Kanishka made Purushpur (Peshawar, Pakistan) his capital. Its second capital was
• Kanishka started a Samvat in 78 AD which is called Shak Samvat which is used by the Government of India.
• Kanishka was a follower of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism.
• The Gandhara and Mathura school of art were developed during the reign of Kanishka.
• It is known from the Chinese translation of Sridharmapitaka Nidanasutra that Kanishka attacked Pataliputra and defeated the ruler there and received Magadha’s famous scholar Asvaghosha and Buddha’s alms bowl as compensation.
• Ashvaghosha composed texts like Buddhacharita, Sutralankara and Soundaryanand.
• Buddhist philosophers like- Parshva, Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha, scholars like Nagarjunaand physicians like Charaka were present in the court of Kanishka.
• Charak was a well-known physician in the court of Kanishka. A treatise on medical science was written by him which is called Charaksamhita.
• The last great emperor of Kanishka clan was Vasudev.