Shunga Empire

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Shunga Empire
187 BCE–73 BCE
Territory of the Shungas c. 150 BCE.[1]
Capital
Common languages
Religion
Government
Emperor
 
• c. 185 – c. 151 BCE
Pushyamitra (first)
• c. 151–141 BCE
Agnimitra
• c. 83–73 BCE
Devabhuti (last)
Historical eraAncient India
• Assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga
187 BCE
• Assassination of Devabhuti by Vasudeva Kanva
73 BCE
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Maurya Empire
Kanva dynasty
Today part of

The Shunga dynasty (

Shunga-Greek War.[3][4][5]

Pushyamitra ruled for 36 years and was succeeded by his son

.

Art, education, philosophy, and other forms of learning flowered during this period, including small terracotta images, larger stone sculptures, and architectural monuments such as the stupa at Bharhut, and the renowned Great Stupa at Sanchi. The Shunga rulers helped to establish the tradition of royal sponsorship of learning and art. The script used by the empire was a variant of Brahmi script and was used to write Sanskrit.

The Shungas were important patrons of culture at a time when some of the most important developments in

Mahābhāṣya was composed in this period. Artistry also progressed with the rise of the Mathura
art style.

The last of the Shunga emperors was Devabhuti (83–73 BCE). He was assassinated by his minister Vasudeva Kanva and was said to have been overfond of the company of women. The Shunga dynasty was replaced by the Kanvas. The Kanva dynasty succeeded the Shungas around 73 BCE.

Name

The name "Shunga" has only been used for convenience to designate the historical polity now generally described as "Shunga Empire", or the historical period known as the "Shunga period", which follows the fall of the

Pushyamitra
, but does not mention the name "Shunga".

The Bharut epigraph appears on a pillar of the gateway of the stupa, and mentions its erection "during the rule of the Sugas, by Vatsiputra Dhanabhuti".[9][10] The expression used (Suganam raje, Brahmi script: 𑀲𑀼𑀕𑀦𑀁 𑀭𑀚𑁂), may mean "during the rule of the Shungas", although not without ambiguity as it could also be "during the rule of the Sughanas", a northern Buddhist kingdom.[11][10] There is no other instance of the name "Shunga" in the epigraphical record of India.[12] The unique inscription reads:

The Dhanabhuti inscription, and the torana on which it is inscribed. Bharhut

1. Suganam raje raño Gāgīputasa Visadevasa
2. pautena, Gotiputasa Āgarajusa putena
3. Vāchhīputena Dhanabhūtina kāritam toranām
4. silākammamto cha upamno.

During the reign of the Sugas (

Shungas) the gateway was caused to be made and the stone-work presented by Dhanabhūti, the son of Vāchhī, son of Agaraju, the son of a Goti and grandson of king Visadeva, the son of Gāgī.

— Gateway pillar inscription of Dhanabhūti.[13][14]

The name "Sunga" or "Shunga" is also used in the

Pushyamitra c. 185 BCE, and ending with Devabhuti circa 75 BCE. According to the Vishnu Purana:[8][17][18]

Ten Maurya kings will reign for one hundred and thirty-seven years. After them the Śuṅgas will rule the earth. The general Puṣpamitra will kill his sovereign and usurp the kingdom. His son will be Agnimitra. His son will be Sujyeṣṭha. His son will be Vasumitra. His son will be Ārdraka. His son will be Pulindaka. His son will be Ghoṣavasu. His son will be Vajramitra. His son will be Bhāgavata. His son will be Devabhūti. These ten Śuṅgas will rule the earth for one hundred and twelve years.

Origins

Man on a relief, Bharhut, Shunga period.

According to historical reconstructions, the Shunga dynasty was established in 184 BCE, about 50 years after Ashoka's death, when the emperor Brihadratha Maurya, the last ruler of the Maurya Empire, was assassinated by his Senānī or commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra,[20] while he was reviewing the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pushyamitra then ascended the throne.[21][22]

Pushyamitra became the ruler of

Indo-Greeks from some time between 180 BCE and 100 BCE, and remained so as late as 70 BCE.[24]

Some ancient sources however claim a greater extent for the Shunga Empire: the

Punjab region
in the northwest:

... Pushyamitra equipped a fourfold army, and intending to destroy the Buddhist religion, he went to the Kukkutarama (in Pataliputra). ... Pushyamitra therefore destroyed the sangharama, killed the monks there, and departed. ... After some time, he arrived in Sakala, and proclaimed that he would give a ... reward to whoever brought him the head of a Buddhist monk.[25]: 293 

Also, the

Malavikagnimitra claims that the empire of Pushyamitra extended to the Narmada River in the south. They may also have controlled the city of Ujjain.[23] Meanwhile, Kabul and much of the Punjab passed into the hands of the Indo-Greeks and the Deccan Plateau to the Satavahana dynasty
.

Pushyamitra died after ruling for 36 years (187–151 BCE). He was succeeded by son

Kālidāsa
. Agnimitra was viceroy of Vidisha when the story takes place.

The power of the Shungas gradually weakened. It is said that there were ten Shunga emperors. The Shungas were succeeded by the Kanva dynasty around 73 BCE.

Buddhism

Accounts of persecution

Shunga horseman, Bharhut.

Following the Mauryans, the first Sunga emperor, a Brahmin named Pushyamitra,

Asokavadana account of the Divyavadana and ancient Tibetan historian Taranatha have written about persecution of Buddhists. Pushyamitra is said to have burned down Buddhist monasteries, destroyed stupas, massacred Buddhist monks and put rewards on their heads, but some consider these stories as probable exaggerations.[27][28]

"... Pushyamitra equipped a fourfold army, and intending to destroy the Buddhist religion, he went to the Kukkutarama. ... Pushyamitra therefore destroyed the sangharama, killed the monks there, and departed. ... After some time, he arrived in Sakala, and proclaimed that he would give a ... reward to whoever brought him the head of a Buddhist monk."


Pushyamitra is known to have revived the supremacy of the

Bramahnical religion and reestablished animal sacrifices (Yajnas) that had been prohibited by Ashoka.[28]

Accounts against persecution

Shunga period stupa at Sanchi.
East Gateway and Railings, Red Sandstone, Bharhut Stupa, 2nd century BCE. Indian Museum, Kolkata.

Later Shunga emperors were seen as amenable to Buddhism and as having contributed to the building of the stupa at

Pushyamitra patronised buddhist art.[31] However, given the rather decentralised and fragmentary nature of the Shunga state, with many cities actually issuing their own coinage, as well as the relative dislike of the Shungas for the Buddhist religion, some authors argue that the constructions of that period in Sanchi for example cannot really be called "Shunga". They were not the result of royal sponsorship, in contrast with what happened during the Mauryas, and most of the dedications at Sanchi were private or collective, rather than the result of royal patronage.[32]
 

Some writers believe that Brahmanism competed in political and spiritual realm with Buddhism

Gangetic plains. Buddhism flourished in the realms of the Bactrian kings.[citation needed
]

Some Indian scholars are of the opinion that the orthodox Shunga emperors were not intolerant towards Buddhism and that Buddhism prospered during the time of the Shunga emperors. The existence of Buddhism in Bengal in the Shunga period can also be inferred from a terracotta tablet that was found at

Tamralipti and is on exhibit at the Asutosh Museum
in Kolkata.

Royal dedications

Two dedication by a king Brahmamitra and a king Indragnimitra are recorded at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, and have been claimed to show Sunga support for Buddhism. These kings however are essentially unknown, and do not form a part of the Shunga recorded genealogy, but they are thought to be post-Ashokan and to belong to the period of Sunga rule.[33][34] A Brahmamitra is known otherwise as a local ruler of Mathura, but Indragnimitra is unknown, and according to some authors, Indragnimitra is in fact not even mentioned as a king in the actual inscription.[34][35]

  • An inscription at Bodh Gaya at the Mahabodhi Temple records the construction of the temple as follows:
"The gift of Nagadevi the wife of King Brahmamitra."
  • Another inscription reads:
"The gift of Kurangi, the mother of living sons and the wife of King Indragnimitra, son of Kosiki. The gift also of Srima of the royal palace shrine.[36][37] "

Cunningham has regretted the loss of the latter part of these important records. As regards the first coping inscription, he has found traces of eleven Brahmi letters after "Kuramgiye danam", the first nine of which read "rajapasada-cetika sa". Bloch reads these nine letters as "raja-pasada-cetikasa" and translates this expression in relation to the preceding words:

"(the gift of Kurangi, the wife of Indragnimitra and the mother of living sons), "to the caitya (cetika) of the noble temple", taking the word raja before pasada as an epithet on ornans, distinguishing the temple as a particularly large and stately building similar to such expressions as rajahastin 'a noble elephant', rajahamsa `a goose (as distinguished from hamsa 'a duck'), etc."

Cunningham has translated the expression by "the royal palace, the caitya", suggesting that "the mention of the raja-pasada would seem to connect the donor with the king's family." Luders doubtfully suggests "to the king's temple" as a rendering of "raja-pasada-cetikasa."

Shunga period contributions in Sanchi

The Great Stupa under the Shungas. The Shungas nearly doubled the diameter of the initial stupa, encasing it in stone, and built a balustrade and a railing around it.

On the basis of Ashokavadana, it is presumed that the stupa may have been vandalised at one point sometime in the 2nd century BCE, an event some have related to the rise of the Shunga emperor Pushyamitra who overtook the Mauryan Empire as an army general. It has been suggested that Pushyamitra may have destroyed the original stupa, and his son Agnimitra rebuilt it.[38] The original brick stupa was covered with stone during the Shunga period.

According to historian Julia Shaw, the post-Mauryan constructions at Sanchi cannot be described as "Sunga" as sponsorship for the construction of the stupas, as attested by the numerous donative inscriptions, was not royal but collective, and the Sungas were known for their opposition to Buddhism.[39]

Great Stupa (No 1)

During the later rule of the Shunga, the stupa was expanded with stone slabs to almost twice its original size. The dome was flattened near the top and crowned by three superimposed parasols within a square railing. With its many tiers it was a symbol of the dharma, the Wheel of the Law. The dome was set on a high circular drum meant for circumambulation, which could be accessed via a double staircase. A second stone pathway at ground level was enclosed by a stone balustrade. The railing around Stupa 1 do not have artistic reliefs. These are only slabs, with some dedicatory inscriptions. These elements are dated to c. 150 BCE.[40]

Stupa No2 and Stupa No3

The buildings which seem to have been commissioned during the rule of the Shungas are the Second and Third

Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana are said to have been placed in Stupa No 3.[41] These are dated to c. 115 BCE for the medallions, 80 BCE for the gateway carvings,[42] slightly after the reliefs of Bharhut, with some reworks down to the 1st century CE.[40][42]

The style of the Shunga period decorations at Sanchi bear a close similarity to those of Bharhut, as well as the peripheral balustrades at Bodh Gaya, which are thought to be the oldest of the three.

Shunga structures and decorations
(150-80 BCE)

Great Stupa
(Stupa expansion and balustrades only are Shunga).
Undecorated ground railings dated to approximately 150 BCE.[40]
  • Shunga balustrade and staircase.
    Shunga balustrade and staircase.
  • Shunga stonework.
    Shunga stonework.
  • Shunga vedika (railing) with inscriptions.
    Shunga
    vedika
    (railing) with inscriptions.
  • Deambulatory pathway.
    Deambulatory pathway.
  • Summit railing and umbrellas.
    Summit railing and umbrellas.

Stupa No 2
Entirely Shunga work. The reliefs are thought to date to the last quarter of the 2nd century BCE (c. 115 BCE for the medallions, 80 BCE for the gateway carvings),[42] slightly after the reliefs of Bharhut, with some reworks down to the 1st century CE.[40][42]
  • Elephant and Riders.
    Elephant and Riders.
  • Balustrade post with Lakshmi.
    Balustrade post with Lakshmi.
  • Balustrade post with Yaksha.
    Balustrade post with Yaksha.
  • Pillar with elephants supporting a wheel.
    Pillar with elephants supporting a wheel.
  • Personage.
    Personage.
  • Lotus.
    Lotus.
  • Floral motif.
    Floral motif.
  • Foreigner on a horse, c. 115 BCE.[42]
    Foreigner on a horse, c. 115 BCE.[42]
  • Ashoka supported by his two wives. Similar to the later relief at Gateway 1.
    Ashoka supported by his two wives. Similar to the later relief at Gateway 1.
  • Relic boxes found inside the stupa.
    Relic boxes found inside the stupa.

Stupa No 3
(Stupa and balustrades only are Shunga).
  • Stairway and railing.
    Stairway and railing.
  • Lotus medallions.
    Lotus medallions.
  • Floral designs.
    Floral designs.
  • Post relief.[43]
    Post relief.[43]
  • Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana.
    Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana
    .

Wars of the Shungas

Main polities in Asia, circa -100.[44][45][46][47]

War and conflict characterised the Shunga period. They are known to have warred with the

]

The Shunga 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 theorised to have advanced into the trans-Indus to confront the Shungas.[28] The Indo-Greek Menander I is credited with either joining or leading a campaign to Pataliputra with other Indian rulers; however, very little is known about the exact nature and success of the campaign. The net result of these wars remains uncertain.[citation needed
]

Calcutta
.

Literary evidence

Several works, such as the Mahabharata and the Yuga Purana describe the conflict between the Shungas and the Indo-Greeks.

Military expeditions of the Shungas

Scriptures such as the

Punjab, to persecute Buddhist monks.[50]

War with the Yavanas (Greeks)

The

Milindapanha
.

The Hindu text of the Yuga Purana, which describes Indian historical events in the form of a prophecy,[52][note 1] relates the attack of the Indo-Greeks on the Shunga capital Pataliputra, a magnificent fortified city with 570 towers and 64 gates according to Megasthenes,[54] and describes the impending war for city:

Then, after having approached

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

, Paragraph 47–48, 2002 edition)

However, the Yuga Purana indicates that the Yavanas (Indo-Greeks) did not remain for long in Pataliputra, as they were faced with a civil war in Bactria.

Western sources also suggest that this new offensive of the Greeks into India led them as far as the capital Pataliputra:[55]

Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra

— Strabo, 15.698

Battle on the Sindhu river

An account of a direct battle between the Greeks and the Shunga is also found in the

Indus river in the northwest, but such expansion by the Shungas is unlikely, and it is more probable that the river mentioned in the text is the Sindh River or the Kali Sindh River in the Ganges Basin.[57]

Epigraphic and archaeological evidence

Dhanadeva-Ayodhya inscription

Ultimately, Shunga rule seems to have extended to the area of Ayodhya. Shunga inscriptions are known as far as

Dhanadeva, who claimed to be the sixth descendant of Pushyamitra. The inscription also records that Pushyamitra performed two Ashvamedhas (victory sacrifices) in Ayodhya.[58]

Yavanarajya inscription

Mathura Museum
.

The Greeks seem to have maintained control of Mathura. The

Indo-Greeks in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE in Mathura, a fact that is also confirmed by numismatic and literary evidence.[24] Moreover, it does not seem that the Shungas ever ruled in Mathura or Surasena since no Shunga coins or inscriptions have been found there.[24]

The

Later however, it seems the city of Mathura was retaken from them, if not by the Shungas themselves, then probably by other indigenous rulers such as the

Kunindas
also started to mint their own coins, thus affirming independence from the Indo-Greeks, although the style of their coins was often derived from that of the Indo-Greeks.

Heliodorus pillar

Indo-Greek king Antialcidas. The pillar originally supported a statue of Garuda
. Established circa 100 BCE.

Very little can be said with great certainty. However, what does appear clear is that the two realms appeared to have established normalised diplomatic relations in the succeeding reigns of their respective rulers. The Indo-Greeks and the Shungas seem to have reconciled and exchanged diplomatic missions around 110 BCE, as indicated by the

Indo-Greek king Antialcidas, to the court of the Shunga emperor Bhagabhadra at the site of Vidisha in central India
.

Decline

After the death of Agnimitra, the second king of the dynasty, the empire rapidly disintegrated:

Panchala

The last king of Sungas,

Andhras did indeed destroy the last remains of the Sunga state in central India somewhere around Vidisha,[63]
probably as a feeble rump state.

Art

The Shunga art style differed somewhat from imperial Mauryan art, which was influenced by Persian art. In both, continuing elements of folk art and cults of the Mother goddess appear in popular art, but are now produced with more skill in more monumental forms. The Shunga style was thus seen as 'more Indian' and is often described as the more indigenous.[64]

Art, education, philosophy, and other learning flowered during this period. Most notably, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and Mahabhashya 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 romanticised 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 (Greco-Buddhist art) of Afghanistan and North-Western frontier of India (modern day Pakistan).

During the historical Shunga 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 Bharhut, originally started under Emperor Ashoka. It remains uncertain whether these works were due to the weakness of the control of the Shungas in these areas, or a sign of tolerance on their part.

Shunga statuettes and reliefs
  • Chandraketugarth, goddess of fecundity.
    Chandraketugarth, goddess of fecundity.
  • Chandraketugarth.
    Chandraketugarth.
  • Shunga Yakshi, 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Shunga Yakshi, 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Shunga masculine figurine (molded plate). 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Shunga masculine figurine (molded plate). 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Shunga woman with child. 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Shunga woman with child. 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Shunga Yaksha. 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Shunga Yaksha. 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Shunga mother figure, with attendant. 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Shunga mother figure, with attendant. 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Shunga fecundity deity. 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Shunga fecundity deity. 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Baluster-holding yakṣa, Madhya Pradesh, Shunga period (2nd–1st century BCE). Guimet Museum.
    Baluster-holding yakṣa, Madhya Pradesh, Shunga period (2nd–1st century BCE). Guimet Museum.
  • Royal family, Shunga, West Bengal 1st century BCE.
    Royal family, Shunga, West Bengal 1st century BCE.
  • Amorous royal couple. Shunga, 1st century BCE, West Bengal.
    Amorous royal couple. Shunga, 1st century BCE, West Bengal.
  • Erotic art from Shunga period.
    Erotic art from Shunga period.
  • Fragments of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
    Fragments of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
  • Fragments of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
    Fragments of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
  • Fragment of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
    Fragment of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
  • Gold bracelet from Shunga period, 185-72 BCE.
    Gold bracelet from Shunga period, 185-72 BCE.
  • Ivory bowl fragment, 2nd–1st century B.C.
    Ivory bowl fragment, 2nd–1st century B.C.
  • Shunga pottery with decorative figurine motifes.
    Shunga pottery with decorative figurine motifes.

Script

The script used by the Shunga was a variant of

Kalinga Brahmi scripts.[65]

Shunga coinage
  • Bronze coin of the Shunga period, Eastern India. 2nd–1st century BCE.
    Bronze coin of the Shunga period, Eastern India. 2nd–1st century BCE.
  • Another Shunga coin
    Another Shunga coin
  • A copper coin of 1/4 karshapana of Ujjain in Malwa.
    A copper coin of 1/4 karshapana of Ujjain in Malwa.
  • Shunga coin.
    Shunga coin.