Shunga Empire

2022-04-09T00:57:40Z

Gudumba221: New content.

{{Short description|Indian empire (185 BCE–73 BCE)}}
{{redirect|Sunga}}
{{Use Indian English}}
{{Use dmy dates}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name =
| conventional_long_name = Shunga Empire
| common_name = Shunga Empire
| era = [[History of India#Classical period (c. 200 BCE – c. 650 CE)|Ancient India]]
| year_start = 185 BCE
| event_start = Assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga
| year_end = 73 BCE
| event_end = Assassination of Devabhuti by Vasudeva Kanva
| p1 = Maurya Empire
| flag_p1 = Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE 2.png
| s1 = Kanva dynasty
| image_map =
{{Location map+
|South Asia
|overlay_image=Map of the Shungas.png
| width=280 
| float = center
| border =none
| nodiv = 1
| mini = 1
| relief = yes
| places =
{{Annotation|text-align=center|90|165|[[Satavahanas|SATAVAHANAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|text-align=center|145|130|[[Mahameghavahana dynasty|MAHAMEGHA- VAHANAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|text-align=center|70|115|[[Malavas|MALAVAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|text-align=center|70|45|[[Indo-Greeks|INDO- GREEKS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|text-align=center|115|215|[[Pandyan dynasty|PANDYAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}}
{{Annotation|text-align=center|115|195|[[Chola dynasty|CHOLAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}}
|caption=
}}
| image_map_caption = {{center|Territory of the Shungas {{Circa|150 BCE}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=145, map XIV.1 (c)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182}}</ref>}}
| capital = {{plainlist|
*[[Pataliputra]]
*[[Vidisha]]}}
| common_languages = {{plainlist|
*[[Sanskrit]]}}
| religion = {{plainlist|
*[[Hinduism]]}}
| government_type = [[Monarchy]]
| leader1 = [[Pushyamitra Shunga|Pushyamitra]] (first)
| year_leader1 = {{Circa|185|151 BCE}}
| leader2 = [[Agnimitra]]
| year_leader2 = {{Circa|151}}–141 BCE
| leader3 = [[Devabhuti]] (last)
| year_leader3 = {{Circa|83}}–73 BCE
| title_leader = [[List of Magadha monarchs#House of Shunga|Maharajadhiraja]]
| today = {{plainlist|
*[[India]]
*[[Bangladesh]]
*[[Nepal]]
*[[Pakistan]]
}}
}}
The '''Shunga dynasty''' ([[IAST]]: ''{{IAST|Śuṅga}}'') was the seventh ruling dynasty of [[Magadha]] and controlled most of the northern [[Indian subcontinent]] from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by [[Pushyamitra Shunga|Pushyamitra]], after taking the throne of Magadha from the [[Mauryas]]. The Shunga Empire's capital was [[Pataliputra]], but later emperors such as [[Bhagabhadra]] also held court at Besnagar (modern [[Vidisha]]) in eastern [[Malwa]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stadtner |first=Donald |title=A Śuṅga Capital from Vidiśā |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=37 |issue=1/2 |pages=101–104 |doi=10.2307/3250214 |jstor=3250214}}</ref>

Pushyamitra ruled for 36 years and was succeeded by his son [[Agnimitra]]. There were ten Shunga rulers. However, after the death of Agnimitra, the second king of the dynasty, the empire rapidly disintegrated:<ref name="books.google.com">K.A. Nilkantha Shastri (1970), [https://books.google.com/books?id=E3tDAAAAYAAJ ''A Comprehensive History of India: Volume 2''], p.108: "Soon after Agnimitra there was no 'Sunga empire'."</ref> inscriptions and coins indicate that much of northern and central India consisted of small kingdoms and city-states that were independent of any Shunga [[hegemony]].<ref name="Bhandare, Shailendra 2006 p.96">Bhandare, Shailendra. "Numismatics and History: The Maurya-Gupta Interlude in the Gangetic Plain". in [https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC ''Between the Empires: Society in India, 300 to 400''], ed. Patrick Olivelle (2006), p.96</ref> The dynasty is noted for its numerous wars with both foreign and indigenous powers. They fought the [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]], the [[Satavahana dynasty]], the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] and possibly the [[Panchala]]s and [[Mitra dynasty (Mathura)|Mitras of Mathura]].

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 [[Hindu]] thought were taking place. [[Patanjali]]'s ''[[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 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 [[Maurya Empire]].<ref name="RSS"/> The term comes from a single epigraphic inscription in [[Bharhut]], in which a dedication to the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] Bharhut [[stupa]] is said to have been made "at the time of the Suga kings" (''Suganam raje''), with no indication as to whom these "Suga kings" might be.<ref name="RSS">{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3 |pages=141–142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC&pg=PA141 |language=en}}</ref> Other broadly contemporary inscriptions, such as the [[Heliodorus pillar|Heliodorus pillar inscription]], are only assumed to relate to Shunga rulers.<ref name="RSS"/> The [[Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana]] mentions a ruler named [[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 [[Dhanabhuti|Vatsiputra Dhanabhuti]]".<ref name="About INC-ICOM">{{cite web |title=Bharhut Gallery |url=http://www.inc-icom.org/newgal_bharut.html |website=INC-ICOM Galleries |publisher=Indian National Committee of the International Council of Museums |access-date=29 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235552/http://www.inc-icom.org/newgal_bharut.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="academia.edu">{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Ajit |title=Bharhut Sculptures and their untenable Sunga Association |journal=Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology |volume=2 |page=230 |url=https://www.academia.edu/10237709 |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Srughna|Sughana]]s", a northern Buddhist kingdom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Olivelle |first1=Patrick |title=Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977507-1 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC&pg=PA58 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="academia.edu"/> There is no other instance of the name "Shunga" in the [[epigraphy|epigraphical]] record of India.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |title=Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535666-3 |page=141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYrG07qQDxkC&pg=PA141 |language=en}}</ref> The unique inscription reads:

{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=450|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =horizontal
| image1 = Dhanabhuti_Bharhut_Torana_inscription.jpg
| image2 = Dhanabhuti_inscription_location.jpg
| footer=The [[Dhanabhuti]] inscription, and the [[torana]] on which it is inscribed. [[Bharhut]]
}}
{{Quote|
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 ([[Srughna|Sughana]]s, or [[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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Luders |first1=H. |title=CORPUS INSCRIPTIONS INDICARUM VOL II PART II |date=1963 |publisher=India Archaeological Society |page=[https://archive.org/details/corpusinscriptio014676mbp/page/n60 11] |url=https://archive.org/details/corpusinscriptio014676mbp}}</ref><ref>The Stupa of Bharhut, Alexander Cunningham, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924016181111 p.128]</ref>
}}

[[Dhanabhuti]] was making a major dedication to a Buddhist monument, [[Bharhut]], whereas the historical "Shungas" are known to have been [[Hindu]] monarchs, which would suggest that Dhanabhuti himself may not have been a member of the Shunga dynasty.<ref name="SRQ">{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |pages=8–9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA8 |language=en}}</ref> Neither is he known from "Shunga" regnal lists.<ref name="SRQ"/><ref name="SRQ13"/> The mention "in the reign of the Shungas" also suggests that he was not himself a Shunga ruler, only that he may have been a tributary of the Shungas, or a ruler in a neighbouring territory, such as [[Kosala]] or [[Panchala]].<ref name="SRQ13">{{cite book |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004155374 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA13 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="SRQ"/>

The name "Sunga" or "Shunga" is also used in the ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'', the date of which is contested, to designate the dynasty of kings starting with [[Pushyamitra]] {{Circa|185 BCE}}, and ending with [[Devabhuti]] circa 75 BCE. According to the [[Vishnu Purana]]:<ref name="RSS"/><ref>{{cite book |title=A Comprehensive History Of Ancient India (3 Vol. Set) |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd |isbn=978-81-207-2503-4 |page=93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gE7udqBkACwC&pg=PA93 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Indian History |publisher=Allied Publishers |isbn=978-81-8424-568-4 |page=254 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&pg=PA254 |language=en}}</ref>

{{quote|''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.''|Vishnu Purana, Book Four: The Royal Dynasties.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=McComas |title=The Royal Dynasties |journal=The Visnu Purana |date=2021 |page=330 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1sjwpmj.10 |publisher=ANU Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctv1sjwpmj.10 |jstor=j.ctv1sjwpmj.10 |s2cid=244448788 }}</ref>}}

==Origins==
[[File:Bharhut Sunga individual.jpg|thumb|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 Shunga|Pushyamitra]],<ref>"Pushyamitra is said in the Puranas to have been the ''senānī'' or army-commander of the last Maurya emperor Brihadratha" The Yuga Purana, Mitchener, 2002.</ref> while he was reviewing the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pushyamitra then ascended the throne.{{sfn|Thapar|2013|p=296}}<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC&q=brahmin+dynasties Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE By Patrick Olivelle, Oxford University Press, Page 147-152]</ref>

Pushyamitra became the ruler of [[Magadha]] and neighbouring territories. His realm essentially covered the central parts of the old [[Mauryan Empire]].<ref name="NA"/> The Shunga definitely had control of the central city of [[Ayodhya]] in northern central India, as is proved by the [[Dhanadeva-Ayodhya inscription]].<ref name="NA">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA169 Ancient Indian History and Civilization, Sailendra Nath Sen, New Age International, 1999, p.169]</ref> However, the city of [[Mathura]] further west never seems to have been under the direct control of the Shungas, as no archaeological evidence of a Shunga presence has ever been found in Mathura.<ref name="Rhie"/> On the contrary, according to the [[Yavanarajya inscription]], Mathura was probably under the control of [[Indo-Greeks]] from some time between 180 BCE and 100 BCE, and remained so as late as 70 BCE.<ref name="Rhie">History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE, Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, BRILL, 2007, p.8-10 [https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA8]</ref>

Some ancient sources however claim a greater extent for the Shunga Empire: the ''[[Asokavadana]]'' account of the ''[[Divyavadana]]'' claims that the Shungas sent an army to persecute Buddhist monks as far as [[Sagala|Sakala]] ([[Sialkot]]) in the [[Punjab region]] in the northwest:
{{quote|... 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 [[Sagala|Sakala]], and proclaimed that he would give a ... reward to whoever brought him the head of a Buddhist monk.<ref name="John1989">{{cite book | author=John S. Strong | author-link = John S. Strong | title=The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9uaQTQ8h8C&pg=PA232 | access-date=30 October 2012 | year=1989 | publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] | isbn=978-81-208-0616-0 }}</ref>{{rp|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]].<ref name="NA"/> Meanwhile, [[Kabul]] and much of the Punjab passed into the hands of the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|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 [[Agnimitra]]. This prince is the hero of a famous drama by one of India's greatest playwrights, [[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==
{{Main|Pushyamitra Shunga}}
{{See also|Decline of Buddhism in India}}

===Accounts of persecution===
[[File:Sunga horseman Bharhut.jpg|thumb|Shunga horseman, [[Bharhut]].]]
Following the Mauryans, the first Brahmin emperor was Pushyamitra, and is believed by some historians to have persecuted Buddhists and contributed to a resurgence of [[Vedic Brahmanism|Brahmanism]] that forced Buddhism outwards to [[Kashmir]], [[Gandhara]] and [[Bactria]].<ref name="Sarvastivada">Sarvastivada pg 38–39</ref> Buddhist scripture such as the ''[[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.<ref name="Sarvastivada"/><ref name="books.google.fr">[https://books.google.com/books?id=HSoE8qR-5BgC&pg=PA38 A Journey Through India's Past Chandra Mauli Mani, Northern Book Centre, 2005, p.38]</ref>

{{quote|"... 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."| ''[[Asokavadana]]'' account of the ''[[Divyavadana]]''<ref>{{cite book | author=John S. Strong | author-link = John S. Strong | title=The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9uaQTQ8h8C&pg=PA293 | access-date=30 October 2012 | year=1989 | publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] | isbn=978-81-208-0616-0 }}</ref>{{rp|293}}}}

Pushyamitra is known to have revived the supremacy of the [[Brahmanism|Bramahnical]] religion and reestablished animal sacrifices ([[Yajna]]s) that had been prohibited by [[Ashoka]].<ref name="books.google.fr"/>

===Accounts against persecution===
[[File:Sanchi Stupa Nr. 2 (1999).JPG|thumb|Shunga period [[stupa]] at [[Sanchi]].]]
[[File:East Gateway and Railings Bharhut Stupa.jpg|thumb|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 [[Bharhut]].<ref>Akira Hirakawa, Paul Groner, "A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana", Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1996, {{ISBN|81-208-0955-6}} pg 223</ref> During his reign the Buddhist monuments of Bharhut and [[Sanchi]] were renovated and further improved. There is enough evidence to show that [[Pushyamitra]] patronised buddhist art.<ref>Sir john Marshall, "[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.278482 A Guide to Sanchi]", 1918</ref> 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.<ref>Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, c. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD Julia Shaw, Routledge, 2016 [https://books.google.com/books?id=IUbUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PR58 p.58]</ref>

Some writers believe that Brahmanism competed in political and spiritual realm with Buddhism<ref name="Sarvastivada"/> in the [[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 of Indian Art|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-[[Ashoka]]n and to belong to the period of Sunga rule.<ref>Asoka, Mookerji Radhakumud, Motilal Banarsidass Publishe, 1962 [https://books.google.com/books?id=uXyftdtE1ygC&pg=PA152 p.152]</ref><ref name="p.58-59">Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE Patrick Olivelle, Oxford University Press, 2006 [https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC&pg=PA58 p.58-59]</ref> 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.<ref name="p.58-59"/><ref>Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE Patrick Olivelle, Oxford University Press, 2006 [https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC&pg=PA75 p.75]</ref>
* 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''.<ref name="ccbs.ntu.edu.tw">(Barua, B.M., '[http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/bar.htm ''Old Buddhist Shrines at Bodh-Gaya Inscriptions''])</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/bodh_gaya/bodh_gaya02.htm |title=Bodh Gaya from 500 BCE to 500 CE |work=buddhanet.net}}</ref> "

[[Alexander Cunningham|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:
<blockquote>"(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."</blockquote>
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===
{{main|Sanchi}}
[[File:Sanchi Great Stupa under the Sungas.jpg|thumb|300px|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.<ref>"Who was responsible for the wanton destruction of the original brick stupa of [[Ashoka]] and when precisely the great work of reconstruction was carried out is not known, but it seems probable that the author of the former was [[Pushyamitra Shunga|Pushyamitra]], the first of the Shunga kings (184-148 BC), who was notorious for his hostility to Buddhism, and that the restoration was affected by [[Agnimitra]] or his immediate successor." in John Marshall, ''A Guide to Sanchi,'' p. 38. Calcutta: Superintendent, Government Printing (1918).</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Julia |title=Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, c. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-43263-2 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUbUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PR58 |language=en|quote="It is inaccurate to refer to the post-Mauryan monuments at Sanchi as Sunga. Not only was Pusyamitra reputedly animical to Buddhism, but most of the donative inscriptions during this period attest to predominantly collective and nonroyal modes of sponsorship."}}</ref>

====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 {{Circa|150 BCE}}.<ref name="Shaw 88"/>

====Stupa No2 and Stupa No3====
The buildings which seem to have been commissioned during the rule of the Shungas are the Second and Third [[stupa]]s (but not the highly decorated gateways, which are from the following [[Satavahana]] period, as known from inscriptions), and the ground balustrade and stone casing of the Great Stupa (Stupa No 1). The [[Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana]] are said to have been placed in Stupa No 3.<ref>Marshall [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.81]</ref> These are dated to {{Circa|115 BCE}} for the medallions, 80 BCE for the gateway carvings,<ref name="Shaw 90">Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 2013 [https://books.google.com/books?id=jzkyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 p.90]</ref> slightly after the reliefs of [[Bharhut]], with some reworks down to the 1st century CE.<ref name="Shaw 88">Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, C. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Left Coast Press, 2013 [https://books.google.com/books?id=jzkyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 p.88ff]</ref><ref name="Shaw 90"/>

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.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
|-
|state = {{{1<includeonly>|collapsed</includeonly>}}} align=center colspan=2 style="background:#CD853F; font-size: 100%;"| '''Shunga structures and decorations (150-80 BCE)'''
|-
|align="center" style="background:#DEB887; font-size: 100%; width: 1%;"|[[File:Great Sanchi Stupa Side view.jpg|200px]] Great Stupa (Stupa expansion and balustrades only are Shunga). Undecorated ground railings dated to approximately 150 BCE.<ref name="Shaw 88"/>
|
<gallery>
File:Interiors of Stupa 1.JPG|Shunga balustrade and staircase.
File:Great Sanchi Stup masonry work.jpg|Shunga stonework.
File:Donation engravings on Vedika, Sanchi.jpg|Shunga [[vedika]] (railing) with inscriptions.
File:Great Sanchi Stupa Gallery (3).jpg|Deambulatory pathway.
File:Stupa 1, Sanchi 03.jpg|Summit railing and umbrellas.
</gallery>
|-
|align="center" style="background:#DEB887" |[[File:Sanchi Stupa Nr. 2 (1999).JPG|200px]] Stupa No 2 Entirely Shunga work. The reliefs are thought to date to the last quarter of the 2nd century BCE ({{Circa|115 BCE}} for the medallions, 80 BCE for the gateway carvings),<ref name="Shaw 90"/> slightly after the reliefs of [[Bharhut]], with some reworks down to the 1st century CE.<ref name="Shaw 88"/><ref name="Shaw 90"/>
|
<gallery>
File:Sanchi 8-16.JPG|Elephant and Riders.
File:Sanchi 8-17.jpg|Balustrade post with Lakshmi.
File:Sanchi 8-18.JPG|Balustrade post with Yaksha.
File:Sanchi Stupa 2 elephants and Dharmachakra.jpg|Pillar with elephants supporting a wheel.
File:Sanchi Stupa Sculpture 17.jpg|Personage.
File:Sanchi Stupa Sculpture 18.jpg|Lotus.
File:Sanchi Stupa Sculpture 8.jpg|Floral motif.
File:Sanchi Stupa 2 man on horse.jpg|Foreigner on a horse, {{Circa|115 BCE}}.<ref name="Shaw 90"/>
File:Ashoka supported by his two wives at Stupa 2 Sanchi.jpg|[[Ashoka]] supported by his two wives. Similar to [[:File:Sanchi King Ashoka with his Queens, South Gate, Stupa no. 1.jpg|the later relief at Gateway 1]].
File:Sanchi Stupa No 2 relics.jpg|Relic boxes found inside the stupa.
</gallery>
|-
|align="center" style="background:#DEB887"|[[File:Stupa 3 - Sanchi Hill 2013-02-21 4268.JPG|200px]] Stupa No 3 (Stupa and balustrades only are Shunga).
|
<gallery>
File:005 Stairway Railing (33364948500).jpg|Stairway and railing.
File:006 Floral Design (33749716585).jpg|Lotus medallions.
File:007 Floral Design (33620496811).jpg|Floral designs.
File:Post relief Stupa 3 Sanchi.jpg|Post relief.<ref>Marshall [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.459148 p.82]</ref>
File:Sanchi Stupa No 3 relics.jpg|[[Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana]].
</gallery>
|}

==Wars of the Shungas==
{{Continental Asia in 100 BCE}}
War and conflict characterised the Shunga period. They are known to have warred with the [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalingas]], [[Satavahana]]s, the [[Indo-Greeks]], and possibly the [[Panchalas]] and [[Mathura]]s.{{citation needed}}

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 I of Bactria|Demetrius]] conquered the Kabul Valley and is theorised to have advanced into the trans-Indus to confront the Shungas.<ref name="books.google.fr"/> 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}}

[[File:Bharhut Yavana.jpg|thumb|upright|Vedika pillar with "[[Yavana]]" [[Indo-Greeks|Greek warrior]]. Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, Shunga Period, {{Circa|100}}-80 BC. Reddish brown sandstone.<ref>D.N. Jha,"Early India: A Concise History"p.150, plate 17</ref> [[Indian Museum]], [[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 ''[[Ashokavadana]]'' claim that Pushyamitra toppled Emperor [[Brihadratha Maurya|Brihadratha]] and killed many Buddhist monks.<ref name="John1989 292">{{cite book | author=John S. Strong | author-link = John S. Strong | title=The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9uaQTQ8h8C&pg=PA292 | access-date=30 October 2012 | year=1989 | publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] | isbn=978-81-208-0616-0 }}</ref> Then it describes how Pushyamitra sent an army to [[Pataliputra]] and as far as Sakala ([[Sialkot]]), in the [[Punjab region|Punjab]], to persecute Buddhist monks.<ref>"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 [[Sagala|Sakala]], and proclaimed that he would give a ... reward to whoever brought him the head of a Buddhist monk."{{cite book | author=John S. Strong | author-link = John S. Strong | title=The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kp9uaQTQ8h8C&pg=PA293 | access-date=30 October 2012 | year=1989 | publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] | isbn=978-81-208-0616-0 }}</ref>

===War with the Yavanas (Greeks)===
The [[Indo-Greeks]], called [[Yavanas]] in Indian sources, either led by [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]] or [[Menander I]], then invaded India, possibly receiving the help of Buddhists.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HSoE8qR-5BgC&pg=PA39 A Journey Through India's Past Chandra Mauli Mani, Northern Book Centre, 2005, p.39]</ref> Menander in particular is described as a convert to Buddhism in the ''[[Milindapanha]]''.

The Hindu text of the ''[[Yuga Purana]]'', which describes Indian historical events in the form of a prophecy,<ref>"For any scholar engaged in the study of the presence of the Indo-Greeks or Indo-Scythians before the Christian Era, the ''Yuga Purana'' is an important source material" Dilip Coomer Ghose, General Secretary, [[Asiatic Society|The Asiatic Society]], [[Kolkata]], 2002</ref>{{refn|group=note|Formerly, scholars doubted the validity of the Yuga Purana, because manuscripts of it have been highly corrupted over its history; however, Sanskrit scholar [[Ludo Rocher]] says that recent "research has [...] been concerned with establishing a more acceptable text," and "The Yuga [Purana] is important primarily as a historical document. It is a matter-of-fact chronicle [...] of the Magadha empire, down to the breakdown of the Sungas and the arrival of the Sakas. It is unique in its description of the invasion and retirement of the Yavanas in Magadha."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rocher |first1=Ludo |title=The Purāṇas |date=1986 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=9783447025225 |pages=253–254 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0-4RJh5FgoC&pg=PA254 |language=en}}</ref>}} 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]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Foreign_Views/GreekRoman/Megasthenes-Indika.htm |title=Megasthenes: ''Indika'' |website=Project South Asia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210080315/http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Foreign_Views/GreekRoman/Megasthenes-Indika.htm |archive-date=10 December 2008 |quote="The greatest city in India is that which is called Palimbothra, in the dominions of the Prasians [...] Megasthenes informs us that this city stretched in the inhabited quarters to an extreme length on each side of eighty stadia, and that its breadth was fifteen stadia, and that a ditch encompassed it all round, which was six hundred feet in breadth and thirty cubits in depth, and that the wall was crowned with 570 towers and had four-and-sixty gates. (Arr. Ind. 10. 'Of Pataliputra and the Manners of the Indians')"}}</ref> and describes the impending war for city:

{{quote|Then, after having approached [[Saketa]] together with the [[Panchala]]s and the [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|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)}}

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 [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Bactria]].

Western sources also suggest that this new offensive of the Greeks into India led them as far as the capital [[Pataliputra]]:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&pg=SL1-PA298 Indian History Allied Publishers]</ref>
{{quote|Those who came after [[Alexander the Great|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 ''[[Mālavikāgnimitram]]'', a play by [[Kālidāsa]] which describes a battle between a squadron of Greek cavalrymen and [[Vasumitra]], the grandson of [[Pushyamitra]], accompanied by a hundred soldiers on the "Sindhu river", in which the Indians defeated a squadron of Greeks and Pushyamitra successfully completed the [[Ashvamedha]] Yagna.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924022967578#page/n113 The Malavikágnimitra : a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa; Tawney, C. H. p.91]</ref> This river may be 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]].<ref>"Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian coins in the Smithsonian institution", [[Bopearachchi]], p16. Also: "Kalidasa recounts in his Mālavikāgnimitra (5.15.14–24) that [[Pushyamitra Shunga|Puṣpamitra]] appointed his grandson Vasumitra to guard his sacrificial horse, which wandered on the right bank of the Sindhu river and was seized by Yavana cavalrymen- the latter being thereafter defeated by Vasumitra. The "Sindhu" referred to in this context may refer the river [[Indus River|Indus]]: but such an extension of Shunga power seems unlikely, and it is more probable that it denotes one of two rivers in central India -either the Sindhu river which is a tributary of the [[Yamuna]], or the Kali-Sindhu river which is a tributary of the [[Chambal River|Chambal]]." The Yuga Purana, Mitchener, 2002.</ref>

===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 [[Ayodhya]] in northern central India;<ref name="NA"/> in particular, the [[Dhanadeva-Ayodhya inscription]] refers to a local king [[Dhanadeva]], who claimed to be the sixth descendant of Pushyamitra. The inscription also records that Pushyamitra performed two [[Ashvamedha]]s (victory sacrifices) in Ayodhya.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bakker |first=Hans |author-link=Hans T. Bakker |year=1982 |title=The rise of Ayodhya as a place of pilgrimage |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=24 |number=2 |pages=103–126 |doi=10.1163/000000082790081267|s2cid=161957449 }}</ref>

====Yavanarajya inscription====
[[File:Yavanarajya inscription.jpg|thumb|350px|The ''[[Yavanarajya inscription]]'', dated to "year 116 of [[Yavana]] hegemony", probably 70 or 69 BCE, was discovered in [[Mathura]]. [[Mathura Museum]].]]
The Greeks seem to have maintained control of Mathura. The [[Yavanarajya inscription]], also called the "Maghera inscription", discovered in [[Mathura]], suggests that the Indo-Greeks were in control of Mathura during the 1st century BCE.<ref name="Rhie 254">{{cite book |author=Sonya Rhie Quintanilla |year=2007 |title=History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7Cb8IkZVSMC&pg=PA254 |publisher=BRILL |page=254 |isbn=978-90-04-15537-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Shankar Goyal |year=2004 |title=India's ancient past |location=Jaipur |publisher=Book Enclave |page=189 |isbn=9788181520012 |quote=Some Newly Discovered Inscriptions from Mathura : The Meghera Well Stone Inscription of Yavanarajya Year 160 Recently a stone inscription was acquired in the Government Museum, Mathura.}}</ref> The inscription is important in that it mentions the date of its dedication as "The last day of year 116 of [[Yavana]] hegemony (''Yavanarajya'')". It is considered that this inscription is attesting the control of the [[Indo-Greeks]] in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE in Mathura, a fact that is also confirmed by numismatic and literary evidence.<ref name="Rhie"/> Moreover, it doesn't seem that the Shungas ever ruled in Mathura or [[Surasena]] since no Shunga coins or inscriptions have been found there.<ref name="Rhie"/>

The ''[[Anushasana Parva]]'' of the [[Mahabharata]] affirms that the city of Mathura was under the joint control of the [[Yavana]]s and the [[Kambojas]].<ref>"tatha Yavana Kamboja Mathuram.abhitash cha ye./ ete ashava.yuddha.kushaladasinatyasi charminah."//5 — (MBH 12/105/5, Kumbhakonam Ed)</ref>

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 [[Datta dynasty]] or the [[Mitra dynasty (Mathura)|Mitra dynasty]], or more probably by the [[Indo-Scythian]] [[Northern Satraps]] under [[Rajuvula]]. In the region of Mathura, the [[Arjunayana]]s and [[Yaudheya]]s 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 [[Kuninda]]s 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====
[[File:Heliodorus pillar with elevation.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The [[Heliodorus pillar]] was built in [[Vidisha]] under the Shungas, at the instigation of [[Heliodorus]], ambassador of the [[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 [[Heliodorus pillar]], which records the dispatch of a Greek ambassador named [[Heliodorus (votive erector)|Heliodorus]], from the court of 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:<ref name="books.google.com"/> inscriptions and coins indicate that much of northern and central India consisted of small kingdoms and city-states that were independent of any Shunga hegemony.<ref name="Bhandare, Shailendra 2006 p.96"/> [[File:East-Hem 100bc.jpg|thumb|The Sunga territory circa 100 BCE, greatly reduced to the region of [[Magadha]] only, with many independent, petty kingdoms such as such as [[Mathura]] and [[Panchala#Post-Maruyan period|Panchala]] ]]

The last king of Sungas, [[Devabhuti]] was assassinated by his minister [[Vasudeva Kanva]], who then established [[Kanva dynasty]].{{sfn|Thapar|2013|p=296}} According to the Puranas: "The [[Satavahanas|Andhra]] [[Simuka]] will assail the [[Kanva dynasty|Kanvayanas]] and Susarman, and destroy the remains of the Sungas' power and will obtain this earth."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raychaudhuri |first1=Hem Channdra |title=Political history of ancient India, from the accession of Parikshit to the extinction of the Gupta dynasty |publisher=Calcutta, Univ. of Calcutta |page=[https://archive.org/details/politicalhistory00raycuoft/page/216 216] |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhistory00raycuoft}}</ref> The [[Satavahanas|Andhras]] did indeed destroy the last remains of the Sunga state in central India somewhere around Vidisha,<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |first=Sailendra Nath |last=Sen |publisher=New Age International, 1999 |year=1999 |isbn=978-8-12241-198-0 |page=170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA170}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC&q=shunga+vidisha&pg=PA73|title=A History of India|last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann|last2=Rothermund|first2=Dietmar|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780415329200|language=en}}</ref>

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 [[stupa]]s 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.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="1" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
|align=center colspan=1 style="background:#CD853F; font-size: 100%;"| '''Shunga statuettes and reliefs'''
|-
|<gallery>
File:Chandraketugarth, epoca sunga, dea della fecondità, II-I sec. ac. 02.JPG|Chandraketugarth, goddess of fecundity.
File:Chandraketugarth, epoca sunga, yakshi, II-I sec. ac. 02.JPG|Chandraketugarth.
Image:SungaYakshi2-1CenturyBCE.jpg|Shunga Yakshi, 2nd–1st century BCE.
Image:SungaMasculine.jpg|Shunga masculine figurine (molded plate). 2nd–1st century BCE.
Image:SungaWithChild.jpg|Shunga woman with child. 2nd–1st century BCE.
Image:SungaYaksa.JPG|Shunga Yaksha. 2nd–1st century BCE.
File:Mother figure, Sunga art.jpg|Shunga mother figure, with attendant. 2nd–1st century BCE.
Image:SungaFecondity2.jpg|Shunga fecundity deity. 2nd–1st century BCE.
Image:SungaAtalante.JPG|[[Baluster]]-holding [[yaksha|yakṣa]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], Shunga period (2nd–1st century BCE). [[Guimet Museum]].
File:Royal family Sunga West Bengal 1st century BCE.jpg|Royal family, Shunga, West Bengal 1st century BCE.
File:Amourous royal couple Sunga 1st century BCE West Bengal.jpg|Amorous royal couple. Shunga, 1st century BCE, West Bengal.
File:SungaLoveScene.jpg|Erotic art from Shunga period.
File:India, periodo sunga, vaghi di collana a forma di pesce, e due a forma di triratna, 185-72 ac ca.jpg|Fragments of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
File:India, periodo sunga, pendenti a testa di bue, oro, 185-72 ac ca.jpg|Fragments of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
File:India, periodo sunga, pendente a elefante inj oro, 185-72 ac ca.jpg|Fragment of gold ornament, 185-72 BCE.
File:India, periodo sunga, braccialetti, oro, 185-72 ac ca.jpg|Gold bracelet from Shunga period, 185-72 BCE.
File:MET DP158770.jpg| Ivory bowl fragment, 2nd–1st century B.C.
File:MET 2001 588 Strm1 (vertical).jpg| Shunga pottery with decorative figurine motifes.
</gallery>
|}

==Script==
The script used by the Shunga was a variant of [[Brāhmī script|Brahmi]], and was used to write the Sanskrit language. The script is thought to be an intermediary between the [[Maurya]] and the [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] Brahmi scripts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.proel.org/index.php?pagina=alfabetos/sunga |title=Silabario Sunga |work=proel.org}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="1" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
|align=center colspan=1 style="background:#CD853F; font-size: 100%;"| '''Shunga coinage'''
|-
|<gallery mode="packed">
File:SungaCoin.JPG|Bronze coin of the Shunga period, Eastern India. 2nd–1st century BCE.
File:Shunga.JPG|Another Shunga coin
File:I16 14karshapana Ujjain MACW4626v 1ar (8486491422).jpg|A copper coin of 1/4 [[karshapana]] of Ujjain in Malwa.
File:Sunga coin circa 150 BC 100 AD.jpg|Shunga coin.
</gallery>
|}

{{History of South Asia}}

{{anchor|Rulers}}

==List of Shunga Emperors==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Emperor !! Reign
|-
| [[Pushyamitra Shunga|Pushyamitra]]|| 185–149 BCE
|-
| [[Agnimitra]]|| 149–141 BCE
|-
| [[Vasujyeshtha]]|| 141–131 BCE
|-
| [[Vasumitra]]|| 131–124 BCE
|-
| Bhadraka || 124–122 BCE
|-
| Pulindaka|| 122–119 BCE
|-
| Ghosha or Vajramitra|| 119-114 BCE
|-
| [[Bhagabhadra]]|| 114-83 BCE
|-
| [[Devabhuti]]|| 83–73 BCE
|}

==See also==
* [[History of India]]
* [[Maurya Empire]]
* [[Satavahana dynasty]]
* [[History of Hinduism]]
*[[Raj Darbhanga|Khandwala Dynasty]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Thapar |first=Romila |author-link=Romila Thapar |title=The Past Before Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-72651-2 }}
* "The Legend of King Ashoka, A study and translation of the Ashokavadana", John Strong, Princeton Library of Asian translations, 1983, {{ISBN|0-691-01459-0}}
* "Dictionary of Buddhism" by Damien KEOWN (Oxford University Press, 2003) {{ISBN|0-19-860560-9}}
* ''Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas'', [[Romila Thapar]], 1961 (revision 1998); Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-564445-X}}
* "The Yuga Purana", John E. Mitchiner, [[Kolkata]], The Asiatic Society, 2002, {{ISBN|81-7236-124-6}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051120174324/http://ignca.nic.in/asp/showbig.asp?projid=rar26 Medallions from Barhut]
* [http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/104/caves.html Shunga art in North India (Bharhut and Bodgaya)]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Magadha|Magadha dynasties]]
| years =
| before = [[Maurya Empire|Maurya dynasty]]
| after = [[Kanva dynasty]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Middle kingdoms of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shunga Empire}}
[[Category:Shunga Empire| ]]
[[Category:Former empires in Asia]]
[[Category:Hindu states]]
[[Category:Dynasties of Bengal]]
[[Category:Empires and kingdoms of India]]
[[Category:Kingdoms of Bihar]]
[[Category:Magadha]]
[[Category:185 BC]]
[[Category:180s BC establishments]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC establishments]]
[[Category:1st century BC]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Are You Okay Baby?

Nikkei Asia

Shunga Empire