Shunga Empire: Difference between revisions

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| 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>}}

| title_leader          = [[List of Magadha monarchs#House of Shunga|Maharajadhiraja]]

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>

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:

[[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>

Some writers believe that Brahmanism competed in political and spiritual realm with Buddhism<!-- <ref name="ashok"/ > --><ref name="Sarvastivada"/> in the [[Gangetic plains]]. Buddhism flourished in the realms of the Bactrian kings. {{Citation needed}}

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>

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}}

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.

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>