The Sungas
and the Kanvas of Magadha | Indian History
In this article we will discuss
about the role of sungas and kanvas of magadha in Indian history.
The Sungas (187-75 B.C.):
I. Pushyamitra (187-151 B.C.):
The Buddhist text, Divvavadana
described that the Sungas belonged to the Maurya-family. But historians do not
accept this view. The majority of them described that Pushyamitra, the founder
of the Sunga dynasty in Magadha was a Brahamana. However, they have differed
concerning their Kula. In his text, Malvikagnimitra, Kalidas described that the
Sungas belonged to Bembic-family of the Brahamanas.
The Bembic Brahamanas have been
regarded belonging to Kasyapa-gotra. But the majority of the scholars do not
accept this view. They have opined that the Sungas belonged to Bharadwaj- gotra
of the Brahamanas.
Pushyamita was the
commander-in-chief of the army of the last Maurya ruler Brihadratha. By that
time, the Mauryas had lost not only their power but prestige also and their
empire was reduced because of the successful revolt of the Satavahanas
(Andhras) in the South and intrusion of the Greeks in their North-West territories.
Brihadratha was also an incapable
ruler and lost influence over his army. Pushyamitra once assembled the army and
requested the king to inspect it. At the time of inspection, Pushyamitra
assassinated Brihadratha before the army and usurped the throne of Magadha.
Pushyamitra tried to consolidate
the remaining territories of the Magadha empire and he succeeded. The South,
being already lost, his territories extended only up to the river Narmada in
the South while in the North-West he could check the intrusion of the Greeks at
the banks of river Indus.
Pushyamitra
succeeded in defeating Yajnasena, the king of Vidarbha (Berar). Yajnasena had
declared himself independent of Magadha. He was attacked by Agnimitra, son of
Pushyamitra who was the governor of Vidisa at that time. Yajnasena was defeated
and, eventually, Vidarbha was divided between the two cousins, Yajnasena and
Madhavasena, under Pushyamitra as their suzerain.
But the primary achievement of
Pushyamitra was to check the penetration of the Greeks in India. The Greeks had
already occupied the North-West in India and had succeeded in attacking upto
Ayodhya during the period of Brihadratha.
Pushyamitra had succeeded in
defeating them even at that time and their further intrusion in India was
checked. Probably, this had been the basic reason of his popularity among the
soldiers of Magadha which helped him in usurping the throne itself.
When he became the king, he
pursued the task of fighting against these foreigners. The one big invasion of
the Greeks was led by king Demetrius but it was successfully repulsed by
Vasumitra, son of Agnimitra. Pushyamitra performed two Aswamedha
(horse-sacrifice) vajnas and probably both of them were performed after his
success against the Greeks. During his time the Greeks could not proceed into
India beyond the river Indus.
Dr V. A. Smith and Dr Jayaswal
have described that Pushyamitra fought a war against king Kharvela of Kalinga
and was defeated. Dr Satyaketu Vidyalankar has also agreed with this view. But
Dr H.C. Ray Chaudhry and Dr R.S. Tripathi have proved that Kharvela was not a
contemporary of Pushyamitra and so there was no question of any war between
them. The majority of historians accept their view.
Pushyamitra supported
Brahamanical religion and revived its traditions. The Buddhist texts the
Aryamanjusrimulakalpa and the Divyavadana describe that he destroyed Buddhist
monasteries, killed the monks and during his course of march to Sakala (Sialkot
in Punjab) declared a prize of one hundred gold coins on the head of each monk.
But, there is no independent evidence to prove this charge. Of course, the
Sungas were strong supporters of Brahamanical religion but they were not
intolerant of Buddhism.
The great Buddhist stupa at
Bharhut was erected during the reign of the Sungas. If Pushyamitra and his
descendants had been the destroyers of Buddhist monasteries then it could not
be possible. E.B. Havell has opined that even if we accept the version of
Buddhist-texts that Pushyamitra destroyed Buddhist monasteries, he did so not
for destroying Buddhism but for breaking their political power as these had
become its centres.
Pushyamitra has been branded as a
traitor to his master by some historians but deposition of a weak ruler by a
stronger contestant was a rule at that time. Pushyamitra was not an exception.
The weak Maurya rulers had lost their right to rule because of their
incompetency. The Maurya empire was disintegrating because of its own
weaknesses and had become an easy prey to foreign invasions by the Greeks.
Pushyamitra succeeded in
repulsing the foreign invasions and also in checking further disintegration of
the empire. Therefore, his actions justified his usurpation of the throne. The
success of Pushyamitra against the Greek invasions is enough to justify not
only his claim over the throne but also his right to rule.
II. The Successors of
Pushyamitra:
According to the Puranas there
were nine other rulers of the Sunga dynasty. Pushyamitra was succeeded by his
son Agnimitra. Besides, Sujyestha, Vasumitra, Bhagvata were other rulers of
this dynasty. Its last ruler Devabhumi or Devabhuti was killed by his minister
Vasudeva who laid the foundations of the rule of the Kanva dynasty in Magadha.
III. The Importance of the
Sunga Dynasty:
The rule of the Sunga dynasty in
Magadha, for more than a century, was important in many aspects. It checked the
further disintegration of the Magadha empire and atleast kept its central part
intact. It also checked the further intrusion of the Greeks in the mainland of
India. Besides, the process of revival of Brahamanical religion and the
Sanskrit language started with the rule of the Sungas.
The great grammarian Patanjali
was a contemporary of Pushyamitra. The Manu-Smiriti the Vishnu-Smiriti and the
Yagvavalka-Smiriti were compiled during this age. The Mahabharat was also
written at this time. Dr K.M. Panikkar has expressed the view that the great
Sanskrit scholar.
Kalidas, was a contemporary of
Agnimitra though it has not been accepted by other scholars. The period also
witnessed the growing influence of the Bhagvata religion and drew converts even
from among foreigners particularly the Greeks.
The arts, particularly
architecture, also progressed during this period. The stupa of Bharhut, some
additions to Buddha-Gaya-Stupa and the gates and boundary wall of the stupa at
Sanchi were built during this age, which have been regarded as fine specimens
of architecture.
It is also believed that a new
school of architecture grew up at Vidisa which remained the capital of later
Sunga rulers. Thus, the rule of the Sungas positively contributed to the
betterment of the then Indian polity and culture.
The Kanva Dynasty (75-30 B.C.):
The last ruler of the Sungas,
Devabhumi was killed by a slave-girl at the instruction of his minister
Vasudeva who established the rule of the Kanva dynasty in Magadha. The rulers
of this dynasty, namely, Vasudeva, Bhumimitra, Naravana and Susarman ruled for
9. 14. 12 and 10 years respectively.
Very little is known about the
history of the Kanvas and their successors. However, it is accepted that the
Andhras from the South conquered Magadha and destroyed the rule of the Kanvas
and when they left Magadha, it was divided into several small kingdoms which
existed till the establishment of the Gupta empire.
