In 185 BC, the last ruler of the Maurya dynasty, Brahmadatta, was murdered by his general Pushyamitra Shunga.
Banamha in Harshcharit is called Brahmadatta Pragyadurbal (weak in intellect).
The Shunga dynasty belonged to the Brahmin caste.
Pushyamitra Shunga (185 BC – 149 BC)
Two Ashvamedha Yagyas were performed by Pushyamitra Shunga whose priest was Patanjali who wrote a book named Mahabhashya on grammar.
Pushyamitra Shunga’s son Agnimitra was the governor of Vidisha (MP). Agnimit fought with Yajnasen, the ruler of Vidarbha (Maharashtra). Yajnasen was defeated and the Vidarbha empire was divided between Yajnasen and his brother Madhavsen.
- During the time of Pushyamitra Shunga, India was attacked by the Yavanas, and Agnimitra’s son Vasumitra was sent against the Yavanas, who defeated them. The attack of the Yavanas is mentioned in Mahabhashya, Gargi Samhita, and Kalidasa’s drama Malavika Agnimitram.
- It is written in Mahabhashya and Gargiya Samhita that the Yavanas reached Pataliputra via Madhyamika {city – Chittoor) and Saket (Ayodhya).
The 9th ruler of the Shunga dynasty was Bhagabhrada, during whose reign the Greek ruler of Takshila, Antialkadis, sent Heliodorus as an ambassador to the court of Bhagabhrada and Heliodorus established a Garuda pillar in Vidisha, which is the oldest archaeological evidence of Bhagavat religion in India.
Devabhuti
Devabhuti The last ruler of the Shunga dynasty was who was assassinated by his Prime Minister Vasudeva in 75 B.C.
The important contribution of the Shunga dynasty to Indian history was that they reestablished the Vedic religion.