Post Mauryan

4/7/24, 7:31 AM OneNote
Post mauryan polity and society

28 December 2023 10:43
Indo Greek relations

• Interaction with Greeks began with the invasion of North West India by alexander, he left the
conqeuered territories under provincial governers
• One of chandraguptas first fight was against the foreign intruders seleucus nicator
• However, post the defeat of seleucus, chandragupta made a peace treaty with him and gave 500
war elephants
• Bindusara also maintained friendly relations with Greeks
• Ashoka as well, mentioned in his Rock edict (13) is the name of 5 yona kings
1. Antiochus II of Syria
2. Ptolemy II philadelphus of Egypt
3. Antigonus gonatas of Macedonia
4. Magas of cyrene
5. Alexander of Corinth
Trade between India and West was carried out by the overland route via northwest Afghanistan(Bactria)
and also partoy by coastal route along the Persian gulf and Red Sea.
Indo Greek kings

Seleucid empire extended from northern Afghanistan (Bactria) to syria.
The governer of Bactria, Diodotus revolted against Antiochus II, and became independent ruler of
Bactria.
Demetrius
• Exquisite coinage was distinct feature of this rulers reign
• Carried the portrait and name of reigning king, minted in the same style as Greek silver coins
• Indian accounts of this period refers to yavana(Greek) invasion of ayodhya and further east into
magadha
• Demetrius issued bilingual square couns with Greek on obverse and kharosthi(Local language of
North West Pakistan) on the reverse
• At about 165 BCE, Bactria was lost to the parthians and sakas.
Meander
• His coins have been found over an extensive area ranging from valleys of kabul and indus rivers to
as far as western UP.
• King kharavela of Kalinga wasn't able to stop him, as per Hathigumpha inscription
• In his coins he is described as king and soter, means saviour
• Meander is mainly remembered for the text "Milinda-Pinha" in which he is engaged in a question
and answer discussion on buddhism with teacher Nagasena.
The sungas
• Last king of maurya, Brihadratha was assassinated by Pushyamitra sunga in 180 BCE.
• From panini we know that sungas were of Bhradvaja gotra. It is still conflictable since other texts
says something else.
• Sungas were Brahmins, later text like Harshacharita also refers to pushyamitra as a brahmin.
• Magadha was the nucleas of sunga rule, as per puranas it lasted for 112 years.
• Pushyamitra >>>> Agnimitra >>>> VasuMitra
• Acc. To Patanjali Mahabhashya(150BCE) there were Greek incursions during the rule of sungas,
also corroborated by the Yugapurana.
• Malavikagnimitram, a play by kalidasa, preserves the memory of the defeat of Yavanas or Greeks
at the hands of vasumitra, the grandson of pushyamitra.
• After ashoka's dhamma and buddhism, the sungas are known to have been reverted to
brahmanical orthodoxy.
• Divyadana depicts pushyamitra as a destroyer of buddhist monastries and places of worship
particularly constructed by ashoks.
• Kings of sunga dynasty assumed grandiose titles like- Maharaja, rajaraja, rajati, shaonanoshao
etc.
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• Last sunga ruler was Devabhuti, he was killed by brahmana minister Vasudeva, thus sunga rule
came to an end by 75 BCE
• The sunga rule with its centre at patliputra, seems to have embraced territories in the middle
Ganga plain, the upper ganga valley and eastern Malwa.
• Admin at sungas
• Divided into provinces, possibly centralised administration
• Provinces worked under governers of royal blood, assisted by a council.
• The ayodhya inscription of Dhandeva proves that one of agnimitras forefather had been the
governer of kosala and he was related by blood to pushyamitra.
• The kanvas, brought an end to the sunga rule, they were once subordinate to the sungas, last
sunga ruler was Devabhuti.
• Sunga art
• The gates and railings of the Bharhut stupa and the fine gateway railings which surround the
sanchi stupa are said to have been built by sungas
• Some sculptures of Bharhut, Bodhgaya and sanchi represent first organized art activity which was
opposite to the court art of mauryas.
• It reflects for the first time the results of ethnic, social and religious fusion and integration.
• Patanjali synthesis of the tradition of Yoga became the foundation of one of the schools of
thoughts.
Sakas, parthians and kushanas

Sakas were scythians
Parthians were pahlavis
Kushanas were yueh-chi or yuezhi tribes in Chinese
Sakas or Indo scythians

• Sakas were pushed back from eastern iran by parthian ruler mithradates and turned to north
west India and finally settled between indus valley and saurashtra
• They were the first large nomadic community to reach south Asia through Bactria.
• One of the scythian clan was that of Vonones and other was Maues, latter crossed pamirs to enter
into India and former came via afghanistan.
• First saka ruler in India was Moa/Moga(80BCE) or maues.
• Later Azes I succeeded Moga.
• He occupied gandhara, and almost destroyed indo Greek kingdoms

• It was his successor Azes who finally destroyed the last remnants of Indo Greek kingdoms and
extended Saka rule as far as Mathura
• Sakas assimilated into hindu religion
• They had pictures of Hindu gods on one side of coin.
• Sakas appointed Kshatrapas or Satrapas as provincial governers to administer their territories.
• One of the famous saka Kshatrapa is Rudradaman, he had even defeated satavahanas in battle.

4/7/24, 7:31 AM OneNote
Kushanas
Sakas were displaced by the parthian, Gondophernes, who first conquered kabul, he lost kabul to
kushanas.
• Sakas approached the kushanas for help against parthians
• A branch of "yueh-chi tribe". They were one of the 5 clans in which the yueh chi tribe was divided.
• Kushana empire is sometimes known as the central Asian empire.
• First kushana king who conquered Afghanistan was khujula kadphises and then wima kadphises
• These 2 kings extended kushana territory to Gandhara, Punjab and as far east as ganga yamuna
doab till mathura in UP.
• The glowing testimony of kushana control till ganga valley comes from the Rabtak inscription in
Puli khumri area of afg of Kanishka I in bactrian language.
• First ruler was Kuja kadphises who adopted the title great king, king of kings.
• He established himself at kabul and kashmir.
• Rabtak inscription of Kanishka I found in Puli khumri of afg mentions that kanishka I took the title
of BAGO i.e God himself.
• Third ruler of kushana dynasty was vima kadphises.
• Kushanas borrowed their titles from Persians, Chinese and the Romans, they took titles like
"Maharajatiraja, kaisara, soter" etc.
Kanishka
• Ardent follower of Buddhism, he was the best known kushana king
• He hosted the 4th buddhist mahasangha or council at kashmir.
• Kanishka coins were of highest quality and confirmed to the weight standards of roman coins
• Kanishka was succeeded by Huvishka, several inscriptions of his rule comes from mathura.
• Last possible ruler was Vasudeva II
• End of Empire was bought by the sassanid ruler Shahpur I of iran.
Religious policy of kushanas.

• Incorporated several local divinities into the kushana pantheon depicted on coins
• Iranian religious ideas were dominant on the coins of Kanishka which is the result of their bactrian
cultural background.
• From the Rabtak inscription it is clear that the gods worshipped by kushanas and seen as the
source of their power were iranian origin and Nana was the presiding diety.
• Huvishka, Kanishka's successor followed more innovative religious strategies and admitted wide
range of Greek, brahmanical, buddhist and zoroastrian gods for his numismatic pantheon.
• Skanda, kumara, vishakha, mahasena were four different gods to Huvishka which later merged
into one diety, came to know as Karttikeya in brahmanical religion.
Dynastic sanctuaries of kushanas.
• Kushana rulers also constructed dynastic sanctuaries Bagolango or bogopouro or devakula and
they became objects of divine worship.
• Kanishka I continued and finished the building of dynastic sanctuary at surkh kotal which came to
be called "Kanishka oanindo sanctuary".
• They erected shrines to house life sized free standing portraits of three generations of kings at
surkh kotal and mato.
• The Rabtak inscription belonging to kanishka I also refers to the construction of sanctuary called
"Nana sanctuary or bago-laggo" which housed images of different dieties and kushana rulers
such as kujala kadphises, vima taktu, vima kadphises and kanishka.
Art and literature during Kushanas

• Greek influence led to an Indo Greek style of sculpture and art commonly referred to as gandhara
art
• The buddhists begin to carve out rock caves in The hills of Western India which served as religious
centres with chaityas and viharas stretching from the Ajanta caves to the kanheri caves in
Mumbai.

4/7/24, 7:31 AM OneNote
• Kanishka was a patron of buddhist philosopher such as Asvaghosha, parsva and vasumitra as well
Nagarujuna.
• Asvaghosha is known for his buddhacharita and well known for first Sanskrit play
sariputraprakarana.

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4/7/24, 7:31 AM OneNote

Post mauryan polity and society

Indo Greek relations

Indo Greek kings

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=552444DF915817F6%21129&page=Edit&wd=target%28Quick Notes.one%7Cb11f5ee4-221c-b84c-b76f-a74356… 1/4

Sakas, parthians and kushanas

Sakas or Indo scythians

• He occupied gandhara, and almost destroyed indo Greek kingdoms

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Religious policy of kushanas.

Art and literature during Kushanas

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