Post Mauryan Era
In around 187 BC, the Mauryan Empire met its end.
Post disintegration of the Mauryan empire From BC 200 and 300 AD Indian subcontinent witnessed rise of many regional kingdoms in different parts of the country.
At the same time, we witness invasions by various groups of people based in Central Asia and western China.
These were Indo-Greeks, the Scythians or the Shakas, the Parthians or the Pahlavas and the Kushanas.
It was through such political processes that India came in closer contact with the central Asian politics and culture.
The Shungas
Pushyamitra Sunga was Brahmin army chief of Brihadratha, the last king of the Mauryas.
During a military parade, he killed Brihadratha and established himself on the throne in 185 or 186 BC.
Pushyamitra Sunga’s capital was at Pataliputra.
He successfully countered attacks from two Greek kings namely, Menander and Demetrius.
He followed Brahminism. Some accounts portray him as a persecutor of Buddhists and a destroyer of stupas but there has been no authoritative evidence to this claim.
During his reign, the Stupas at Sanchi and Barhut were renovated. He built the sculptured stone gateway at Sanchi.
Pushyamitra Sunga patronised the Sanskrit grammarian Patanjali.
Agnimitra
Was Pushyamitra’s son who succeeded him to the throne.
Agnimitra is the hero of Kalidasa’s poem, Malavikagnimitram.
Shunga dynasty ended with assassination of last king.
After the end of Shunga dynasty Kanva dynasty came into existence.
Effects of Sunga rule
Hinduism was revived under the Sungas.
The caste system was also revived with the rise of the Brahmanas.
The language of Sanskrit gained more prominence during this time. Even some Buddhist works of this time were composed in Sanskrit.
Foreign invasion of India
The Bactrians or the Indo-Greeks (2nd century BC)
After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, many Greeks came to settle on the northern western boarders of India with Bactria (area to the north-west of the Hindukush mountains in the present-day north Afghanistan) as an important centre.
The rulers of Bactria came to be called the Bactrian-Greeks because of their Hellenistic (Greek) ancestry.
Most celebrated Indo-Greek ruler was Menander also called Milinda. Discussion between Milinda and Nagsena (Nagarjun) has been compiled in a book called Milindpanho (written in Pali).
Milinda accepted Buddhism as his religion.
Milinda after annexing Mathura aimed at PAtliputra but was stopped by army of Vasumitra who was grandson of Pushyamitra Sunga.
His capital was Sakala (sialcot) now in Pakistan.
The Shakas (Scythians) (1st century BC to 4th century AD)
Shaka is the Indian term used for the people called Scythians, who originally belonged to central Asia.
Gradually came to settle in northwestern India around Taxila in the first century B.C Under the successive Shaka rulers their territories extended up to Mathura and Gujarat.
The most famous of all the Shaka rulers was Rudradaman who ruled in the middle of second century AD.
He is credited with renovation of Sudarshan lake.
His achievements are known through the only inscription that he got engraved on a boulder at Girnar or Junagarh.
He issued the first long inscription in Sanskrit. Earlier, the long inscriptions were composed in Prakrit.
The Parthians (1st century BC to 1st century AD)
The Parthians were of Iranian origin.
This dynasty ruled Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India, during the 1st century AD.
The most renowned Parthian king was Gondophernes in whose reign St. Thomas came to India to propagate Christianity.
The Indo-Parthian rule in India ended and soon Kushanas overpowered them.
The Kushans
The Kushanas, originally belonged to western China.
They are also called Yueh-chis.
Kushanas after defeating Shakas and Pahlavas created a big empire in Pakistan.
Kanishka
Considered the greatest Kushana king and also a great king of ancient India.
Son of Vima Kadphises.
He probably ascended the throne in AD 78, and started a new era, now known as the Shaka era.
It was under Kanishka that the Kushana empire reached its maximum territorial limits.
His empire extended from Central Asia to north India and included Varanasi, Kaushambi and Sravasti in Uttar Pradesh. The political significance of Kanishka’s rule lies in the fact that he integrated central Asia with north India as part of a single empire.
It resulted in the intermingling of different cultures and increase in inter regional trading activities.
His main capital was Peshawar, then known as Purushpura.
After the capture of Pataliputra, he is said to have taken away the Buddhist monk Ashvaghosha with him to Peshawar.
The scholars in his court included Parsva, Ashvaghosha, Vasumitra, Nagarjuna, Charaka and Mathara.
He also patronised the Greek engineer Agesilaus.
Kanishka convened the fourth Buddhist Council at Kundalvana in Kashmir.
It was in this council that Buddhism got split into two schools – Hinayana and Mahayana.
He patronised Buddhism although he was very tolerant in his religious views.
His coins contain a mix of Indian, Greek and Zoroastrian deities.
He was also a patron of art and architecture. The Gandhara and Mathura School of art flourished under him.
He also propagated Mahayana form of Buddhism and he was largely responsible for propagating it in China.
Significance of the Kanishka
Sanskrit literature began to be developed during this time.
The fourth Buddhist council was held in Sanskrit.
Ashvoghosha is considered to be the first Sanskrit dramatist.
During this time, three distinct schools of art flourished: Gandhara School in northwest India, Amaravati School in Andhra and the Mathura School in the Ganges valley.
Trade prospered between India and China, and India and the Roman Empire.
The Kushanas controlled large parts of the Silk Route which led to the propagation of Buddhism into China.
It was during this time that Buddhism began to spread to Korea and Japan also.
Many towers, Chaityas, towns and beautiful sculptures were built under the patronage of the Kushana kings.
Kushanas were foreign invaders to begin with, but they were completely Indianized in ways and culture.
It is said that the Kushana period in Indian history was a perfect forerunner to the golden age of the Guptas.
Religious beliefs of Kanishka
In the beginning he was not a follower of Buddhism. His early coins bear the images of the Persian, Greek and Hindu gods.
Subsequently he came in contact with the great Buddhist monk Asvaghosha and embraced Buddhism.
By the time of Kaniska the Kushanas were already under the influence of Hinduism and were devotees of the Hindu gods.
As they had come from outside they also respected their earlier gods.
It is no wonder that the earlier coins of Kaniska contain the figures of Iranian, Greek and Indian gods.
Kaniska as a Patron of Culture
Interestingly in the Gandhara School of Art the style, tradition and object were purely Indian but the technique applied was that of Greek art.
Kaniska enriched Sarnatha and Mathura with many fine buildings, monasteries and stupas.
The remnants of those structures and the Gandhara School of Art are still available in both the places.
The headless life size statue of Kaniska found at Mathura is an exquisite piece of art.
During his time the Sanskrit language dealing with both religious and non-religious subjects received due patronage.
Many famous works of Sanskrit literature were made popular scriptures of ancient India.
Asvaghosa was the most illustrious figure of his court. A poet philosopher and a play write Asvaghose wrote Buddhacharita in Sanskrit which has been regarded as the epic of Buddhism.
Asvaghosa was also the author of Sutralankar.
The court of Kaniska was also adorned by Nagarjuna the author of the Madhyamika Sutra that deals with the theory of relativity.
The most renowned medical scientist of ancient India Charaka also belonged to the court of Kaniska. He was the author of the most famous work on medicine known as Charaka Samhita.
Vasumitra the eminent Buddhist divine was also a celebrity in the court of Kaniska. He presided over the Fourth Buddhist Council and compiled the Mahavibhasa Sastra as a remarkable commentary on the Buddhist Tripitakas.
It was also written in Sanskrit.
Kaniska thus patronized Sanskrit language and tried his best for its growth.
Trade and Commerce
During the reign of Kaniska trade and commerce flourished encouragingly.
The boundary of this vast empire was extended in the north-west up to the Roman empire, Chinese empire and Parthian empire.
On the south it touched the Andhra State.
Kushan Polity and administration
Whole empire was divided into provinces, each ruled by a mahakshatrapa ( a military governor), who was assisted by a kshatrapa.
Kushan introduced the concept that King is divine (Devputra) and his rule is legitimate as ordained by the Gods.
Kushan impact on Society
The Kushans and the Saka rulers assumed the title of Devputra, strengthening the concept of the divine origin of kingship. It is interesting to note that earlier rulers like Ashoka never took such titles but were satisfied with Devanamapiya (beloved of God).
The Kushans defeated several of the Indian rulers but restored the kingdoms if they acknowledged their overlord ships. It was the beginning of the feudal system in India, ie. Feudalism from above.
The Kushan Empire was divided into smaller units which were governed by the Kshatraps or Satraps. It was the beginning of the Kshatrapa system.
They also started the practice of hereditary dual rule when both father and the son ruled the same kingdom at the same time, especially during Kushana Empire.
Impact of Central Asian contact on India
Invasions of the Bactrian Greeks and Saka-Pahilavas on India and its subsequent political contact with Central Asia under the Kushanas resulted in immense cultural intermingling.
These foreign groups gradually lost their foreign identity and were incorporated in the Brahmanical society lower grade as kshatriyas. Many of them adopted Buddhism.
Impact of Indo Greek (Bactrian Greeks) (2nd century BC)
Indo Greeks issued first gold coins in India by the Kings.
They developed trade routes between India Mediterranean regions.
The Greek rule introduced features of Hellenistic art in the North-west frontier of India. The Gandhara School of art was largely Hellenistic in the beginning. It was called the Gandhara School of Art or the Indo-Greek Art.
The idea of representing the Buddha as a human being (idol worship) originated with the Greeks.
Before the Greeks, the Indian coins were rough and punch-marked. These coins were not cast in moulds and only one side bore any inscription After Greeks, portrait-coinage style was followed in India for several centuries, where the beautiful coins bearing inscriptions on both the sides with portrait of God or King.
In Post Mauryan times, Punch marked coins were replaced by coins made by cast die struck technology. Each individual coins was first cast by pouring a molten metal, usually copper or silver, into a cavity formed by two molds.
These were then usually die-struck while still hot.
The Indians also learnt a lot from the Greeks in the field of astronomy. The Indians too honoured the learned Greek astronomers and were impressed by their knowledge in this field.
The renowned Indian treatise on astronomy, Gargi Samhita asserts, “The Yavanas are barbarians yet the science of astronomy originated with them and for this they must be reverenced like Gods”.
Greek term horoscope was derived the term Horashastra used for astrology in Sanskrit.
The Indian drama was influenced by the Greece drama. It is on the Greek model that in the
Indian dramas incorporated the character of a clown, Vidushaka, and the use of curtain, which is called ‘Yavanika’ in Sanskrit.
Kushan influence On political system
Legitimacy of Kingship: the theory of king being the divine origin. The Kushana kings were called sons of god.
Satrap System: introduced by Kushanasà the empire was divided into numerous satrapies and each satrapy was placed under the rule of a Satrap.
Two kings ruling in the same kingdom at one and the same time.
Impact of the Central Asian contacts on Indian society.
Sub caste emerged in the Indian society.
Bifurcation of Buddhism into two sects under Kushan ruler Kanishka.
Huge donation from foreign invaders to Buddhist monks corrupted Buddhist Sangha.
Science and technology:
Medical science: Charaka in his book Charaksamhita included many herbs from Central Asian sources.
Glass making became prominent.
Minting of gold coins under Kushans.
Art of leather shoes developed under Kushans.
The Satvahanas
Satavahanas became prominent in the Indian political scene sometime in the middle of the first century BC.
They are also called Andhras.
Gautamiputra Satakarni (first century AD) is considered to be the greatest of the Satavahana rulers.
His kingdom is said to have extended from river Krishna in south to river Godavari in north.
The Satavahans were Brahmanas and worshipped gods like Vasudeva Krishna.
The Satavahans kings used matronyms like Gautamiputra and Vaishishthiputra, although they were not matriarchal or matrilineal in any sense.
They assumed the title of Dakshinapatha Pati (Lord of Dakshinapatha).
The Satavahanas were the first native Indian kings to have issued their own coins which had the rulers’ portraits on them.
They patronised Prakrit more than Sanskrit.
Even though the rulers were Hindus and claimed Brahmanical status, they supported Buddhism also.
Nagarjunkonda and Amaravati became important Buddhist centers during the Satavahana Era.
Nanaghat Inscription belong to Satvahanas.
Satvahana Administration
Mostly inspired from Mauryan administration.
Satavahana kingdom was divided into subdivisions called aharas or rashtras, meaning districts. The lowest level of administration was a grama which was under the charge of a Gramika.
Satavahanas kings were the first in Indian history to make tax free land grants to Buddhists and Brahmanas to gain religious merit. This practice became more prominent in Gupta period.
Guilds
The communities of merchants were organised in groups known as Shreni or guilds under the head called sreshthi.
The guilds were basically associations of merchants and craftsmen following the same profession or dealing in the same commodity. They elected their head and framed their own rules regarding prices and quality etc., to regulate their business on the basis of mutual goodwill.
They also served as banks and received deposits from the public on a fixed rate of interest.
Satvahana Religious beliefs
They considered themselves as Brahmins and flagbearers of Hinduism.
Nevertheless, they also supported Buddhism.
Constructed important stupas like Amravati and Nagarjunakonda.
The Amaravati stupa is full of sculptures that depict the various scenes from the life of the Buddha. The Nagarjunakonda stupa contains Buddhist monuments and also the earliest Brahmanical brick temples.
Trade and commerce in Post Mauryan period
There were two major internal land routes in ancient India.
1. Uttarapatha, connected northern and eastern parts of India with the north.
2. Dakshinapatha, connected the peninsular India with the western and northern parts of India.
What was Dakshinapatha?
The Dakshinapatha was the major route that connected north and south India.
Started from Kaushambi near Allahabad, Ujjain, Pratisthan (Paithan) which was capital of Satvahnas.
What was Uttarapatha?
This route started from Kabul in Afghanistan to Chittagong in Bangladesh. It covered Khyber Bypass and connected cities like Rawalpindi, Amritsar, Attari, Delhi, Mathura, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata, Dhaka and Chittagong.
Important ports of India on the western coast were (from north to south direction)
Bharukachchha Sopara, Kalyana, Muziris, etc. Ships from these ports sailed to the Roman Empire through the Red Sea.
Trade with southeast Asia was conducted through the sea. Prominent ports on the eastern coast of India were Tamralipti (West Bengal), Arikamedu (Tamil Nadu Coast) etc. Sea trade was also conducted between Bharukachchha (Bharuch/Broach/Barygaza) and the ports of Southeast Asia.
Trade with West and Central Asia:
Thriving trade between India and Greek-Rome.
Initially was carried on land route but frequent intrusion of Persian in land route shifted focus to Sea route.
The best account of Indo-Roman trade is given in the book called Periplus of the Erythrean Sea which was written in the first century AD by an anonymous author.
Main requirements of the Romans were the Indian products such as spices, perfumes, jewels, ivory and fine textiles, i.e. muslin. Spices exported from India to the
Roman empire included pepper, also called yavanapriya (perhaps because of its popularity among Romans and Greek).
Important literature of this period:
Name of the Book
- Author
- Theme
Buddha Charita and Saundrananda
- Asvaghosha
- Life of Buddha
Lalitavistara unknown
- About Buddha life, mix of
- Prakrit-Sanskrit.
Mahabhashya
- Patanjali
- Commentary on Asthadhyayi of Panini
Chhandasutra
- Pingal
- On Sanskrit language
Charaka Samhita
- Charaka
- Medicine
Sushruta Samhita
- Sushurta
- On surgery
Mricchhakatika
- Shudraka
- It is a love story of poor young Brahmin Chrudatta and a wealthy nagarvadhu Vasantasena