Post-Maurya Period — Shungas, Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushans & Satavahanas

The Shunga Dynasty (185–73 BCE)

Pushyamitra · Brahmin Revival · Sanchi Toranas

Pushyamitra Shunga, the Maurya Senapati who assassinated Brihadratha, founded the Shunga dynasty around 185 BCE. The dynasty represented a Brahmanical reaction: Pushyamitra performed two Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice) ceremonies, explicitly re-asserting Brahmin religious supremacy that Ashoka's Buddhism-sympathetic policies had sidelined. Patanjali's Mahabhashya (the great Sanskrit grammar commentary) mentions Pushyamitra as a contemporary — a useful date anchor.

The last Shunga king, Devabhuti, was killed by his own minister Vasudeva Kanva, who then founded the short-lived Kanva dynasty.

Kanva Dynasty (73–28 BCE)

The Kanva dynasty (also Brahmin) ruled for 45 years from Pataliputra, controlling only a reduced Magadhan core. Four Kanva kings are known. The dynasty was ended by the Satavahanas from the south, marking the final erasure of the Magadha-centric political order that had dominated northern India since the 6th century BCE.

The Indo-Greeks (c. 200–10 BCE)

First Portrait Coins · Bilingual Issues · Greek Cultural Influence

When the Seleucid Empire weakened, the Bactrian Greeks declared independence (c. 250 BCE). Around 200–180 BCE, Demetrius I crossed the Hindu Kush and became the first Greek king to invade India proper since Alexander. His successors carved out kingdoms across modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, culminating in the remarkable Menandran empire.

Menander I Soter and the Milindapanha

c. 165–130 BCE · Sagala · Nagasena · Chariot Analogy

Menander I (Pali: Milinda), ruling from his capital Sagala (identified with modern Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan), was the greatest Indo-Greek king. He extended his kingdom's reach to the Ganges plain and is the only Indo-Greek ruler who left a substantial mark in Indian literary tradition.

The Milindapanha ("Questions of King Milinda") is a Pali Buddhist text recording a series of philosophical dialogues between Menander and the Buddhist monk Nagasena. The most famous exchange is the chariot analogy:

The tradition records that Menander converted to Buddhism and, after his death, that cities competed for his ashes — mirroring the tradition after the Buddha's death. Whether this is historical or legendary is debated, but the Milindapanha represents the most sophisticated Indo-Greek engagement with Indian philosophy.

The coins and art of the Indo-Greeks introduced Greco-Roman aesthetics to Northwest India, directly influencing the Gandhara school of Buddhist art that would flourish under the Kushans. This artistic lineage connects this section to the Buddhist art tradition that Ashoka's patronage had initiated a century and a half earlier.

The Sakas — Western Kshatrapas (c. 1st century BCE – 4th century CE)

Rudradaman I · Defeat of Satavahanas · Sudarsana Lake

The Sakas (Scythians) entered India through the northwest in the 1st century BCE, eventually establishing the Western Kshatrapa (satrapy) kingdom in Saurashtra and Malwa (modern Gujarat/Rajasthan). Their most prominent ruler was Rudradaman I (c. 130–150 CE).

The Junagadh (Girnar) Inscription of Rudradaman I

⚠ First Long Sanskrit Inscription · Three-Dynasty Document

The inscription is also invaluable as a three-dynasty document:

• The Sudarsana Lake at Girnar was originally constructed by a Maurya governor named Pushyagupta under Chandragupta Maurya
• Its water channels were extended under Ashoka by the governor Tushaspha
• Rudradaman repaired it after it was damaged by a severe storm — demonstrating Saka administrative continuity of older infrastructure

Rudradaman also defeated the Satavahana king Satakarni twice in battle but spared him due to a matrimonial relationship — a diplomatic nuance that the inscription records with some pride.

The Kushan Empire

Kujula Kadphises → Wima → Kanishka · Silk Road

The Kushans originated from one of the five tribes (yue-zhi in Chinese sources) that overthrew the Bactrian Greeks. The dynastic sequence that matters for UPSC:

Kanishka I and the Saka Era

78 CE · Fourth Buddhist Council · "Second Ashoka"

Kanishka I's accession in 78 CE traditionally marks the beginning of the Saka Era — the era adopted as the basis of India's National Calendar (Saka Samvat), still used alongside the Gregorian calendar in official Indian government documents.

Kanishka's coins are remarkable for their religious eclecticism: they depict Greek gods (Helios, Selene), Iranian gods (Mithra, Nana), and Indian gods (Shiva, the Buddha). The Buddha is labelled in Bactrian Greek letters as "BODDO" — one of the earliest representations of the Buddha on coins. Kanishka is called the "Second Ashoka" for his Buddhist patronage and the Kanishka Stupa at Purushapura (Peshawar) was reportedly the tallest structure in the ancient world (Chinese pilgrim accounts).

The Gandhara Art School

Grey/Blue Schist · Greco-Roman Buddha · NW Pakistan/Afghanistan

The Mathura Art School

Red Sikri Sandstone · Purely Indian · Multi-Religious

The Satavahana Dynasty

Simuka · Pratishtana · Gautamiputra · Amaravati

The Satavahanas (also called Andhras) rose to power in the Deccan around the 1st century BCE, claiming to have ended the Kanva dynasty in the north. Their capital was Pratishtana (Paithan) on the Godavari river in modern Maharashtra.

Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated the Saka king Nahapana and overstruck his silver coins with Satavahana symbols — a numismatic practice that provides direct archaeological evidence of the conquest. The Nashik inscription of Gautamiputra's mother Gautami Balashri eulogises him extensively.

The Satavahanas were notable for their matronymic naming convention — "Gautamiputra" means "son of Gautami" — which scholars debate (matrilineal succession? maternal pride? Buddhist naming custom?). They patronised Prakrit literature, including the anthology Sattasai attributed to king Hala.

The Amaravati Stupa on the Krishna River in modern Andhra Pradesh is the greatest example of Satavahana Buddhist art. The marble relief panels, many now in the British Museum and the Chennai Government Museum, are characterised by narrative complexity, overlapping figures, and a distinctive "flame" quality of movement — considered the finest Buddhist sculptural achievement in South India.

Satavahana control of western ports — Sopara (modern Vasai, Maharashtra) and Bharuch (Broach) in Gujarat — gave them enormous revenues from the Roman spice and pepper trade. Their commercial contacts with Rome are documented in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which names Indian ports trading with Rome. This Indo-Roman trade context links to the Maurya economy and continues into the Gupta period.