The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c30.25

v1.c30.25

It is in the monuments and coins of the kingdoms of Vidiçā, Bhārhut, and Kauçāmbī that we find the most unmistakable traces of the Çuṅgas and their feudatories. That the first Çuṅga king reigned at Pāṭaliputra is assumed in literature (p. 518) and may be inferred from the description which the Purāṇas give of the origin of the dynasty. We are told that Pushyamitra, the commander-in-chief of Bṛihadratha, the last of the Mauryas, slew his master and reigned in his stead; and it was believed in the seventh century A.D. that this military *coup d'état* took place on the occasion of a review of the forces¹. If the chronology of the Purāṇas may be trusted, this event happened 137 years after the accession of Chandragupta, i.e. c. 184 B.C., and the reign of Pushyamitra lasted for thirty-six years². Fortunately in this instance the statements of the Purāṇas may be checked to some extent by evidence supplied from other sources. The Çuṅgas came into conflict with other powers who were eager to share in the spoil of the Maurya empire—Andhras, Yavanas, and Çakas—and what we know of the history of these peoples is in accordance with the view that Pushyamitra was actually reigning during the period thus attributed to him.