The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c13.8

c13.8

The Śuṅgas. The fact that the Śuṅgas were Brāhmaṇas proves that ambition or the force of events sometimes violated the rule of Kṣatriya kingship and that Brāhmaṇas, not content with advisory functions or influence, occasionally wielded the sceptre. The accession of Puṣyamitra to power was followed by a reversal of the policy of religious toleration which the Mauryas had uniformly pursued. Puṣyamitra seems to have been a champion of militant Brahmanism and a bitter persecutor of Buddhism. He is said to have burnt Buddhist monasteries throughout the Gangetic valley and to have slaughtered or dispersed the monks.³ So, the policy of toleration, though generally observed in ancient India, was occasionally violated with a vengeance. In the days of the Śuṅgas North India was divided into a number of principalities, many