Inroduction:-
Post- Mauryan India was a scene of struggle with one dynasty vying with another for regional dominance.
These are as follows:-
North India
The Shungas:
1. After killing Brihadratha, the last Mauryan king, in about 185-180 BC, his brahmana general, Pushyamitra Shunga, founded the Shunga dynasty.
2. Under the Shungas, brahmanical influence revived. The practice of Vedic sacrifices was popularised: Pushyamitra is said to have performed two Ashvamedha yajnas.
3. Sanskrit literature flourished. Patanjali, the great Grammarian wrote, Mahabhashya, Kalidasa wrote, Malavikagnimitra on the life of Agnimitra of Shunga dynasty.
The Kanvas:-
- The last ruler of the Shunga dynasty, Devabhuti, was murdered by his minister Vasudeva Kanva (also a brahmana), who founded the Kanva dynasty.
- This dynasty comprised four kings and ruled for 45 days. Its decline was due to the expansion of Satavahana power in the Deccan and the foreign invasions in the North.
The Deccan:-
The Satavahanas:-
- The Satavahanas (Andhras region) came into prominence in the Deccan after ending the ruler of the Shungas and the Kanvas. They ruled for more than three centuries (first century B.C. to 220 AD)
- Gautmi Putra Satkani who from 106 AD to 130 AD and his son Vashitputra who ruled from 130 AD to 154 AD were powerful rules. At the close of the first century the power of the Satvahanas declined.
Polity, Economy and Social Conditions:-
Unlike the top heavy government of the Mauryas, the Satavahana adminstration was simple. Monarchy was hereditary. Without asserting their divine right, the Satavahanas were content with the simple title of ‘rajan’.
- The empire was divided into ‘janapadas’ and ‘aharas’. ‘Gama’ was the division below that of ‘ahara’. There were certain military and feudal traits in the administration.
- The taxes of the state were neither burdensome nor many. The kingdom was famous for the production of rice and cotton.
- It was customary for their king to be named after his mother e.g., Gautamiputra, Vashishthiputra,etc. But basically the Satavahana ruling family was patriarchal because succession to the throne passed to the male member.
Religion:
- The Satvahan kings worshipped a large numbers of Vaishnava gods such as Krishna Vasudeva and others.
- Vedic sacrifices were performed, and brahmanas were paid sacrificial fees liberally.
- Nagarjunakonda and Amarvati in Andhra Pradesh became important Buddhist centres under the Satavahanas.
Architect:
- Many Buddhist chaityas and viharas were cut out of the solid rock in the north- western Deccan of Maharashtra.
- The most famous chaitya is that of Karle (1st century BC) in the western Deccan.
- The official language of the Satavahanas was Prakrit.
The north west
Indo- Greeks:-
- In north- western India, the Mauryas were succeeded by a number of ruling dynasties from Central Asia, as the successors of Ashoka were too weak to give a challenge to invasions. The invasions as follows:-
Bactria:-
- King Demetrius II annexed large parts of North- West India and came up to Punjab.
- Later Milinda or Menander became the king and he made Sakala (Now Sialkot) his capital. His long discussions with Nagasena are recorded in the Pali text, Milinda - Panho. This king ruled the whole of North-West India and followed Buddhism.
The Shakas:-
- The Sakas were a nomadic tribe of Central Asia who were driven out of their land by another tribe, Yeuh- Chi. They, in turn, conquered the large portions of the Indo Greek territories. The Saka rulers called themselves ‘Satraps’. They established many kingdoms of which the most important were those of Taxila, Mathura, Nasik and Ujjain.
- Rudradaman is fomous for constructing a new dam on the Sudarsana Lake in Kathiawar.
Prathians (Pahlavas):-
- Towards the end of the first century BC a line of kings with Iranian names usually known as the Parthians or the Pahlavas, gained the suzeraintly of north- western India by conquering many parts from the Indo- Greek kings.
- The first Pahlava ruler was Mithridates who was a contemporary of Eukratides. The most important king of the dynasty was Gondophernes (20 BC- AD 45).
The Kushanas:-
- The Kushanas were a nomadic tribe, a branch of the great Yeuh- Chi tribe. They left their original home in the Chinese Turkistan in the 1st century A.D. and defeated the Greek rulers of Afghani stan. They also defeated the Sakas and occupied the whole of the northwestern part of India.
- Kujala was the first king succeeded by Vima kadphses.
- In AD 50 -78 Kadphises was succeeded by Kanishka.
Kanishka, a Great Conqueror:-
- Kanishka was the greatest of the Kushana kings. He ruled from 78 AD to 101 AD, he started a new era in 78 AD known as Saka Era.
- Kanishka conquered Kashmir, annexed Punjab and Mathura from the Sakas and occupied certain portions of Magadha. But his greatest military achievement was against the Chinese.
Kanishka and Buddhism:-
- Kanishka took measures to spread religion of the Buddha to other lands like Tibet, Japan and Korea. He also built monasteries for the Buddhist monks. He held a Buddhist council (fourth) in Kashmir, where the doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism were finalised.
- The schlolars at Kundalvana reformed the old religion in order to make it popular. The new religion came to be known as the Mahayana while the old religion was called the Hinayana, which the orthodox still follow.
Kanishka, a Great Administrator:-
- Kanishka was also a great administrator. He had divided his vast empire into many provinces which were ruled by his trusted governors, called Kshatraps.
- Art and Literature:-
- Kanishka’s court was adorned by the celebrated Buddhist teachers Parva and Vasumitra, the great Buddhist poet and philosophar Asvaghosha, the well known philosopher Nagarjuna and the physician Charaka.
- Kanishka was also a great builder. He beautified the cities of Peshawar, Mathura and Sarnath with a number of buildings, monasteries and statues.
- A new school of art, known as the ‘Gandhara School at Peshawar. Its stupa was built under the supervision of a Greek architect.
Successors:-
Very little is known about it. Vashishka succeeded him. Kushans rule continued in the Kabul Valley till the invasion of the Huns in the 5th century.
Crafts, Trade and Towns:-
- The period 200 BC- AD 300 was the most flourishing period in the history of crafts and commerce in ancient India.
- The Kushans traded with the Roman empire. Trade relations existed with China and western Asia through the silk route. Kanishka controlled the silk route. The silk route extended from central Asia down to the mouth of Indus river. From these sea ports silk was exported to Roma. They imported copper, tin, glass and gold into their kingdoms. Taxila, Ujjain and Mathura had become big commercial centres in those days.
Kanishkas Coins : He issued a lot of gold, silver and copper coins. His coins are important for three reasons (i) the coins indicate the vastness of his empire. (ii) Tolerant policy by embarking the images of various Hindu, Greek and Buddha images. (iii) These had the proper shape and decorative.
Architecture
- The period 200 BC AD 300 witnessed a qualitative development in Indian art and architecture.
Temples :
- Important temples of this period include the temple at Jhandial, Taxila ; the Sankarshanama temple at Nagari, Rajasthan , the temple at Besnagar, Madhya Pradesh ; and an apsidal temple at Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh.
Stupas :
- Excavation at Bodha Gaya (Bihar), Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh), Bharht (Madhya Pradesh), Amaravati (Maharashtra), and Taxila have exposed a number of stupas of this period.
- The Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh) stupa has some important scenes related with the life of Budha.
Rock-cut Architecture :
Chaityas and Viharas were built by both the Buddhists and the Jains.
School of Arts :
The Mathura School of Art
- If flourished in Mathura during the reign of Kanishka. It was Indian, both in spirit and style. A headless statue of Kanishka is a unique example of the Mathura Art.
The Gandhara School of Art
- It was developed as a result of the Greek influence on Indian art. It developed in the province of Gandhara therefore, it is called the Gandhara School of Art.
- The Gandhara artists also made images of the Buddha and the Bodhisativas. But they looked like the Greek gods. They use the blue grey schist stone for sculpture.
Amaravati Art
- During this period, the Amaravati school of art also developed in the lower valleys of the Krishna and the Godavari. Nagarjunakonda, Amaravati, Ghantasala etc. were the main centres of this art.
- A group of women enjoying their bath, depiction of the story of King Udayana and his queens, and the taming of an elephant by the Buddha are some of the memorable works of this school.
- The general features of Amaravati art include (i) use of white marble. (ii) long legs and slender frames, (iii) human beings as central characters and (iv) prominence of kings, princes and palaces.
