Minor Post-Mauryan Powers of North India

1.1 Who were the Kanvas?

The Kanvas were a short-lived dynasty that followed the Shungas. Their founder, Vasudeva, was a minister of the last Shunga king, Devabhuti. The Vishnu Purana says the minister “will murder him, and usurp the kingdom”.

Bana tells the same story in his Harshacharita, a Sanskrit life of King Harsha. He says a slave woman’s daughter, dressed as the queen, killed the king. Bana wrote in the 7th century CE, so his tale is late.

1.2 What does Sunga-bhritya mean?

The Puranas call the Kanvas Sunga-bhritya, meaning “servants of the Shungas”. Bhandarkar compared them to the Peshwas of later times. They held the real power but did not wipe out the old royal line.

2.1 Who were the four kings?

The Puranas name four Kanva kings in order. They are Vasudeva, Bhumimitra, Narayana and Susarman. Each is the son of the one before.

The four figures add up to 45 years. No inscription confirms these lengths.

2.2 What dates do books give?

Raychaudhuri places the Kanvas from about 75 BCE to about 30 BCE. That fits the 45-year total. Treat the exact years as estimates.

2.3 Why do some books say 345 years?

Some lists, for example the Bhagavata Purana, give the four Kanvas 345 years. The Vishnu Purana text gives 45 years. The editor Wilson judged 45 to be the usual figure. A question that offers 345 is using the odd variant.

3.1 Did the Kanvas rule from Pataliputra?

No ancient source says so. Raychaudhuri thinks their land was possibly only Eastern Malwa, around the Shunga capital Vidisha, and some nearby areas. He adds that very little is known about Magadha after the Kanvas.

Allan assigns no coin series to the Kanvas. So there is no firm Kanva coinage to map their land. This is why historians call their reach uncertain.

3.2 Who ended the Kanvas?

The Puranas say a Satavahana, called Simuka, rose against the last Kanva king, Susarman. The Vishnu Purana calls the first Andhra a servant of the last Kanva. Raychaudhuri places the clash apparently in Eastern Malwa. The details are debated.

3.3 What does the Heliodorus pillar show?

The Heliodorus pillar stands at Besnagar, near Vidisha. A Greek envoy of King Antialkidas set it up for the god Vasudeva. It shows that Vidisha was a busy centre in Shunga times, with foreign visitors.

4.1 Who were the Mitras?

The Mitras were local ruling families of the last centuries before the Christian era. Raychaudhuri calls them the only rulers of note in Magadha and nearby lands known from inscriptions. They ruled at Kaushambi, in Panchala, and at Mathura. Each family issued its own coins.

We do not know how these kings were related. Raychaudhuri says their link to one another, and to the Shungas and Kanvas, is not known. Allan says they cannot be identified with the Shungas.

4.2 What do their coins show?

Panchala’s Mitra kings ruled from Ahichchhatra. Their coins cover about 200 BCE to the end of the first century BCE. Names include Agnimitra, Bhanumitra, Bhumimitra and Suryamitra. The coin of Agnimitra shows the god Agni.

Kaushambi coins are bronze. The first are cast pieces, mostly without names. Later struck coins carry kings’ names. Typical designs are a bull and a tree in a railing. Mathura’s Mitra coins show Lakshmi on one side and three elephants on the other.

5.1 Who was Brihaspatimitra?

Brihaspatimitra is a name on Mitra coins and records. Barua and Jayaswal read the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela as naming a “king of Magadha” called Brihaspatimitra. Allan calls that identification extremely improbable.

So treat it as a disputed reading. Allan also finds two coin kings of that name, not one. Brick inscriptions at Mora and a cave record at Pabhosa also name a Brihaspatimitra, so the name is real. Allan thinks they are two different kings of that name.

5.2 What do we know of Ayodhya?

Allan lists six rulers of Ayodhya from coins. They are Muladeva, Vayudeva, Visakhadeva, Dhanadeva, Sivadatta and Naradatta. He dates them to probably the second century BCE. Allan finds no literary or inscription mention of them.

5.3 What does the Dhanadeva inscription say?

A stone inscription from Ayodhya names a Dhanadeva as Kosaladhipati, lord of Kosala. It says he built a memorial for his father Phalgudeva. It also calls Pushyamitra a general who performed two horse sacrifices.

Sircar reads Dhanadeva as sixth in descent from Pushyamitra, probably through his mother. Raychaudhuri leaves the exact relation open. Patanjali’s Mahabhashya also refers to sacrifices for Pushyamitra, so the stone is not the only evidence.

6.1 What is the coin trap?

Some questions present Puranic lists as settled fact. For these small powers, coins and a few inscriptions carry the real evidence. Names, dates and links are often uncertain. If an option says a link is confirmed, check the sources.

6.2 What is the killings trap?

Do not merge the two killings. Pushyamitra killed the last Maurya, Brihadratha. About a century later, the tenth Shunga king, Devabhuti, was killed by his minister Vasudeva. The Puranas give the ten Shunga kings about 112 years.

A second trap is the Bhumimitra coin. The coin belongs to the Panchala series. Allan says it cannot be moved out of that series.