Mod 6: Decline and Legacy of the Shungas — a Shrinking Kingdom, Palace Intrigue, the Kanva Takeover of 73 BCE and the Shunga Contribution
Concept
10.11 The decline of the Shungas
🏫 School level · NCERT Class 6–12 History (the base for UPSC, BPSC, BSSC and other PSC exams)
Why a hundred-year dynasty ended
| Cause | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Weak later kings | After Agnimitra and Vasumitra, most reigns were short; Devabhuti was pleasure-loving |
| Palace intrigue | Ministers grew powerful; Vasudeva Kanva killed the king — as Pushyamitra had once done |
| Foreign pressure | Indo-Greek raids drained resources even when repelled |
| Rise of regional powers | Kalinga under Kharavela, the Satavahanas in the Deccan, local kings issuing coins at Panchala, Kaushambi and Mathura |
| Smaller base | Unlike the Mauryas, the Shungas never controlled the north-west or the south |
- Decline: weak kings, palace intrigue, Yavana pressure, regional powers (Kharavela, Satavahanas, local coins).
- c. 73/72 BCE Vasudeva Kanva; c. 28 BCE Satavahanas end the Kanvas.
- Question: Who followed the Shungas? Answer: The Kanvas.
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
Question 3: In which year did Vasudeva Kanva assassinate Devabhuti to establish the Kanva Dynasty?
[BPSC level] Which regional power in Kalinga rose during the Shunga period?
[UPSC level] Coins of local kings from Panchala, Kaushambi and Mathura in this period show:
[BSSC pattern] The Shungas were followed in Magadha by the:
[BPSC level] The Kanva dynasty was ended in c. 28 BCE by the:
[UPSC level] What common pattern marks the start of both the Shunga and Kanva dynasties?
[School] Devabhuti was the last king of the:
One-liners
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Who followed the Shungas?
The Kanvas.Concept
10.12 The Shunga legacy
🏫 School level · NCERT Class 6–12 History (the base for UPSC, BPSC, BSSC and other PSC exams)
What the Shungas left behind
| Point | Mauryas | Shungas |
|---|---|---|
| Extent | Almost the whole subcontinent | Ganga valley and central India (Magadha to Vidisha) |
| Capital | Pataliputra | Pataliputra and Vidisha |
| Royal religion | Jain, Ajivika, Buddhist leanings; Ashoka’s dhamma | Vedic sacrifices (Ashvamedha); Bhagavatism |
| Art | Royal: polished pillars, caves | Popular: stupa railings, Jataka reliefs, terracottas |
| Language of learning | Prakrit (edicts) | Sanskrit revival (Patanjali) |
- Defended the Ganga valley against the Indo-Greeks.
- Revived Vedic ritual and Sanskrit learning (Patanjali).
- Saw the spread of Bhagavata (Vaishnava) worship.
- Presided over great Buddhist art at Bharhut, Sanchi and Bodh Gaya.
- Legacy: defence vs Yavanas, Vedic & Sanskrit revival, Bhagavatism, Buddhist art.
- Question: Which Mauryan art form is NOT Shunga? Answer: Polished monolithic pillars.
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
[UPSC level] Compared with the Mauryas, the Shunga kingdom was:
[BPSC level] Which art form is most typical of the Shunga period?
[UPSC level] The Shunga contribution to religion includes:
[BSSC pattern] The language revived as the language of learning under the Shungas was:
[BPSC level] Which Shunga achievement protected the Gangetic heartland?
[UPSC level] The Shungas differed from the Mauryas in that their royal ritual centred on:
[School] The Shunga dynasty lasted about:
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
Which Mauryan art form is NOT Shunga?
Polished monolithic pillars.Concept
🎯 UPSC · BPSC · BSSC · State PSC level: PYQs, traps and mains
| Exam | What it asks from this module |
|---|---|
| UPSC | Post-Mauryan polity; regional states; art patronage |
| BPSC | End of the Shungas; 73 BCE; Kanva founder |
| BSSC / SSC | Dynasty sequence Maurya–Shunga–Kanva–Satavahana |
Arrange in chronological order: 1. Kanva 2. Maurya 3. Shunga 4. Nanda. (a) 4-2-3-1 (b) 2-4-3-1 (c) 4-3-2-1 (d) 2-3-4-1
- Nanda (to c. 322 BCE) → Maurya (to c. 185 BCE) → Shunga (to c. 73 BCE) → Kanva (to c. 28 BCE).
- 73 BCE = end of the Shungas; 28 BCE = end of the Kanvas.
- Both the Shungas and the Kanvas began with a minister or commander killing his master.
Model question: “The Shunga period was not merely a Brahmanical reaction but a creative phase in Indian culture.” Discuss. Points: Ashvamedha and Sanskrit; Patanjali; Bhagavatism (Heliodorus); Buddhist art at Bharhut, Sanchi, Bodh Gaya; defence against Yavanas; critique of the persecution story.
- Order: Nanda → Maurya → Shunga → Kanva.
- Question: When did the Kanvas fall? Answer: c. 28 BCE.
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
[BPSC level] The correct chronological order of dynasties in Magadha is:
[UPSC level] Which statement about the Shunga legacy is correct?
[BSSC pattern] Vasudeva Kanva had been the Shunga king’s:
[UPSC level] Kharavela of Kalinga, a contemporary rival of the later Shungas, followed which religion?
[BPSC level] Which pair of dynasty and end date is correct?
[UPSC level] The Shungas never controlled which of these regions?
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
When did the Kanvas fall?
c. 28 BCE.