Agnimitra ( sa, अग्निमित्रः) () was the second king of the

Shunga dynasty The Shunga Empire (IAST: ') was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the most of the northern Indian subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pushyamitra, after taking the throne of the ...

of northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He succeeded his father,

Pushyamitra Shunga Pushyamitra Shunga (IAST: ) or Pushpamitra Shunga (IAST: ) (ruled ) was the co-founder and the first or second ruler of the Shunga Empire which he and Gopāla established against the Maurya Empire. His original name was Puṣpaka or Puṣpami ...

, in 149 BCE. The

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' ( sa, वायुपुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to pr ...

and the

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...

have assigned 8 years as the length of his reign.Lahiri, Bela (1974). ''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.)'' Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.47-50

Ancestry and early life

According to

Kālidāsa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and t ...

in the Mālavikāgnimitram (Act IV, Verse 14), Agnimitra belonged to the Brahmin Baimbika family, the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

also mention him as a ''Shunga''. The Mālavikāgnimitra, (Act V, Verse 20) informs us that he was the ''Goptri'' (viceroy) at

Vidisha Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar in ancient times) is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from th ...

during his father's reign. The Mālavikāgnimitra gives us the names of three of his queens: Dharini (the mother of the fourth Shunga King,

Vasumitra Vasumitra (or Sumitra, according to the ''d'' manuscript of the '' Matsya Purana'') (; died 124 BCE), was the fourth ruler of the Shunga Empire of North India. He was the son of Agnimitra by his queen Dharini and brother or half-brother of Vasujy ...

), Iravati, and Malavika (a princess of Vidarbha).

Vidarbha conquest of Agnimitra

Battle of Vidarbha

According to the ''Mālavikāgnimitra'' (Act I, Verse 6-8 and Act V, Verse 13–14), a war broke out between the Shungas and neighboring

Vidarbha kingdom The Vidarbha Kingdom in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata is among the many kingdoms ruled by Yadu kings (Bhoja Yadavas). It was situated in the region still known as Vidarbha in what is now Maharashtra in the Deccan. Damayanti, the wife of Nala ...

during Agnimitra's reign as viceroy of Vidisha (between 175 to 150 BCE). Before the rise of the Shungas, Vidarbha had become independent from the

Mauryan Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

when a former Mauryan ' (minister) put his brother-in-law Yajnasena on the throne. Madhavasena, a cousin of Yajnasena, sought help from Agnimitra in overthrowing his cousin, but was captured while crossing the border of Vidarbha and imprisoned. Agnimitra demanded the release of Madhavasena, and in return Yajnasena demanded the release of the former Mauryan minister, who had been captured earlier by Agnimitra. Instead, Agnimitra sent his army to invade Vidarbha. Yajnasena was defeated and forced to divide Vidarbha with Madhavasena, and both cousins recognized the suzerainty of the Shunga rulers.Kalidas, Encyclopedia Americana
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Succession

Agnimitra succeeded his father in 149 BCE and ruled for 8 years. His reign ended in 141 BCE and he was succeeded either by his son

Vasujyeshtha Vasujyeshtha or Sujyeshtha () was the third king of the Shunga Dynasty of Northern India. His reign is not well documented, thus little is known about him. He is credited with successfully completing his grandfather's Ashvamedha and for defeating ...

(according to the

Matsya Purana The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...

) or Sujyeshtha (according to the Vayu, Brahamānda, Vishnu, and Bhagavata Puranas).

References

External links