The Vidarbha kingdom (Mauryan era) was a kingdom which controlled the

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

region of present-day

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. It was formed when a former

Mauryan 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 ...

''sachiva'' (minister) put his brother-in-law Yajnasena on the throne, and declared independence.

War with Shungas

Battle of Vidarbha

Madhavasena, a cousin of Yajnasena, sought help from

Agnimitra Agnimitra ( sa, अग्निमित्रः) () was the second king of the Shunga dynasty of northern India. He succeeded his father, Pushyamitra Shunga, in 149 BCE. The Vayu Purana and the Brahmanda Purana have assigned 8 years as the lengt ...

, the king of the

Shunga Empire 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 Shunga, Pushyamitra, after taking ...

in overthrowing his cousin. He set out for

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 ...

, the current

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word ''shunga'' ...

capital, but was spotted by some of Yajnasena's soldiers and 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.Lahiri, Bela (1974). ''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.)'' Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.47-50Kalidas, Encyclopedia Americana
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References

History of Vidarbha History of Maharashtra Maurya Empire {{India-hist-stub