Agnimitra ( sa, अग्निमित्रः) () was the second king of the Shunga dynasty of northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. He succeeded his father, Pushyamitra Shunga, 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 ...

and the Brahmanda Purana 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 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 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), 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 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 ...

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

References

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