| Pushyamitra Shunga | |
|---|---|
 Sunga period masculine figurine, 2nd-1st century BCE, Guimet Museum | |
| Emperor of Magadha | |
| Reign | c. 185 – c. 149 BCE |
| Predecessor | Brihadratha Maurya (as Mauryan emperor) |
| Successor | Agnimitra |
| General of Magadha | |
| Born | c. late 3rd century BCE Magadha, Maurya Empire(Present day Bihar, India |
| Died | c. 149 BCE Pataliputra, Shunga Empire(Present day Bihar, India |
| Dynasty | Shunga |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Pushyamitra Shunga (IAST: Puṣyamitra Śuṅga) or Pushpamitra Shunga (IAST: Puṣpamitra Śuṅga) (ruled c. 185 – c. 149 BCE) was the founder and the first ruler of the Shunga Empire which he established to succeed the Maurya Empire.[1] His original name was Puṣpaka or Puṣpamitra and the confusion between Puṣyamitra and Puṣpamitra arose because of the erroneous readings of 'p' and 'y' in the manuscripts.[2]
Pushyamitra is recorded to have performed the Ashvamedha ritual to legitimize his right to rule.[3] Inscriptions of the Shungas have been found as far as the Ayodhya (the Dhanadeva–Ayodhya inscription), and the Divyavadana mentions that his empire stretched as far as Sakala (now Sialkot) in the northwestern Punjab region, now in Pakistan.
Buddhist texts claim that Pushyamitra persecuted Buddhists; scholars have rejected these claims.[4][5]
- ^ Mitchiner, John E. (1986). The Yuga Purāṇa (1st ed.). Kolkata: The Asiatic Society. p. 71. ISBN 978-93-81574-56-0.
- ^ Mitchiner, John E. (1986). The Yuga Purāṇa (1st ed.). Kolkata: The Asiatic Society. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-93-81574-56-0.
- ^ Dineshchandra Sircar (1971). Studies in the Religious Life of Ancient and Medieval India. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 175. ISBN 978-81-208-2790-5.
- ^ Mishra, Ram Kumar (2012). "Pushyamitra Sunga and the Buddhists". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 73: 50–57. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44156189.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
thaparwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).