Agnimitra

Agnimitra (149 - 141 BCE) was the second King of the Sunga Dynasty of Northern India. He succeeded his father, Pusyamitra Sunga, in 149 BCE. (Note: the Vāyu and Brahmānda Puranas have assigned 8 years as the length of his reign.)

According to Kālidāsa in the Mālavikāgnimitram [Mālavikāgnimitram, (Act IV, Verse 14) ] , Agnimitra belonged to the Baimbika family ("Baimbika-kula"). He was the Viceroy of Vidisa during his father's reign [Mālavikāgnimitram, (Act V, Verse 20) ] .

War with Vidarbha

According to the Mālavikāgnimitram, war broke out between the Sunga and neighboring Vidarbha during Agnimitra's reign. Before the rise of the Sunga, Vidarbha had become independent from the Mauryan Empire when a Mauryan minister named Sachiva 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 and imprisoned before he could take refuge in Vidisa.

Agnimitra demanded the release of Madhavasena, and in return Yajnasena requested the release of Sachiva (the 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 suzerainity of the Sunga rulers. [Mālavikāgnimitram, (Act I, Verse 6-8 and Act V, Verse 13-14).] [ [http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/kalidas.html Kalidas, Encyclopedia Americana] ]

Other Information

The Mālavikāgnimitram gives us the names of three of his queens: Dharini (the mother of the fourth Sunga King, Vasumitra), Iravati, and Malavika (a princess of Vidarbha).

Agnimitra's 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).

Further reading

*"Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 BC to 320 AD)" by Bela Lahiri, University of Calcutta,1974.
*"Political History of Ancient India" by Hemchandra Raychaudhuri, University of Calcutta,1972.
*"Malavikagnimitram (Malavika and Agnimitra) by Kalidasa" (ed.) by Ramji Thakur, Global Vision, New Delhi, 2004, ISBN 81-8220-014-8.

References

External links

* [http://starnarcosis.net/obsidian/india.html#Magadha List of rulers of Magadha] on Bruce Gordon's " [http://starnarcosis.net/obsidian/regindex.html Regnal Chronologies] ".