THE BATTLE OF VIDHARBHA AND SHUNGA

The Shunga Empire was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the
central and eastern Indian subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was
established by Pushyamitra Shunga, after taking the throne of the Maurya Empire. Its capital
was Pataliputra, but later emperors such as Bhagabhadra also held court at Besnagar
(modern Vidisha) in eastern Malwa.

Pushyamitra Shunga ruled for 36 years and was succeeded by his son Agnimitra. There were ten
Shunga rulers. However, after the death of Agnimitra, the second king of the dynasty, the empire
rapidly disintegrated inscriptions and coins indicate that much of northern and central India
consisted of small kingdoms and city-states that were independent of any Shunga hegemony. The
dynasty is noted for its numerous wars with both foreign and indigenous powers. They fought
the Kalinga, the Satavahana dynasty, the Indo-Greek Kingdom and possibly
the Panchalas and Mitras of Mathura.

There are many riveting events in the entire Sunga period, and one such fascinating event is the
conflict between crown prince Agnimitra and the kingdom of Vidarbha or Berara which has been
detailed by the great poet Kalidasa in his Malavikagnimitram.

Eminent historian H. C. Raychaudhuri in his Political History of Ancient India, takes evidence

from Malavikagnimitram and describes the events that led up to the conflict between Śuṅga
prince Agnimitra and the kingdom of Vidarbha. He suggests that the ascendence of the Sunga
power corresponds with the formation of kingdom of Vidarbha under Yajnasena. Yajnasena is
the king of Vidarbha and he is also related to the Mauryasachiva, who has not been named.
The Mauryasachiva is brother-in-law of the king Yajñasena.

But the cousin of Yajnasena, Madhavasena has already made an alliance with Agnimitra and is
travelling along with his sister Malavika, secretly towards Vidiśa where Malavika is to be
married with Agnimitra.

But both of them are arrested by an Antapala, Warden of the Marches of Yajnasena and kept in
custody. Another important role is played by Agnimitra’s brother-in-law, Vīrasena (he was
brother of Agnimitra’s queen Dharaṇi) who has been in the meantime appointed in charge of a
fortress in the frontier on the banks of Narmada by Agnimitra.

Malavika somehow manages to escape but Madhavasena is still imprisoned and when Agnimitra
learns about these events, a conflict ensues. The details of the play and of the love story between
the heroine Malavika and the hero Agnimitra is not our concern here, rather what happens
between the Agnimitra and the kingdom of Vidarbha is the topic of our study.

Raychaudhuri especially points out the significance of two specific phrases used in the play. One
is achirādhishṭhita and the other is   navasaṁropaṇaśithilastaru.

The Amātya of Agnimitra describes the kingdom of Vidarbha as achirādhishṭhita (established not

long ago) and the king of Vidarbha is described as navasaṁropaṇasithilastaru which means the
king has been compared to a newly planted tree which is not firm. And because the king is in
relation to the Maurya minister, he has been described as prakṛityamitra meaning a natural
enemy.

After learning about Mādhavasena, Agnimitra promptly sends his messenger to the Vidarbha
King to quickly set his friend Mādhavasena free but the reply he gets is unsatisfactory.
Yajnasena has replied that there are certain ways in which “mutual transactions between equals
are conducted” and thus asks for the freedom of the Maurya sachiva who has been imprisoned by
Agnimitra.

The Sunga prince is unsurprisingly enraged. He doesn’t think that the king of Vidarbha is in a
position to negotiate rather he should only obey Agnimitra’s orders.

Agnimitra swiftly gives orders to Virasena to march against Vidarbha. In the ensuing conflict,
Virasena is victorious and he sets Madhavasena free, who is welcomed in Vidisa. The
independent kingdom of Vidarbha ceases to exist and the kingdom is divided between the two
cousins, Mādhavasena and Yajnasena in two halves under the paramount sovereignity of
Pusyamitra. The river Varada forms a boundary between these two halves.
On the contrary the kingdom of Vidarbha under Yajñasena was a newly formed independent
kingdom. Rather the fact that Mādhavasena enjoys royal status even before Yajnasena’s defeat
by Agnimitra is pertinent.

Various interpretations of these phrases notwithstanding, Malavikagnimitram by the

great Kalidasa provides us with such a fascinating chunk of the history of Sunga period. And this
is a great example that many of our literary works after careful corroboration from other sources,
can be of great help to learn about many such dark spaces in ancient Bharatiya history.

From Puranas to Patanjali’s Mahabhasya, from Bāṇa’s Harshacharita to

Kālidāsa’s Mālavikāgnimitram, every one of these literary sources has helped historians and
scholars to abridge those gaps and form a cohesive account of Śuṅga rule.