The ancestors of Shungas originated from
- (a)Magadha
- (b)Prayag
- (c)Ujjain
- (d)Saurashtra
Correct — C, Ujjain. The commission's key marks Ujjain (the Avanti region of western Madhya Pradesh) as the place the Shunga family originally came from. The Shungas were a Brahmin lineage; their most famous member, Pushyamitra Shunga, founded the dynasty around 185 BCE by assassinating the last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha, and seizing power at Pataliputra.
- (a)Magadha — Magadha (with its capital Pataliputra) was the territory the Shungas came to rule after they replaced the Mauryas — it was the seat of their power, not the place their family originally hailed from.
- (b)Prayag — Prayag (Allahabad) is famous for later Gupta-era associations (Samudragupta's Prayag Prashasti); it is not linked to the origin of the Shunga family.
- (d)Saurashtra — Saurashtra in Gujarat is associated with the Junagadh/Rudradaman inscriptions and western Kshatrapas, not with the ancestry of the Shungas.
The Shungas were the dynasty that immediately succeeded the Mauryas in the Gangetic heartland. Pushyamitra Shunga, a Brahmin general, overthrew the last Mauryan king Brihadratha (c. 185 BCE) and established Shunga rule, which lasted about a century before the Kanvas replaced them. The dynasty is important for the revival of Brahmanical practices and for the art of the Bharhut and Sanchi railings.
The trap here is Magadha: students know the Shungas ruled Magadha, so they pick it as the 'origin'. The question asks where the family originally came from, not where they ruled — the key distinguishes place of origin (Ujjain/Avanti) from seat of power (Magadha).
- Founder: Pushyamitra Shunga, a Brahmin commander-in-chief.
- He overthrew the last Mauryan king Brihadratha around 185 BCE.
- Shunga rule lasted about a century before the Kanva dynasty took over.
- Shunga-era art survives in the railings and gateways of the Bharhut stupa.
- Confusing the Shungas' seat of power (Magadha) with their place of origin
- Mixing up the sequence Maurya → Shunga → Kanva → Satavahana
MPPSC and UPSC ask this area as 'who founded / who succeeded whom' among post-Mauryan dynasties, and as matching of dynasty to founder or capital.
Consider the following statements: 1. The last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha was assassinated by his commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Sunga. 2. The last Sunga king, Devabhuti was assassinated by his Brahmana minister Vasudeva Kanva who usurped the throne. 3. The last ruler of the Kanva dynasty was deposed by the Andhra's. Which of these statements is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) Only 2
- (c) Only 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3
Same dynasty: tests the rise and fall of the Shungas — Pushyamitra founding the line and the Kanvas succeeding them.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who founded the Shunga dynasty by overthrowing the last Mauryan ruler?
- (a)Pushyamitra Shunga
- (b)Vasudeva Kanva
- (c)Chandragupta Maurya
- (d)Kharavela
Answer(a) Pushyamitra Shunga — he assassinated the Mauryan king Brihadratha around 185 BCE.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which dynasty immediately succeeded the Mauryas in the Magadha region?
- (a)Kanva
- (b)Shunga
- (c)Satavahana
- (d)Gupta
Answer(b) Shunga — they came to power directly after the Mauryas and were later followed by the Kanvas.