The ancestors of Shungas originated from

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

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.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) 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 (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 in Gujarat is associated with the Junagadh/Rudradaman inscriptions and western Kshatrapas, not with the ancestry of the Shungas.

Concept: 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.

State PCS 2018 Q21 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2018 Q21 — History PYQ with Answer