The Age of Reorganisation

1. Chapter at a Glance

Around 185 BCE, the last Maurya emperor was killed by his commander Puṣhyamitra Śhunga, and the great empire broke into many kingdoms — often former tributaries. Kingdoms competed through wars and marriage alliances, and invaders entered through the weakened north-west. Scholars call this period (roughly 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE) the “Age of Reorganisation”, because the map of India was being redrawn. Yet it was also a time of great art, literature, trade and cultural mixing. This chapter surveys the Śhungas, Sātavāhanas, Chedis, the Tamil kingdoms of the Sangam Age, and the Indo-Greeks, Śhakas and Kuṣhāṇas.

2. Why “Age of Reorganisation”?

After the Mauryas, existing regions were reorganised into new kingdoms that kept competing for power. Kings expanded through warfare and through matrimonial alliances (marriages between royal families to cement friendship). Control of border areas was vital for safety. At the same time, art, architecture, literature and trade flourished.

3. The Śhungas

Puṣhyamitra Śhunga founded the Śhunga dynasty in north and central India and performed the aśhvamedha yajña — a Vedic ritual in which a horse wandered freely with soldiers; land it crossed unchallenged was claimed, and stopping it meant battle. His kingdom was smaller than the Mauryas', but he protected it and later kept friendly ties with the Greeks; it lasted about a century. Vedic rituals revived while other schools continued. Sanskrit became a major literary language; Patañjali compiled the Yoga Sūtras in this period. The Śhungas added beautifully carved railings and story panels to the Bharhut Stūpa (Madhya Pradesh) — among the earliest Buddhist art.

4. The Sātavāhanas

From the 2nd century BCE the Sātavāhanas (also called Andhras) ruled much of the Deccan — present Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra — with capitals such as Amarāvatī and Pratiṣhṭhāna (Paithan).

• Trade: their coins, found from Gujarat to Andhra, show two-masted ships, revealing sea trade. They traded spices, textiles, sandalwood, pearls and ivory with the Roman Empire, importing glass and perfumed oils; tolls and taxes added revenue. The Naneghat caves near Pune on a trade route served as toll points and rest-houses.
• Agriculture thrived in the Krishna–Godavari basin.
• Mothers' names: princes were named after their mothers, e.g. Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi, son of Gautamī Balaśhrī, an influential queen who donated land to Buddhist monks and left an inscription at Nāśhik. A widowed Sātavāhana queen performed Vedic rituals, including the aśhvamedha, and made donations recorded at Naneghat.
• Numerals: Naneghat inscriptions in Brahmi include number symbols, some resembling modern ones — evidence that our numerals originated in India.
• Religion and art: devotees of Vāsudeva (Kṛiṣhṇa), they also gave tax-free land to Vedic scholars and Jain and Buddhist monks; they contributed to the rock-cut Karla caves; a stone yakṣha at Pitalkhora was carved by a goldsmith named Kanhadāsa.

In the 3rd century CE, weak central control and economic decline broke the empire into smaller kingdoms.

5. The Chedis of Kalinga

After the Mauryas, Kalinga rose under the Chedi dynasty. King Khāravela, a devoted Jain called the “monk-king”, respected all schools of thought. The Udayagiri–Khandagiri caves near Bhubaneswar, carved for Jain monks, are fine examples of rock-cut architecture. The Hāthīgumphā inscription (Brahmi) records his year-by-year achievements — military campaigns, welfare works and a council of sages — and calls him a respecter of every sect and repairer of every temple. Respect for all faiths is part of the Indian ethos.

6. The South: The Sangam Age

Between about the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, three “crowned kings” — the Cholas, Cheras and Pāṇḍyas — ruled the south, staying independent even of Aśhoka. Poets' assemblies produced Sangam literature (from Sanskrit saṅgha, “association”), the oldest literature of south India, expressing love, heroism and generosity, and giving historians valuable details.

7. Invaders Who Became Indian

• Indo-Greeks: descendants of satraps left by Alexander, who ruled the north-west after the Mauryas. They absorbed local culture. The Heliodorus pillar near Vidisha, set up by an Indo-Greek ambassador, praises Vāsudeva as “god of gods” and names three precepts: self-restraint, charity and awareness. Their coins (gold, silver, copper, nickel) sometimes show Indian deities such as Vāsudeva-Kṛiṣhṇa and Lakṣhmī.
• Śhakas (Indo-Scythians): replaced the Indo-Greeks in the north-west, ruling from the late 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE. The Śhaka Samvat calendar, 78 years behind the Gregorian (79 from January to March), was adopted as the Indian National Calendar in 1957.
• Kuṣhāṇas: from Central Asia, they ruled from Central Asia to much of north India, probably from the 2nd century CE. Their greatest king, Kaṇiṣhka — “great king, king of kings, son of God” on his headless statue — issued coins showing the Buddha (written BOΔΔO in Greek letters) and Śhiva with Nandi, showing respect for many faiths. They controlled parts of the Silk Route linking China, Central Asia, Persia and the Mediterranean, so trade boomed.

Gāndhāra and Mathurā schools of art

The period saw human-like images of deities such as Sūrya, laying groundwork for later temple art, and the growth of Sanskrit literature, including the composition of the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa in their great forms. Invaders who came to conquer were absorbed into Indian society — the past is a tapestry woven by interaction and assimilation.

8. Master Table: Key Terms

9. Master Summary Table

Chart — Śhaka Samvat year from Gregorian year (subtract):

10. Mind Map

11. Tips and Tricks

12. Important One-liners

• Puṣhyamitra Śhunga founded the Śhunga dynasty around 185 BCE.
• Patañjali compiled the Yoga Sūtras.
• Sātavāhana coins show ships with two masts.
• Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi was named after his mother.
• Khāravela's Hāthīgumphā inscription is at Udayagiri.
• Karikāla built the Grand Anicut on the Kaveri.
• Silappadikāram is the tale of Kaṇṇagi.
• The Heliodorus pillar is near Vidisha.
• The Śhaka Samvat became India's national calendar in 1957.
• Kaṇiṣhka's coins show the Buddha and Śhiva.

13. Exam-pattern Questions with Detailed Answers

14. Quick Revision Summary