After the Mauryas: Shungas, Satavahanas, Indo-Greeks and Kushanas
Many kingdoms ruled north and central India; trade on the Silk Road and the sea flourished, and Gandhara and Mathura art was born.
How it was ruled
The Shungas and Kanvas held the Ganga plains; the Satavahanas ruled the Deccan; Indo-Greek, Shaka and Kushana kings ruled the north-west. Kharavela ruled Kalinga.
How people lived
Buddhist monasteries and stupas were built with gifts from merchants and ordinary people; Vaishnava and Shaiva worship grew; Sanskrit and Prakrit literature flourished.
What people did
Farming, guild crafts (weavers, potters, ivory-carvers), and long-distance trade; rock-cut monasteries were carved along trade routes.
What people ate
Rice, wheat, millets and pulses; spices such as pepper were valued both at home and abroad.
Trade
The Kushanas controlled part of the Silk Road; Roman gold coins reached India in exchange for spices, cotton and gems.
Region by region
- Maharashtra: Satavahana capital Pratishthana (Paithan) and rock-cut caves at Nashik, Karle and Bhaja.
- Andhra Pradesh: The Amaravati stupa, famous for its marble carvings.
- Odisha: King Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri.
- Uttar Pradesh: Mathura, a centre of Kushana-era sculpture.
- Gujarat: Rudradaman's inscription at Junagadh (150 CE), the earliest long inscription in Sanskrit.
- Gandhara (today's Pakistan and Afghanistan): Gandhara art blended Indian and Greek styles; the Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda) ruled from Sagala.
Key events
- 2nd century BCE: Indo-Greek kingdoms in the north-west
- c. 127 CE: Kanishka begins his reign over the Kushana empire
- 150 CE: Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription
Legacy
The rock-cut caves of the Deccan and the first images of the Buddha belong to this age.