Vasumitra
Template:Infobox monarch Vasumitra (or Sumitra, according to the d manuscript of the Matsya Purana)[1] (Template:Reign; died 124 BCE), was the fourth ruler of the Shunga Empire of North India. He was the son of Agnimitra by his queen Dharini and brother or half-brother of Vasujyeshtha, the step son of Queen Mālavikā , the third wife of King Agnimitra.
In the Mālavikāgnimitram, act 5, verse 14, Kālidāsa tells us that Vasumitra guarded the sacrificial horse let loose by his grandfather Pushyamitra Shunga and he defeated a cavalry squadron of the Yona (Indo-Greeks) on the banks of the Indus River.[2][3] At the new of the victory of her son Vasumitra , the Queen , Dharini promises to reward Mālavikā, gives her to the King and gladly consents to their union. So Vasumitra's victory played an vital role in the union of his father Agnimitra and Mālavikā.
After this happy termination of the course of the royal love, the play ends with the customary Bharatavakya which here takes the form of an expression of general peace and happiness among the King's subjects.
Bana's Harshacharita mentioned him as Sumitra and informed us that he was killed by Mitradeva (or Muladeva, according to some manuscripts) while enjoying a drama. He was succeeded by Andhraka, Antaka, Bhagabhadra or Bhadra according to different puranas.[4]
| Preceded by Vasujyeshtha |
Shunga Emperor 131–124 BCE |
Succeeded by Bhagabhadra |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, p.47
- ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, p.51
- ^ The Malavikágnimitra : a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa; Tawney, C. H. p.91
- ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.52-3