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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            =Agnimitra
| title           =[[Shunga Empire|Shunga Emperor]]
| image           = SungaMasculine.jpg
| caption         = Masculine figure from [[Bharhuta Stupa]]
| reign           = 149–141 BCE
| coronation      =
| full name       =
| predecessor     = [[Pushyamitra Shunga]]
| successor       = [[Vasujyeshtha]]
| spouse          = {{Bulleted list|Dharini (chief queen)|Iravati (second wife)|Malavika (third wife)}}
| issue           = {{unbulleted list|[[Vasujyeshtha]]|[[Vasumitra]]}}
| royal house     =
| dynasty         =
| father          = [[Pushyamitra Shunga]]
| mother          = [[Rani Devamala|Devamala]]
| birth_date   =
| birth_place  =
| death_date   =
| death_place  =
| date of burial  =
| place of burial =
|}}
'''Agnimitra''' ({{lang-sa|अग्निमित्रः}}) ({{reign|149|141 BCE}}) was the second king of the [[Shunga dynasty]] of northern [[India]]. He succeeded his father, [[Pushyamitra Shunga]], in 149 BCE. The [[Vayu Purana]] and the [[Brahmanda Purana]] have assigned 8 years as the length of his reign. His mother was Princess [[Devamala]], who is the daughter of King Devakumara Raya Jadhav.<ref name=lahiri>Lahiri, Bela (1974).''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.)'' Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.47-50</ref>

==Ancestry and early life==
According to [[Kālidāsa]] in the [[Mālavikāgnimitram]] (Act IV, Verse 14), Agnimitra belonged to the Baimbika family (''Baimbika-kula''), while the [[Puranas]] mention him as a ''Shunga''.<ref>Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta,1972, p.328</ref> The Mālavikāgnimitra, (Act V, Verse 20) informs us that he was the ''Goptri'' (viceroy) at [[Vidisha]] during his father's reign.<ref>Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta,1972, p.330</ref>

The Mālavikāgnimitra gives us the names of three of his queens: Dharini (the mother of the fourth Shunga King, [[Vasumitra]]), Iravati, and Malavika (a princess of Vidarbha).

==War with Vidarbha==
According to the ''Mālavikāgnimitra'' (Act I, Verse 6-8 and Act V, Verse 13–14), a war broke out between the Shungas and neighboring [[Vidarbha kingdom (Mauryan era)|Vidarbha]] kingdom during Agnimitra's reign. Before the rise of the Shungas, Vidarbha had become independent from the [[Mauryan Empire]] when a former Mauryan ''sachiva'' (minister) put his brother-in-law Yajnasena on the throne. Madhavasena, a cousin of Yajnasena, sought help from Agnimitra in overthrowing his cousin, but was captured while crossing the border of Vidarbha and imprisoned.<ref name=lahiri/>

Agnimitra demanded the release of Madhavasena, and in return Yajnasena demanded the release of the former Mauryan minister, who had been captured earlier by Agnimitra. Instead, Agnimitra sent his army to invade Vidarbha. Yajnasena was defeated and forced to divide Vidarbha with Madhavasena, and both cousins recognized the suzerainty of the Shunga rulers.<ref name=lahiri/><ref>[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/kalidas.html Kalidas, Encyclopedia Americana]</ref> This shows that he was probably an able military leader.

==Agnimitra and Malavika==
For Agnimitra and Malavika, see [[Mālavikāgnimitram]]

==Succession==
Agnimitra's reign ended in 141 BCE and he was succeeded either by his son [[Vasujyeshtha]] (according to the [[Matsya Purana]]) or Sujyeshtha (according to the Vayu, Brahamānda, Vishnu, and Bhagavata Puranas).<ref name=lahiri/>

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
  | title = [[Shunga Empire|King of Shunga Dynasty]]
  | years = 149–141 BCE
  | before = [[Pushyamitra]]
  | after = [[Vasujyeshtha]]
}}
{{s-end}}

==Further reading==
*''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 BC to 320 AD)'' by Bela Lahiri, University of Calcutta,1974.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080304125042/http://www.starnarcosis.net/obsidian/india.html#Magadha List of rulers of Magadha] on Bruce Gordon's *"[https://web.archive.org/web/20071114075322/http://starnarcosis.net/obsidian/regindex.html Regnal Chronologies]".

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Shunga Empire]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Indian monarchs]]


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