https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Brihadratha_MauryaBrihadratha Maurya - Revision history2026-07-31T20:01:52ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Brihadratha_Maurya&diff=164702&oldid=previmported>Eostrix at 06:41, 9 August 20212021-08-09T06:41:14Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}<br />
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{{for|the legendary king of Magadha|Brihadratha}}<br />
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{{Infobox royalty<br />
|reign = {{circa|187|184 BCE}}<br />
|succession = 9th [[List of Mauryan rulers|Mauryan emperor]]<br />
|predecessor = [[Shatadhanvan]]<br />
| successor = [[Pushyamitra]] [[Sunga]]<br />
|dynasty = [[Maurya Empire]]<br />
}}<br />
{{Maurya}}<br />
'''Brihadratha''' was the last ruler of the [[Mauryan Empire]]. He ruled from 187 to 184 BCE, when he was killed by his general, [[Pushyamitra Shunga]], who went on to establish the [[Shunga Empire]]. The Mauryan territories, centred on the capital of [[Pataliputra]], had shrunk considerably from the time of [[Ashoka]] to when Brihadratha came to the throne.<br />
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==Reign==<br />
According to the [[Puranas]], Brihadratha succeeded his father [[Shatadhanvan]] to the throne and ruled for seven years.<ref name=thapar>{{cite book|last1=Thapar|first1=Romila|title=Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas : with new afterword, bibliography and index|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Delhi|isbn=0-19-564445-X|page=183|edition=2nd}}</ref><br />
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=== [[Coup d'état]] by Pushyamitra Shunga ===<br />
Brihadratha Maurya was killed in 184 BCE and power usurped by his general, Pushyamitra Shunga who then took over the throne and established the Shunga Empire.{{sfn|Thapar|2013|p=296}} [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa]]'s ''[[Harshacharita]]'' says that Pushyamitra, while parading the entire Mauryan army before Brihadratha on the pretext of showing him the strength of the army, crushed his master.<ref>Lahiri, B. (1974). ''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) '', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.24-5</ref> Pushyamitra killed the former emperor in front of his military and established himself as the new ruler.<br />
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=== Invasion of Demetrius I ===<br />
In 185 BCE, northwestern India (parts of modern-day [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]]) was occupied by the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian]] king [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]] (Dharmamita), followed by the overthrow of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pushyamitra Shunga. The Mauryans had diplomatic alliances with the Greeks, and they may have been considered as allies by the Greco-Bactrians. A key detail is mentioned by Ceylonese Buddhist monk Badra, pointing that Brihadratha married Demetrius' daughter, Berenisa (''Suvarnnaksi'' in Pali texts).<ref>'''S. Paranavithana'''. ''The Greeks and the Mauryas'', 1971. https://archive.org/details/thegreeksandthemauryassenartparanavitana1971_104_N</ref> The Greco-Bactrians may also have invaded India in order to protect Greek populations in the subcontinent. He established his rule in the Kabul Valley and parts of the [[Punjab region]]. Soon, however, they had to leave for Bactria to fight a fierce battle (probably between [[Eucratides I]] and Demetrius).<ref>Lahiri, B. (1974). ''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) '', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.22-4</ref> <br />
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The hypothesized [[Indo-Greek|Yavana]] invasion of Pataliputra is based in the ''[[Yuga Purana]].'' Written in a prophetic, the a scripture describes the campaign of King Dharmamita:<br />
{{quote|{{ordered list | start = 47 <br />
| Then, having approached [[Saketa]], together with [[Panchala]] and the [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]]s, the Yavanas ([[Indo-Greeks]]), wicked and valiant, will reach Kusumadhvaja ("The town of the flower-standard", [[Pataliputra]]). <br />
| Then, once Puspapura (Pataliputra) has been reached, [and] its celebrated mud[-walls] cast down, all the realms will be in disorder, there is no doubt. <br />
| There will then finally be a great war, of wooden weapons, and there will be the vilest of men, dishonourable and unrighteous.}}|source=Yuga Purana<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/TheYugaPurana/The%20Yuga%20Purana#page/n73 |title=The Yuga Purana |date=1986 |publisher=[[The Asiatic Society]] |location=Calcutta |page=91 |translator-last=Mitchiner |translator-first=John E.}}</ref><ref name="Chakrbarti">The Sungas, Kanvas, Republican Kingdoms and Monarchies, Mahameghavahanas, [[Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti]], p.6 [https://www.academia.edu/7469349/I.1._The_Sungas_Kanvas_Republican_Kingdoms_and_Monarchies_Mahameghavahanas]</ref>}}<br /><br />
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==References==<br />
===Citations===<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
===Sources===<br />
* {{citation |last=Thapar |first=Romila |author-link=Romila Thapar |title=The Past Before Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-72651-2 }}<br />
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{{s-hou|[[Maurya Empire]]||||}} <br />
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Shatadhanvan]]}}<br />
{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=[[Maurya Empire|Maurya Emperor]]|years=187–185}}<br />
{{s-aft|after=[[Pushyamitra Shunga|Pushyamitra]]<br/>([[Shunga Empire]])}}<br />
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{{s-aft|after=[[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius I]]<br/>([[Indo-Greek Kingdom]])}}<br />
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[[Category:Mauryan dynasty]]<br />
[[Category:Murdered Indian monarchs]]<br />
[[Category:2nd-century BC Indian monarchs]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]<br />
[[Category:2nd-century BC murdered monarchs]]<br />
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