Pusyamitra Sunga

Who was Pusyamitra Sunga?

Pusyamitra Sunga was the founder and first King of the Sunga Dynasty in Northern India.

Pusyamitra Sunga was originally a Senapati of the Mauryan empire. In 185 BCE he assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor during an army review, and proclaimed himself King. He then performed the Ashwamedha Yajna and brought much of Northern India under his rule. Inscriptions of the Shungas have been found as far as the Jalandhar in the Punjab, and the Divyavadana mentions that his rule extended as far as Sagala.