Mitra dynasty of Kosambi was centered on the city of Kosambi at the Vatsa region. Its capital Kosambi was among the most important trade centers in the ancient India. The dynasty also likely controlled territory in nearby regions such as Magadha.
Many of its rulers bear the suffix "-mitra" in their names. [2] However, it is disputed how many kings the dynasty was composed of. Dhanabhuti, who is known for Bharhut inscriptions, may have been related to the Mitra dynasty. A number of different, and possibly, related Mitra dynasties existed in the northern India, and it is possible that they all can trace their lineage back into the royal house of the Shunga Empire.
Common symbols in the coinage of the Mitra dynasty include the tree-in-railing and the Ujjain symbol. Bull is a common animal to appear on the coinage.
The Mitra dynasty was ended when Samudragupta of the Gupta Empire annexed Kosambi in the middle of the 4th century CE.
The Vatsa region and its capital Kosambi was among the most important trade centres in ancient India. After the Mauryas and Shungas lost control of the area, Kosambi established itself as a solid independent civic centre. A large number of coins from Kosambi is known. The initial coinage was based on locally modified variants of the Mauryan-Shunga style cast copper coins, and a few of the coins were inscribed with the city's name. Later coinage evolved to portray a more independent iconography, and they began to be inscribed with the names of rulers. This is an indication that the city's local government transitioned into a monarchy. The bull was a common symbol when the coinage minted by the city evolved to have a more robust local character. [3]
It is likely that the Mitra dynasty started its independent rule in Vatsa after the Maurya Empire, [4] or the collapse of the Shunga Empire, allowed various petty states to emerge in the Northern India. [5] [6]
There were possibly five different contemporary dynasties identifiable with the suffix "-mitra". These various Mitra dynasties may have shared a link with the Shunga dynasty, as many of its rulers' names also ended with "-mitra". It is possible that the Shungas may have used a similar method of governing provinces as the preceding Maurya Empire had done. Princes with royal blood would have been sent to govern the provinces, and after the central power had weakened they would have established their own dynasties. Some numismatic evidence for the possible connection between Mitras and the Shunga dynasty descending from Pushyamitra has been found. [5]
There were, possibly linked, Mitra dynasties ruling in Panchala, Mathura, Ayodhya and also possibly at Magadha. [5] [7]
During the time period stretching from the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE, the Mitras of Kosambi appear to have extended their hegemony over Magadha (including Pataliputra), and possibly Kannauj as well. Inscriptions and coins of the Mitra dynasty are known from various parts of Bihar. [7]
Brhaspatimitra has been called Magadharaja, a king of Magadha, in Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription (that is related to Hathigumpha inscription). If the Brhaspatimitra mentioned in the inscription is the same king as the Brhaspatimitra of Mitra dynasty, then that would mean that the dynasty held a considerable influence in the region surrounding Kosambi. It is worth to note that there is numismatic evidence to support this theory, as Magadha is not known to not have produced any typical regional coinage unlike the contemporary Kosambi, Mathura or Panchala. [7]
Samudragupta (r. c. 335–375 CE [9] ) of the Gupta Empire appears to have ended the Mitra dynasty of Kosambi during his conquests in the middle of the 4th century CE. [7] While the pillar was originally erected by Ashoka, Samudragupta later added his own inscription on the same pillar. Harisena, a poet and a high-ranking military commander in Samudragupta's army, was the author of the inscriptions. [9]
According to the theory proposed by 19th-century archaeologists, and supported by Indian scholars such as Upinder Singh, the Allahabad pillar came from somewhere else, probably Kosambi. [10] The Edicts of Ashoka suggest that the pillar was first erected at Kosambi, some 50 kilometers west of its current location. It was moved to Allahabad much later when the region came under Muslim rule. [11] [12] The presence of another broken pillar at Kosambi near the ruins of the Ghoshitarama monastery [13] has led some to believe that the Allahabad pillar might have been one of a pair, not unlike the ones discovered at Rampurva. [14]
Name | Native (Prakrit) name | Sanskrit form (if relevant) | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Agaraju | Agarāju | N/A | Possibly one of the earlier kings in the dynasty | [2] [3] |
Agnimitra | Agimita | Agnimitra | Succeeded by his sons Jyesthamitra and Vasumitra (Sumitra) | [2] [15] |
Asvaghosa | Aśvaghoṣa | N/A | [2] | |
Brhaspatimitra | Bahasatimita | Bṛhaspatimitra / Bahasatimitra | Possibly held the title Magadharaja, a king of Magadha | [2] [7] |
Devamitra | (Devamita?) | Devamitra | Disputed: K.D. Bajpai assigns him to the Ayodhya (Mitra) dynasty | [2] [16] |
Jyesthamitra | Jeṣamita | Jyeṣṭhamitra | Succeeded his father Agnimitra. Ruled between c. 140–133 BCE. His brother Vasumitra (Sumitra) rose to the throne after him. | [2] [15] |
Prajapatimitra | Pajāpatimita | Prajāpatimitra | [2] | |
Prausthamitra | Pothamita | Prauṣṭhamitra | [2] | |
Radhamitra | Rādhāmita | Rādhāmitra | Known for his unusual hexagonal coins, and possibly one of the earliest kings in the dynasty | [2] [17] |
Sarpamitra | Sapamita | Sarpamitra | He may have ruled somewhere around the 1st century BCE or the 1st century CE. | [2] [18] |
The exact number of kings in the dynasty has been disputed to be between seven and twenty-five different kings. [6] [3] [19]
Another opinion is that some of the Mitras of Kannauj actually belonged to the house of Kosambi, and that there were actually no long-lived separate Mitra dynasty at Magadha. K. D. Bajpai holds that the first Mitra ruler of Kosambi was Sungavarma (Sugavamasa). Sungavarma's name includes the epithet Sunga, and that makes it possible to link him with the ruling dynasty of the Shunga Empire. Furthermore, Bajpai argues that Angaraja, Dhanabhuti and Visvadeva were also part of the Mitras of Kosambi. Their names appear in the Bharhut inscriptions. They would be probable descendants of king Sungavarma. The kings of Kosambi lent their patronage for the stupa of Bharhut, which would have been within the territory they controlled. [7]
A genealogy constructed from the Bharhut inscriptions would link the above-mentioned kings to the Mitra dynasty so that Visvadeva would be father of Agaraju. Dhanabhuti would be Agaraju's son. [7]
Most rulers of the Mitra dynasty of Kosambi, except Radhamitra, have the symbol known as the tree-in-railing in their coins. Another common symbol is the Ujjain symbol. [20] Bull is a common animal to appear on the coinage of Kosambi of the era. [3]
Some of the coins of Radhamitra are known for their unusual hexagonal shape. They were manufactured by casting, but they were made to closely resemble punch-marked coins. The civic coinage of Vatsa is known for their wide innovation in shapes of coins. [2] [17]
The symbols in one of Radhamitra's series of coins make a clear connection with other rulers of Kosambi such as Asvaghosa, Brhaspatimitra, Agnimitra, Sarpamitra, Prajapatimitra, Jyesthamitra and Prausthamitra. The coins cast by these rulers portray similar symbols in obverse and reverse sides of their coins. However, the exact chronology of these coins has not been extensively and conclusively studied yet. The civic coinage has been thought to precede the nominative coinage of the kings. [2]
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to early 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by Gupta, and the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Skandagupta. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.
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Samudragupta (Gupta script: Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta, was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of India. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty's political and military power.
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Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi (Sanskrit) was an important city in ancient India. It was the capital of the Vatsa kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was located on the Yamuna River about 56 kilometres (35 mi) southwest of its confluence with the Ganges at Prayaga.
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The Mitra dynasty refers to a group of local rulers whose name incorporated the suffix "-mitra" and who are thought to have ruled in the area of Mathura from around 150 BCE to 50 BCE, at the time of Indo-Greek hegemony over the region, and possibly in a tributary relationship with them. They are not known to have been satraps nor kings, and their coins only bear their name without any title, therefore they are sometimes simply called "the Mitra rulers of Mathura". Alternatively, they have been dated from 100 BCE to 20 BCE. The Mitra dynasty was replaced by the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps from around 60 BCE.
Radhamitra, or Radhamita, was a king of Kosambi, the capital of one of the previously independent Indian Mahajanapadas known before as Vatsa. He was part of the Mitra dynasty, and was likely one of the earliest kings in the dynasty.
Sarpamitra was a king of Kosambi in India. He was part of the Mitra dynasty of Kosambi.
Agaraju was a king of Kosambi. While he is known as Agaraju in his coins, he was also known as Angārajyut. He was part of the Mitra dynasty of Kosambi.
Brhaspatimitra, also known as Bahasatimita and Bahasatimitra, was a king of Kosambi in India. He was part of the Mitra dynasty of Kosambi.