This chapter covers the period after the Maurya Empire, from about the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, often called the 'age of reorganisation' because old regions were reshaped into many new competing kingdoms. After the last Maurya ruler was assassinated by Pushyamitra Shunga around 185 BCE, the empire broke up and the weakened northwest became open to invasions. The chapter surveys dynasties from within the Subcontinent — the Shungas (who performed the ashvamedha yajna and patronised the Bharhut Stupa), the Satavahanas of the Deccan (great patrons of trade, maritime activity and the Karla caves, who often named kings after their mothers), and the Chedis of Kalinga under Kharavela, who left the Hathigumpha inscription. It then turns to the powerful southern kingdoms — the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas — whose era produced the celebrated Sangam literature and the epic Silappadikaram. It describes the Chola king Karikala's Grand Anicut (Kallanai) across the Kaveri. Finally it covers invaders who entered through the northwest and assimilated into Indian culture: the Indo-Greeks (Heliodorus pillar), the Shakas (who developed the Shaka Samvat calendar) and the Kushanas under Kanishka, whose Gandhara and Mathura schools of art blended Indian and Greek styles along the Silk Route.
Break-up of the Maurya EmpireThe Shungas, Satavahanas and ChedisSouthern kingdoms and Sangam literatureIndo-Greeks, Shakas and KushanasCultural assimilation and art
Key terms
Age of reorganisation
The period after the Maurya Empire when old regions were reshaped into many new, competing kingdoms across the Subcontinent.
Ashvamedha yajna
A Vedic horse sacrifice performed by rulers to declare their supremacy; a horse wandered freely and any unchallenged land was claimed for the king.
Sangam literature
The oldest body of Tamil poetry, composed by assemblies (sangams) of poets, valued by historians for its picture of southern society and culture.
Matrimonial alliance
An alliance between two kingdoms arranged through a royal marriage, used as a peaceful means of gaining influence.
Gandhara and Mathura art
Two famous schools of Kushana-era sculpture; Gandhara blended Greco-Roman and Indian features in grey schist, while Mathura used red sandstone in a distinctly Indian style.
Silk Route
The network of trade routes connecting China with the Mediterranean through Central Asia, controlled in part by the Kushanas.
Extra questions & answers
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Why is this period called the 'age of reorganisation'?
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