Agnimitra

Agnimitra (; ) was the second Shunga emperor who reigned over what is now northern and central India. He succeeded his father, the emperor Pushyamitra, in 149 BCE. The Vayu Purana and the Brahmanda Purana have assigned 8 years as the length of his reign.

Ancestry and early life According to Kālidāsa in the Mālavikāgnimitra (Act IV, Verse 14), Agnimitra belonged to a Brahmin Baimbika family; the Puranas also mention him as a Shunga. The Mālavikāgnimitra, (Act V, Verse 20) informs us that he was the Goptri (viceroy) at Vidisha during his father's reign.

The play Mālavikāgnimitra gives the names of three of his queen-consorts: Dharini (the mother of the fourth Shunga emperor, Vasumitra), Iravati, and Malavika (a princess of Vidarbha).

Conquest of 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 during Agnimitra's reign as viceroy of Vidisha (between 175 and 150 BCE). Before the rise of the Shungas, Vidarbha had become independent from the Mauryan Empire when a former Mauryan (secretary) 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.

Succession Agnimitra succeeded his father, the emperor Pushyamitra, in 149 BCE and reigned for eight years. His 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).