The play Malavikagnimitram, written by Kalidasa, provides information about…

Concept

Historical literature can be used as a source when its plot, characters, and political setting correspond to identifiable rulers and dynasties. The safest method is to identify the ruler named in the work and then place that ruler in the correct dynastic sequence.

Application

1. Malavikagnimitram centres on King Agnimitra and events at the court of Vidisha.

2. Agnimitra was the son and successor of Pushyamitra, the founder of the Shunga dynasty.

3. The play therefore supplies literary information about the Shunga dynasty and its courtly setting.

Contrast

• Maurya: this dynasty preceded the Shungas and is associated with rulers such as Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka.

• Kushan: this later north-western empire is associated with rulers such as Kanishka, not Agnimitra.

• Gupta: this dynasty arose centuries after the Shungas and is associated with rulers such as Chandragupta I and Samudragupta.

Result

Thus, the dynasty described through Agnimitra in Malavikagnimitram is the Shunga dynasty.