Sisunaga dynasty

The Sisunaga dynasty was the ruling dynasty in the northeast Indian kingdom of Magadha from around 550 to 350 BC. Chr . There is little reliable information. The main sources are Buddhist chronicles from Sri Lanka , the Puranas, and various Buddhist and Jain sacred texts.

Based on these sources, it looks like Magadha was ruled by the Shishunaga dynasty for around 200 years.

According to the chronicles from Sri Lanka, the list of kings looks like this:

1. Bimbisara (ruled 52 years)
2. Ajatasattu (32 years; the Buddha is believed to have died in the 8th year of Ajatashatru's reign)
3. Udayin or Udayibhadra (16 years old)
4. Anuruddha (approx. 4 years)
5. Munda (approx. 4 years)
6. Nagadasaka (24 years)
7. Shishunaga (18 years)
8. Kalashoka (28 years)
9. Ten sons of Kalashoka, of whom Nandivardhana is the most famous (22 years old)

The Puranas list shows longer periods of rule (the Sisunaga dynasty therefore lasted 321 years):

1. Shishunaga (ruled 40 years)
2. Kakavarna (26 years)
3. Ksemadharman (36 years)
4. Ksemajit or Ksatraujas (24 years)
5. Bimbisara (28 years)
6. Ajatashatru (27 years)
7. Darsaka (24 years)
8. Udayin (33 years)
9. Nandivardhana (40 years)
10. Mahanandin (43 years)

The Shishunaga dynasty was overthrown by Mahapadma, the first of the nine so-called Nandas (the Nanda or Navananda dynasty).

literature

• Radha Kumud Mookerji: The Rise of Magadhan Imperialism. In: Ramesh C. Majumdar , Achut D. Pusalker (eds.): The History and Culture of the Indian People. Volume 2: The Age of Imperial Unity. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay 1951, pp. 18-38, here p. 37 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
no predecessor	Magadha 5th century BC Chr. (Chronology)	Nanda empire