Foreign dynasties pour into India after Mauryan collapse — Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushanas and Parthians — alongside native successors, culminating in a golden age of Gandhara and Mathura sculpture.
This period (c. 185 BCE-320 CE) is often labelled the "age of Kaliyuga" by traditional commentators. The great authorities on Indian law — Manu (Manudharmashastra), Narada, Parashara and Yajnavalkya — all belong here. It earned this label because foreign peoples entered India in large numbers, and inter-racial/inter-caste marriages increased sharply, producing new mixed Sankara Jatis. Two new social terms appear: Mleccha (foreign father, native mother) and Apasada (foreign mother, native father). This age also first classified 8 forms of marriage, ranging from the sanctioned Brahma and Gandharva (mutual love) to the condemned Paishacha (abduction).
The Indo-Greeks were the first foreign power to invade India after Alexander's retreat. Their greatest ruler, Menander (Milinda), was converted to Buddhism by the monk Nagasena — their dialogue survives as the "Milindapanha." His capital was Sakala (Sialkot). The Indo-Greeks were the first in India to issue gold coins bearing a king's name and portrait — a numismatic innovation giving historians firm, dated evidence of individual rulers.
Organised into five branches, the most powerful based at Ujjain. The Saka ruler Nahapana was defeated by the Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni — recurring Saka-Satavahana wars were driven mainly by rivalry over Roman trade along the Konkan coast. Rudradaman I, the greatest Saka ruler, is celebrated in the Girnar/Junagadh inscriptions — the earliest known inscription composed entirely in Sanskrit — which also record his renovation of the Sudarshana Lake, the first such restoration on record.
Originating in China (the Yuezhi tribe), the Kushanas' capitals were Purushapura (Peshawar) and Sialkot. Emulating Chinese imperial style, kings adopted the title "Devaputra" ("son of god"). Kanishka, the greatest Kushana ruler, came to power in 78 CE — traditionally the start of the Saka Era — converted to Buddhism, and sponsored the 4th Buddhist Council at Srinagar. The Kushanas were the only Indian dynasty to control a stretch of the Silk Route and issued the largest volume of gold coinage of any ancient Indian dynasty. The physician Charaka, author of the Charaka Samhita, was associated with Kanishka's court.
Also called Prahlavas, their greatest ruler was Gondophernes. Tradition holds that in 56 CE, the apostle St. Thomas became the first Christian missionary to visit India, converting Gondophernes — and is said to have died at Mylapore (Chennai).
The Shunga Dynasty replaced the Mauryas in 185 BCE under Pushyamitra Shunga, ruling from Pataliputra; the Bharhut Stupa was built in this period, and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and the Mahabhashya are believed composed now. The Kanva Dynasty ruled from Pataliputra for ~45 years from 72 BCE. The Chedi Dynasty ruled Kalinga; its greatest king, Kharavela, defeated the Satavahanas and assumed the title "Kalingadhipati."
| School | Patron / Region | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Gandhara | Kushanas; Peshawar/Afghanistan | Indo-Greek blend; Buddha in yogic pose, minimal ornamentation |
| Mathura | Indigenous; U.P., on the Yamuna | Spotted red sandstone; Buddha in Abhaya mudra |
| Amaravati (Vengi) | Satavahanas; River Krishna | Dynamic narrative art; muscular, realistic, close to Greco-Roman style |
Key inscriptions of the era: Besnagar (Heliodorus) Pillar — a Greek envoy declares himself Vaishnava; Hathigumpha — Kharavela's Prakrit/Brahmi Prashasti; Hathibada-Ghosundi — the oldest known Sanskrit inscription; Naneghat — contains the world's oldest known numerals; Rabatak (Afghanistan) — titles Kanishka "King of Kings, son of the gods."
