Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.1.15-17
Visarga· Brahmā's creationThe Śuṅga Dynasty Begins Through Violence
“My dear King Parīkṣit, Agnimitra will follow as king, and then Sujyeṣṭha. Sujyeṣṭha will be followed by Vasumitra, Bhadraka, and the son of Bhadraka, Pulinda. Then the son of Pulinda, named Ghoṣa, will rule, followed by Vajramitra, Bhāgavata and Devabhūti. In this way, O most eminent of the Kuru heroes, ten Śuṅga kings will rule over the earth for more than one hundred years. Then the earth will come under the subjugation of the kings of the Kāṇva dynasty, who will manifest very few good qualities.”
What the purport teaches
- According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, General Puṣpamitra killed his king, Bṛhadratha, and assumed power. This began the Śuṅga dynasty.
- Agnimitra and the remaining Śuṅga kings followed Puṣpamitra. The ten kings ruled for 112 years.
- After the Śuṅgas, the earth will come under the Kāṇva kings. They will manifest very few good qualities.
Try this today
Reread the passage and note separately how the Śuṅgas gained power and how the Kāṇvas’ qualities are described.
Ask yourself
Do I notice a ruler’s qualities as carefully as the power that ruler holds?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.