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 BUDDHIST SCULPTURE. CHAPTER VIII THE SUNGA, KANVA, AND ANDHRA DYNASTIES 184 B.C. TO 236 A.D. THE SUNGA DYNASTY PUSHYAMITEA, the commander-in-chief, having slain his master, Brihadratha Maurya, and im- prisoned the minister, usurped the vacant throne, and established himself as sovereign of the now contracted Maurya dominions, thus founding a dynasty known to history as that of the Sungas. The capital continued to be, as of old, Pataliputra, and probably all the central or home provinces of the empire recognized the usurper's authority, which ex- tended to the south as far as the ISTarmada River, and presumably embraced the territories in the Ganges basin, corresponding with the modern Bihar, Tirhut, and the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is unlikely that either the later Mauryas or the Sungas exercised any jurisdiction in the Panjab. During the latter years of his reign, the usurper 178