Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/224

 186 THE SUNGA, KANVA, AND ANDHRA DYNASTIES a man of licentious habits, and lost his life while en- gaged in a discreditable intrigue. The dynasty thus came to an unhonoured end after having occupied the throne for a hundred and twelve years. THE KANVA OR KANVAYANA DYNASTY The plot which cost the royal debauchee Deva- bhuti his throne and life was contrived by his Brahman minister Vasudeva, who seems to have controlled the state even during the lifetime of his nominal master. Mitradeva, the slayer of Prince Sumitra, probably be- longed to the same powerful family, which is known to history as that of the Kanvas, or Kanvayanas. There is reason to believe that the later Sunga kings enjoyed little real power, and were puppets in the hands of their Brahman ministers, like the Mahratta rajas in the hands of the Peshwas. But the distinct testimony of both the Puranas and Bana that Devabhuti, the tenth and last Sunga, was the person slain by Vasudeva, the first Kanva, forbids the acceptance of Professor Bhan- darkar's theory that the Kanva dynasty should be re- garded as contemporary with the Sunga. Vasudeva seized the throne rendered vacant by his crime, and was succeeded by three of his descendants. The whole dynasty, comprising four reigns, covers a period of only forty-five years. The figures indicate, as in the case of the Sungas, that the times were dis- turbed, and that succession to the throne was often effected by violent means. Nothing whatever is known about the reigns of any of the Kanva kings. The last