Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Kanva Dynasty
Dynasty
Level 2
c. 73–28 BCE
Short-lived dynasty that replaced the Shungas.
- Capital
- Pataliputra
- Region
- East
- Duration
- 45 years
- Main period
- Post-Mauryan Powers
Approximate extent.
At a glance
Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.
73 BCE70 BCE60 BCE50 BCE40 BCE28 BCE
Rulers
- Vasudeva Kanva Kingc. 73–64 BCE
Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.
📚 Recommended reading on the Kanva Dynasty
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
Textbook
India's Ancient Past
The expanded version of the classic old-NCERT ancient India text; clear and exam-friendly.
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📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Image of the Barbarian in Early India
How early Indian texts described outsiders — the mleccha — and what that reveals about society.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Cults and shrines in early historical Mathura (c. 200 BC–AD 200)
Buddhist, Jaina, Brahmanical and local cults side by side at Mathura, from sculpture and inscriptions.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Yavana Presence in Ancient India
Greeks and other westerners ('Yavanas') in ancient India: traders, donors and settlers.
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Kanva Dynasty for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Anuradhapura Kingdom ★
Sri Lanka · c. 437 BCE – c. 1017
Overlap: 45 years
Satavahana Empire ★
Deccan · c. 200 BCE – c. 225 CE
Overlap: 45 years
Early Pandyas (Sangam era)
South · c. 400 BCE – c. 300 CE
Overlap: 45 years
Early Cholas (Sangam era)
South · c. 300 BCE – c. 300 CE
Overlap: 45 years
Early Cheras (Sangam era)
South · c. 300 BCE – c. 300 CE
Overlap: 45 years
Mahameghavahana (Chedi) of Kalinga
East · c. 200 BCE – c. 50 CE
Overlap: 45 years
Indo-Greek Kingdoms
Northwest · c. 200 BCE – c. 10 CE
Overlap: 45 years
Indo-Scythian (Saka) Kingdoms
Northwest · c. 110 BCE – c. 80 CE
Overlap: 45 years