Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 16
Kali-yuga Dynasties and the Degradation of Kingship
अग्निमित्रस्ततस्तस्मात् सुज्येष्ठो भविता तत: । वसुमित्रो भद्रकश्च पुलिन्दो भविता सुत: ॥ १५ ॥ ततो घोष: सुतस्तस्माद् वज्रमित्रो भविष्यति । ततो भागवतस्तस्माद् देवभूति: कुरूद्वह ॥ १६ ॥ शुङ्गा दशैते भोक्ष्यन्ति भूमिं वर्षशताधिकम् । तत: काण्वानियं भूमिर्यास्यत्यल्पगुणान्नृप ॥ १७ ॥
agnimitras tatas tasmāt sujyeṣṭho bhavitā tataḥ vasumitro bhadrakaś ca pulindo bhavitā sutaḥ
My dear King Parīkṣit, after Agnimitra will come Sujyeṣṭha. Then will follow Vasumitra, Bhadraka, and Bhadraka’s son Pulinda. Next Pulinda’s son Ghoṣa will rule, followed by Vajramitra, then Bhāgavata, and then Devabhūti, O foremost hero of the Kurus. Thus ten Śuṅga kings will govern the earth for more than one hundred years. Thereafter the earth will pass under the sway of the Kāṇva dynasty, whose kings will possess but few virtues.
According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the Śuṅga dynasty began when General Puṣpamitra killed his king, Bṛhadratha, and assumed power. After Puṣpamitra came Agnimitra and the rest of the Śuṅga dynasty, which lasted for 112 years.
FAQs
In Canto 12, Chapter 1, Śukadeva Gosvāmī foretells successive rulers and dynastic transitions; this verse lists a sequence of kings—Ghoṣa, Vajramitra, Bhāgavata, and Devabhūti—appearing one after another.
Śukadeva speaks these prophecies to Parīkṣit, a foremost descendant of the Kuru dynasty; 'Kurūdvaha' honors him as the best among the Kurus while receiving teachings about Kali-yuga’s unfolding history.
They cultivate detachment from changing political power and remind seekers that worldly leadership is temporary—encouraging one to anchor life in dharma and bhakti rather than in shifting historical fortunes.