Which of the following statement is correct with respect to the Shaka dynasty?

I. Some kingdoms of Shakas lasted for about 500 years.

II. The Shakas were followed by the Kushanas about 2200 years ago.

Correct Answer Only I

Key Points

• The Saka Era was probably established by King Maeus around the second century A.D. 
• The Shakas who were also known as the Indo-Scythians were a group of Iranian nomadic people who invaded India by destroying the Indo-Greeks in North-West India.
• The Shakas brought the larger part of the country under their control.
• The most famous Shaka ruler in India was Rudradaman who ruled from 130 A.D to 150 A.D.
• There were five branches of Shakas who settled and established rule in different regions of the North and North-Western parts of the Indian subcontinent.
• The Saka era came to an end with the defeat of the last Shaka ruler, Rudrasimha III by Chandragupta-II of the Gupta dynasty.

Additional Information

• In and around the 2nd century B.C., the central Asian nomadic people called ‘Yueh-chi’ or ‘Yuezhi’ pushed the Shakas out of their homes and forced them to invade India from the northwestern border of present-day China. 
• The descendants in later times came to be known as Kushana.
• The Shakas invaded Parthia and Bactria and they defeated the Parthian King.
• The five branches of the Shakas settled in the following places,

1. Afghanistan
2. Punjab with Taxila as capital
3. Mathura
4. Western India
5. Upper Deccan with Ujian as their capital.​

Rudradaman I :

• He is considered the greatest of the Saka rulers.
• He is from the Western Kshatrapa dynasty.
• He was the grandson of Chastana.
• His kingdom included Konkan, Narmada valley, Kathiawar, other parts of Gujarat, and Malwa.
• He conducted the repair work of the Sudarshana Lake at Kathiawar. 
• He supported Sanskrit literature and cultural arts.
• It was during Rudradaman’s reign that Yavaneshwara, the Greek writer lived in India and translated the Yavanajataka from Greek to Sanskrit.