Vasumitra

Doctor of the Sarvāstivāda school of Buddhism who flourished in the 2nd century ce. A native of Gandhāra, he presided over the Council of Kaniṣka. Vasumitra put forward a thesis to defend the basic tenet of the Sarvāstivāda school that entities (dharma) exist in the past and future as well as in the present. According to him, dharmas exist in a noumenal or latent condition in the future until they attain their moment of causal efficacy (karitra) in the present. This marks their entry into a functional relationship with other phenomena. When this moment is past, they once again enter into a noumenal mode which is now described as ‘past’. Vasumitra's theory of temporality was accepted by the school in preference to the contending views of three other philosophers, Dharmatrāta, Ghoṣaka, and Buddhadeva.

Vasumitra or Sumitra (as per d manuscript of Matsya Purana)^[1] (B. ???, R. 131-124 BCE, D. 124 BCE), was the fourth King of the Sunga Dynasty of Northern India. He was the son of Agnimitra by his queen Dharini, and a brother or half-brother of Vasujyeshtha.

In the Malavikagnimitram (Act V, Verse 14), Kalidasa tells us that Vasumitra guarded the sacrificial horse let loose by his grandfather Pushyamitra, and he defeated the armies of the "Yavana" (or Indo-Greeks) on the banks of the Sindhu River.^[2]

Bana's Harshacharita mentioned him as Sumitra and informed us that he was killed by Mitradeva (or Muladeva, according to some manuscripts) while enjoying a drama. He was succeeded by Andhraka, Antaka, Bhadraka or Bhadra according to different Puranas.^[3]

Preceded by Vasujyeshtha

King of Sunga Dynasty 131-124 BCE

Succeeded by Andhraka

Notes

1. ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, p.47
2. ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, p.51
3. ^ Lahiri, Bela (1974). Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D.) Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.52-3

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