From the second century BCE onwards, various rulers established their control over the vast Mauryan Empire: the Shungas, Kanvas, Kushanas and Guptas in the north and parts of central India; the Satavahanas, Ikshavaku, Abhiras, Vakatakas in southern and western India. Incidentally, the period of the second century BCE also marked the rise of the main Brahmanical sects such as the Vaishnavas and the Saivas.
Some of the prominent examples of the finest sculpture are found at Vidisha, Bharhut (MP), Bodhgaya (Bihar), Jaggayyapeta (Andhra Pradesh), Mathura (UP), Khandagiri-Udaigiri (Odisha) etc