(Redirected from Satavahanas)
The 'Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas' (
Marathi: 爨ｸ爨ｾ爨､爨ｵ爨ｾ爨ｹ爨ｨ,
Telugu:牴ｶ牴ｾ牴､牴ｵ牴ｾ牴ｹ牴ｨ牾≒ｰｲ牾), were a
dynasty which ruled from
Junnar (
Pune), Prathisthapana (
Paithan) in Maharashtra and
Amaravati (Dharanikota) in
Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central
India from around
230 BCE onward. Although there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end, the most liberal estimates suggest that it lasted about 450 years, until around
220 CE. The Satavahanas are credited for establishing peace in the country, resisting the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of
Mauryan empire.
Origins
The first mention of the Satatvahana is in the
Aitareya Brahmana, dating back to the 8th century BCE. In the
Pﾅｫrﾄ］as and on their coins the dynasty is variously referred to as the Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas, Sﾄ》akarnﾄｫs, Andhras and Andhrabhrityas. A reference to the Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas by the Greek traveller
Megasthenes indicates that they possessed 100,000 infantry, 1,000 elephants, and had more than 30 well built fortified towns:
The Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas ruled a large and powerful empire that withstood the onslaughts from Central Asia. Aside from their military power, their commercialism and naval activity is evidenced by establishment of Indian colonies in southeast Asia for the first time in history.
The Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas began as feudatories to the
Mauryan Empire. They seem to have been under the control of Emperor
Ashoka, who claims they were in his domain, and that he introduced
Buddhism among them:
The Satavahanas declared independence sometime after the death of
Ashoka (
232 BCE), as the
Maurya Empire began to weaken.
Early rulers
The Satavahanas/ Andhras initially ruled in the area of
Andhradesa, the
sanskrit name for the
Telugu country between the rivers
Krishna and
Godavari, which was always their heartland. The Pﾅｫrﾄ］as list 30 Andhra rulers. Many are known from their coins and inscriptions as well. 'Andhras' also figured in the accounts of
Al-Biruni (1030 CE) who referred to a language spoken in
South India as "Andhri". The book "Kitabu'l Hind" described some of the customs and traditions prevalent in
Andhra region.
Simuka (c.230-207 BCE)
After becoming independent around 230 BCE,
Simuka, the founder of the dynasty, conquered
Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh,
Malwa and part of
Madhya Pradesh. He was succeeded by his brother
Kanha (or Krishna) (r. 207-189 BCE), who further extended his kingdom to the west and the south.
Satakarni (c.180-124 BCE)
Nisa.jpg)
Satavahana 1st century BCE coin inscribed in Brahmi: "(Sataka)Nisa".
British Museum.
His successor
Sﾄ》akarnﾄｫ I was the sixth ruler of the Satavahana. He is said in the Puranas to have ruled for 56 years.
Satakarni defeated the
Sunga dynasty of
North India by wrestling Western
Malwa from them, and performed several
Vedic sacrifices at huge cost, including the Horse Sacrifice. He also was in conflict with the
Kalinga ruler
Kharavela, who mentions him in the
Hathigumpha inscription. According to the
Yuga Purana he conquered
Kalinga following the death of
Kharavela. He extended Satavahana rule over
Madhya Pradesh and pushed back the
Sakas from
Pataliputra (he is thought to be the Yuga Purana's "Shata", an abbreviation of the full name 窶彜hri Sata窶 that occurs on coins from
Ujjain), where he subsequently ruled for 10 years.
By this time the dynasty was well established, with its capital at Pratishthﾄ］apura (
Paithan) in
Maharashtra, and its power spreading into all of
South India.
Kanva suzerainty (75-35 BCE)
Many small rulers succeeded Satakarni, such as Lambodara, Apilaka, Meghasvati and Kuntala Satakarni, who are thought to have been under the suzerainty of the
Kanva dynasty. The
Puranas (the
Matsya Purana, the
Vayu Purana, the
Brahmanda Purana, the
Vishnu Purana) all state that the first of the
Andhra kings rose to power in the
1st century BCE, by slaying
Susarman, the last ruler of the
Kanvas.
[1] This feat is usually thought to have been accomplished by
Pulomavi (c. 30-6 BCE), who then ruled over Pataliputra.
Victory over the Shakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas
The first century CE saw another incursion of the
Sakas of
Central Asia into
India, where they formed the dynasty of the
Western Kshatrapas. The four immediate successors of
Hﾄ〕a (r. 20-24 CE) had short reigns totalling about a dozen years. During the reign of the Western Satrap
Nahapana, the Satavahanas lost a considerable territory to the satraps, including eastern
Malwa, Southern
Gujarat, and Northern
Konkan, from
Broach to
Sopara and the
Nasik and
Poona districts.
[2]
Gautamiputra Satakarni (78-106 CE)
Coin of
Gautamiputra Satakarni.
'Obv:' King in profile.
Prakrit legend "Rano Gotamiputasa Siri Yana Satakarnisa": "In the reign of Gautamiputra Sri Yana Satakarni"
'Rev:' Hill with Satavahana symbol, sun and moon.
Dravidian legend "Arahanaku gotami putaku Hiru Yana Hatakanaku".
[3]
Eventually
Gautamiputra (Sri Yagna) Sﾄ》akarni (also known as Shalivahan) (r. 78-106 CE) defeated the Western Satrap ruler
Nahapana, restoring the prestige of his dynasty by reconquering a large part of the former dominions of the Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas. He was an ardent supporter of
Hinduism.
According to the
Nasik inscription made by his mother Gautami Balasri, he is the one...
...who crushed down the pride and conceit of the Kshatriyas (the native Indian princes, the Rajputs of Rajputana, Gujarat and Central India); who destroyed the Shakas (Western Kshatrapas), Yavanas (Indo-Greeks) and Pahlavas (Indo-Parthians),... who rooted the Khakharata familly (The Kshaharata familly of Nahapana); who restored the glory of the Satavahana race[4]
Gautamiputra Satakarni may also have defeated
Shaka king
Vikramaditya in
78 AD and started the calendar known as
Shalivahana era or
Shaka era, which is followed by the
Marathi and
Telugu people even to this day.
Gautamiputra Sﾄ》akarni's son,
Vashishtiputra Pulumﾄ【i (r. 106-130 CE), succeeded him. Gautamiputra was the first Sﾄ》avﾄ”ana king to issue the portrait-type coinage, in a style derived from the
Western Satraps.
[1]
Successors
Gautamiputra's brother,
Vashishtiputra Sﾄ》akarni, married the daughter of
Rudradaman I of the Western Satraps dynasty. Around 150 CE, Rudradaman I, now his father-in-law, waged war against the Satavahanas, who were defeated twice in these conflicts.
Vashishtiputra Satakarni was only spared his life because of his familly links with Rudradaman:
[6]
As a result of his victories, Rudradaman regained all the former territories previously held by Nahapana, except for the extreme south territories of
Poona and
Nasik.
[1] Satavahana dominions were limited to their original base in the
Deccan and eastern central India around
Amaravati.
However, the last great king of this dynasty, Yajna Satakarni, defeated the Western Satraps and reconquered their southern regions in western and central India.
[8] During the reign of
Sri Yajna Sﾄ》akarni (170-199 CE) the Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas regained some prosperity, and some of his coins have been found in
Surashtra[1] but around the middel of the third century, the dynasty came to an end.
Decline of the Satavahanas
Four or five kings of Yajna Satakarni's line succeeded him, and continued to rule till about the mid 200s CE. However, the dynasty was soon extinguished following the rise of its feudatories, perhaps on account of a decline in central power.
[10]
Several dynasties divided the lands of the kingdom among themselves. Among them were:
:
★
Western Satraps in the northwestern part of the kingdom.
:
★
Abhiras in the western part of the kingdom. They were ultimately to succeed the Sﾄ》avﾄ”anas in their capital
Pratishthﾄ］apura.
:
★
Chutus in South
Maharashtra.
:
★
Kadambas of
Banavasi in North
Karnataka.
:
★
Ikshvaku dynasty (or Srﾄｫparvatiyas) in the Krishna-
Guntur region.
:
★
Pallavas of
Kanchipuram, of whom the first ruler was
Simhavarman I (r. 275-300 CE).
Account of the Puranas
Satavahana art traveled far and wide: an Indian ivory from
Bagram, 2nd century.
The
Puranas (the
Matsya Purana, the
Vayu Purana, the
Brahmanda Purana, the
Vishnu Purana, the
Bhagavata Purana) give a list of the dynasties who ruled following the decline of the Satavahanas, probably from around 150 CE:
[11]
:
★ 7 other Andhras kings (called "Andhrabhrytias", or "Servant of the Andhras", probably the
Chutus in the Western and Southern districts.
:
★ 10
Abhira kings, who ruled in the area of
Nasik.
:
★ 7
Gardabhila kings, who ruled in the area of
Ujjain
:
★ 18
Saka kings, probably the
Western Satraps.
:
★ 8
Yavana kings, thought to be some dynasty of Greek descent.
[12]
:
★ 14
Tusara kings (also called Tuskaras), thought to be the
Kushans (who are called "Turuska" in the Rajatarangini).
:
★ 13
Murunda or Gurunda kings.
:
★ 21
Huna kings (also called Maunas), probably the
Indo-Hephthalites.
Coinage
The Satavahanas are the first native Indian rulers to issue their own coins with portraits of their rulers, starting with king
Gautamiputra Satakarni, a practice derived from that of the
Western Satraps he defeated, itself originating with the
Indo-Greek kings to the northwest.
Satavahana coins give unique indications as to their chronology, language, and even facial features (curly hair, long ears and strong lips). They issued mainly lead and copper coins; their portrait-style silver coins were usually struck over coins of the
Western Kshatrapa kings.
The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods used, without exception a Prakrit dialect. Some reverse coin legends are in a
Dravidian language/Proto-
Telugu, which seems to have been in use in their heartland abutting the
Kistna, probably
Amaravati,
Guntur district,
Andhra Pradesh.
[1]
Their coins also display various traditional symbols, such as elephants, lions, horses and chaityas (
stupas), as well as the "
Ujjain symbol", a cross with four circles at the end. The legendary Ujjayini emperor
Vikramditiya on whose name the
Vikram Samvat is initiated might be satakarni II a Satavahana emperor as the Ujjayini symbol also appeared on the Satavahana coins.
Cultural achievements
An aniconic representation of Mara's assault on the Buddha,
2nd century CE, Amaravati.
Of the Sﾄ》avﾄ”ana kings,
Hﾄ〕a (r. 20-24 CE) is famous for compiling the collection of
Prakrit poems known as the
Gaha Sattasai (
Sanskrit: Gﾄ》hﾄ Saptashatﾄｫ), although from linguistic evidence it seems that the work now extant must have been re-edited in the succeeding century or two. The
Lilavati describes his marriage with a Ceylonese Princess.
the satavahana's influenced the southeast asia to a great extent spreading the hindu culture , language and religion in to that part of the world.their coins had ship images struck on them.
Art of Amaravati
The Sﾄ》avﾄ”ana kings are also remarkable for their contributions to
Buddhist art and architecture. The great stupas in the
Krishna River Valley were built by them, including the stupa at
Amaravati in
Andhra Pradesh. The stupas were decorated in marble slabs and sculpted with scenes from the life of the
Buddha, portrayed in a characteristic slim and elegant style.the greatest achievement of Satavahana empire is the colonisation of southeast Asia and the spread of Indian culture to those parts,
Mahayana Buddhism which may have originated in Andhra (northwestern India being the alternative candidate) did spread to many parts of Asia because of the rich maritime culture of Satavahanas. The
Amaravati style of sculpture spread to Southeast Asia at this time.
Art of Sanchi
A torana built by the Satavahanas at
Sanchi.
The Satavahanas contributed greatly to the embelishment of the Buddhist stupa of
Sanchi. The gateways and the balustrade were built after 70 BCE, and appear to have been commisionned by them. An inscription records the gift of one of the top
architraves of the Southern Gateway by the artisans of the Satavahana king
Satakarni:
Throughout, the Buddhist art of the Satavahanas remained
aniconic, denying any human representation of the
Buddha, even in highly descriptive scenes. This remained true until the end of the Satavahana rule, in the 2nd century CE.
List of rulers
Puranic list of Andhra/ Satavahana kings (Source: "A Catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc...", Rapson). This list, the most complete one with 30 kings, is based on the
Matsya Purana.
★
Simuka or Sisuka (r.
230-
207 BCE). Also (271-248 BCE), ruled 23 years.
★
Krishna (r.
207-
189 BCE), ruled 18 years.
★
Sri Mallakarni (or Sri Satakarni), ruled 10 years.
★
Purnotsanga, ruled 18 years
★
Skandhastambhi, ruled 18 years
★
Sﾄ》akarnﾄｫ I (195 BCE), ruled 56 years
★
Lambodara, ruled 18 years.(r.
87-
67 BCE)
Probably as vassals of
Kanva dynasty (75-35 BCE):
:
★
Apilaka, ruled 12 years.
:
★
Meghasvati (or Saudasa), ruled 18 years.
:
★
Svati (or Svami), ruled 18 years.
:
★
Skandasvati, ruled 7 years.
:
★
Mahendra Satakarni (or Mrgendra Svatikarna, Satakarni II), ruled 8 years.
:
★
Kuntala Satakarni (or Kuntala Svatikarna), ruled 8 years.
:
★
Svatikarna, ruled 1 year.
★
Pulomavi (or Patumavi), ruled 36 years.
★
Riktavarna (or Aristakarman), ruled 25 years.
★
Hﾄ〕a (r.
20-
24 CE), author of the
Gathasaptasati, an Indian literature classic, ruled 5 years.
★
Mandalaka (or Bhavaka, Puttalaka), ruled 5 years.
★
Purindrasena, ruled 5 years.
★
Sundara Satakarni, ruled 1 year.
★
Cakora Satakarni (or Cakora Svatikarna), ruled 6 months.
★
Sivasvati, ruled 28 years.
★
Gautamiputra Sﾄ》akarni, or Gautamiputra, popularly known as ''Shalivahan'' (r.
25-
78 CE), ruled 21 years.
★
Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi, or Puloma, Puliman (r.
78-
114 CE), ruled 28 years.
★
Vashishtiputra Sﾄ》akarni (r. 130-160), or Shiva Sri, Sivasri, ruled 7 years.
★
Shivaskanda Satakarni, (157-159), ruled 7 years.
★
Yajna Sri Satakarni, (r.
167-
196 CE), ruled 29 years.
★
Vijaya, ruled 6 years.
★
Canda Sri Satakarni, ruled 10 years.
★
Puloma, 7 years.
★
Madhariputra Svami Sakasena? (r. c.190)
References
; General
★
A History of South India, , Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta, Sastri, Oxford University Press, 1976,
★
A Catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. Coins of Andhra Dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas etc., , E. J., Rapson, , 1990,
★
Ancient India, , Ramesh Chandra, Majumdar, Motilal Banarsidass, 2003,
; Notes
1.
2. "The Satavahanas did not hold the western Deccan for long. They were gradually pushed out of the west by the Sakas (Western Khatrapas). The Kshaharata Nahapana's coins in the Nasik area indicate that the Western Kshatrapas controlled this region by the first century CE. By becoming master of wide regions including Malwa, Southern Gujarat, and Northern Konkan, from Broach to Sopara and the Nasik and Poona districts, Nahapana rose from the status of a mere Kshatrapa in the year 41 (58 CE) to that of Mahakshatrapa in the year 46 (63 CE)." in "History of the Andhras"
3. Source for coin information
4. Original Prakrit, line 5 and 6 of the inscription: ''"Khatiya-dapa-mana-madanasa Saka-Yavana-Palhava-nisudanasa 窶 Khakharatavamsa-niravasesa-karasa Satavahana-kula-yasa patithapana-karasa"''
5.
6. "Satakarni, Lord of the Deccan, [whom Rudradaman] (inscription dated Saka 72=150 CE) twice in a fair fight was completely defeated, but did not destroy on account of the nearness of their connection"
7.
8. "later Satavahana named Yajna Satakarni seems to have conquered the Southern Dominions of the Western Satraps. His coins contain figures of ships, probably indicating the naval power of the Andras. He not only ruled Aparanta, but probably also the eastern part of the Central Provinces"
9.
10. ""The different branches of the Satavahana family, which ruled in different parts of the kingdom after the decline in central authority, weres soon ousted by new powers some of which were probably feudatories at the outset."
11. This list, with comments, is given in
12. Comments given in
13.
See also
★
Maratha clan system
★
Gautamiputra Satakarni
★
Indo-Greek Kingdom
★
Indo-Scythians
★
Indo-Parthians
★
Western Kshatrapas
★
Kushan Empire
★
Andhra Pradesh
External links
★
History of the Andhras, by Durga Prasad
★
Indian dynasties
★
Simon Winchester'', "In the Holy Caves of India", ''The New York Times'' (November 5, 2006). History of Ajanta Caves.
★
Short history of the Satavahanas.
★
The Satavahanas
★
"A gap in Puranic history bridged" (Satavahanas) - Boloji.com
Nisa.jpg)
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