Everything about Satavahana totally explained
The
Sātavāhanas (
Marathi: सातवाहन,
Telugu:శాతవాహనులు), were a
dynasty which ruled from
Junnar (
Pune), Prathisthan (
Paithan) in Maharashtra and
Amaravati (Dharanikota) in
Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central
India from around
230 BCE onward. Although there's 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 Satavahana is in the
Aitareya Brahmana, dating back to the 8th century BCE mentioning them to be of Vishwamitra's lineage.In the
Pūrānas and on their coins the dynasty is variously referred to as the Sātavāhanas, Sātakarnīs, Andhras and Andhrabhrityas. A reference to the Sātavāhanas 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 Sātavāhanas 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:
Ashoka (
232 BCE), as the
Maurya Empire began to weaken.
It is believed that they were Buddhistic Brahmins. Some rulers like Maharaja Satakarni are believed to have performed Vedic sacrifices as well.
They were not only worshipers of The Buddha, but also other incarnations of Vishnu and Shiva, Gauri, Indra, the sun and moon. They were mostly Buddhistic
Vaishnavites. Under their reign, in Amaravati, the historian Durga Prasad notices that Buddha had been worshiped as a form of Vishnu
Early rulers
The Satavahanas/ Andhras initially ruled in the area of
Andhradesa, the
Telugu name for the
people country between the rivers
Krishna and
Godavari, which was always their heartland. The Pūrānas list 30 Andhra rulers. Many are known from their coins and inscriptions as well.
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)
His successor
Sātakarnī 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 “Shri Sata” 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 Pratishthānapura (
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. 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
Hāla (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.
Gautamiputra Satakarni (78-106 CE)
Eventually
Gautamiputra (Sri Yagna) Sātakarni (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 Sātavāhanas. He was an ardent supporter of
Hinduism.
According to the Nasik inscription made by his mother Gautami Balasri, he's 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
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 Sātakarni's son,
Vashishtiputra Pulumāyi (r. 106-130 CE), succeeded him. Gautamiputra was the first Sātavāhana king to issue the portrait-type coinage, in a style derived from the
Western Satraps.
Successors
Gautamiputra's brother,
Vashishtiputra Sātakarni, 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:
Poona and
Nasik. 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. During the reign of
Sri Yajna Sātakarni (170-199 CE) the Sātavāhanas regained some prosperity, and some of his coins have been found in
Surashtra but around the middle 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.
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 Sātavāhanas in their capital
Pratishthānapura.
» *
Chutus of
Banavasi in North
Karnataka..
*
Kadambas of
Banavasi in North
Karnataka.
» *
Ikshvaku dynasty (or Srīparvatiyas) in the Krishna-
Guntur region.
*
Pallavas of
Kanchipuram, of whom the first ruler was Simhavarman I (r. 275-300 CE).
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 a Prakrit dialect without exception. 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.
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
Of the Sātavāhana kings,
Hāla (r. 20-24 CE) is famous for compiling the collection of
Maharashtri poems known as the
Gaha Sattasai (
Sanskrit: Gāthā Saptashatī), 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 Satavahanas influenced South-East Asia to a great extent, spreading Hindu culture, language and religion into that part of the world. Their coins had images of ships.
Art of Amaravati
The Sātavāhana kings are also remarkable for their contributions to
Buddhist art and architecture. They built great stupas in the
Krishna River Valley, 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 Satavahana empire colonized southeast Asia and spread Indian culture to those parts.
Mahayana Buddhism, which may have originated in Andhra (northwestern India being the alternative candidate), was carried to many parts of Asia by the rich maritime culture of the Satavahanas. The
Amaravati style of sculpture spread to Southeast Asia at this time.
Art of Sanchi
The Satavahanas contributed greatly to the embellishment of the Buddhist stupa of
Sanchi. The gateways and the balustrade were built after 70 BCE, and appear to have been commissioned 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:
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.
The Jewish Connection
From the Old Testament, Chapter-26, Verse-58:
These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Lib’nites, the family of Hebronites, the family of the Mah’lites, the family of the Mu’shites, the family of the Ko’-rath-ites. And Ko’hath begat Amram.
The
Levites were a Jewish tribe associated with priestly duties and considered one of the lost tribes of Israel. The family of the Mu’shites is of interest in the above statement as the ancient Telugu people of Andhra Pradesh were known as Mushikalu, during which time a city was built in the mane of Mushikaa Nagaram, which belonged to the Sathavahana kings. Thus, the Sathavahanas could be the Mushika kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata.
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.
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.
Hāla (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 Sātakarni, 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 Sātakarni (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)Further Information
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