Satavahana Dynasty

   

Satavahana Empire

Satavahana Empire (Andhras)           Late 2nd century BCE–Early 3rd century CE

Capital                                                          Pratishthana, Amaravati

Common languages                                Prakrit, Dravidian

Religion                                                       Brahmanism, Buddhism

Government                                              Monarchy

 

Preceded by

Maurya Empire

Kanva dynasty

 

Succeeded by

Western Kshatrapas

Andhra Ikshvaku

Chutu dynasty

Vakataka dynasty

Pallava dynasty

Abhira dynasty

 

Today, it is a part of India

 

Satavahana Empire        100 BCE–2nd c. CE     

Simuka                                       100-70 BCE

Kanha                                         70-60 BCE

Satakarni I                                 70-60 BCE

Satakarni II                               50-25 BCE

Sivasvati                                     1st c. CE

Gautamiputra Satakarni         2nd c. CE

Vasishthiputra Pulumavi        2nd c. CE

Vashishtiputra Satakarni        2nd c. CE

Shivaskanda Satakarni           2nd c. CE

Yajna Sri Satakarni                  2nd c. CE

Introduction:

• The Satavahanas were the first to establish an empire in South India.
• In fact, the social, political and cultural life in the Deccan started with the Satavahanas.
• They established their kingdom on the ruins of the Mauryan empire.
• Satavahanas ruled for a period of 3 centuries, and made a significant contribution towards administration, culture, art and architecture.
• The Satavahanas achieved cultural unity in India by establishing an empire, which spread from Aryavartha to South India.

 

Sources:

• Many sources are available for studying the history of Satavahanas.
• The most important among them are the inscriptions of that age like Kanheri, Naneghat, Nasik, Bhaja and Karle, Hathigumpha inscription of Rudradaman.
• They are very useful for understanding the conditions of that period.
• The literary sources like Vayu, Mastya, Brahma, Vishnu Puranas; Hala's Gathasaptashati, Brihatkatha of Gunadhya, Megasthenes’s Indica, Kamasutras of Vatsayana, writings of Pliny, Ptolemy: coins of the Satavahanas are also useful for the study of Satavahanas.
• The earliest mention of the Satavahanas is to be found in Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda.
• It’s quite possible that Andhra is the name of a race and Satavahana is the name of a dynasty.
• The origin of the Satavahanas is a contentious issue and there are many theories relating to the Satavahana period.
• The theory that they ruled from 3rd century B.C to 3rd century A.D., is accepted to many scholars.

 

Political history:

• From the puranas, we learn that Andhras ruled for a period of 450 years and this dynasty had 30 kings.
• Among them the rulers from Srimukha to Gouthamiputra Satakarni were called the early Satavahanas.
• The rulers, who ruled after Gouthamiputra Satakarni were called the later Satavahanas.

 

Srimukha (B.C. 235 - 213):

• Srimukha was the founder of the Satavahana dynasty.
• He ruled for 23 years.
• He declared independence after the death of the Mauryan king, Ashoka.
• Srimukha conquered neighbouring kingdoms and made Prathistanapuram his capital.
• Srimukha was succeeded by his brother Krishna, who extended his empire as far as Nasik.

 

Satakarni I (B.C. 194 - 184):

• Krishna was succeeded by Satakarni I and ruled for a period of 10 years.
• He was a prominent ruler among the early Satavahanas.
• Naneghat inscription described him as Dakshinapadapathi (Lord of Dakshinapatha) and Aprathihatha Chakravarthi (wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty).
• Satakarni I was contemporary of Pushyamitra Sunga and Kharavela of Kalinga.
• Kharavela described in his Hathigumpha inscription that Satakarni I marched his armies to the Satavahana kingdom and destroyed Mushikanagara and Pithunda.
• He performed two Ashwamedhayagas and one Rajasuyayaga and gifted thousands of cows and Karshapanas (a coin from the time) to Brahmins and was praised as the Lord of the South.
• Then, Satakarni II became the king.
• He had a long reign of 56 years.
• He defeated the Sakas and occupied Kalinga and Magadha.

 

Gouthamiputra Sathakarni (78 - 102 A.D.):

• Gouthamiputra Satakarni was the greatest king, not only of all the Satavahanas but also among the early South Indian kings.
• He was the 23rd ruler of the Satavahana empire.
• He ruled for a period of 24 years.
• He was named after his mother, Gouthami.
• His victories are known through the inscription of Balasri.
• He made many conquests and expanded his kingdom.
• He destroyed the Yavanas, Sakas, Kshaharatas and Pallavas.
• As a result, Gouthamiputra Satakarni’s kingdom spread from Rajasthan in North India to Vyjayanthi in Karnataka and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.
• The Nashik Prasasti praised him as "Kshatriya Darpa Mardana", "Agama Nilaya", "Tri-samudra-toya-pita-vahana" and "Ekabrahmana".

 

Yagnasri Sathakarni (174 — 203 A.D.):

• Yagnasri was the greatest among the later Sathavahana rulers.
• He drove away Sakas from Central India.
• He built a naval force and acquired the title "Samudradhipathi".
• The ship marked coins of Yagnasri prove that he developed overseas trade in the kingdom.
• The successors of Yagnasri were weak and therefore the downfall of the Satavahana kingdom started.
• After the death of the last ruler Pulumavi, the Satavahana kingdom declined and it was occupied by lkshvakus, Pallavas, Abhiras and Chutus.

 

Conditions of the Satavahana period:

• The history of South India gained clarity with advent of Satavahanas.
• They brought political unity to South India and saved it from foreign invasions.
• Satavahanas made significant changes in their administration, socio-economic conditions, literature, religion, art and architecture which resulted in the overall development of South India.

 

Administration:

• Satavahanas not only founded a vast empire, but also provided an effective administrative system.
• The administration followed in the footsteps of the Mauryas and was a model to Pallavas and others.
• They believed in the Divine Right of kings.
• They followed Dharmashastra and Arthashastra by Kautilya.
• The government was based on the concepts of hereditary and absolute monarchy, still the emperor was never a tyrant.
• He regarded himself as the guardian of the social and political order and cared about the welfare of his subjects.
• A cabinet was formed to assist the king in administration.
• The king followed the advice of his ministers.
• Besides ministers, there were several employees, who helped the king in the process of administration.
• The salaries of the employees were paid in money.
• For administrative convenience, the Satavahana empire was divided into Janapadas and Janapadas were divided into Aharas.
• Amatyas were in-charge of Aharas.
• The last administrative unit was village administration.
• Land tax was the main source of income to the government.
• The King was not the owner of all the land in the kingdom.

 

Army:

• Satavahanas maintained a strong army.
• Hathigumpha inscription refers to the Chaturanga Bala of the army.
• Chaturanga refers to ancient army divisions of infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. Bala means strength.
• We can estimate military strategy of those days by seeing the Amaravathi architecture.
• The Mahasenapathi was the head of the army, the kings often lead the army into the battlefield.
• Mentions of Kataka and Skandhavara were found in the inscriptions.
• Kataka means permanent military camp, where as Skandhavara means temporary military camp.

 

Social Conditions:

• During the Satavahana period, caste system was not well established in the society.
• With the advent foreigners like Sakas, Pallavas and Yavanas and because of the influence of the religions like Buddhism and Jainism, the principles of the caste system had to be liberalized.
• Brahmins learnt Vedic education and performed rituals.
• Vysyas indulged in trade and business.
• Kshatriyas, apart from taking to the military profession, also indulged in commerce and trade.
• Joint family system was in vogue.
• The members of the family were dependent on the father and the system of pithru swamyam was accepted.
• Women occupied a prominent position in the society.
• Women had their own property.
• Women like Gautami Balashri and Naganika handled the administration of the state.
• During this period, women added the titles of their husbands at the end of their names.
• Hala's Gathasaptashati reveals that people in those days led a cheerful life.

 

Economic Conditions:

• During the Satavahana period, the entire Dakshinapadha enjoyed economic prosperity.
• Considerable development was achieved in the fields of agriculture, internal and external trade and industry.
• Agriculture was the chief source of revenue.
• Land tax was the chief source of income to the government.
• Men and women worked together in the agricultural lands.
• They were connected with the important seaports by roads.
• Bullock cart was the main means of travel.
• Diamonds, silver, liquor, silk clothes and perfumes were the exported commodities of Deccan.
• The Roman coins discovered in several places like Arikamedu, Puducherry, Kondapur, Dhanyakataka and Nagarjunakonda are proof of the profits earned through foreign trade in Deccan.

 

Religion:

• When the Satavahanas came into power, Vedic religion, Buddhism and Jainism of North India became the South Indian religions as well.
• These religions reconciled with the faiths and customs of the locals and prospered.
• Early Satavahanas were followers of Vedic religion and worked for the prosperity of that religion.
• King Yagnasri’s name reveals their attachment to Vedic religion.
• Foreigners like Yavanas and Sakas followed Vedic religion and mingled with the Indian society.
• The prayers of Indra, Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Chandra, Yama, Surya and Varuna appearing in the inscriptions show the transfer of religion from Vedic culture to Puranic culture.
• Saiva and Vyshna religions attracted both the administration and the people.
• Charity, bhakti and pilgrimage are the chief characteristics of these religions.
• Puranas became standard for them.
• Puranic literature spread during the Satavahana period.
• Historians opined that Acharya Nagarjuna lived in Sriparvatham and formed a centre of learning.
• Philosophers assume that Nagarjuna's "Sunyavadam" was the basis for Sankaracharya's "Mayavadam".
• Jainism also prospered along with Buddhism.
• Kundakunda, a Jain ascetic wrote "Samayasara", which was adored and followed by Svetambara and Digambara sects of Jainism.

 

Language and Literature:

• Satavahanas were also patrons of language and literature.
• They continued Prakrit as the court language.
• The inscriptions of those days were written in Prakrit language and in Brahmi script.
• In fact, in the history of Prakrit language, the Satavahana period may be treated as the golden age.
• The `Gathasaptashati’ compiled by Hala is an anthology of 700 Prakrit verses composed by a number of poets and poetesses and won him undying fame as `Kavivatsala'.
• Hala, the 17^th king of Satavahanas, was a poet and gathered around himself a large number of poets.
• Gunadhya, the writer of ‘Brihatkatha', belonged to this period.
• Kings patronized the Sanskrit language during the latter part of the Satavahana period.
• Sarva Varma wrote "Katantra Vyakarana" for easy learning of Sanskrit.
• From the title of ‘Agama Nilaya', it appears that Gouthamiputra Satakarni was a master of Vedic lore.
• The writings of Acharya Nagarjuna and Aryadeva were done in Sanskrit language.
• `Suhrullekha’ of Nagarjuna achieved popularity.
• The Chinese Traveller, Yijing, wrote that every student learnt Suhrullekha by heart and the savants continued to discuss the contents of it throughout their lives.
• From Brihatkatha, it is understood that the 'desi’ language flourished along with Prakrit and Sanskrit languages.
• (Desi means local, so, Desi Language means the language of locals.)
• It might be the parent of the South Indian languages like Telugu and Kannada.

 

Art and Architecture:

• The Satavahanas continued their patronage of Mauryan Architecture with little improvements.
• Religion was the source of inspiration for architecture.
• Hala's Gathasaptashati mentioned the temples of Ganesh, Gowri and Indra.
• Buddhist ruins are the only sources available to estimate the skills and talent of Satavahanas in the field of architecture.
• Almost all the architectural contributions of that period were Buddhist and they included Chaityas, Stupas, Aramas and Viharas.
• Stupas were built at Nagarjuna Konda, Bhattiprolu, Amaravati, Jaggaiahpet and Ghantasala.
• Amaravati stupa is the most magnificent construction out of all the stupas of Andhra Desa.
• The stupa was built with bricks and name plates were carved on marble stone.
• Five important incidents from the life of Buddha were shown in this stupa.
• The Birth of Buddha, Mahabhinishkramana (the great departure), Jnanajyothi, Dharmachakra (wheel of dharma), Mahaparinirvana (nirvana-after-death) were inscribed in the stupa.
• Chaitya is a Buddhist temple of worship with a stupa in it.
• Chaityas were constructed at Karle, Kanheri, Nasik and Bhaja.
• Viharas are the abodes of Buddhist monks.
• Some of these viharas were carved in rocks.
• Viharas were also built with bricks in Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda and Jaggaiahpet.
• Amaravati was the most famous of all Buddhist `Kshethras' in Andhra Desa.
• During that period, painting was also developed.
• People of those days got the puranic stories like Ramayana and Bhagavatha, painted on the walls of their houses.
• Swethagaja Jathaka in the 10th cave of Ajanta belonged to the Satavahana period.

                                                                                                                                                                            

Conclusion:

• The Satavahanas were the first to establish an empire in South India.
• The social, political and cultural life in Deccan started with the Satavahanas.
• The Satavahanas achieved cultural unity in India by establishing an empire, which spread from Aryavartha to South India.
• Satavahanas brought political unity to South India and saved it from foreign invasions.
• They made great effort to develop administration, socio-economic conditions, language, literature, religion, art and architecture.
• In those days, life in villages was simple and in towns, it was luxurious.
• Hala's Gathasaptashati reveals that people in those days led a cheerful life.

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