The Satavahanas, 230 BCE to 220 CE

The Nanaghat inscription, in a Western Ghats pass, is a prashasti of queen Naganika, wife of Satakarni I, recording donations after his Vedic sacrifices.
Rock cut Buddhist caves at Nashik and Karla carry inscriptions, and more are found at the great stupa of Amaravati.
Satavahana coins were struck in lead, silver, copper and potin, and carry the rulers' portraits and symbols.
After defeating the Western Satrap Nahapana, Gautamiputra Satakarni counterstruck thousands of his coins with his own image.
The Nashik prashasti of Gautami Balashri, mother of Gautamiputra Satakarni, is notable for being composed by a woman proud of her son.
The Amaravati sculpture, the caves at Karla, Bhaja, Nashik, Kanheri and early Ajanta, and the Nagarjunakonda excavations are the archaeological sources.

The Satavahana kings ran from Simuka, the founder, through Satakarni I and Gautamiputra Satakarni to Yajnashri Satakarni, the last powerful ruler.
Two women stand out in the records: queen Naganika at Nanaghat and Gautami Balashri at Nashik.

Simuka
king
Traditionally the founder, credited by the Puranas with overthrowing the Kanvas about 28 BCE; said to have ruled 23 years.
Kanha
king; also Krishna
Krishna, Simuka's brother and successor, who expanded Satavahana territory southward.
Satakarni I
king
Performed the Ashvamedha; Lord of Dakshinapatha; extended power west to Nashik.
Naganika
queen
Wife of Satakarni I, whose prashasti is the Nanaghat inscription.
Gautamiputra Satakarni
king
The greatest Satavahana, about 106 to 130 CE, who defeated Nahapana and counterstruck his coins.
Gautami Balashri
queen
Mother of Gautamiputra Satakarni and author of the Nashik prashasti.
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
king
Son of Gautamiputra, about 130 to 158 CE, who married a daughter of Rudradaman I; important for Amaravati.
Yajnashri Satakarni
king
The last powerful Satavahana, about 174 to 203 CE, whose coins bear a ship.
Hala
king
The Satavahana king to whom the Gathasaptashati is traditionally attributed.

Simuka, the traditional founder, is credited by the Puranas with overthrowing the Kanvas about 28 BCE, and is said to have ruled for 23 years.
His brother and successor Kanha, or Krishna, expanded Satavahana territory southward.
Satakarni I performed the Ashvamedha on the Shunga model and extended Satavahana power west to Nashik and the Deccan coast routes.
One of his titles was Lord of Dakshinapatha, lord of the southern route, stressing his hold on the key overland trade corridor.
The long conflict with the Western Satraps turned on the premier ports, Bhrigukachchha, Kalyan and Suparaka.
The Western Satrap Nahapana advanced deep into Satavahana territory before Gautamiputra Satakarni, about 106 to 130 CE, decisively defeated him.
Gautamiputra's titles call him destroyer of the Shakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas, restorer of the four varna order, and lord of the Vindhyas and both seas.
He is also called Ekabrahmana, a peerless Brahmana, and Khatiya dapa manamada, destroyer of the pride of Kshatriyas.
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, about 130 to 158 CE, married a daughter of Rudradaman I, who records defeating the Satavahanas twice but sparing their king as a close relative.
Yajnashri Satakarni, about 174 to 203 CE, the last powerful ruler, briefly recovered the western territories, and his ship coins suggest continued maritime trade.
After him the dynasty fragmented into successor states, the Ikshvakus in Andhra and the Vakatakas in the Deccan, while the Western Satraps expanded again.

The Satavahana kings

About 28 BCE (Puranas)
Simuka overthrows the Kanvas; the Satavahanas begin, though some date them earlier
Early
Kanha, Simuka's brother, expands southward
Early
Satakarni I performs the Ashvamedha; Lord of Dakshinapatha
About 106 to 130 CE
Gautamiputra Satakarni defeats Nahapana
About 130 to 158 CE
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi marries Rudradaman's daughter
About 174 to 203 CE
Yajnashri Satakarni, the last powerful ruler
After about 220 CE
The Ikshvakus and Vakatakas succeed

The Puranas date the founding to about 28 BCE, though the dynasty may have begun earlier.Source: Theme 8 handout

The Satavahanas kept some administrative units of Ashokan times, dividing the kingdom into districts called ahara.
Their officials were the amatyas and mahamatras, as in Mauryan times.
In rural areas the gaulmika, the village headman, was also the head of a military unit.
The Satavahanas were the first kings in India to make royal grants of land to Brahmanas and Buddhist monks.

Satavahana kings took matronymics, naming themselves after their mothers, as in Gautamiputra and Vasishthiputra, yet succession stayed patrilineal.
The Satavahanas claimed to be Brahmanas with Kshatriya status.
They are a classic example of simultaneous Hindu and Buddhist patronage.
Gautamiputra's claim to have restored the four varna order suggests that Shaka rule in western India had disrupted the social hierarchy.
Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh and Nashik and Junnar in Maharashtra became important Buddhist sites under the Satavahanas and the Ikshvakus.

The Satavahanas controlled the Dakshinapatha, the great southern route, with access to the western coast and Roman trade and the eastern coast and Southeast Asian routes.
The Western Ghats passes, Nanaghat, Bhorghat and Thalghat, connected the Konkan coast to the Deccan plateau.
Buddhist cave monasteries were built at or near these passes, at Bhaja, Karla, Bedse, Nashik and Kanheri.
The monks provided safe rest stops and reliable wells, and the merchants funded the caves with donations.
The Satavahanas used lead coins extensively, probably because lead was available locally and allowed smaller denominations for everyday trade.
They were the first native Indian kings to issue coins bearing the rulers' portraits, with legends in Prakrit, and their silver coins show Indo Greek influence.
Merchants named themselves after their towns, and gandhikas, perfumers, appear as donors; the title Gandhi derives from this word.

Pass, monastery, merchantTap to enlarge

Caves at the Ghat passes served the merchants on the road, and the merchants paid for the caves.Source: Theme 8 handout

A Satavahana coinTap to enlarge

The first native Indian coins with the ruler's portrait, their legends in Prakrit.Source: Theme 8 handout

The Amaravati stupa on the Krishna was encased in carved marble slabs showing the Buddha's life, Jataka tales and donors.
Unlike Sanchi, its sculptures are highly three dimensional, with bodies in twisting poses, the tribhanga or triple bend.
Early Amaravati art was aniconic like Sanchi, but later phases show the transition to the iconic Buddha.
The Satavahanas used Prakrit, not Sanskrit, in their inscriptions and on their coins.
The Gathasaptashati, 700 love poems in Maharashtri Prakrit, is traditionally attributed to the king Hala.
Nagarjuna is traditionally associated with the Deccan and the Satavahana court, though the exact connection is not fully established.

The chaitya at Karla
Buddhist cave monasteries were built at or near the Ghat passes, at Bhaja, Karla, Bedse, Nashik and Kanheri.
Oleg Yunakov, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Bhaja caves
The monks provided safe rest stops and reliable wells, and the merchants funded the caves with donations.
Balkrishn1112, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Nashik caves
Rock cut Buddhist caves with inscriptions, among them Gautami Balashri's prashasti of Gautamiputra Satakarni.
Katyare, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Kanheri caves
A cave monastery near Mumbai, among the rock cut caves of the western Deccan.
Dr. Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cave 10 at Ajanta
The early phases of the Ajanta caves belong to this period.
Amitabha Gupta, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Nanaghat caves
A Western Ghats pass whose inscription is a prashasti of queen Naganika, wife of Satakarni I.
Kevin Standage, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A portrait coin of Gautamiputra Satakarni
The Satavahanas were the first native Indian kings to issue coins bearing the ruler's portrait, with legends in Prakrit.
PHGCOM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Ship coins
Yajnashri Satakarni's coins, with a ship, suggest continued maritime trade connections.
Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Nagarjunakonda
An important site of Buddhist activity under the Satavahanas and their successors, the Ikshvakus.
Ms Sarah Welch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Dakshinapatha: The great southern trade route, which the Satavahanas controlled.
Ahara: A district of the Satavahana kingdom.
Gaulmika: The village headman, who was also the head of a military unit.
Matronymic: A name taken from the mother, as in Gautamiputra and Vasishthiputra.
Potin: An alloy in which the Satavahanas struck some of their coins.
Counterstruck coin: A coin struck again with a new image, as Gautamiputra did to Nahapana's coins.
Tribhanga: The triple bend posture of Amaravati sculpture.
Ekabrahmana: A peerless Brahmana, a title of Gautamiputra Satakarni.
Gathasaptashati: An anthology of 700 love poems in Maharashtri Prakrit, attributed to Hala.
Gandhika: A perfumer; later any shopkeeper, and the source of the title Gandhi.

Were the Satavahanas and the Andhras one people?

One people

The Satavahanas are identified with the Andhras of the Puranas.

Two names

The name Andhra does not appear in the Satavahana inscriptions, nor do the Puranas mention the Satavahanas.

The identification rests on the Puranas, and neither record names the other.

When did the Satavahanas begin?

About 28 BCE

The Puranas credit Simuka with overthrowing the Kanvas about 28 BCE.

Earlier

Some scholars place the Satavahana origin earlier, and the period is often given as about 230 BCE to 220 CE.

The 28 BCE date is the Puranas', and an earlier beginning is argued by some scholars.

Prelims

Try each before opening the answer; every question is also on the Prelims PYQs pages.

2023 · Q41

In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?

(a)AndhraUPSC key
(b)Gandhara
(c)Kalinga
(d)Magadha

Show answer and explanation

Dhanyakataka is the ancient name of Amaravati on the Krishna in coastal Andhra Pradesh, a major Buddhist centre under the Satavahanas and later the Ikshvakus, celebrated for the Amaravati stupa and its distinctive limestone relief sculpture. It was a stronghold of the Mahasanghika school and of its Chaitika and Purvasaila offshoots, and the region is also associated with Nagarjuna and Nagarjunakonda. Gandhara in the northwest was a Buddhist centre of the first rank but of the Sarvastivada tradition and Graeco Buddhist art, so (b) is wrong. Kalinga is associated with Ashoka's war and later Jaina patronage under Kharavela at Udayagiri and Khandagiri, so (c) is wrong. Magadha was the heartland of early Buddhism with Rajagriha, Nalanda and Bodh Gaya, but Dhanyakataka is not there, so (d) is wrong.

Difficult · Static · Ancient and Medieval History · Mahajanapadas to Gupta