Ashoka died in 232 BC and his successors after him were very weak. Due to this, the Mauryan Empire was divided into two parts which were Western Part and Eastern Part. Kunal was ruled the Western Part and Dasarath was ruled the Eastern Part. But on the western part of the Mauryan Empire, there were constant foreign invasions from the North-West. In this case, the western part of the Mauryan Empire got out from them and in the Eastern part, the successors of Dasarath also turned out to be very weak. Taking advantage of this opportunity, many provinces of the Mauryan Empire started declaring themselves independent. Two such big provinces were Kalinga and Satvahana. You can also see the location of SATVAHANAS in pic. 1.
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| picture 1 |
These people used to rule in the Deccan area. So here we first need to know which area is called Deccan!
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| Picture 2 |
This is Deccan area, Vidhya Hills are in its North, Western Ghats form its Western Boundary. And its Eastern Boundary is Eastern Ghats. So we can say that the Triangular Region formed by joining Vindhya Hills, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats is called Deccan area.
SATVAHANAS are also called ANDHRAS and Ashoka has also mentioned ANDHRAS in his Thirteenth Raw credit. Ashoka has mentioned them in his inscription as Border people. And it has been told that now they have also started following Dummo. But in the initial period, the rule of SATVAHANAS was not there in the entire Deccan. These people used to rule in the Upper Godavari valley, and this is known from the coins and inscriptions of Early SATVAHANA kings. Infact, Aitareya Brahamana of Rig veda states that ANDHRAS used to live around Yamuna Bank of North India earlier. But these people had migrated to South India. So this is an information which we get from Rigveda. Apart from this, we have seen that the inscription of Ashoka also reveals about ANDHRAS and we get the third information from the Puranas. It is also called ANDHRAS in Puranas, Infact the term used here is ANDHRA BHRITYA, some historians believe that ANDHRA BHRITYA means Subordinates of the Mauryas because Mauryas used to call their sevants Bhritya. But apart from this, there are some historians who believe that ANDHRA BHRITYA means Subordinates of the Andhras, that is, these people used to serve the Andhra region. It is possible that these people used to be the ruler of Andhra region and these people call themselves as servants of ANDHRA region, if you ask which is such a Purana where some details about ANDHRAS have been given, then the names of such Puranas They are Vayu Puran, Matsya Puran, Brahmanda Puran. It is said in Vayu Puran that Andhras ruled this region for around 300 years. Apart from this, it has been said in Matsya Puran and Brahmananda Puran that those who ruled for 400 years. And the difference is not only till the number of years. Vayu Purana, Matsya Purana and Brahmanda Purana have also said different things about the total number of kings of Satavahanas. But there is a consensus among historians on one thing that the Satavahanas used to be subordinate to the Mauryas. Who initially ruled the Andhra region. But there is no concrete detail about when his rule started. Some historians believe that his reign began in 271 BCE, some believe that his reign began in 13th BCE. And the end date of their rule is considered to be 220 AD. It means to say that these people ruled the Deccan for 400 to 450 years. Initially these people were ruling the Andhra region. But gradually these people were shifted to the upper Deccan region. And when the Mauryan Empire came to an end, the Satavahanas declared themselves independent. And Pratishthan as its capital, which is also called Paithan today. After the Mauryas, the rule of the Shungas began in the Ganga valley. And after him came Kanva. The Satavahanas are also said to have defeated the Kanvas in the first century BCE. And we get this information from the oldest inscription of Satavahana. After defeating the Kanvas, the Satavahanas captured a small area in the Deccan and a small area in central India. But the point to be noted here is that the biggest rivals of the Satavahanas were not the Kanvas or the Shungas, but the Shakas. Who had established his power in Upper Deccan and Western India. And there also came a time when the Shakas displaced the Satavahanas from their place and established complete control over Maharashtra and western India. Due to these attacks by the Shakas, the Satavahanas had to leave the upper Deccan region. But later the greatest Satavahana ruler Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated the Saka ruler and recovered his lost territory. From the examination point of view only seven Satavahana rulers need to be remembered.
Simuka - Founder of SATVAHANAS
Kanha - 2nd Ruler
Satkarni - 3rd Ruler
Hala - 17th Ruler
Gautamiputra Satakarni - _
Vashistaputra Pulayami - _
Yajna Sri Satakarni - _
Simuka followed Brahmanism
Kanha - He had extended the territory of SATVAHANA's till Nasik in the west.
Satakarni - First Great Ruler of SATVAHANAS. It is said that he had extended Satvahana's territory to Malwa and Berar in the west. After occupying these regions, he performed Ashwamedh Yagya. We can see the Territorial expanses done by them in the Nanaghat Inscription.
Nanaghat Inscription: This Inscription was inscribed by Sri Satakarni's wife - Nagamika. The Inscription mentions the regions under Satakarni I as 'Dakshinapathapathi'. 'Dakshinapathapathi' means Lord of Dakshinapatha.
The Inscription mentions regions under Satakarni I as -
Akara (Upper Narmada Valley)
Anupa ( Lower Narmada Valley)
Anartha (Vidarbha)
Aparanta ( Upper Konkan Coast)
Saurashtra
Kuccha (Kutch)
Malwa
Maru ( Desert area of Rajasthan)
Questions based on Satavahana dynasty
Who was called the first great ruler of the Satavahanas?
Answer: Satkarni
Who was called the last great ruler of the Satavahanas?
Answer: Yagya Shri Satakarni
Who composed the book/epic "Gathasaptasapti"?
Answer: Hala
How many verses are written in Gathasaptasapti?
Answer: 700 erotic verses
In which language was the Gathasaptasapti book composed?
Answer: Prakrit
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