Gautamiputra Satakarni

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For the 2017 Telugu film, see Gautamiputra Satakarni (film).
Not to be confused with
Gautamiputra Yajna Satakarni
.

Gautamiputra Satakarni
Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi, Vashishtiputra Satakarni
DynastySatavahana
MotherGautami Balashri
Satavahana kings
100 BCE–2nd c. CE
Simuka100-70 BCE
Kanha70-60 BCE
Satakarni I70-60 BCE
Satakarni II50-25 BCE
Sivasvati1st c. CE
Gautamiputra Satakarni2nd c. CE
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi2nd c. CE
Vashishtiputra Satakarni2nd c. CE
Shivaskanda Satakarni2nd c. CE
Yajna Sri Satakarni2nd c. CE

Gautamiputra Satakarni (

Satavahana Empire in present-day Deccan region of India. He was mentioned as the important and greatest ruler of Satavahana Dynasty. He ruled in the 1st or 2nd century CE, although his exact period is uncertain. His reign is dated variously: 86-110 CE,[3] c. 103-127 CE,[4] 106-130 CE,[5] or more recently and specifically ca. 60-85 CE.[6][7]

The information available about Gautamiputra Satakarni comes from his coins, the Satavahana inscriptions, and the royal genealogies in the various

Puranas. The best known of these is the Nashik prashasti (eulogy) inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri, which credits him with extensive military conquests. Historical evidence suggests that Gautamiputra revived the Satavahana power after a decline caused by Saka invasions.[8]

Ancestry

Except the

IAST: Śivasvāti). However, Shivasvati remains historically unattested: no coins or inscriptions issued by him have been discovered.[9] The Vayu Purana names the predecessor of Gautamiputra as Shivasvami (IAST: Śivasvāmi). The Brahmanada Purana does not mention the name "Gautamiputra" at all; instead it names a king called "Yantramati", who ruled for 34 years, and was preceded by Svātisena.[10][11]

The mother of Gautamiputra Satakarni was Gautami Balashri (IAST: Gautami Bālaśri), as attested by Nasik prashasti, an inscription found at

Pandavleni Caves in Nashik. The inscription is dated to the 19th regnal year of his son Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (or Pulumayi).[12][13] It records the grant of a village to the Buddhist monks of the Bhadrayaniya sect.[14]

"Gautamiputra" literally means "son of Gautami", while Satakarni is a title common to several Satavahana kings. Such matronymics also appear in the names of other Satavahana kings, including Vasishthiputra Pulumavi ("Pulumavi, son of Vasishthi"). These do not indicate a

matrilineal descent system.[13] The real explanation for matronymics seems to be that since the rulers married a number of wives from different royal families, a prince was best identified with reference to his mother.[15]

Military conquests

Main article: Saka-Satavahana Wars

Historical evidence suggests that the

Yavanas (Indo-Greeks).[13] It also states that he emerged victorious in several fights against a confederacy of enemies.[16]

Imperial extent according to Nashik prashasti

The

Krishna river in the south; and from Konkan in the west to Vidarbha (Berar) in the east.[13] It states that he ruled the following regions:[17][18]

Approximate extent of the Satavahana empire under Gautamiputra Satkarni, as suggested by the Nashik prashasti inscription. (John Keay, 2008)
  • Asika (area in
    Godavari
    valley)
  • Aśmaka (
    Ashmaka
    in Godavari valley)
  • Muḍhaka or Mulaka (area around Paithan)
  • Surāṣṭra (Saurashtra)
  • Kukura
  • Aparanta (north Konkan)
  • Narmada
    valley)
  • Vidarbha (Berar)
  • Akara-
    Avanti (eastern and western Malwa
    )

The identity of "Kukura" is uncertain. R G Bhandarkar identified it with a part of

Vindhyas.[18]

The inscription also calls Gautamiputra the lord of following mountains:[17][20]

  • Vindhyāvat
    (part of Vindhyas)
  • Pāriyātra (part of Vindhyas)
  • Sahya
    (Western Ghats)
  • Krishnagiri (Kanhagiri)
  • Malaya (southern portion of Western Ghats)
  • Mahendra
  • Sreshtha-giri or Setagiri
  • Chakora

Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya identifies Mahendra, Sreshtha-giri and Chakora with portions of Eastern Ghats. He, therefore, believes that Gautamiputra's empire included the Telangana and Coastal Andhra regions. M. Rama Rao also supports this theory on the basis of coins discovered in the eastern Deccan region. Although coins can travel via trade, Chattopadhyaya believes that the Nashik inscription corroborates this theory.[21] However, there are no other records of Satavahana presence in the eastern Deccan region before the period of his son Vashishtiputra Pulumavi.[22]

The "Nashik prashasti", inscription of Queen Gotami Balasiri
Sri Pulumavi
)
Full inscription of Queen Gotami Balasiri (rubbing).[23]
Palhava" (Brahmi script: 𑀲𑀓 𑀬𑀯𑀦 𑀧𑀮𑁆𑀳𑀯) mentioned in the Nasik cave 3 inscription of Queen Gotami Balasiri (end of line 5 of the inscription).[23]

"Success! In the nineteenth -19th- year of king Siri-Pulumayi Vasithiputra, in the second -2nd- fortnight of summer, on the thirteenth -13th- day, the great queen Gotami Balasiri, delighting in truth, charity, patience and respect for life; bent on penance, self-control, restraint and abstinence; fully working out the type of a royal Rishi's wife; the mother of the king of kings, Siri-Satakani Gotamiputa,

caused, as a pious gift, on the top of the Tiranhu mountain similar to the top of the

Kailasa, (this) cave to be made quite equal to the divine mansions (there). And that cave the great queen, mother of a Maharaja
and grandmother of a Maharaja, gives to the Sangha of monks in the person of the fraternity of the Bhadavaniyas; and for the sake of the embellishment of that cave, with a view to honour and please the great queen his grandmother, her grandson lord of [Dakshina]patha, making over the merit of the gift to his father, grants to this meritorious donation (vis. the cave) the village Pisajipadaka on the south-west side of mount Tiranhu.
Renunciation to the enjoyments of every kind."

— Nasik Caves inscription of Queen Gotami Balasiri, Cave No.3[24]

An inscription at Karle records the grant of Karajika village (identified with a village in Pune district) by Gautamiputra, confirming that the Pune region was under his control.[13]

The Nashik prashasti inscription further states that the horses of Gautamiputra drank waters of the "three oceans"

Pandyas in southern India. However, there is no historical evidence of this. One view is that this is just a conventional literary device: Gautamiputra's empire was not as extensive as the inscription claims.[22] Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya speculates that Gautamiputra might have raided some territories in the South.[26]

According to American academic Carla M. Sinopoli, it is not clear if Gautamiputra actually had effective control over all the territories claimed as a part of his empire in the inscription. In any case, his military successes were short-lived.[27]

Gautamiputra and Nahapana

Caves excavated by Gautamiputra Satakarni as well as the Western Kshatrapa king

Rishabhadatta (also known as Ushavadata), who had donated it to the monks.[16]

A hoard of Nahapana's coins, discovered at Jogalthambi in Nashik district, includes coins re-struck by Gautamiputra.[13] These coins feature an arched chaitya (Buddhist shrine) and the "Ujjain symbol" (a cross with four circles at the end).[28]

Most historians now agree that Gautamiputra and Nahapana were contemporaries, and that Gautamiputra defeated Nahapana.

M. K. Dhavalikar dates this event to c. 124 CE, which according to him, was the 18th regnal year of Gautamiputra.[29] R.C.C. Fynes dates the event to sometime after 71 CE,[30] in the same line, Shailendra Bhandare places the victory of Gautamiputra and the end of Nahapana's reign to the start of Saka era, 78 CE, in the year of Castana's accession,[31] and considers Gautamiputra's whole reign to ca. 60-85 CE.[32]

Coinage of Gautamiputra Satakarni
  • A coin of Nahapana, re-struck by Gautamiputra Satakarni
    A coin of Nahapana, re-struck by Gautamiputra Satakarni
  • A coin from Nashik
    A coin from Nashik
  • A silver coin, perhaps of Gautamiputra Satakarni (side 1)
    A silver coin, perhaps of Gautamiputra Satakarni (side 1)
  • A silver coin, perhaps of Gautamiputra Satakarni (side 2)
    A silver coin, perhaps of Gautamiputra Satakarni (side 2)

Last years

Samgha during the reign of his son Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
.

According to the

D. C. Sircar interpreted this to mean that the king was ill, and the term jiva-suta was intended to assure the people that the king was alive, while his mother ran the administration.[34] Shailendra Nath Sen also speculated that the king might have been assisted by his mother in administration because of his illness or military preoccupation.[35] V. V. Mirashi dismissed Sircar's theory as "ridiculous", arguing that jiva-suta is an expression used in several ancient sources and simply emphasizes the good fortune of a woman.[34] Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya also criticizes Sircar's interpretation, pointing out that the first line in the inscription refers to the king's order. He adds that jiva-suta is simply an "affectionate expression of a mother", and should not be over-analyzed.[36]

D. R. Bhandarkar and R. G. Bhandarkar believed that Gautamiputra and his son Vasishthiputra Pulumavi ruled jointly during the last years of his reign.[37] This theory is based on their interpretations of the various Satavahana inscriptions. In Nashik prashasti, Gautami Balashri calls herself the mother of the great king as well as the grandmother of the great king, indicating that both were kings at that time. There are also indications that Gautamiputra was alive, when this inscription was issued in the 19th regnal year of his son. Despite this, the inscription describes the achievements of Gautamiputra Satakarni, but remains silent about the exploits of his son. Based on these arguments, Bhandarkar speculated that Gautamiputra ruled eastern Deccan, while Vasishthiputra ruled western Deccan.[38] This theory has been dismissed by several other scholars, including K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and H. C. Raychaudhuri. G.J. Dubreuil theorizes that the excavation of the cave (where this inscription was found) began during the reign of Gautamiputra. However, the work was finished only after his death, and the inscription was placed on his behalf by his mother, during the reign of his son.[39] Bhandarkar's theory is further weakened by the fact that there is clear historical evidence of Gautamiputra's rule over western Deccan. Moreover, no inscriptions issued jointly by the father-son duo are available.[40]

It is possible that by the end of his reign, Gautamiputra lost some of his territory to the

D. R. Bhandarkar and Dineshchandra Sircar, the ruler defeated by Rudradaman was Gautamiputra Satakarni. However, E. J. Rapson believed that the defeated ruler was his son and successor Vasishthiputra Pulumavi.[42] Shailendra Nath Sen and Charles Higham believe that the defeated ruler was Vashishtiputra's successor Shivaskanda or Shiva Sri Pulumayi (or Pulumavi).[4][43]

Administration

Gautami Putra Satkarni Statue in Amaravathi

The location of Gautamiputra's capital is uncertain.[44] In the Nashik inscription dated to his 18th regnal year, he is described as the "Lord of Benakataka".[18] Carla M. Sinopoli identifies Benakataka as a place in the Nashik region.[45] V. V. Mirashi identified it with Pauni Bhandara district.[46]

The inscriptions of Gautamiputra Satakarni indicate that his empire was divided into units known as āhāras. Each āharā was governed by an amātya or amaca.[44] Three types of settlements are named in the inscriptions: nagara (city), nigama (town) and gama (village).[27]

The Nashik prashasti inscription calls him ekabrahmana. One interpretation of this word is "a peerless

Brahmanism".[47] Nevertheless, the king also patronized Buddhist monks.[44] According to one of his Nashik inscriptions, the monks were exempted from taxes and granted immunity from any interference by the royal officers.[45]

The Nashik prashasti also states that the king's joys and sorrows were same as those of his citizens. It claims that he did not like to destroy life, even that of the enemies who offended him. The edict compares him to legendary heroes such as

Sagara, Yayati and Ambarisha.[17]

In popular culture

Krish and featuring Nandamuri Balakrishna in the titular role, was released on 12 January 2017.[48]

References

  1. ^
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    .
  2. ^ Rapson, E. J. (Edward James) (1908). Catalogue of the coins of the Andhra dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas, the Traikutaka dynasty, and the "Bodhi" dynasty. London : Printed by order of the Trustees. p. Plate IX.
  3. ^ Carla M. Sinopoli 2001, pp. 166–168.
  4. ^ a b c Charles Higham 2009, p. 299.
  5. ISBN 9788192510750
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  6. ^ Bhandare, Shailendra (1999). Historical Analysis, pp.168-178; Shimada, Akira, (2012). Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca 300 BCE - 300 CE), Brill, p. 51
  7. ^ Ollett, Andrew, (2017). Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of premodern India, University of California Press, Okland, (Table 2, Appendix A), p. 189.
  8. ^ Rao 1994, p. 13.
  9. ^ Inguva Karthikeya Sarma (1980). Coinage of the Satavahana Empire. Agam. p. 132.
  10. ^ Robert Sewell (1884). Lists of Inscriptions, and Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India. E. Keys. p. 145.
  11. ^ Johann Samuel Ersch; Johann Gottfried Gruber; Johann Georg Heinrich Hassel (1840). Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste in alphabetischer Folge: Zweite Section: H-N (in German). Gleditsch. pp. 87–88.
  12. ^ R. G. Bhandarkar 1876, p. 310.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Upinder Singh 2008, p. 383.
  14. ^ R. G. Bhandarkar 1876, p. 312.
  15. ^ Indian History Congress (1976). Proceedings. p. 65.
  16. ^ a b c Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 77.
  17. ^ a b c d R. G. Bhandarkar 1876, p. 311.
  18. ^ a b c Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 78.
  19. ^ R. G. Bhandarkar 1876, p. 312-313.
  20. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, pp. 78–79.
  21. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 80.
  22. ^ a b Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 79.
  23. ^ a b Hultzsch, E. (1906). Epigraphia Indica Vol.8. p. 60.
  24. ^ Epigraphia Indica p.61-62
  25. ^ Alain Daniélou 2003, p. 136.
  26. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 81.
  27. ^ a b Carla M. Sinopoli 2001, p. 170.
  28. ^ Mala Dutta 1990, pp. 44–46.
  29. ^ a b M. K. Dhavalikar 1996, p. 135.
  30. ^ R.C.C. Fynes 1995, p. 44.
  31. ^ Bhandare, Shailendra, (1999). Historical Analysis, pp. 168-178; Shimada, Akira, (2012). Early Buddhist Architecture in Context: The Great Stupa at Amaravati (ca 300 BCE - 300 CE), Brill, p.51.
  32. ^ Bhandare, Shailendra, (1999). Historical Analysis, pp. 168-178
  33. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 61.
  34. ^ a b V. V. Mirashi 1975, p. 192.
  35. ^ a b Sailendra Nath Sen 1999, p. 173.
  36. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 85.
  37. ^ Jeanne L. Trabold (1970). A chronology of Indian sculpture: the Sātavāhana chronology at Nāsik. Artibus Asiae. p. 70.
  38. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 91.
  39. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 92.
  40. ^ Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 93.
  41. ISBN 978-81-206-0522-0
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  42. ^ Mala Dutta 1990, pp. 52.
  43. ^ Sailendra Nath Sen 1999, pp. 172–176.
  44. ^ a b c d Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya 1974, p. 86.
  45. ^ a b Carla M. Sinopoli 2001, p. 177.
  46. ISBN 978-81-7192-031-0
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  47. ISBN 9788186073087
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  48. ^ "gouthamiputra satakarni release Starring Nandamuri Balakrishna date".
Preceded by
Satavahana Ruler

2nd century CE 		Succeeded by

Bibliography

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