About the empire
The reign of the Satavahana Dynasty began in the mid-1st century BCE and came to an end in the early 3rd century CE. Some historians argue that the Satavahanas initially established their hold over the area around Pratishthana (modern Paithan) in the western Deccan, and expanded from there into the eastern Deccan, Andhra, and the western coast. The Sunga dynasty came to an end around 73 BCE when their ruler Devabhuti was killed by Vasudeva Kanva. The Kanva dynasty then ruled over Magadha for about 45 years. Around this time, another powerful dynasty, the Satavahanas came to power in the Deccan area. The term “Satavahana” originated from the Prakrit which means ” driven by seven” which is an implication of the Sun God’s chariot that is driven by seven horses as per Hindu mythology. The first king of the Satavahana dynasty was Simuka. Before the emergence of the Satavahana dynasty. In the northern region, the Mauryas were succeeded by the Sungas and the Kanvas. However, the Satavahanas (natives) succeeded the Mauryas in Deccan and in Central India. It is believed that after the decline of the Mauryas and before the advent of the Satavahans, there must have been numerous small political principalities that were ruling in different parts of the Deccan (for about 100 years). The Satavahanas are considered to be identical with the Andhras who are mentioned in the Puranas, but neither the name Andhra appears in the Satavahana inscriptions nor do the Puranas mention the Satavahanas. According to some Puranas, the Andhras ruled for 300 years and this period is assigned to the rule of the Satavahana dynasty, with their capital at Pratishthana (modern Paithan) on the Godavari in Aurangabad district. The Satavahana kingdom majorly comprised present Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana. At times, their rule also included parts of Gujarat, Karnataka as well as Madhya Pradesh.
Famous kings of their empire
The kings of satavahana dynasty were divided into two groups; early rulers and the later. According to Matsya purana, the satavahana dynasty was ruled by thirty kings. These thirty kings ruled for four hundred and fifty years according to Matsya Purana. According to Vayu Purana, the satavahana dynasty was ruled by seventeen kings for three hundred years.
Srimukha: He founded the satavahana dynasty. According to Matsya Purana, srimukha ruled for 23 years. His other names were Simukha or Chimuka as mentioned in Matsya Purana. According to Vayu Purana, he was also called as Sindhuka. Read more about Srimukha.
Krishna-I: He was the second king to rule the satavahana dynasty. He was the brother of the king srimukha. He occupied Nashik region and join the territory to the Satavahana Empire. During his rule, the Bhagavata religion entered Deccan India. He constructed cave residences in Nashik for shramanas. The cave residences he constructed were in karle and kanheri regions and he used Prakrit in his inscription in there. During his reign, Magadha was under Sungha Dynasty.
Satakarni-I: He was the son of Srimukha. Satakarni-I is considered as the real founder of satavahana dynasty as he took the glory of the dynasty to heights. Malla Karna is the other name of Satakarni I as mentioned in puranas. Read more about Satakarni-I.
Vedasri Satakarni: He was the son of Satakarni-I and Naganika. Vedasri is another name of this king. During his reign, Karavela of Kalinga invaded Satavahana territories and destroyed Bhattiprolu.
Satakarni-II: He was the sixth king of Satavahana Dynasty. He ruled for 56 years. He was honored with the name Rajanyasri Satakarni. He expanded his territory to the north. He occupied Vidisha, it was the territory of Shungas. His expeditions include the occupation of Kalinga territories. During his reign, Sakas invaded India for the first time. He occupied Pataliputra and ruled the same for 10 years. His court was honored by a sculptor named Vasistaputra Ananda, who issued an inscription near the Sanchi Stupa. During the reign of Satakarni-II, the struggle between Sakas and Satavahanas started. Foreign trade took place during the reign of Satakarni-II according to the source, Periplus of Erythrean Sea.
Kuntala: He ruled for 8 years. Sanskrit use came into light during his reign. Prakrit was the official language of Satavahanas prior to his rule. He was taught Sanskrit by Sarva Varma. Sarva Varma wrote Katantra Vyakarana, this was the first Sanskrit book in South India. Gunadya was contemporary to Kuntala Satakarni, who wrote Ashtadhyayi.
Pulomavi-I: He was the 15th king of Satavahanas according to Matsya Purana. He invaded the Kanva empire and assassinated Susarma. Coins of Pulomavi were excavated near pataliputra. During his reign, the struggle between Sakas and Satavahanas continued.
Hala: He ruled for only 5 years and he was the seventeenth king of Satavahanas. He wrote Gathasaptasati, which gives information about the social issues during the Satavahana rule. He was honored with the title Kavivatsala. Nahapana established a new empire in Malwa and Maratha regions during his reign.
Gautamiputra Satakarni: He was twenty-third king of Satavahana dynasty and his reign continued for twenty-four years. His father was Sivaswathi and his mother was Gautami Balasri. He was honored with many titles, he is considered as the greatest of all the satavahana kings. Earlier to his reign, the satavahanas lost their glory and the same was again revived by him. Read more about Gautamiputra Satakarni.
Pulomavi-II: He is the son of Gautamiputra Satakarni. His real name is Vashishti Putra Satakarni. During his period the inscription of Nasik by Gautami Balasri was erected. During his reign, Rudradaman of Sakas invaded the territories of satavahanas. According to Junagadh inscriptions, Rudradaman defeated Pulumavi-II. During the reign of Pulumavi-II, Amaravati Inscription was erected. The capital city of Satavahanas was shifted to Amaravati during his reign. His titles are Navanagara Swamy and Dakshina Padheswarudu.
Sivasri Satakarni: He was defeated twice by Sakarudra Damana. His title is Kshatrapa. He issued coins in both Sanskrit and tamil. The Girnar inscription of Rudradaman this king was mentioned as Dakshinapatha Pathi.
Yagnasri Satakarni: He was the twenty seventh king of satavahanas as per the inscription at chinaganjam. His coins are famous in the history. He issued coins with ship on them. Matsya Purana was compiled during his reign. Buddist monk Acharya Nagarjuna lived during his reign. Yagnasri built Mahachaitya for Nagarjuna. He expanded the stupa of Amaravati. During his reign, for the first time ships were built with canvas. During his reign trade with the Roman Empire flourished. His commander was Bhavagopa. The historian of Harshavardhana, Bhana Bhatta, has given the title Tri Samudra Adhipathi to him.
Vijayasri: During his reign sri parvatham got the name Vijayapuri. He ruled for six years.
Chandasri: He ruled the kingdom after vijayasri. His coins were found at Krishna and Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh state.
Pulomavi-III: He was the thirtieth (30th) king of satavahanas. He was also the last king of this dynasty. He was defeated and driven off his own territories by Sri Santhamala of Ikshvaku Dynasty. Pulomavi III spent his days post expulsion in Mekadhoni, a village near Bellary.
Extent of their empire & Patronage towards the Hindu religion
Satavahana dynasty, Indian family that, according to some interpretations based on the Puranas (ancient religious and legendary writings), belonged to the Andhra jati (“tribe”) and was the first Deccanese dynasty to build an empire in dakshinapatha - i.e., the southern region. At the height of their power, the Satavahanas held distant areas of western and central India. On the strength of Puranic evidence, the beginnings of Satavahana ascendancy can be dated to late in the 1st century BCE, although some authorities trace the family to the 3rd century BCE. Initially, Satavahana rule was limited to certain areas of the western Deccan. Inscriptions found in caves, such as those at Nanaghat, Nashik, Karli, and Kanheri, commemorate the early rulers Simuka, Krishna, and Satakarni I. The accessibility, from the early Satavahana kingdom, of the western coastal ports, which prospered in this period of Indo-Roman trade, and the close territorial proximity with the western Kshatrapas resulted in an almost uninterrupted series of wars between the two Indian kingdoms. The first stage of this conflict is represented by Kshatrapa Nahapana’s penetration into Nashik and other areas of the western Deccan. There are few views and opinions from various sources about the period of satavahana dynasty. Satavahana rulers ruled from 271 BC to 174 AD according to Gorthi Venkatarao. According to Maaramanda Ramarao, the dynasty ruled from 221 BC to 218 AD. The views of BSL Hanumantha Rao states that the satavahana dynasty was in power from 230 BC to 225 AD. According to PV Parabrahma Sastry, the rulers of satavahana dynasty ruled from 80 BC to 230 AD. Even though the rulers were Hindus and claimed Brahmanical status, they supported Buddhism also.
Architecture style of the kings
During the Satavahana phase, Chaityas and monasteries were cut out of the solid rock with great precision. Chaityas were Buddhist temples and monasteries were known as Vihara. The most famous Chaitya is located in Karle in the western Deccan. Rock-cut architecture was also found in this phase. During the Satavahana Empire the two common religious constructions were the Buddhist temple that was called 'Chaitya' & the monasteries called 'Vihara'. The Satavahanas left behind many works of art, the remains of which are seen at Amaravati near Guntur. The 'Ikshvakus' succeeded the Satavahanas and the monuments left behind by them were discovered at excavations at Nagarjunakonda. The Satavahanas and the Ikshvakus have left a great legacy in the field of architecture. Amaravati and Bhatiprolu in Guntur for the stupas and Kondepur in Medak and Nagarjuna Konda of the 'Chaityas' and 'Sankaram' near Vishakhapatnam for the 'viharas' are some of the illustrative work of that era.
Key temples built/enhanced during this reign
The Satavahana kings were Brahmanas but they showed tolerance towards other faiths such as to Buddhism as well. They gave similar donations to Buddhism as they did for the Hinduism. Consequently, Buddhism spread in this period. At many places, the Buddhist caves, chaityas and stupas were built. Almost all the caves in the south belonged to the Buddhists. Sometimes, grants of land were made for the maintenance of these chaityas, viharas and stupas as well as for the monks or bhikkhus. In this period, there were several sects of Buddhism in the south and various classes of monks were always busy preaching the Buddhist doctrines. In the subsequent era of 'Salankhyanas' and 'Vishnukundies', rock architecture thrived. The caves at Mogalrajpuram near Vijayawada and Undavalli in Guntur and the rock-cut temples at Bhairavakonda near Udayagiri in Nellore, stand as a witness to this form of architecture of that period. Most of the rock caves in the Deccan were cut during this period. These caves were big and beautiful. The caves, monasteries, chaityas and stupas of Orissa, Nasik, Karle and Bhuj are fine specimen of contemporary architecture and decoration. The most famous of these monuments are the stupas. Among them the Amravati Stupa and the Nagarjunakonda Stupa are most famous. The stupa was a large round structure built over some relic of the Buddha.
Pandavleni Caves - Nashik, Maharastra
The "Pandavleni'' name sometimes given to the Nasik Caves has nothing to do with the characters Pandavas, characters in the Mahabharata epic. Trirashmi being the name of the hills in which the caves are located, Leni being a Marathi word for caves), are a group of 23 caves carved between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE, though additional sculptures were added up to about the 6th century, reflecting changes in Buddhist devotional practices mainly. Buddhist sculptures are a significant group of early examples of Indian rock-cut architecture initially representing the Hinayana tradition. Most of the caves are viharas except for Cave 18 which is a chaitya of the 1st century BCE. The style of some of the elaborate pillars or columns, for example in caves 3 and 10, is an important example of the development of the form.
Sivalayam and Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple - Kondaveedu Fort, Andhra Pradesh
The Department of Archaeology and Museums has found Buddhist remains under the ‘garbhagriha’ (sanctum sanctorum) of Sivalayam at Kondaveedu fort( Andhra Pradesh). According to the officials, these remains date back to later Satavahana period--1st to 2nd century A.D. A small Buddhist stupa in circular shape built with limestones with inner diameter of 13 feet was found after dismantling garbhagriha.One part of Ayaka pillar, which is octagonal shape, was found near the stupa. Railing panel having man riding a bull and a horse, with lotus designs, tiny floral motif etc were some of the remains that were unearthed from the site. One small fragment of Brahmi inscription was found in the stupa remains. Based on this inscriptional evidence, it emphasises that Buddhism existed on Kondaveedu fort from Satavahana period.
Buddhist Rock Temples - Ajanta, Maharastra
Ajanta Caves, Buddhist rock-cut cave temples and monasteries, located near Ajanta village that are celebrated for their wall paintings. The temples are hollowed out of granite cliffs on the inner side of a 70-foot (20-metre) ravine in the Wagurna River valley. The group of some 30 caves was excavated between the 1st century BCE and the 7th century CE and consists of two types, caityas (“sanctuaries”) and viharas (“monasteries”). Although the sculpture, particularly the rich ornamentation of the caitya pillars, is noteworthy, it is the fresco-type paintings that are the chief interest of Ajanta.
Cave temple of Karla, Maharastra
The Karla Caves are a complex of ancient Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves The shrines were developed over the period – from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE. The oldest of the cave shrines is believed to date back to 160 BCE, having arisen near a major ancient trade route, running eastward from the Arabian Sea into the Deccan. The group at Karla is one of the older and smaller of the many rock-cut Buddhist sites in Maharashtra, but is one of the best-known because of the famous "Grand Chaitya" (Cave 8), which is "the largest and most completely preserved" chaitya hall of the period, as well as containing unusual quantities of fine sculpture, much of it on a large scale. One of the Vihara cells bears an inscription of the Satavahana ruler Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (130-159 CE).
Amaravati, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Amaravati Stupa dates back around 2000 years, between the 3rd century BC and 2nd century BC. It was built during the reign of Ashoka the Great of the Mauryan dynasty, who himself constructed a vast number of Buddhist monuments across the Indian subcontinent. When the area became the capital of the Satavahana kings, Amaravati Stupa of Amaravati was adorned with ornate limestone reliefs and figures of Lord Buddha were carved on it. Amaravati Stupa is the largest one in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a diameter of about 50 metres and a height of about 27 metres.
Bhatiprolu stupa - Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Buddhistrelic caskets datable to 3rd century BC recovered from Bhattiprolu stupa in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. These priceless caskets are huge in size, biggest in Indian context. Five such relic caskets were recovered from a Mahachaitya at Bhattiprolu, built by king Kubiraka in the 3rd century BC. The caskets yielded valuable treasure that included black stone granite receptacle, small semi-spherical vessels containing a crystal prism, gold flowers, bits of copper, a copper ring, pearls, brown metal cups with gold beads studded at the apex and bottom, a thin gold sheet depicting a trishul symbol, triangular gold cakes, silver punch marked coins arranged in swastika shape were found. These important caskets with Mauryan polish and engraved with Prakrit inscriptions suggests that they were deposited systematically at the centre of the dome at the time of the consecration of the relic caskets in the stupa. All inscriptions engraved on the articles are of Ashokan era datable to the 3rd century BC.
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Kondepur stupas - Medak, Telangana
It is a Pre-Satavhana site dating back to 200 BC - 200 AD and Capital of Mahisamandala. Discovered a 25-ft high mound spread over 100 acres which they presume to be a Buddhist stupa with myriad segments throwing light on the Buddhist link of the present Telangana region. One of the fortified urban settlements of Satavahanas. Proved to be an important kshetra of Brahmanical faith particularly Sakti cult of that time which was clearly shown through the exposed structures and other associated findings such as coins and sealings. The excavation yielded a large number of glass vessels indicating Roman influence that indicate the existence of a separate settlement of Romans in Kondapur who had brisk contact and trade with India.
Nagarjuna Konda Chaityas - Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Nagarjunakonda is a historical town and the ruins of several Mahayana Buddhist and Hindu shrines are located at Nagarjunakonda. It is one of India's richest Buddhist sites, and now lies almost entirely under the Nagarjunasagar Dam. It is named after Nagarjuna, a southern Indian master of Mahayana Buddhism who lived in the 2nd century, who is believed to have been responsible for the Buddhist activity in the area. The site was once the location of many Buddhist universities and monasteries, attracting students from as far as China, Gandhara, Bengal and Sri Lanka. Coins issued by the later Satavahana kings (including Gautamiputra Satakarni, Pulumavi, and Yajna Satakarni) have been discovered at Nagarjunakonda. An inscription of Gautamiputra Vijaya Satakarni, dated to his 6th regnal year, has also been discovered at the site, and proves that Buddhism had spread in the region by this time.
Bojjannakonda, Lingalakonda and Sankaram Buddhist Rock Cut Caves - Vizag, Andhra Pradesh
Bojjannakonda and Lingalakonda are two Buddhist rock-cut caves on adjacent hillocks. The sites are believed to date between 4th and 9th Century A.D, when Buddhism is the majority religion of Sankaram (Sangharam as it was called then). The original name of Bojjannakonda is Buddina Konda. During Excavations from this area, as per the archaeological sources, pottery, seals, terracotta inscribed tablets, terracotta beads, and terracotta figures, one gold coin belonging to Samudra Gupta of the Gupta dynasty who ruled Magadha from 340 to 375 A.D, some copper coins belonging to the Eastern Chalukya king Vishnuvardhana surnamed Vishamasiddhi (633 A.D.) and only one lead coin were recovered. It has the impression of a horse and as such might belong to the later Satavahanas. It is on the evidence of these antiquities that it has been possible to date the Buddhist settlement here as lying between the 2nd and the 9th century A.D. For, among the earliest coins discovered at the site is that of Samudra Gupta of the 4th century AD.
Bojjannakonda & Lingalakonda Sankaram Buddhist Monastery
Mogalrajpuram Caves - Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
The Moghalrajpuram caves are home to three temples and as five rock cut sanctuaries dating back to the 5th century AD. The idols of Lord Nataraja, Ganesh in one cave are still in good condition among the worn images of deities. Cave 2 shows an overhanging cornice with artificial windows. This Mogalarajapuram temple has an Ardhanarisvara statue which is thought to be the earliest in South India. Historical evidences show that caves might have been chiselled during the Satavahana rule as rainy retreats of Buddhist monks.
Undavalli Caves - Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
The Undavalli Caves, a monolithic example of Indian rock-cut architecture and one of the finest testimonials to ancient viswakarma sthapathis. These caves are said to be from 7th century. But one can see Gupta style of rock-cut Architecture which goes back to 4th-5th century CE. Most of emperor of Gupta's were Vaishnavas so we can see many sculpture of Narasimha, Vishnu and Ramayans stories. These sculptures date back to Eastern chrysanthemum but never before. Vatika sculptures Saraswathi and Kumara Vasya Chaitanya Namalakalas are performed by the Satavahanas and Ishwars in the majesty of the temple.
Rock-cut temples at Bhairavakonda - Udayagiri, Andhra Pradesh
Bhairavakona Temple is a holy location situated in Ambavaram in the core of Nallamala Hills. The ancient rock-cut cave temple and natural beauty are Bhairavakona and is carved, Eka sila. Bhairavakona is 43 km from the Nellore district city of Udayagiri. Historians and archeologists have investigated and found that this temple dates back to the era between the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. Lord Shiva in the form of Kala Bhairava lived here for a long time so this place is called Bhaiaravakona. This is the only temple to be worshiped in one location by Lord Bramha, Lord Vishnu and Lord Maheswara. An interesting characteristic is that on the day of Karthika Pournami and Maha Shivarathri Moonlight dropping on the statue of Goddess Durga Devi attracting devotees. In the sixth century BCE, Assaka was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was succeeded by the Satavahana Dynasty (230 BCE-220 CE), who built the city of Amaravati. The kingdom reached its zenith under Gautamiputra Satakarni. At the end of the period, the Telugu region was divided into fiefdoms ruled by lords.
