Rising Mind

Today is the day to salute all those freedom fighters who became the reason for this free land.

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Independence Day!

Feel the pride of being a part of such a glorious nation. Here’s sending my warm patriotic wishes to make this day truly memorable.

Kamal Sharma
Rising Mind Academy

INDO-PARTHIAN DYNASTY, ruled over a large part of northwestern India from Seistan (portions of the present-day border provinces of that name of Iran and of Afghanistan) to Sindh on the Indus river at the beginning of the 1st century C.E. They came after the Indo-Greeks and the Indo-Scythians and were, in turn, defeated by the Kushans in the second half of the 1st. century C.E. The main difficulty in studying this period is the lack of firm sources. Very few texts mention the Indo-Parthians, and inscriptions do not refer directly to them. Furthermore, archeological sites have yielded few pieces of information, some of which are controversial. Coins thus remain the main source of information for reconstructing Indo-Parthian history. Five distinct regions can be distinguished by their coin types, the chronology of which will be considered here from west to east. (See Table 1.

Seistan. Indo-Parthian issues in Seistan (Drangiana, q.v.) and in the Herat region (Areia; see HERAT ii.) are directly inspired by silver Parthian drachms, as far as types and weight standard are concerned. They depict on the obverse the bust of the king, turned to left, sometimes wearing a tiara, and on the reverse the king seated on a low chair, generally holding a bow, sometimes shown as being crowned by a Nike standing to left (see also INVESTITURE ii.). The surrounding Greek legend is shaped into a square. These are silver drachms, weighing ca. 3.7 g, with a good percentage of silver.

Gondophares (q.v.), founder of the Indo-Parthian dynasty, is depicted in left profile with a simple diadem having a frontal ornament (obverse) and being crowned by a Nike (reverse; Senior, type 210; Plate I, coin a). He was probably followed by Sases, whose issues are quite rare (five specimens are known so far). His portrait and Greek legend are very similar to those of Gondophares; but on the obverse he wears a tiara, and on the reverse he is called Gondophares; but the Greek legend ends with SAH, except for one coin on which a tiny S can be seen between A and H (Senior, type 240). Thus, the reading must be SASH /sasē/.

Sases was followed by Orthagnes, depicted with a simple tiara (Senior, type 256), and by Ubouzanes, known before as Otannes (Alram, 1983, pp. 69-74; Senior, type 259; coin f). In his Greek legend, Ubouzanes specifies he is Orthagnes’ son.

For the following rulers, from Sanabares onwards, a Pahlavi legend is added on the obverse, and the Nike crowning the king on the reverse is abandoned. Sanabares struck coins in Seistan (Senior, types 261-62) and also bronze drachms of poor style, which perhaps were issued in Iran (Senior, type 266). There is a possibility that there were two Sanabares. Sanabares I, Indo-Parthian, would have struck coins in Seistan and in Arachosia (coin h), while Sanabares II, a Parthian, issued coins in Marv (Alram, 1986, p. 260, n. 930; Chiesa, 1982; coin c). These are to be differentiated from the issues of Abdagases I, who struck coins in northern Arachosia, Gandhara, and Jammu. The depiction of Abdagases II is very similar to that of Pacores, the last Indo-Parthian king in Seistan; the Greek legend copies the well-known, stereotyped Parthian Greek legend. It also seems that Abdagases II struck gold coins, with a specific iconography and Pahlavi legends (Grenet and Bopearachchi, 1996, pp. 219-31; 1999, pp. 73-82); these were prestige issues with poor-quality engraving. Lastly, Pacores issued silver drachms very similar to those of Abdagases II, and a portrait that clearly reminds one of his own Arachosian issues. On the reverse is an imitation of the Parthian monogram (Figure 1; see, for Ecbatana/Hamadān, Senior, type 268).

Arachosia. In Arachosia, the coins issued by Indo-Parthian kings are bronze tetradrachms (9.40 g), with the bust of the king (obverse) and a Nike holding a crown (reverse). On the obverse, the legend is in Greek, on the reverse, in Kharoṣṭhī script. Arachosian coins repeat types inaugurated in this area by the Indo-Greeks. Two mints can be distinguished, one in southern Arachosia, in the Kandahār area, one in northern Arachosia, in the Begrām (q.v.) region (coin d).

In Kandahār, seven kings struck coins, often in a poor style; they are depicted on the obverse turned to left. Tetradrachms of Gondophares represent the king with a diadem and a frontal ornament, as in Seistan (Senior, type 212). He was probably followed by Sarpedones, recognizable thanks to his goatee beard (Senior, type 255; coin g). On the obverse, to the left of the king’s bust in left profile, stands a symbolic device or tamga specific to the Indo-Parthian dynasty (Figure 2). The ruler Orthagnes also insisted on his belonging to the Gondophares dynasty by using Gondophares’ name before his own name in the slightly corrupt Greek legend (Senior, type 257). The Kharoṣṭhī legend is less clear, ending with gada or gadana; the meaning of that word has not yet been deciphered. Orthagnes introduced on his coins a large number of mintmark combinations.

Very few coins of his successor, Sases, are known, and those mainly due to hoards (Senior, type 244; coins b, e). The absence of a frontal ornament and the name Sases following the Gondophares title certify the identification of Gondophares-Sases. Therefore the name “Gondophares,” as used by Sases and Orthagnes in Arachosia and by Ubouzanes, Sarpedones, and Sases in Jammu certainly served as a dynastic title; similarly, the tamga was a dynastic mintmark (Cribb, 1985, p. 295; MacDowall, 1991, p. 246).

Among the three last Indo-Parthian kings in Arachosia whose names are known, Sanabares issues are clearly identified, since the king is depicted with a tiara on the obverse and the legend is written in Greek on both obverse and reverse (Senior, type 265). A single coin of Abdagases II is known so far, found in a hoard. The depiction of the king (obverse) is very similar to that of Pacores; and the Kharoṣṭhī akṣaras, with curved lines under the syllabic signs, are the same as on Pacores issues (Cribb, 1985, fig. 36; Senior, type 235). Pacores tetradrachms, by contrast, are very numerous. They provide a chronology for this king, since a good number of them are overstruck on coins of a Kushan King, Soter Megas (Sims-Williams and Cribb, 1995-96, fig. 12, type 5d and e). Pacores was thus contemporary with Soter Megas-Vima Tak[tu] or followed him, probably in the beginning of the 2nd century C.E.

Pacores, Sanabares, and Abdagases coins were subsequently imitated by unnamed kings, in a very poor style and struck on irregular dies (Senior, types 271-73, 275-77; coins i, j). On the obverse a Pahlavi legend was added, and on the reverse the Pacores Kharoṣṭhī legend was progressively abandoned for a Pahlavi legend.

In northern Arachosia only two kings, Gondophares (Senior, type 213) and Abdagases I (Senior, 2001 type 224), struck coins, the latter in a style cruder than that of Gondophares; Gondophares’ issues are the more numerous. Some of these are overstruck on Hermaeus imitations and are also overstruck by the satrap Zeionises and by the early Kushan ruler, Kujula Kadphises. From these it can be inferred that by ca. 50 C.E. the Kushans put an end to the Indo-Parthian power in northern Arachosia.

Gandhara and Taxila. Traces of Indo-Parthian kings in Gandhara and Taxila area are more numerous than elsewhere. In this region they imitated Indo-Scythian bronze coins, with a king mounted on horseback on the obverse and a Greek deity (Zeus or Athena) on the reverse. It seems that there were two mints, one in Gandhara and another one in Taxila.

In these two mints, three kings struck coins: Gondophares, Abdagases, and Sases. In Gandhara, Gondophares reigned first (Senior, types 216-20; coin k). Apparently Abdagases, who specifies he is Gondophares’ nephew (Senior, types 226-230; coin l), initially ruled at the same time as Gondophares, as his title (“king,” and not “great king of kings”) and coin weight suggest. He gradually assumed higher titles and later was followed by Sases (Senior, types 241-42). Sases must have been defeated by the Kushans, probably by Soter Megas or Kujula Kadphises. In the very same area, perhaps during Abdagases’ reign, some local rulers governed under the Indo-Parthian power in northern Gandhara. In the Bajaur area, some fifteen inscriptions (Falk, 1998, pp. 87-108), a few archeological remains, and bronze coins attest the presence of a strategos and local princes of the Apracarāja family (Senior, types 177-85). They imitated the Greek legend and the types of the Indo-Scythian Azes (q.v.), but coin weight, mintmarks, and hoard evidence (Malakand hoard, Rajjar hoard) prove they belong to the Indo-Parthian period.

The Sirkap city site in Taxila, contrary to what J. Marshall (1951, p. 59) thought, was not the place visited by Apollonius of Tyana (in Philostratus, Vita Apollonii), who thus cannot be used to date Gondophares (Bernard, 1996, pp. 505-19). Furthermore, all the coins attributed to Gondophares by J. Marshall with Zeus Nikephorus on the reverse were very probably struck by Sases (Senior, type 243) or even Abdagases (Senior, type 231). Kujula Kadphises and Soter Megas coins found in Taxila and in the Swat valley suggest that Sases was defeated by one of these kings, as an overstrike of Soter Megas over Sases indicate (N. Sims-Williams and J. Cribb, 1995-96, pp. 119-20).

Hoard evidence indicates that in Gandhara Indo-Parthians or their contemporary local rulers imitated Azes drachms and tetradrachms in a very debased and crude style (Senior, types 105, 138-39, 175).

Jammu. In Jammu, on the Indo-Pakistan border, the Indo-Parthian coinage closely imitates that of the early 1st-century C.E. Indo-Scythian satrap, Rajuvula. Small debased drachms of a very poor style, they depict the head of the king (obverse) and Athena Alkidemos (reverse). They all weigh around 2.50 g. The succession is very clearly indicated by hoards (Cribb, 1985, pp. 282-300): the satrap Rajuvula, who is also known in Mathura (Senior, types 151-52), defeated the last Indo-Greek kings, Strato II and his son (Bopearachchi, 1991, pp. 125-32 and series Strato II, 1-2 and Strato II and his son, 6). He was expelled by Gondophares (Senior, type 222) and his followers. It is quite difficult to reconstruct a firm sequence for the Indo-Parthian kings. Five kings are known in this region, some of whom must have had a short reign. Few coins of Abdagases (Senior, type 232), Sarpedones (coin n), and Ubouzanes (Senior, types 254, 260; coin m) have been found; Sases, who is attested in a wider area, seems to have ruled longer, as the number of his coins and the variety of mintmark combinations suggest (Senior, type 246). He was followed by the Kushans, probably by Soter Megas.

Sindh. Few coins struck in Sindh, the lower Indus valley, are known, and all were found in Taxila, but they still represent a clue to the reconstruction of Indo-Parthian chronology. They are silver drachms, bearing the bust of the king wearing a tiara, with a Greek legend (obverse) and a Nike holding a crown and a Kharoṣṭhī legend (reverse). They might weigh around 2.35 g, but their exact weight was not given in publication (Marshall, 1951, p. 160). Three Indo-Parthian kings struck coins in Sindh. Sarpedones, recognizable thanks to his goatee beard (Marshall, 1951, coins nos. 211, 213-16) reigned first. Satavastres (Marshall, 1951, coins nos. 212, 218-21) is known only through six coins. Finally, Sases (Marshall, 1951, coins nos. 201-8, 210) declares he is nephew of “Aspa,” which has been interpreted as a short name for the 1st-century C.E. strategos in Gandhara, Aspavarman. These Indo-Parthian coin types were subsequently imitated by the Kushan Kudjula Kadphises (Cribb, 1992, pp. 131-45).

More importantly for chronology, Satavastres issues were overstruck by a Western Satrap, Nahapana; and Nahapana issues also were overstruck by Satavastres. Later, Sases as well overstruck Nahapana’s coins (Cribb, 1992, pp. 131-35, fig. 17-18 and 20). Nahapana, named in the Periplus Maris Erythraei (ed. Schoff, 41.14.1-4, 8-9) as Mambanos, is known thanks to his coins, inscriptions, and to Greek texts (Bhandare, 1999, pp. 240-69). His date corresponds to the first Kushan invasion, and therefore Satavastres, his exact contemporary, and Sases, who came a little later, have to be placed during the third quarter of the 1st century A.D. This corroborates the evidence given by the Indo-Parthian coinage in other areas.

The Sakas in India (Saka Kingdom)
Indo-scythians

Saka Tribe
The Sakas were originally nomadic tribes of Central Asia but about 165-160 B.C. they were driven out of their land by another powerful nomadic tribe, the Yeuh-chi. They in turn swooped down on the Bactrian and Parthian empire and conquered a large portion of them between 140 to 120 B.C. As more and more of the Sakas were coming, the earlier ones pressed forward and some of them crossed the Hindukush and the Suleiman ranges and settled in the North-West of India.

Some of them got employment under the Parthian rulers and rose to the rank of “Satraps” or “viceroys.” This title was so much liked by the Sakas that even when they became independent rulers they continued to be called “Satraps”.


Slowly and steadily they established many independent kingdoms in the North-West of India, the chief among them are the following:

1. The Northern Saka Kingdom of Taxila
In fact it is very difficult to distinguish between the later Parthians and the Saka Satraps. Perhaps the first Saka rule of India was Maus, who is also linked with the Parthian history. He made Taxila as his capital and ruled over Gandhara and the territories around it. Towards the end of the first century B.C. he was a powerful king who assumed the title of “the great king of kings.” Maus was followed by Azes I and Azes II who are said to have extended their sway over eastern Punjab. Beyond this nothing definite is known about them.

2. The Northern Sakas Kingdom of Mathura
It is not known as to who the founder of this Saka kingdom of Mathura was or who shifted his capital from North-West of India to this place. But the Saka Satrap of Mathura made a great progress.

3. The Western Sakas Kingdom of Nasik
Because of certain pressure from the Yueh-Chi and Kushan tribes, who followed the Sakas in India, some of the Saka chiefs moved towards south and extended their sway over a vast area including Malwa, Gujarat, Cutch, Kathiawar and Maharashtra. These Satraps who ruled over this western region are known as the Western Satraps or Western Sakas.

4. The Saka Kingdom of Ujjain (Western Satraps)
The most important Saka kingdom was that of Ujjain. The founder of this kingdom was Chastana who came to the throne in about 78 A.D. According to some historians it was he who was the originator of the famous Saka era which begins from 78 A.D. He made Ujjain as his capital and ruled for about thirty two years. There were about twenty successors of Chastana who ruled from Ujjain for many centuries (from 1st Century to 4th Century A.D.).

The most famous successor of Chastana was Rudradaman I who is supposed to have ruled from 120 to 150 A.D. He was a great conqueror whose military exploits are vividly described in the Junagadh Rock Inscription, He defeated the proud Yaudheyas and wrested from them a great portion of their empire including the Eastern Punjab. His most important military achievement was against the Andhras. He conquered back all those territories from the Andhras which were once lost during the life time of his grand-father, Chastana, when Gautamiputra Satakarni conquered them. The Andhra king whom he defeated was Sri Pulmavi. Later on the differences were, however, patched up when Rudradaman married his daughter with the Andhra king. Rudrada­man thus ruled over a vast region which included such territories as Gujarat, Saurashtra, Kutch, the lower Indus Valley, North Konkan, and Maru (in Rajputana) and many other parts including Eastern Punjab.

Some of these territories were definitely under Gautamiputra Satakarni. So we can conclude that Rudrada­man wrested many parts from the Satavahanas or the Andhras.

After his death or Rudradaman in about 140 A.D.) his seventeen successors tried to maintain their ancestral kingdom, but ultimately their state was annexed by the rising Guptas (Chandragupta II) in the fourth century A.D.

May thousands of lamps light up your life with endless happiness& richness. Wishing you & your family a very Happy Diwali.

Satavahana Dynasty

In the north-western Deccan on the ruins of the Mauryan empire arose the kingdom of the Satavahanas in the first century B.C., with its centre at Pratishtana (modern Paithan in Maharashtra).

The Puranas speak only of the Andhra rule and not of the Satavahana rule. On the other hand the name Andhra does not occur in the Satvahana inscriptions. There is a lot of controversy regarding the original home of the Satavahanas.

The kings represented in epigraphic records are mentioned in the Puranas as Andhras, Andhra – bhrityah and Andhrajatiyah. The Aitareya Brahmana speaks of them as the degenerate sons of Visvamitra. Pliny the Elder refers to the Andhras as a powerful race which supplied the king with an army of 1, 00,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 elephants.

The Satavahanas were also called/the Andhra dynasty, which has led to the assumption that they originated in the Andhra region, the delta of the Krishna and Godavari rivers on the east coast, from where they moved westwards up the Godavari river, finally establishing their power in the west during the general political confusion on the breaking up of the Mauryan empire.

A contrary opinion has also been put forward that the family originated in the west and extended its control to the east coast, finally giving its name, Andhra, to this region. Since the earliest inscriptions of the Satavahanas are found in the Western Deccan, the later view may be correct.

The Andhras held a position of importance as early as the Mauryan period, since they are specifically mentioned by Asoka amongst the tribal people in his empire.

Early Satavahanas:
The founder of the Satavahana dynasty was Simuka. He and his successors established their authority from the mouth of the Krishna to the entire Deccan plateau. According to the Puranas, the Satavahana king killed the last Kanva ruler of Magadha and presumably took possession of his kingdom.


The earliest of the Satavahana kings to receive wide recognition was Satakarni I, and this was due to his policy of military expansion in all directions. He is the Lord of the west who defied Kharavela of Kalinga and against whom the latter campaigned. His conquests took him north of the Narmada into eastern Malva, which at the time was being threatened by the Shakas and the Greeks.

Satakarni I gained control of the region of Sanchi, and an inscription there refers to him as Rajan Shri Satakarni. His next move was in the southerly direction and on conquering the Godavari valley hefelt entitled to call himself Lord of the Southern Regions’ (Dakshina – pathapati).

The description of Satakarni I as (‘Dakshina -pathapati) in the Nanaghat inscription of Nayanika proves that the Satavahana dominion was not confined to western Deccan alone, but included other areas of the Deccan and beyond Satakarni I performed two Asvamedha sacrifices and one Rajasuya sacrifice.

Later Satavahanas:
After the reign of Satakarni I, the Satavahanas were driven out of the western Deccan by the Shakas of the Kshaharata clan. Coins and inscriptions of the Shaka Chief Nahapana have been found around Nasik, indicating the Shaka dominance in the area towards the close of the first century A.D. or the beginning of the second.


But it must have been soon after this that the Satavahanas regained their western possessions, for the coins of Nahapana are often found over-struck by the name Gautamiputra Satakarni, the king who was responsible for re-establishing Satavahana power in this region by driving out the Shakas.

Gautamiputra Satakarni (A.D. 106 -130) is said to have destroyed the power of the Shakas and the pride of the Khastriyas, promoted the interests of the twice-born and stopped the mixing of the four varnas. His achievements are recorded in glowing terms in the Nasik prasasti by his mother Gautami Balasri.

He ruled over a wide area extending from the Krishna in the south to Malwa and Saurashtra in the north and from Berar in the east to the Konkan in the west. To the Buddhists he made munificent donations. His patronage to Brahmanism is revealed by the epithet ‘Ekabrahmana’.

Satavahana Administration:
The Satavahana coins, inscriptions and literature are the rich source of our knowledge about their administrative system. In this period the South was ruled over by the monarchies. King was the highest official of the Government and his office was hereditary


They did not assume high sounding titles. Similarly, the Satavahana rulers did not believe in divine rights of a king and they carried administration in accor­dance with the directives of the Dharma Shastras and the social customs. The king himself led his armies in the battle-field and was commander-in-chief of his forces.

There was also a council of ministers to aid and advise him for carrying out the administration properly. The king was the head of the Government as well as the protector to his people. The Satavahana kings regarded their subjects as their own children and always looked after their welfare.

The Satavahana Empire was very vast. Their administrative system was feudal. They had divided their empire among a number of feudal chiefs who managed the land revenue system and looked after the administration.

There were three grades of feudatories – the ‘Raja’, the ‘Mahabhoja’ and the ‘Maharathi or ‘Senapati”. The ‘Raja’ belonged to the highest grade. He had the right to impose taxes and to strike coins. The kingdom was divided into provinces and ‘Janapadas’ for administrative efficiency.

The high­est official in a province was ‘Amatya’ or minister. His office was not hereditary. Men of proven ability were appointed to this official. Each unit had several villages. A village was administered by a ‘Gramika’. There we several officials to help the king. Out of them, the most important were ‘Senapati, ‘Mahabhoja’, ‘Koshadhyaksha’, ‘Rajadoof, ‘Amatya’ etc.

There was also a special official called ‘Uparaksh*ta’ who was charged with the duty of building caves etc. for the monks. The ‘bhikshus’ (monks) and Brahmanas were held in high esteem and they too observed and preached high standards of conduct. They were beyond the ordinary laws of the Government.

In this period, the local administration had its own importance. There were separate organization to look after the administration of the towns and the villages. The towns were administered by a body called the ‘Nagarsabha’ while in villages there were ‘Gram Sabhas’. These organizations carried their functions independently without any interference.

The military administration of the Satavahanas was also quite efficient. Their army consisted of foot soldiers, cavalry and elephants. Foot soldiers or infantry was the backbone of the army and they formed the vanguard and were flanked on either side by horses and elephants. The soldiers used swords, spears, axes and armours as weapons of war.

It was by dint of efficient military administration that the Satavahanas succeeded in expanding their empires. They kept a regiment posted in each village for maintaining peace and order. They were maintained at the expense of the rural inhabitants.

Society during Satavahana Period:
The coins, sculpture and literature of the Satavahana period are the source of our knowledge not only in respect of the contemporary administration but also about the political, social, economic and religious and cultural conditions.

Social Condition:

The Satavahana society was divided into four classes. This division was based on economic activity and status. The first class consisted of high officials and feudatory chief who ruled over provinces and districts. The second class included petty officers like Amatyas Mahamatras and wealthy traders. In the third class were the middle class peoples such as Vaidyas or physicians, writers, peasants, goldsmiths, perfumers etc.

The fourth and the last class were constituted of the lowest vocations such as carpenters, blacksmiths, fishermen and gardeners. There were the four divisions of the society. The smallest unit was the family in which the eldest living member com­manded the greatest respect. He was called the ‘Grihapati and was obeyed by all the other members of the family.

Women were honoured. They were given higher education and they took part in religious func­tions. Some of the rulers even added their mother’s name to their own name, such as Gautamiputra, Vashishthiputra, Pulumavi, Kaushakiputra etc.

This practice itself reveals that the status of women was much high. Sometimes, women assumed guardianship of their minor sons and acted as their regents. They also took part in the Ashvamedhas. The Satavahanas were Brahmanas.

Therefore, Brahmansnism made rapid strides under their rule. The Brahmanas were accorded the highest place. Effort was also made to revice the Varna system. In their bid to exalt Brahmanism the Smritis declared that a ten years old Brahman would be more revered than a 100 years old Kshatriya.

Mixed marriages were considered obnoxious though there are some instances of such marriages. Vashishthiputra Pulumavi himself married the daughter of the Saka ruler Rudradaman thus giving respectability to such marriages. In this period, inter marriages among the Hindus and foreign tribes of the Sakas, the parthians and the Greeks were freely consummated so that these foreigners were absorbed forever in the Hindu social order.

Economic Condition:
Agriculture and trade were prosperous. Life of the common man was happy as he was well- provided with all facilities of life. They were economically well-off. They inherited many traits of the material culture of the Mauryas and made their life better and well off. There was a free fusion of local elements and northern ingredients under them.

They learnt the use of coins, burnt bricks and ring wells from the Mauryas and added much to the advancement of their material life. Under the Satavahanas, agriculture was prosperous and the village’s economy was developed. Rice was cultivated in the territory between the Krishna and Godavari rivers. Cotton was also pro­duced. The peasants used implements made of iron which were extensively used particularly in Carnatic. There were also wells for irrigation.

Encouragement was given to trade and industry. The traders and those engaged in other profes­sions had their own guilds or ‘sanghas’. Coin dealers, potters, oil pressers and metal workers had their own guilds. These guilds looked after the collective interests of their trade and worked for their com­mon uplift. These guilds were recognized by the Government and worked as bankers also.

Both internal and external to trade and industry. The external or foreign trade was carried through the famous ports of Supara, Broach and Kalyan. India and trade relations with countries like Arabia, Egypt and Rome. In the far eastern countries, Indian traders established their own settlements and preach Indian culture.

They referred to these countries as ‘Swargabhoomi’ or paradise. India exported cotton, textiles, spices etc. India imported wine, glass and items of luxury. The inland trade was also prosperous. Travel between the north and south of India were much easy as the roads and transport were better.

Several towns sprang up in Maharashtra during this period. Paithan, Nasik and Junar were big markets and centers of trade. In the south-east Vijaypur and Narsela were well-known trade cen­ters. There were guilds of traders as well and they carried trade in groups. To encourage trade, the Satavahna kings struck numerous coins of gold, silver, copper and bronze.

Religious Condition:
During the Satavahana period, both Hinduism and Buddhism spread rapidly. The Satavahana rulers were the followers of Brahmanism. They performed Aswamedha Yajnas and gave donations to Brahmanas. Indra, Surya (The Sun God), Chandra, (the Moon God), Vasudeva, Krishna, Pasupati and Gauri etc. were various Gods and Goddesses worshipped by the people. Shaivism and Vaishnavism were most popular form of Hinduism. Beautiful temples were built. The Brahmans occupied the highest position in the society.

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 too 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 bhikshus. In this period, there were several sects of Buddhism in the south and various classes of monks were always busy to preach the Buddhist doctrines.

One significant development of this period was the admission of the foreign races of the Sakas, Greeks, Kushans and Abhiras to the folds of Hinduism or Buddhism. They became an integral part of the Indian society. They were quite tolerant and exchanged gifts on religious festivals and other occa­sions.

Literature:
The Satavahana rulers were lovers of literature. Under their patronage, great progress was made in the field of literature. Most of the Satavahana rulers were themselves learned and had special interest in literature. In this period, the Prakrit language and literature developed significantly.

They extended patronage to the Prakrit language and wrote most of their inscriptions in that language. The Satvahana King Hala was a poet of high order. He composed ‘Gatha Saptasatf in Prakrti.

It has 700 shloakas. He also patronized several scholars who lived in his court. Gunadhya, the great scholar who wrote ‘Brihat Katha’ lived in his court. Another scholar Sarva Varman wrote a treatise on the Sanskrit Grammar.

Architecture:
Marked progress was made in the field of architecture as well. The Satvahana rulers took interest in building caves, viharas or monasteries, chaityas or large halls with a number of columns and stupas.

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.

Chaitya was a large hall with a number of columns. The Vihara had a central Hall. One could enter this hall by a doorway from a varandah in front. The Chaitya of Karle was most famous. It is 40 metres long, 15 metres wide and 15 metres high. It has rows of 15 columns on each side.

Each of these columns is built on a stair like square plinth. Each pillar has a capital figure of an elephant, a horse or a rider on the top. The roof-tops are also decorated with elegant carvings.The viharas were meant as places of residence for the monks. At Nasik, there are three viharas carrying the inscriptions of Gautmiputra and Nahapana.

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.

The Amravati Stupa measures 162 metres across the base and its height is 100 feet. Both these stupas are full of sculptures. The Nagarjunakonda town contains not only the Buddhist monuments but also some ancient Hindu brick temples.

Many sculptures were made during this period. Most of the sculptures of this period depict scenes from the life of the Buddha. At Amravati, there is a beautiful scene showing Buddha’s feet being worshipped. The scene, showing Buddha preaching at Nagarjunakonda, is pervaded with serenity and calm.

Achievements of the Satavahana Rulers:
The Satavahana rulers were great kings. They recorded significant achievements in various fields which are described as under:

1. The Satavahana Rulers and their Conquests:

There were about 19 Satavahana rulers of whom the most important were Simuka who conquered Magadha and Krishna who occupied Nasik. Sri Satakarni conquered Berarand Madhya Pradesh. Little is known about their successors for about a century except Hala the 17th ruler of this dynasty.

Shri Gautamiputra Satakarni conquered Malwa, Kathiawar, Gujarat and part of the Rajputana. Shri Pulumavi had perpetual conflict with Rudradaman. The last king was Yagya Sri Satakarni who was a strong ruler. He waged wars to recover the territories conquered previously by the Saka rulers.

2. Political Condition and Administration:

The system of administration was monarchical. The king himself was the commander of his force. He sought advice from his council of ministers to carry out his administration efficiently. The administration was feudal. The whole kingdom was divided into provinces, districts and villages.

The king was always prepared to take steps for the welfare of his subjects. The main sources of income were land tax, salt tax, property tax, justice- cess and income from import and export trade. The military administration was efficient. The army which consisted of infantry or foot soldiers, cavalry or horses and elephants were well-equipped.

3. Literary Progress:

The Satavahana kings were lovers of literature. They also patronized learning. The Prakrit language prospered well during this period. Hala wrote ‘Gatha – Saptasati, Gunadhya wrote ‘Brihat Katha’ and Sarva Varman wrote a treatise on the Sanskrit Grammar.

4. Progress in the Field of Architecture:

Under the Satavahanas great progress was made in the field of architecture as well.

5. Progress in the Field of Sculpture:

Many statues and images were also made during this period. Most of the images depict scenes from the life of the Buddha.

The scene depicting Buddha’s feet being worshipped is particularly a unique sculpture at the Amravati Stupa while at Nagarjunakonda the sculpture, depicting the Buddha giving a sermon, cast a spell of serenity and calm.

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