Study guides
Mauryas & Satavahanas
c. 300 BCE – 225 CE
This guide organises pages on this site; every fact is on the linked pages with its sources.
In brief
Between about the 3rd century BCE and the early 3rd century CE, the Telugu country passes into recorded history. Asoka's edicts in Kurnool district and Buddhist relic inscriptions in the Krishna delta are its first written records. By the 2nd century CE the Satavahanas ruled the Krishna valley, where Amaravati and other stupas flourished. Scholars still argue over the dynasty's dates, so the era page sets out their main views side by side.
Key dates
Each date links to the page it comes from. "About" and "or" are kept where the page gives them.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| about 272–232 BCE | Asoka's reign, as D. C. Sircar dates it. His edicts are carved on boulders at Erragudi in Kurnool district. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| last quarter of the 3rd century BCE | According to V. V. Krishna Sastry, the stupa at Dhulikatta in Karimnagar is built. Dhulikatta |
| no later than about 200 BCE | G. Bühler's date for the inscribed relic caskets from the Bhattiprolu stupa. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| perhaps about 200 BCE | James Burgess's date for the first building of the great stupa at Amaravati. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| about 184 BCE | In Sewell's outline, the last Maurya, Brihadratha, is killed by his commander Pushyamitra. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| 1st century CE | The Roman writer Pliny describes the Andarae, whom Burgess identified as the Andhras, with thirty walled towns. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| about 106–130 CE | Gautamiputra Satakarni's reign, in Sircar's dating. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| about 130–159 CE | Vasishthiputra Pulumavi's reign. Sircar argued that the Satavahanas reached the Krishna–Guntur region only when Pulumavi conquered it. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| about 225 CE | Sircar ends Satavahana rule in the Krishna–Guntur region, and the Ikshvakus follow them there. Sewell ends the dynasty about 225–236 CE. Satavahanas |
| 1881–82 | James Burgess surveys the remains of the great stupa at Amaravati. Temples & architecture |
| 1892 | Alexander Rea digs the brick stupa at Bhattiprolu and finds three stone relic caskets. Bhattiprolu |
| end of 1928 | A. Ghose of the Geological Survey of India finds the Erragudi edicts while looking for minerals. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
| 26 December 1953 | A second copy of Asoka's Minor Rock Edict is found at Rajula-Mandagiri, about twenty miles from Erragudi. Mauryas & Satavahanas |
Main points
From the era page: Mauryas & Satavahanas
- Between about the 3rd century BCE and the early 3rd century CE, the Telugu country passes into recorded history. The evidence is Asoka's edicts in Kurnool district, Buddhist inscriptions in the Krishna valley, and Satavahana coins and inscriptions.
- Asoka's Rock Edict XIII at Erragudi names the Andhras among the peoples within his dominions, in Sircar's translation. The Godavari gazetteer said Asoka claimed to have subdued them. Sewell treated them as independent.
- Bühler concluded that the inscribed relic caskets from the Bhattiprolu stupa could not be later than about 200 BCE. He also warned that this kind of argument might mislead.
- Nineteenth-century writers named Srikakulam on the Krishna as the first Satavahana capital. Sircar argued that the dynasty reached the Krishna–Guntur region only when Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (about 130–159 CE) conquered it.
- The great stupa at Amaravati belonged to the Chaitika school. Most of its inscriptions record gifts of carved slabs by individual donors. Kings usually appear only in their dates.
- Andhra lead coins were still found in numbers in the Krishna valley in the early 20th century. Rea described seventy-two from Gudivada, with chaitya, horse, lion, ship or elephant designs.
From other pages of the period
- The Mauryas of Magadha ruled from Pataliputra. Under Asoka (3rd century BCE) the empire took in the western Telugu country, and his war against Kalinga reached the coast north of the Godavari. Mauryas
- The Satavahanas were the first large Deccan kingdom whose rulers are known by name from their own inscriptions and coins. In the Telugu country their later kings' inscriptions and lead coins are found in the Krishna valley and Godavari delta. Satavahanas
- The Puranas list the kings as the Andhras. The family name is fixed by a label at Nanaghat carved for a statue of the founder, 'Raya Simuka Satavahano'. Satavahanas
- Their coinage was mainly of lead. Rapson divided the lead coins of Andhradesa into two types, one with a stupa and the 'Ujjain symbol', the other with a lion, a horse and later an elephant. Satavahanas
- Gautamiputra Satakarni was a Satavahana king of the first half of the 2nd century CE. His mother was Gautami Balasri, and his son and successor was Vasishthiputra Pulumavi. Rapson judged that the dynasty's power was at its height in his reign. Gautamiputra Satakarni
- Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, the son of Gautamiputra Satakarni, was a Satavahana king of the 2nd century CE. His inscriptions show that he reigned for at least 24 years. Rapson dated his accession about 131 CE, and Sircar placed his reign about 130–159 CE. Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
- The Mahachaitya ('great chaitya') at Amaravati stood on the south bank of the Krishna, about twenty miles above Vijayawada. It was one of the largest Buddhist monuments of South India. Almost nothing of it stands today. Amaravati Mahachaitya
- The record names the country of Satavahani-hara, held by the great general Khamdanaka. V. S. Sukthankar called the site a landmark fixing a point south of the Krishna under Satavahana rule. He argued that Satavahani-hara covered much of the modern Bellary district. Myakadoni inscription of Pulumavi
- At Amaravati, gifts were made by householders and their families, by nuns and by merchants. Giving was a family act that merchants and ordinary householders could afford. Society & communities
- The Periplus, a first-century Greek sailing guide, describes a coastal region called Masalia where a great quantity of muslins was made. Its translator identified Masalia with the later Masulipatam (Machilipatnam). Trade & economy
Key terms
- dharma ధర్మం
- moral law; also sacred duty; also right conduct
- Prakrit ప్రాకృతం
- one of the spoken languages related to Sanskrit
- stupa స్తూపం
- relic mound
- reliquary ధాతు పేటిక
- relic box
- mahachetiya మహాచేతియ
- great chaitya, a sacred monument
- dharmachakra ధర్మచక్రం
- wheel of the law
- metronymic మాతృనామం
- name taken from the mother
- potin పోటిన్
- a copper alloy
- die అచ్చు
- a stamp for making coins
- rajjuka రజ్జుకుడు
- district governor
- amatya అమాత్యుడు
- minister or executive officer
- janapada జనపదం
- district; also country
- gahapatika గహపతిక
- householder
- sramanas శ్రమణులు
- ascetics
- svastika స్వస్తిక
- an auspicious cross
People, places, monuments and inscriptions to know
Dynasties
People
Places
Monuments
Inscriptions
- Erragudi edicts of Asoka
- Rajula-Mandagiri inscription of Asoka
- Bhattiprolu relic-casket inscriptions
- Amaravati inscription of the time of Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
- Myakadoni inscription of Pulumavi
- Chinna inscription of Yajna Sri Satakarni
- Kodavali rock inscription of Chandasati
Themes
Maps and the timeline
- Asoka's empire and edicts in the south
- Asokan edicts and early Buddhist sites
- Satavahana coins and inscriptions in the Telugu country
- Capitals through the centuries
- Ports and sea trade on the Andhra coast
Swipe sideways to see the whole chart; tap a bar for details.
Each bar is a ruling power in its region; time runs left to right. Dashed = approximate dates. Select a bar for details.
Show as a list
Mauryas & Satavahanas 300 BCE – 225 CE
- Telangana
- Mauryas (c. 272 BCE – 185 BCE) · Satavahanas (c. 220 BCE – 225 CE) · Kotilingala coin kings (c. 200 BCE – 52 BCE)
- Coastal Andhra
- Mauryas (c. 260 BCE – 185 BCE) · Satavahanas (c. 220 BCE – 225 CE)
- Rayalaseema
- Mauryas (c. 268 BCE – 185 BCE) · Satavahanas (c. 1–225 CE)
Ikshvakus, Vishnukundins & early kingdoms 225–624 CE
- Coastal Andhra
- Ikshvakus (c. 225–350 CE) · Pallavas (c. 250–630 CE) · Salankayanas of Vengi (c. 300–470 CE)
- Rayalaseema
- Pallavas (c. 300–900 CE)
Kingdoms and empires
Mauryas
Open page- Telangana: c. 272 BCE – 185 BCE (c. 87 years)
IG Hyderabad says Asoka's dominions covered a considerable part of the eastern tracts of the Nizam's State; no Telangana edict cited. Asoka 272-231 BCE in IG Hyderabad, 268-226 BCE in Sewell
- Rayalaseema: c. 268 BCE – 185 BCE (c. 83 years)
Asokan edicts at Erragudi and Rajula-Mandagiri, Pattikonda taluk, Kurnool; Bindusara (296-268 BCE) is believed to have extended rule south
- Coastal Andhra: c. 260 BCE – 185 BCE (c. 75 years)
Asoka's Kalinga war (260 BCE in the Godavari gazetteer, 256 BCE in Sewell) and a Mauryan-script record at Amaravati; empire ended 185/184 BCE
Rulers
Inscriptions
Sources (5)
Kingdoms and empires
Ikshvakus
Open page- Coastal Andhra: c. 225–350 CE (c. 125 years)
Lower Krishna valley (Vijayapuri at Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Uppugundur); four kings known; dated inscriptions of 273–74 and 333–34 (Sircar), with an Abhira interlude about 278–79
- Telangana: c. 225–352 CE (c. 127 years)
Partial: the lower Krishna valley on the Nalgonda side. Inscriptions of the Ikshvaku kings Chamtamula and Rudrapurushadatta at Phanigiri (Nalgonda); the editors of Epigraphia Telanganica date Rudrapurushadatta's pillar to 352 and take it as the end of Ikshvaku rule.
Rulers
Capitals
Monuments
Inscriptions
Sources (5)
Kingdoms and empires
Satavahanas
Open page- Telangana: c. 220 BCE – 225 CE (c. 445 years)
IG Hyderabad: rise c. 220 BCE, end about a century after Pulumayi II (acc. c. 138 CE); Sewell: by c. 170 BCE the Andhra king ruled Hyderabad as well as the Telugu tracts
- Coastal Andhra: c. 220 BCE – 225 CE (c. 445 years)
Sources disagree: IG Madras 220 BCE-236 CE; Sewell 'from at least 250 BCE' to c. 225 CE when the Pallava Bappa ended the line; Godavari gazetteer dates the known kings c. 110-220 CE, last inscriptions c. 218
- Rayalaseema: c. 1–225 CE (c. 224 years)
Sewell: about 1 CE the Andhra king ruled parts of Cuddapah and Kurnool; an inscription of Pulumayi II (c. 145 CE) in Adoni taluk proves Andhra rule there; Bellary gazetteer: the Andhras ruled that district in the 2nd century CE. When their rule here began is not recorded
Rulers (12)
- Simuka (c. 220 BCE – 197 BCE)
- Krishna (Kanha) Satavahana (c. 197 BCE – 179 BCE)
- Sri Satakarni (c. 179 BCE – 169 BCE)
- Sivasvati (c. 85–113 CE)
- Gautamiputra Satakarni (c. 113–138 CE)
- Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (c. 138–170 CE)
… and 6 more
- Siva Sri Satakarni (c. 170–177 CE)
- Sivaskanda Satakarni (c. 177–184 CE)
- Yajna Sri Satakarni (c. 184–213 CE)
- Vijaya Satakarni (c. 213–219 CE)
- Chandra Sri Satakarni (c. 219–229 CE)
- Pulumavi III (Satavahana) (c. 229–236 CE)
Capitals
Inscriptions
Sources (5)
Kingdoms and empires
Vakatakas
Open page- Telangana: c. 300–500 CE (c. 200 years)
Partial: the Adilabad, Nizamabad and Karimnagar country north of the Godavari, as part of the Vakataka lands of central India and the northern Deccan. Goel et al. (2022) place the Vakataka lands from the findspots of their 37 inscriptions and name only these three Telangana districts. Jouveau-Dubreuil (1920) claimed much more: almost the whole of the Hyderabad State, and up to Kurnool. A Vakataka princess married the Vishnukundin Madhavavarman (Chikkulla plates). No Vakataka inscription from Telangana is listed in Epigraphia Telanganica I; this span rests on modern histories. Dates follow the Sewell table (Vindhyasakti c. 275-300 to Harishena c. 465-500).
Rulers (8)
- Vindhyasakti (c. 275–300 CE)
- Pravarasena I (c. 300–330 CE)
- Rudrasena I (c. 330–340 CE)
- Prithvisena I (c. 340–390 CE)
- Rudrasena II (c. 390–395 CE)
- Pravarasena II (c. 395–420 CE)
… and 2 more
- Devasena (c. 445–465 CE)
- Harishena (Vakataka) (c. 465–500 CE)
Sources (5)
Kingdoms and empires
Kotilingala coin kings
Open page- Telangana: c. 200 BCE – 52 BCE (c. 148 years)
Partial: the Godavari country of the old Karimnagar district (Kotilingala, Peddabankur, Dhulikatta), known only from coins of four kings: Gobhada, Kamvaya, Narana and Samagopa, in that order (Lodaya). Dating disputed: the excavators date Gobhada to the first half of the 2nd century BCE, K. D. Bajpai to c. 125-100 BCE; Samagopa to the 1st century BCE. Lodaya has Simuka oust Samagopa about 52 BCE and Shastri puts the Satavahana rise in the mid-1st century BCE; Parabrahma Sastry instead took Gobhada and Samagopa for Sunga kings with the early Satavahanas as their subordinates, and Krishna Sastry left open whether such local rulers served the Satavahanas or another power
Sources (3)
Kingdoms and empires
Pallavas
Open page- Coastal Andhra: c. 250–630 CE (c. 380 years)
Krishna-Guntur, Ongole and Nellore. Prakrit grant of the crown prince Sivaskandavarman to his officer at Dhanyakataka (Amaravati), dated from about 234 (Sewell) or 250-275 (Jouveau-Dubreuil) to the first half of the 4th century (Sircar); Sanskrit grants of a Nellore-Guntur line (Omgodu, Uruvupalli, Pikira, Mangalur, Vilavatti, Chura) in the 5th and 6th centuries. Karmarashtra (Ongole-Bapatla) was Chalukya by about 630 (Kopparam plates of Pulakesin II). The Godavari gazetteer calls 200-615 a Pallava age, and IG Madras calls Vengi originally a Pallava province; Sircar found no evidence that the Pallavas held Vengi itself.
- Rayalaseema: c. 300–900 CE (c. 600 years)
Partial. Pallava frontier guards at Sriparvata (Kurnool) in the 4th century (Talagunda inscription; Sircar); Ganga kings of the Penukonda plates installed by Pallava kings (5th century); inscription of Paramesvaravarman II at Ulchala near Kurnool (728-29); Bana vassals in the Chittoor country under Nripatunga (9th century). The Cuddapah gazetteer has the Pallavas hold the eastern Cuddapah taluks for four centuries until the Chola Aditya I crippled them at the end of the 9th century. The Cuddapah gazetteer says the Pallavas of Kanchi pushed up the Penner from Nellore into north Cuddapah for a time and then ruled the eastern Cuddapah taluks for four centuries, until the Chola Aditya I crippled them at the end of the 9th century; Sewell gives a Pallava regnal-year record in Chittoor (864-65), with the Banas as Pallava vassals.
- Coastal Andhra: c. 670–750 CE (c. 80 years)
Southern Nellore only: grants of Paramesvaravarman I (Podili-Kandukur country, 687) and Narasimhavarman II (Revuru, Atmakur taluk, about 700-711), and a Tamil record of the 15th year of Nandipottarasar at Mallam (Gudur taluk), read as Pallava supremacy (Nellore gazetteer, 1942) or as Pallava rule under the Western Chalukyas (Butterworth and Venugopaul Chetty, 1905).
Rulers (18)
- Bappa (c. 225–250 CE)
- Sivaskandavarman (Pallava) (c. 250–275 CE)
- Vishnugopa of Kanchi (c. 325–350 CE)
- Kumaravishnu II (Pallava) (c. 425–450 CE)
- Skandavarman II (Pallava) (c. 450–475 CE)
- Simhavarman II (Pallava) (c. 500–525 CE)
… and 12 more
- Vijaya-Vishnugopavarman (Pallava) (c. 525–550 CE)
- Simhavishnu (c. 575–600 CE)
- Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630 CE)
- Narasimhavarman I (c. 630–668 CE)
- Mahendravarman II (c. 668–670 CE)
- Paramesvaravarman I (c. 670–690 CE)
- Narasimhavarman II (c. 690–715 CE)
- Nandivarman II Pallavamalla (c. 717–779 CE)
- Dantivarman (Pallava) (c. 779–830 CE)
- Nandivarman III (c. 830–854 CE)
- Nripatunga (Pallava) (c. 854–880 CE)
- Aparajita (c. 880–900 CE)
Capitals
Inscriptions (14)
Sources (19)
Kingdoms and empires
Salankayanas of Vengi
Open page- Coastal Andhra: c. 300–470 CE (c. 170 years)
Vengi (Pedavegi near Eluru), between the Krishna and the Godavari. Dates debated: D. C. Sircar (1939) about 320-470, from Devavarman to Skandavarman; B. V. Krishna Rao puts Nandivarman I at the close of the 3rd century, Sircar (1960) the Ellore and Kanukollu grants in the mid-4th; Subramanian about 275-450; Subba Rao has the Vishnukundins take Vengi about 450. Older works call these rulers Pallavas
Rulers
Capitals
Inscriptions
Sources (5)
Where historians disagree
These questions are still open. Each line links to the section of the page that gives both sides with their sources. They are useful for essay answers.
- Rock Edict XIII names the Andhras, but scholars read it as placing them inside Asoka's empire, under his control, partly independent or conquered. Mauryas
- Scholars disagree on whether the early Andhras spoke Telugu or a Prakrit, and on when Andhra became the name of the Telugu land. The Andhras in early texts
- The coins of Gobhada and Samagopa found at Kotilingala have been read as coins of Sunga kings, and also as coins of local kings who ruled before the Satavahanas. Kotilingala
- Sukthankar took the king of the Myakadoni inscription to be Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, while Dubreuil and Sircar took him to be the last Pulumavi. Pulumavi III (Satavahana)
- The Puranas give the second king, Krishna, either 10 or 18 years of rule. Krishna (Kanha) Satavahana
Practise
For teachers
Lesson outline
Period 1: Writing begins (40 minutes)
Read the opening and the first two sections of the era page (15 minutes). Then read the two inscription pages. For each record, ask students what it is written on, in what language and script, and who found it.
Read: Mauryas & Satavahanas → Erragudi edicts of Asoka → Bhattiprolu relic-casket inscriptions
Period 2: The Satavahana kings (40 minutes)
Read the section on the Satavahanas on the era page, then the dynasty page. Explain names taken from the mother, such as Gautamiputra. Finish by asking why Sircar thought the dynasty reached the Krishna valley late.
Read: Satavahanas → Gautamiputra Satakarni → Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
Period 3: Stupas, coins and dates (40 minutes)
Read about the Amaravati stupa and who paid for its carved slabs. Then read "Dating the period" on the era page and compare how far apart the scholars' dates are. End with the short debate below.
Read: Amaravati Mahachaitya → Society & communities → Mauryas & Satavahanas
Activities
- Map work: find Erragudi, Amaravati, Bhattiprolu and Kotilingala on these maps. Which of them stand on or near the Krishna, and which on the Godavari? Asoka's empire and edicts in the south · Satavahana coins and inscriptions in the Telugu country
- Read a real inscription: look at this ink impression of an Amaravati inscription and its caption, "a pillar of the General Mudakutala". Find on the era page why Burgess used it to date the first stupa. Amaravati inscription No. 4, "... Senagopasa Mudakutalasa thabho ..." ("a pillar of the General Mudakutala"), in letters of the Mauryan type (Burgess 1887, Pl. LVI, No. 4) · Mauryas & Satavahanas
- Make a timeline of the scholars on the era page, from Fergusson (1868) to Sircar (1959). Write each one's date for Gautamiputra Satakarni beside his name. Mauryas & Satavahanas
- Short debate: were Asoka's Andhras the Telugu people? One group uses Hultzsch's view and the other Sewell's, both from the page. The Andhras in early texts
Discussion questions
Every question can be answered from the page linked after it.
- What three kinds of evidence mark the beginning of recorded history in the Telugu country? (Answer on: Mauryas & Satavahanas)
- What did Bühler conclude from the letters on the Bhattiprolu caskets about the age of writing in India? (Answer on: Bhattiprolu relic-casket inscriptions)
- How do we know the dynasty's family name was Satavahana? (Answer on: Satavahanas)
- Why did Sircar think the Satavahanas reached the Krishna–Guntur region only under Vasishthiputra Pulumavi? (Answer on: Mauryas & Satavahanas)
- Who made most of the gifts recorded at Amaravati, and what does that tell us about society? (Answer on: Society & communities)
- What metal were most Satavahana coins in Andhradesa made of, and what designs did they carry? (Answer on: Satavahanas)
- How far apart are the dates that Fergusson (1868) and Sircar (1959) give for Gautamiputra Satakarni? (Answer on: Mauryas & Satavahanas)