Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati & Dr. K. Muniratnam Director i/c, Epigraphy, ASI, Mysore

Prof. Suchandra Ghosh Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

1

Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian Epigraphy

Module Name/Title Nasik Prasasti of Gotami Balasiri

Module Id IC / I Epi / 30

Pre requisites This is one of the early prasastis written in Prakrit. It is the only posthumous prasasti of this age and is unique as it is being written engraved by the mother of Gotamiputa in the reign of his son Vasithiputa Pulamavi .

Objectives The historical importance of the inscription is discussed here. The political contestations of the period can be gleaned from the inscription. The inscription describes the qualities of the famous Satavahana ruler Gotamiputa Satakani.

Keywords Satavahana, Gotamiputa, Khakharata, Balasiri

E-text (Quadrant-I)

1. Introduction

The first formidable political entity in peninsular India were the Satavahanas whose authority, at the zenith of their power, embraced the entire Deccan spanning from the Narmada river in the north to the Krishna river in the south and extending from the west to the east coast of India. The Sanskrit Puranic texts mention the Satavahanas as belonging to the Andhra-jati or as Andhra-bhrityas (i.e. servants of the Andhras) in the context of enlisting ancient dynasties. As far as their family name is concerned they distinctly mention themselves as belonging to the Satavahana family (Satavahana-kula) in their own inscriptions. The earliest stronghold of the Satavahanas was in western and central Deccan with Pratishthana (modern Paithan, ) as their capital. Gautamiputra was certainly the first Satavahana ruler to have conquered the eastern Deccan. The Satavahanas ruled from about the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE.

2. Historical Background

The first known ruler of this dynasty, according to archaeological finds and the Puranic lists, was (Chhimuka) who can be placed in the 1st century BCE. Simuka was succeeded by his brother Kanha or Krishna; next came I. He was the first powerful ruler of the dynasty and has been referred to as the lord of the Deccan (Dakshinapathapati). However the most promising ruler of the was Gotamiputa Satakarni (). During his reign the Satavahana power reached its zenith. The reign of Gautamiputra Satakarni witnessed the termination of the issuance of locality/region- specific coinage and the circulation of universal type of Satavahana coinage all over the Satavahana domain. His fame largely rests on his successful extermination of the rival of the Kshaharata lineage ruling in western India. The Periplus of the Erythraean sea alluded to this contestation. The steady rise of the Satavahanas in the western and central parts of the Deccan and also in Vidisa area to the north of the Narmada had previously

2

received a major jolt from the Kshatrapa ruler of western India. Nahapana probably ruled from the late first century to the second decade of the second century CE. His reign marked the beginning of the Saka-Satavahana struggle which became a major feature of the politics in the Deccan. But Gotamiputa could retrieve the lost glory of the family and the clinching evidence of his defeat of the Sakas is also alluded to by the coins issued by him. Satavahana victory is largely known from the Jogalthembi hoard of coins yielding more than 13,000 coins issued by the Saka ruler Nahapana; more than 9000 of these coins were found counterstruck with the legends and symbols of Gautamiputra Satakarni. The coins of Nahapana bore his portrait on the obverse and his dynastic emblem of the thunderbolt and arrow on the reverse surrounded by legends in Brahmi and Kharoshti. Restruck by Gotamiputa , the obverse showed an arched hill surrounded by the Prakrit legend ‘Rano Gotamiputasa Siri Satakanisa’. Moreover, in his 18th regnal year Gautamiputra Satakarni also donated to a Buddhist monastery near Nasik a piece of land which till recently had been enjoyed by Usavadata, Nahapana’s son-in-law (khetam ajakalakiyam Usavadatena bhuktam). Only after the political and military ouster of the Saka ruler Gautamiputra could have held the plot once possessed by his rivals and made a gift of the same plot to a Buddhist monastery. The matrimonial alliance of Usavadata with the Sakas might have led Gautamiputra Satakarni to confiscate the plot and make the donation again to the Buddhist monastery. The inscription also underlines that his victory over the Sakas must have been complete in or before his eighteenth regnal year. The struggle might have started by the fourteenth regnal year of Gautamiputra, if we can identify him with the king whose name is now effaced from an inscription at Karla, recording in that year a royal order on the occasion of granting a village or rather regranting it after it had been originally granted by Usavadata. The king is found to have issued an order to an amacha (amatya) of paragatagamas (i.e. official appointed over the newly conquered villages). So the struggle probably began in or before regnal year 14 of Gautamiputra and seems to have stretched over a period of four years. Such protracted enmity is also suggested in a commentary on a gatha of the Jaina work Avasyakasutra, which refers to the ultimate success of Salavahana (a Satavahana monarch) against Naravahana(ie Nahapana). It is interesting to note that in both the sites of Nasik and Karle where Usavadata’s generosity was proclaimed, Gotamiputa has also engraved his inscriptions suggesting political transition.

3. Nasik prasasti of Queen Gotami Balasiri

Prasastis or Panegyrics are avowedly political texts. Irrespective of the poetic embellishments and exaggerations typical of these prasastis, these provide us with the kernel of political narratives. Generally prasastis were made to be written by the ruler himself. The most eloquent testimony to Gautamiputra Satakarni’s achievements comes from the Nasik prasasti, which was caused to be engraved by his mother Gotami Balasiri during the reign of Vasithiputa Pulumavi in the 19th regnal year. It is the only posthumous prasasti of this age and is unique as it is being written engraved by the mother of Gotamiputra in the reign of his son. The occasion for the inscription was the donation to the monks of the Bhadaniya sect of a cave begun by Gotamiputa and completed by his mother. The inscription is located in Cave 3 of Pandulena Cave Complex commissioned by Gautami Balasri. It is written in the form of a gadyakavya.

4. Summary of the inscription

The great queen Gotami Balasiri , delighting in truth, charity, patience and respect for life ,bent on penance, self control, restraint and abstinence and who is like a royal rishi’s wife, the mother of the king of kings, Siri Satakani Gotamiputa, who was in strength equal to mount Himavat, , mount Mandara; king of Asika, Asaka, Mulaka, Suratha, Kukura, Aparanta, Anupa , Vidabha and Akaravanti. He is also praised as the lord of the following mountains (pavata pati): Vijha, Chhavata, Parichata, Sahya , Kanhagiri, Macha, Siritana, Malaya, Mahendra and Setagiri. He was obeyed by the circle of all kings on earth. It

3

is said that his pure face resembles the lotus blown open by the of the sun, whose beasts of burden have drunk the waters of the three oceans, whose look is as graceful and lovely as the full disk of the moon, whose gait is as pleasing as that of an excellent elephant, whose arm is as stout, rounded, massive, long and beautiful as the body of the lord of serpents, whose fearless hand is wetted by the water poured in granting asylums, who has unchecked obedience towards his living mother, who has well arranged the times and places for the pursuit of the triple object, whose happiness and misery are the same as, and not different from those of his citizens, who has quelled the boast and pride of Kshatriyas, who is the destroyer of the Sakas, Yavanas and , who spends the revenue got from taxes levied only according to the law, who does not like to destroy life even in the case of enemies who have given offence, who has increased the families of the best of Brahmans, who exterminated the race of Kshaharata, who has re-established the glory of the family of Satavahana, whose feet are adored by the whole circle of kings, who has stopped the contamination of the four castes, who has conquered the host of his enemies in innumerable battles, whose great capital is unapproachable to his enemies and has its victorious flag unconquered, to whom the great title of king has descended from a series of ancestors, who is the abode of learning, the support of good men, the home of glory, the source of good manners, the only skilful person, the only archer, the only brave man, the only supporter of Brahmans, whose exploits rival those of , Kesava, and Bhimasena; who holds festive meetings on the occasion of the summer solstice, whose prowess is equal to that of Nabhaga, Nahusha, , Sagara, , Rama and Ambarisha; who conquered the host of his enemies in the brunt of battle in a curious and wonderful manner in virtue of his innumerable worships and observances, and by means of rites concerning the wind, Garuda, Siddhas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Vidyadharas, ghosts, Gandharvas, Charanas, the moon, the sun, the constellations and planets; who erects his neck high in the sky like mountains and trees and who has brought prosperity to his race. The great Queen, the mother of the Great King and the grandmother of the Great King, gives this cave to the congregation, the host of mendicants of the Bhadavaniya school. The Lord of , desirous to please and to serve the venerable lady, the great Queen, his grand mother grants a village on the south-western side of mount Tiranhu.

5. Historical Importance

The inscription begins by officially recording the date and follows this with a sentence eight and half lines long, which extols the greatness of Gotamiputa Satakarni through epithets emphasizing his military conquests and his stature as a virtuous sovereign. In the prasasti, the victor is described in conventional phrases like ‘one who had won numerous battles; whose victorious banner was unvanquished; whose capital was unassailable to his foes; who was in prowess equal to Rama, Kesava, Arjuna and Bhima; not inferior in luster to Nabhaga, Nahusa, Janamejaya, Sagara, Yayati and Ambarisha; who vanquishing his enemy in a way as constant as inexhaustible, unthinkable and marvelous in battles fought by the Wind, Garuda, the Siddhas, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the Charanas, the Moon, the Sun, the Asterisms and the Planets appeared to be himself, plunging into the sky from the shoulder of his choice elephant’. The phrase vinivajita satru-saghasa i.e. ‘one who won over an alliance of enemies’ makes the picture clear as to how the local chiefs or rulers were shifting their allegiance to the supra-local powers. It is interesting to note the distinction made in the prasasti regarding being equal to prowess (parakamasa) of some of the epic figures and for the others, the lusture of Gotamiputa was not inferior to these epico-puranic figures. (samatejasa).

The inscription also has a few short epithets glorifying the Queen mother. She is said to be delighting in truth, charity, patience and respect for life, bent on penance, self control, restraint and abstinence (sachavachanadanakhamahisanirataya tapadamaniyamopavasataparaya). She is like a royal Rishi’s wife (rajarishivadhusadam).

4

Gautamiputra is eulogized as one who re-established the glory of the Satavahana family , implying declining political fortune of the dynasty prior to Gautamiputra’s reign, after having exterminated the Kshaharata dynasty (khakaratavasa niravasesakara Satavahanakulayasapatithapanakara). This inscription is a eulogy of her son’s victories over the Sakas (Scythians), Yavanas (of Greek or non-indigenous origin) and Pahlavas (Parthians). Gautamiputra defeated Nahapana and recovered many of the territories that the Sakas had earlier wrested from the Satavahanas.

5.1 Territorial Extension

The Nasik prasasti describes him as the ruler of Asika (Rishika between the Godavari and the Krishna), Mulaka (area around Pratisthana in the Central Deccan), Kukura(northern Kathiawad), Anupa (Mahismati to the south of the Narmada, Vidabha ( in Nagpur),and Akaravanti ( located around Ujjayini in Western and Akara in Eastern Malwa around modern –Vidisa (-Bhopal region in Madhyapradesh). He is also praised as the lord of the following mountains (pavata pati): Vijha (Vindhya or the eastern part of the ), Achhavat (Rikshavat, part of the Vindhya to the north of the Narmada), Parichata( Paripatra or the present Aravali mountains), Sahya (Sahyadri or the ), Kanhagiri(Kanheri near Mumbai) , Mahendra () and Setagiri (the hill near in the Guntur area of Andhra Pradesh). The expression ‘pati’ in relation to certain mountains is justifiable as he was truly in possession of those lands where these mountains stood. On the other hand he was strong like the mountains Himavata, Meru and Madara. The sense of geography is quite evident. This suggests that his rule extended from Malwa and in the north to the Krishna in the South and from Berar in the East to in the West. He is lauded as the ruler whose chargers drank the water of the three seas (tisamuda toyapita vahana). There seems to be an allusion to the expansion of the Satavahana power over the entire Deccan from the western to the eastern sea-board. He assumed the epithet the lord of the Deccan (Dakshinapathesvara). But his Dakshinapatha is evidently far more extensive than the homonymous territory ruled by his predecessors. Under Gautamiputra, the Satavahana power penetrated to the areas to the north of the Narmada, e.g. eastern and western Malwa and southern . For the first time a power of the Deccan expanded beyond the river Narmada, traditionally known as the northern boundary of the Deccan. He was the first ruler to conquer the eastern Deccan.

5.2 Accomplishments of Gotamiputa Satakani

The importance of Nasik inscription is often seen to lie in the fact that it provides unequivocal evidence of Gotamiputa’s defeat of Nahapana and his extermination of the Kshaharata line. It lays special emphasis on his martial valour, presenting him as a king who sustained himself in a situation of continuous siege and attack. He was also known as a unique archer (eka dhanurdhara)The prasasti reflect competition and contestation of the period. Among other things, Gotamiputa is praised as one “who crushed down the pride and conceit of the khatiyas” (khatiyadapamadanasa). His patronage of the followers of the Vedic religion is revealed by the epithet ‘ekabamhana’ applied to him in the Nasik prasasti. The dominant brahmanical aspect of the Satavahanas comes through in this statement. References to the performance of the great Vedic sacrifices by Satakrni I in the inscription of Naganika at suggest that this was an important means of acquiring political legitimacy. There is a reference made to the trivarga or three fold path. The inscription hails Gotamiputa as one who properly devised time and place for the pursuit of the three goals (suvibhatativagadesakalasa). The three categories dharma, artha and kama were deemed by the smriti texts to constitute the three fold goals of human activity. Taken together with moksha, they made up the purusartha or the goals of human life. They were explicitly associated with worldly activity and noblemen were expected to conduct their lives in a balanced pursuit of these three spheres.

5

The focus on the person of the king describing his bodily splendour in various ways was a common tradition which was shared by the prasastis of the period.

6. Concluding Remarks

Models of elite behavior were created. Gotamiputa was to refrain from taking life except when necessary. It is said in the prasasti that he was alien to hurting life even towards an offending enemy (kitaparadhe pi satujane apanahisaruchisa).

The Brahmanical ideology of maintaining the purity of four varnas strengthened the state society. The Satavahanas for the first time introduced revenue-free grants of landed properties for religious donees, mostly Buddhist establishments.

An interesting aspect of this inscription is reference to samajas(community gathering). Gotamiputa is acclaimed as one who was liberal on festive days in unceasing festivities and assemblies (chanaghanasavasamajakarakasa). We know that Asoka spoke out against samajas or festive gatherings, belittling them as worthless rituals. Here it appears as a break from the Asokan idiom.

The end of Gautamiputra’s reign of twenty-four years came in c. 130 CE when he was succeeded by his son Vasisthiputra Pulumavi who too ruled for twenty four years (c. 130-54 CE). Clearly identifiable with Siro P(t)olemaios (Sri Pulumavi) of Ptolemy’s Geography, his political centre continued to be at Betana (Paithan). He indeed retained intact the Satavahana control over Nasik which has yielded his four inscriptions (yrs. 2,6,19 and 22) and also over Karle near Pune. The inscription gives us an idea of the Saka-Satavahana rivalry and makes a strong statement of the accomplishments, both military and socio- cultural, of Gotamiputa Satakarni.

6