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October, 1908.) ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE NELLORE DISTRICT.
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ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE NELLORE DISTRICT.
BY V. VENKAYYA, M. A., BAI BAHADUR.
(Continued from p. 201.)
The Early Period. Tue inscriptions at Amarivati And Bhattiprola, some of which are as old as the Maurya period, to show that the civilizing influence of the emperor Abôks and of his Baddhist creed extended into the delta of the river Kțishņâ. Mr. V. A. Smith goes farther and declares that the river Northern Pennar may be regarded as the limit of the imperial jarisdiction on the south-east. If this be the case, the northern portion of the modern Nellore district must have come under the influence of the Maurya emperor.
The Andhras who, in later periods, occupied the modern Telugu country, are mentioned already in the litreya-Brahmana, 19 where they figure among the progeny of the sage Visvamitra condemned to live on the borders of Aryan settlements. The same work gives the names of certain degraded, barbarous tribes, and mentions the Andhras among them. In the Mahabharata, Sahadeva, one of the five Pandavas, is said to have subdued the Andhras along with several other tribes. The Greek ambassador Megasthenes mentions the Andhras, 16 who occupied the deltas of the Godavari and Krishna rivers, The Andhra territory included 30 walled towns, besides numerous villages, and their army consisted of 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants. Their capital at the time was Srikakulam on the lower course of the river Krishna, about 19 miles west of Masulipatam.17 In one of the edicts of Asoka, the Andhras are mentioned among the tribes resident on the outskirts of Maurya dominions.19 According to Mr. Smith they were subject to the imperial commande, but enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.18 It may, therefore, be supposed that the modern Nellore district, -or at least the northern portion of it, -- was originally subject to the Andhras and that the latter, also called Salivahanas20 or Satavahanas and Åndbrabbļityas, 91 became subject to the powerful influence of the Mauryas during the time of Abóka. Soon after the close of Asoka's reign, the Andhras became independent and expanded so rapidly that in the reign of the socond king their dominions extended as far west as Nasik in the Bombay Prezidency. The names of several kings of the family are known from the Parâņas and inscriptions found mostly in Western India. The capital of the dynasty in later times was Dhânyakataka or Dharaņikota,23 and the family must have exercised no small inflaence over the history of the northern portion of the Nellore district.
10 Dr. Burgess' Buddhist Stupas of Amaravati and Jaggayyapeta, p. 12, and Ep. Ind., Vol. II, p. 325.
11 Rarly History of India, second edition, p. 151. In the first edition, p. 143, Mr. Smith remarked: "On the south-east, the Palar river, the northern frontier of the Tamil race, may be regarded as the limit of the imperial jurisdiction." In his book entitled Asoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India, p. 70, the same scholar says that the 12th degree of North Latitude would approximately represent the southern boundary of the Maurya empire.
19 Bombay Garettorr, Vol. I, Part II, p. 188; see also Mr. B. O. Dutt'. Civilisation in Ancient India, Vol. 1, p. 148.
11 Professor Bühler was of opinion that the sage Apastamba, who lived not later than the 3rd century B. C. (Sacred Booke of the Rast, Vol. II, p. xlvi), must have been born or naturalised in the Andhra country; ibid, P. XXIVI, and Mr. R. O. Datt's Civilisation in Ancient India, Vol. I, p. 202 14 Bacrad Books of the Rart, Vol. II, p. XLVII.
16 Boribay Gazetteer, Vol. I, Part II, p. 149. 16 Sir Walter Elliot's Coins of Southern Intia, p. 9. 11 Dr. Burgess' Buddhist Stupai of Amaravati and Jaggayyapeta, p. 31. 18 Ep. Ind., Vol. II, p. 471.
1. Early History of India, second edition, p. 195. #0 BAlivahana is another mode of pronounging the word Satavahans; Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. 1, Part II, p. 131. 91 Ibid, p. 156.
Mr. V. A. Smith'. Early History of India, second edition, p. 195. » When the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Triang visited Southern India, Dhanakataks was the name of the province south of Andhra. How far it extended we do not know at prosent. Perhaps Dhanakataka and the northern portion of the Nellore district belonged to the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengl.
