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JUNE, 1918)
DEKKAN OF THE SATAVAHANA PERIOD
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well that this fortress will, in a short time, be captured by the Mughuls. See that you • shun not the fight, but protect your honour, and surrender the fort at the last to the prince, who will give you in exchange for it any fort and any district in this country that you may choose. The honour of the Nizâm Shâhî house is, owing to the connection between us, the "same to me as the honour of my own house, and it is for this reason that I, laying aside all 'fear of arrow or bullet, have come to the gate of the fort, and I will bring Chând Bibi
Sultan to my own camp." When the defenders received this letter their dismay and confu‘sion were greatly increased, and they were struck with terror, for they had relied much on
Râja 'Ali Khân, and they now almost decided to surrender, but Afzal khân did his best 'to pacify them and to calm their fears, and sent Raja 'Ali Khan a reply, saying, "I wonder ‘at your intellect and policy in sending such a letter to Chând Bibi Sultân, and at your * endeavouring to destroy this dynasty. It was you who went forth to greet the Mughul army, and it was you who brought them into this country, and the Sultâns of the Dakan will not forget this. Soon, by the grace of God, the Mughul army will have to retreat, and then Chand Bibi Sultan will be in communication, as before, with the Sultans of the Dakan. It will then be for you to fear the vengeance of the heroes of the Dakan, and 'to tremble for your house and for your kingdom !" When this reply reached Raja 'Ali * Khân he was overcome with shame for what he had written, and the Mughul Amirs gave up all hope of taking the fortress.'
. (To be continued.)
DEKKAN OF THE SATAVAHANA PERIOD. By Prof. D. R. BHANDARKAR, M.A.; CALCUTTA.
CHAPTER II. POLITICAL HISTORY-(continued from page 78 above). The reign of Naha pâna, though it began gloriously, came to a disastrous end. He was defeated and killed in Lattle by Gautamiputra Satakami of the Sâta vahana dynasty. In Cave No. 3 at Nâsik has been cut a large inscription, which sets forth a long panegyrio of this king. We shall soon give a somewhat detailed account of this record, but here we may notice only two epithets used in connection with Gautamîputra Satakarani and coming immediately one after the other. The first calls him the uprooter of the Kshaharåta race and the second the restorer of the glory of the Satavahana family. The first epithet, making allowance for the exaggeration which it obviously contains, indicates that he certainly killed, if not all the Kshaharåtas, at least those who ruled over Maharashtra, Gujarat and Central India. Otherwise there is no sense in his being represented to have re-established the glory of the Satavahana dynasty to which he pertained. We know that the Satavahanas had held Northern Maharashtra and some parts of Central India before these came under the sway of Naha pâna. It is true that these epithets alone do not necessarily prove that Gautamiputra Satakarni turned his arms against Nahapana himself and killed him. But this can be easily inferred from certain facts revealed by the Jogaltembbi hoard. The total number of coins from the lot examined by Rev. M Scott was 13,250. Only one-third of this number consisted of Nahapana's own coins, the remaining two-thirds being those of Nahapâna re-struck by Gautamiputra Satakarni. 2 1 EI., VIII, 80, 1..6.
JBBRAS., XXII. 224.
