Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 33

An Unwritten Chapter in the History of Early Deccan
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was a resident of Vaddamanu-Vaddamanu nivasikasa that is found embellished the top portion of the stūpa for the religious merit of himself, his mother and son. In this context, it has to be stated that the Andhau Pillar inscription preserved in Bhuj museum in Kutch, reading as Rajno Chestanasa Tsamoti putrakasa suggests that Tsamoti or Dhamuti was the father of Chestana.
Besides, Andhra had yielded a hoard of lead coins from a village Petlurivaripalem near Bapatla in Guntur district in 1938. They are preserved in the State Museum located in the public Gardens, Hyderabad. Shri H. V. Trivedi analyzed them and he has identified 183 coins with clear legends reading as Jayadaman, Viradaman. The paleography and symbols shown on the coins suggest that the rule of western Ksatraps in Andhra cannot be ignored at least from 78 AD up to 120 AD.
Some Sātavāhana coins were recovered from Vaddamanu also." They however, indicate their association with late kings and no structural evidence was found immediately after the Sadas. Thus from the above evidences, the tall claim of Gotamiputra Satakarni as daskṣiṇāpathapati -the overlord (controller) of the Southern highway, cannot be entertained earlier to 78 AD. With the shifting of the capital from Ujjain to Kaļinga by the Răsabha king, Vikramaditya Khāravela, there was tripartite struggle for power for Avanti. Possibly, Śrī Satakarni, the Sātavāhana king who made his first bid during the time of early Sadas, might have been successful in annexing only the Bharukachha region of Saka Nahāpana. Because of the presence of the Sakas the Sātavāhanas could not keep their hold over Avanti. The Sātavāhanas concentrated first in Maharashtra and western regions along the river Godavari. Evidently, it had taken 135 years for Sātavāhana ruler Gotamiputra to have some hold over Deccan and coastal Andhra. CONCLUSION
As we go through the standard History texts referring to the Andhra region in particular, we are introduced to the Mauryan province of Mosali, (Andhra) indicated by the Asokan Rock-edicts of Pattipadu, Rajulamandagiri etc. Next we read about the spread of Buddhism from the inscriptions of Amaravati and other Buddhist places dating back from 2nd century BC onwards. Later we are taken straight away to the Sātavāhana period referring to the inscriptions of king Gotamiputra, Yagñaśrī, Pulumāvi, etc., who ruled the region from 2nd century AD onwards. But between the period of the Mauryan rock edicts and the rule of the Sātavāhana kings, there is wide gap of more than three and a half centuries beginning from the death of Asoka in 237 BC. This historical gap of 357 years can be divided in the following indicating the rule of kings and their dynasties: Period 1--Independent chiefs from 237 BC to 57 BC: Post Mauryan Chiefs, like Kubiraka, Somaka,
Sebaka, etc. Period II–Vikramaditya and Sadas from 57 BC to 78 AD: Rasabha king, Vikramāditya, Kharavila and
Sadas etc. Period III—Sakas from 78 AD to 120 AD: Śāka Kshatraps, Vasudara Dhamuti.
i) The first period covers 180 years. In this, it has already been shown in the introduction that a few kings like Kubiraka, Somaka etc., made themselves independent in different regions like Vaddamanu and Bhattiprolu. It was also indicated that some Mauryan officials in-charge of the army, elephants etc., had established themselves as kings with the same titles of Mahasenapathi and Mahārathis etc.