The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c30.81

v1.c30.81

The 'unsubdued' peoples on the southern borders of the Maurya dominions were, during the Çuṅga period, united under the suzerainty of the most powerful among them, the Andhras, whose home was in the coastal region of the Madras Presidency between the rivers Godāvari and Kistna³. The dynasty, which is known by its tribal name in the Purāṇas and by its family name or title, Çātavāhana, in inscriptions, is traced back to king Simuka, who was succeeded by his younger brother, Kṛishṇa. At some date in the reign of Simuka or Kṛishṇa the Andhra conquests had extended up the valley of the river Godāvari for its whole length, a distance of some nine hundred miles, to the table-land of the Nāsik District. This is proved by the inscription (no. 1144) in one of the Nāsik caves which was excavated when Kṛishṇa was king. Already the Çātavāhanas had justified their claim to the title, 'Lords of the Deccan (Dakshiṇāpatha),' which they bear in their later inscriptions. The third of the line and the best known of the earlier kings was called Çātakarṇi, a name which, to the perplexity of modern students of Indian history, was borne by several of his successors on the throne.