Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c19.s2.22

c19.s2.22

We have seen that the capital of **Pulumāyi** was Baithan, *i.e.*, Paiṭhan or Pratishṭhāna on the Godāvarī identified by Bhandarkar with Navanara or Navanagara, *i.e.*, the new city. Inscriptions and coins prove that the dominions of this king included the Krishṇā-Godāvarī reign as well as Mahārāshṭra. It has already been pointed out that the Andhra country is not clearly mentioned in the list of territories over which Gautamīputra held his sway. It is not altogether improbable that Vāsishṭhīputra Pulumāyi was the first to establish the Sātavāhana power firmly in that region. Sukṭhankar identifies him with Siri Pulumāyi, king of the Sātavāhanas, mentioned in an inscription discovered in the Adoni tāluk of the Bellary district. But the absence of the distinguishing metronymic makes the identification uncertain and probably indicates that the king referred to in the inscription is Pulumāyi I of the Purāṇas or some other prince of the dynasty who bore the same name. D. C. Sircar identifies him with the last king of Pargiter's list. Numismatic evidence suggests that the political influence of a Pulumāyi extended to the Coromandel coast, and possibly to the Chanda district of the Central Provinces. But in the absence of epigraphic corroboration the matter cannot be regarded as definitely proved. Moreover, the absence of the metronymic Vāsiśhṭhīputra makes it uncertain in some cases as to whether the son of the great Gautamīputra is meant.