The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c7.s2.30

v1.c7.s2.30

Whether the Sātavāhanas started their political career in the Andhradeśa proper or outside it is another difficult problem. That they came to power from the Andhradeśa is held to be unwarranted mainly on four grounds: (1) their earliest records, epigraphic and numismatic, have been discovered at Nānāghāṭ and Nāsik in the Western Deccan; (2) in Khāravela’s inscription the dominions of the contemporary Sātakarṇi are spoken of as being to the west of Khāravela’s own kingdom of Kaliṅga; (3) Gotamī Balaśrī’s inscription recounting the territorial possessions of her son, Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi, makes no mention of any locality in the Andhra area; and (4) the first available Sātavāhana records begin to appear in Andhradeśa only during the reign of his successor Vāsiṣṭhīputra Śrī Puḷumāvi.