The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c7.s6.9

v1.c7.s6.9

Kaṇha, the brother and successor of Simuka,² continued to respect the Mauryan sovereignty, as his predecessor had done. The Nāsik inscription of his time is quite revealing on this point.³ It mentions the construction of a cave by a *Mahāmātra* in charge of the Śramaṇas at Nāsik. These monks must have been mostly Buddhists. For twelve out of the eighteen years of his administration Kaṇha was Aśoka’s contemporary.⁴ It was inevitable that he should have come under the spell of Aśoka’s increasing zeal for *Dhamma*. The cave is Aśokan in inspiration and Sātavāhana in execution. It is the earliest of the series of Sātavāhana caves at Nāsik and incidentally indicates that Nāsik was the westernmost point of Sātavāhana rule. Aśoka’s death and the disturbed conditions in the Magadhan capital must have given him his opportunity to break off from the Mauryan yoke and to acquire an independent status for the regions under his authority.