The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c8.s3.17

v1.c8.s3.17

The patrimony which Pravarasena had inherited included only a few districts; he expanded it into an empire which covered practically the whole of the Deccan between the rivers Narmadā and Kṛṣṇā. The northern Mahārāṣṭra, Berar, the Madhya Pradesha and Hyderabad State were certainly included in his empire. His sphere of influence extended over Malwa and Gujarat, Andhradeśa and southern Kośala. He gave to the Deccan the political unity which it had lost since the downfall of the Sātavāhanas, and welded it into a powerful state whose strength and resources were much greater than those of any other contemporary kingdom, whether in the north or the south. It was but natural that he should have assumed the imperial title *samrāṭ*, emperor, to which no contemporary of his is known to have laid a claim.