Historical Geography of Ancient India c7.480

c7.480

*Pratiṣṭhāna*.—Pratiṣṭhāna (modern Paiṭhān), on the north bank of the Godāvarī in the Aurangabad district of Hyderabad, is famous in literature as the capital of king Śātakarṇi (Sātavāhana or Śālivāhana) and his son Śaktikumāra, who are generally identified with the king Śātakarṇi and the prince Śaktiśrī of the Nānāghāt inscriptions. Paiṭhān, or ancient Pratiṣṭhāna or Supratiṣṭhāhāra or Supratiṣṭhita on the Godāvarī¹ in the Nizam's dominions, is the place where three plates of Govinda III (Śaka saṃvat 716) were discovered (*E.I.*, III, 103). Pratiṣṭhāna also occurs in the Poona plates of the Vākāṭaka Queen Prabhāvatiguptā (*E.I.*, XV, 39). The Petenikas of Asokan inscriptions, as mentioned in *R.E.*, V and XIII, have been identified with the Paiṭhānikas or inhabitants of Paiṭhāna on the Godāvarī. Paiṭhān is the present name of ancient Pratiṣṭhāna, a flourishing city during the rule of the Sātavāhana kings. Some suggest that they were the ancestors of Sātavāhana rulers of Paiṭhān (*J.R.A.S.*, 1923, 92; Woolner, *Asoka*, p. 113). According to the author of the *Periplus* Paiṭhān is situated at a distance of 20 days' journey to the south of Barygaza (identified with Bharukaccha, modern Broach). It is spoken of as the greatest city in Dakṣiṇāpatha. Sātavāhana defeated Vikramāditya of Ujjayinī and made himself the king of Pratiṣṭhānapura. He conquered many territories between the Deccan and the river Tāptī. He embraced Jainism, built many caityas and established the image of Mahālakṣmī on the bank of the Godāvarī (B. C. Law, *Some Jaina Canonical Sūtras*, p. 185). According to the Jaina *Vividhatīrthakalpa* (pp. 59-60) this town which was in Mahārāṣtra became in course of time an insignificant village.