A History of Agriculture in India v1.c33.s2: The Śātavāhanas (Andhras): The First Century B.C. to the Second Century of the Christian Era
A History of Agriculture in India v1.c33.s2
- Language
- English
The Śātavāhanas (Andhras): The First Century B.C. to the Second Century of the Christian Era
v1.c33.s2.1
During the first century B.C. to the second century of the Christian Era, when northern India was ruled by the Indo-Greeks, followed by the Kushans, the Deccan was ruled by the Brahman Dynasty of Śātavāhanās (Andhras). The coins and inscriptions of the Śātavāhanās are concentrated in the region around Paithan in the Aurangabad District of Maharashtra. Gradually, the Śātavāhanās extended their power over Karnataka and Andhra.
v1.c33.s2.2
The first Śātavāhanās ruler was Simuka. The third ruler Satakarni I conquered western Malwa. Satakarni II conquered eastern Malwa from the Sungas. The seventh king Hala (A.D. 20-24) is remembered as the author of the Sattasai. Gautamiputra Satakarni (A.D. 80-104) extended the empire to western Rajasthan and Vidarbha. Sri Yajna Satakarni Fig. 183. Coins and seals with animal and bird motifs from the second century to the tenth century : *Top row, left*; Vasudeva, Kushan, gold, second century ; *right*, Chandragupta I, Gupta, gold, fourth century; *Second row; left*, Kumaragupta I, Gupta, peacock type, gold, fifth century; *centre*, a bull, seal, fourth century, Sanghol, Punjab; *right*, Samudragupta, Gupta, gold, fourth century; *Third row, left*, a bull, seal, Gupta period, fifth century, Sanghol; *right*, an elephant trampling a lion, seal, Gupta, sixth century; *Bottom row, left*, Sashanka, King of Gauda (central Bengal), gold, seventh century; *right*, a horse and a bull, Shahi dynasty, Kabul, tenth century (A.D. 165-194) defeated the Sakas and recovered much of the lost territory.
v1.c33.s2.12
Fig. 184. A man and a woman feeding a parrot. Below is a blossoming asoka (Saraca asoca). Kushan, first century (Courtesy: Mathura Museum)
v1.c33.s2.13
Though iron hoes are known from the third century B.C. in South India, their number increased substantially in the first and second centuries of the Christian Era. This increased number indicates greater agricultural activity. The people of the Deccan cultivated cotton, and Andhra was known for its cotton cloth. According to R.S. Sharma, the art of transplanting rice seedlings was widely practised in the first two centuries in the deltas of the Krishna and the Godavari, which became the rice bowl of South India.² Through contact with the north, the Deccanis learnt the use of bricks and ringwells.
v1.c33.s2.14
² Sharma, R.S. *Ancient India*, p. 109
Linked texts (1)
- Gāhāsattasaī — Hāla, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit