Introduction

  The cultural history of the period is the history of Vedic assertion and inclusiveness of Buddhism and Jainism. Administration, social and economic life, religion and philosophy, art and literature—in fact every branch of human activity, was in the Vedic mould. The Vedic rishis, the Mauryan officers and the Buddhist missionaries alike, by precept and example, hastened the revolutionary change and served to implant Vedic institutions firmly. The Satavahanas accepted them, and deliberately and consciously followed the policies in the Sastras available to them.

Administration

  The extent of the Satavahana Empire continuously expanded and contracted according to the political situations of Bharat of those times. At its peak, Satavahana Empire stretched from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Arabian Sea in the west; on the North between the Narmada River and the river Krishna in the south. There is vast proven archaeological evidence regarding the Satavahana conquest of Malwa. There is Puranic evidence for their control over the ancient capital Pataliputra of Magadha. As Satavahana was a successor Empire of the Mauryas, much from the Mauryan administrative system was borrowed. Their government was based upon hereditary absolute monarchy. Instead of just a title of Raja, Gautamiputra Satakarni bore the imperial title 'Rajarano' which means King of Kings. For administrative purposes, the empire was divided into a number of Aharas or Rashtras (Govardhana, Sopara. Manrrala, Satavahana etc.), each of which consisted of at least one central town (Nigama) and a number of villages. The Amatyas governed these Aharas. The Maharathis and the Mahabhojas, the feudatory chieftains, were superior in rank and power to the Amatyas. The inscriptions refer to officers like Mahassnapati, Heranika, Bhandagarika, Mahamatra, Lekhaka and Nibandhakaras. Gramas (villages) and Nigamas (towns) were the lowest administrative units. Considerable autonomy was there in managing the affairs of these units. The trade and merchant guilds (srenies) played an important part in this regard.

  The Satavahana administration was very simple and was according to the principles laid down in the Dharmashastras. The king laid no claim of divine right.  They had no absolute power. Their power was checked in practice by customs and shastras. The king was the commander of war and often threw himself into the thickest of the frays. The Mahabhojas were the feudatories of Satavahanas. They were primarily located in western Deccan. They were related by blood to the feudatory Maharathi. It is definitely known that the Maharathis were the feudatories of Satavahanas. They also granted in their own name villages with physical immunities attached to them. The maharathis of the chitaldrug enjoyed the additional privilege of issuing coins in their own name.

  Barring districts that were controlled by feudatories, the empire was divided into janapadas and aharas, the latter corresponding to modern districts. The division below that of ahara was grama. Non-hereditary governors were subject to periodical transfers. There were other functionaries like great chamberlain store-keepers treasurers and dutakas who carried royal orders.

  The taxes were neither heavy nor many. The sources of income were proceeds from the royal domain, salt monopoly, ordinary and extraordinary taxes, both soldiers and officials were paid in kind. The revenue of the state was not much during the reign of the Satavahanas. The rate of taxation was very low under the head of royal properties; land revenue, salt tax, export-import, etc. formed the revenue of the state

  These amatyas functioned as governors, treasurers and executors of land grants. The rajukas functioned as judges and magistrates. Similarly, the office of pratihara is mentioned in the Satavahana inscription. Other officials are bhoja, mahabhoja (wife mahabhoji), maharathi (they had marriage relations with the Satavahanas), mahasenapati, gamika (village official), mahatakakas (great chamberlain), maha- aryakas (religious functionary), bhandagarikas (store-keeper), heranikas (treasurer), nibamdhakaras (registrars of documents), dutakas, pattika-palakas (keepers of land charters), navakarmikas, uparaksitas (overseers) etc. The towns were administered by a nigama through nigamasabha. Most of these Satavahana officials were paid in cash. Nanaghat cave inscription gives a long list of various figures of karsapanas. The royal share of the produce is represented by such terms as deya- meya, bhoga and karukara.

Social structure under Satavahanas:

  During this period, the people were familiar with the Vedic four fold division of society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. Outside the four fold influence were the indigenous tribes with independent ways of life and thought. People were known according to their professions such as the Halika (cultivator), the Sethi (merchant), the Kolika (Weaver) and the Gadhika (druggist). The Buddhists and the Saka-Pahlavas influenced the social structure considerably. The foreigners were becoming absorbed into the indigenous society by adopting the faith and customs here and also through inter marriages with the people. Gautamiputra Satakami attempted in restoring the balance by stopping the contamination of the locals with the foreigners. Yet rules of castes were not observed strictly. Inscriptions and other records indicate the prominence of women in their social life. Their lavish charity and assumption of the titles of their husbands like Mahatalavari signifies their economic and social status. The sculptures of the period reveal their scanty dresses and profuse ornamentation. Joint family system was another normal feature of society in the Vedic patriarchal mould. The prevalence of polygamy among the princes was revealed by the metronymic tithes (calling sons after their mothers), which some of the later Satavahanas bore along with the personal name.

Economy

  As Indian subcontinent has always been a fertile land it is natural to see agriculture as mainstay and expectedly, under Satavahanas agriculture was the mainstay of both the people and the Government. The country was abundant in agricultural products. One-sixth of the produce as the share of the state was collected by the central government (King). Salt was a state monopoly. Industry and commerce occupied the next place in the economic life of the state. From the inscriptions various classes of workers such as Kularika (potters), Kolika (weaver), Vasakara (bamboo worker), Dhanntka (com dealer) and ICamara (iron worker) are known. Most of these crafts and trades were organized into guilds or srenies. Banking facilities were also provided by guilds. Brisk inland trade and sea-borne commerce was recorded by the historians. Paithan, Tagara, Karahataka, Nasik, Govardhana Vaijayanti, Dhanyakataka (also known as Dharanikota/Amaravati), Vijayapura and Vinukonda were great inland market towns of the Satavahanas. They were connected with each other and with other important parts by roads. Barukachcha and Kalyan on the west and Maisolia, Allosygne and Apheterion on the east were great centers of foreign trade. The town of Barukachacha imported wines, silver vessels, fine cloth and ornaments while her exports included ivory, agate, silk cloth and pepper. The number and variety of the Satavahana coins also prove this vigorous commercial activity. The Roman gold flowed into the Deccan for articles of luxury. The Satavahana period also witnessed an active maritime activity as revealed by the ship-marked coins of Pulomavi and Yajnasri Satakarni with the Far East. The Indian settlements in Burma, Sumatra, Arakan and Champa happened during Satavahanas.

Religion

  Most of the Satavahana rulers were staunch followers of the Vedic religion with its rituals and Varna system. Satakarni II performed a number of Vedic sacrifices including Aswamedhas and Rajasuya. Gautamiputra restored the caste system and protected the Brahmins. Adherence to the Vedic creed is also indicated by the name of King Yajna Sri. The invocations to various gods like Indra, Sankarshana, Vasudeva, Surya, Varuna etc. show the transition from the Vedic to Puranic pantheon. This feature is prominently reflected in Hala's ‘Gatha Saptasati’ wherein there are references to Pasupali and Gauri, Rudra and Parvati, Lakshmi and Narayana. The two sections- Vedic and Agamic had coalesced completely during this period, from which the modern Hinduism was born.

  The Satavahana kings were renowned for their spirit of tolerance. They even extended their patronage to the Buddhist ascetics. Buddhism commanded greater influence with the women folk (especially with the royal ladies) and with the masses. It was in fact the heyday of Buddhism in the Deccan. The Buddhist monuments, situated at Nasik, Karie, Bhaja, Bedsa, Ajanta, Amaravati. Jaggayyapeta and Nagarjunakonda, show the Chaitya cults predominate in the South. Mehasanghika sects flourished. Acharya Nagarjuna received patronage from the ruler Yajna Sri and from his time Andhra became the stronghold of Mahayanism. Due to the patronage and great services of Kharavela of Kalinga, Jainism made considerable progress in the coastal region to the north of river Krishna.

  However, the research and excavations are still going on and the verdict on the quantum of Buddhist influence is not yet complete. As recently as few months ago, newer revelations came out in news:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150913/nation-current-affairs/article/fresh-excavation-chennai-asi-official-punctures-70-year-claim

Nearly 70 years after G. Yazdani of the archaeology department (Hyderabad), claimed to have stumbled upon a Buddhist site in Kondapur, south west of Hyderabad, in Medak district, a superintending archaeologist from Chennai who took up fresh excavation, has found that the 2nd century BC site is a Brahminical cult site and not a Buddhist site as believed earlier.

Literature

  It was mostly Vedic literature and Vedic method of instructions. The elaborate sacrifices performed by Satakarni II shows how the priests were well-versed in the Vedic literature. Due to the earlier rule by Mauryans, the people were familiar with the Brahmi script and the Prakrit language. Almost all the records of the Satavahana period are in Prakrit. Sacred learning was imparted in the ashrams of the Brahmins or the Viharas of the Buddhists and the Jains that received liberal grants from the rulers. Vocational education was served by the craft and trade guilds. Among the literary works of outstanding merit produced during this period, under the patronage of the Satavahana rulers are Katantra, the Brihatkatha and the Gatha Sattasai. Sarvavarman, probably a minister of Hala, composed the Katantra on Sanskrit grammer for the use of the King. Gunadhya made over his Brihatkatha in Paisachi Prakrit to the same king Hala. Hala himself compiled the Gatha Sattasai, an authology of 700 Prakrit verses of various poets and poetesses. This Sattasai contains many Desi terms. An unknown author composed another poem in Prakrit, called Lilavati Parinayam on the marriage of Hala. In the later part of the Satavahana period, with the revival of Vedic dharma, Sanskrit became predominant. The Mahayana Buddhists including Nagarjuna wrote all their works in Sanskrit.

Art and Architecture

  With religion, and that too Buddhism, as the source of inspiration, the Satavahana period witnessed great building activity. The ancient monuments that have been brought to light south of the Vindhyas are almost all post-Asokan and Buddhist in inspiration. They included Stupas, Chaityas, Viharas and Sangharamas discovered both in the Western and in the eastern dominions of the Satavahanas. The Bhattiprolu and Amaravati Stupas were the oldest brick built Stupas in the south. The brick-built Chaityagrihas were located at Chejerla and Nagarjunakonda in the east, whereas the rock-cut grihas were in the west at Karle, Nasik, Bhaja and other places. The sculptural representations on most of the stupas, of the Jataka tales or the incidents in the life of Buddha and scenes from normal social life, are noteworthy. At Amaravati, the famous South Indian center of Buddhism, a thoroughly indigenous school of sculpture grew up. For the conception of delicate beauty of human form, and the technical skill and efficiency to realize that conception,  for the wonderful imagination and sense of symmetry in depicting the most subtle human feelings, the Amaravati artist won universal praise. With regard to the minor arts, the articles like beads, terracotta figurines, pottery, shell ornaments, precious stones and jewels and coins excavated at Paithan, Maski, Kondapur and other places, indicate their progress during this period.

Style, fashion and costumes of social life during Satavahanas:

  The Style, costumes are well depicted in Ajanta caves and documented excellent at the following website and being reproduced verbatim below:

http://www.4to40.com/history/index.asp?p=Satavahana_(Andhra)_Period_200_B.C._-_A.D._250