POST MAURYAN PERIOD [with special reference to

Kushanas and Satavahanas]

The period between circa 200 B.C. and A.D. 300 in conventional historical writings is usually
perceived as a dark period, largely owing to the absence of territorially extensive political
formations. However, viewed differently the five centuries between the decline of the
Mauryas and coming of the Guptas were important for various reasons. They were
characterised not only by extensive economic and cultural contacts within the country and
with the West and Central Asia, the beginning of a long-term mutually beneficial networks of
exchange with southeast Asia, and the evolution of new art forms at Mathura, Sarnath, Sanchi
and Amaravati, but also significant developments in the political sphere. The post Mauryan
period saw the emergence of many big and small dynasties which included the Sungs,
Kanvas, Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Parthians, Kushanas and Satavahanas.

A SHORT DYNASTIC HISTORY

The death of Ashoka seems to have inaugurated the disintegration of the Mauryan empire.
Brihadratha, the last ruler of the dynasty, was murdered by his general, Pushyamitra Sunga, in
about 185 B.C. He then founded the Sunga dynasty which lasted a little more than a hundred
years. The last king of the dynasty was assassinated around 73 B.C., leading to the foundation
of the short-lived Kanva dynasty by Vasudeva. Nomadic tribal movements occurred in the
2nd Cenury B.C. and acquired a coherent form. The nomadic central Asian tribes pushed
westward towards Bactria. An equally important political development during this period was
the waves of movements from across the northwestern borders. The Seleucids had been
thwarted in their efforts to enter the Indian plains. The Greek kings of Bactria succeeded
where the Seleucids had failed. The successors of these Greek kings of Bactria are known as
Indo-Greeks who came to occupy large parts of northwestern India and Afghanistan. About
three dozen such kings are known largely from their coins. Indian literary sources refer to
them as Yavanas. The conquest of large parts of northwestern India is attested by Strabo’s
Geography and Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Menander is the bestknown Indo-Greek ruler
and his reign is dated to 155-130 B.C. While his coins have been reported from Kabul and
Mathura, the Milindapanho records discussions between him and the Buddhist philosopher
Nagasena. With the death of Menander, the political influence of the Indo-Greeks waned.
Continued manifestation of the process of conquest of northwestern India can be seen in the
emergence of the Sakas as the new rulers of the region in the first century B.C. Maues or
Moga was the first Saka king in India. He and his successor Azes I founded a large kingdom
by displacing the Indo-Greeks. Azes II was the last importat Saka king in the northwest. In
the early part of the first century A.D they were replaced by the Indo-Parthians or Pahlavas,
whose rule did not last long. Gondopharnes who ruled in the first half of the first century
A.D. is the best known among them. The rise of the Kushanas to prominence in India in the
early first century A.D coincided with the decline of the Pahlavas. Kanishka was the most
important Kushana ruler. The dynasty continued into the early decades of the third century
A.D. Then comes the Satavahanas, showcasing the earliest dynastic rule in the peninsular
India.

POLITY
For analyzing the political system, the administrative details are rather insufficient. It is said
that the political organisation did not possess the rigid centralisation of the Mauryas. The
inscriptions and coins do not indicate a powerful and large administrative machinery. We
however, come across grandiloquent titles of the rulers. They bore titles such as maharaja,
ratatiraja (king of kings), devaputra (son of God), etc. Kanishka and his successors used the
title shaonano shao (shahanushahi being its Persianized form) as a prefix to their names on
the coin legends. Kanishka, for example, in an inscription at Mathura represents himself as
maharaja rajatiraja devaputra shahi.
The details of provincial and local administration are hazyBelow the king there seems to have
been the kshatrapas at the provincial level. It has been suggested that there were about five to
seven satrapies. The Sarnath Buddhist image inscription of the time of Kanishka refers to the
reinstatement of two kshatrapas who were the descendants of a mahakshatrapa. In some cases
people erected a stupa and sangharama in honour of the kshatrapa. We come across terms like
dandanayaka and mahadandanayaka, offices which combined civil and military functions,
and the kshatrapas seem to have exercised their power through these officials. There are
references to some other officials like bakanpati danapati and the padrapala, who looked after
uncultivated land around the villages. In the region of Mathura the gramika as the village
headman seems to have looked after the maintenance of local law and order. Manusmriti
refers to the term gramasyadhipati and in the Shanti parva we come across the expression
gramadhipati. The kshatrapas were also known as gramasvami. All these indicate the
importance and authority of the village headmen. The guilds similarly may have played an
important role in the administration of urban centres.

Administration under the Satavahanas was much simpler that under the Mauryas. Inscriptions
refer to ministers who were in charge of various functions. Among other things, they served
as treasury officers and maintained land records. They were perhaps paid in money from the
revenue collected by the state. We do not have exact figures for the amount of revenue
collected, but we do know that the state collected taxes both from agriculture and trade. One
of the practices started by Satavahana rulers in the first century A.D. was that of donating
revenue of a village to, either a Brahmana or the Buddhist Sangha. This practice became
much more widespread under the Gupta rulers.

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

With the establishment of Kushana power in Gandhara and Indus region the landtrade from
Ganges to Euphrates and sea trade across Arabian sea and Persian Gulf to Rome flourished
and expanded. The silk route passed through Kushana territories in central Asia and it was
linked with China and Asian provinces of Roman Empire. Kushana rule let to the
establishment of new settlement with an admixture of population. This must have led to
mobility in society and with the increase in the number of crafts and guilds and growth of
foreign trade the rigidity of the caste system weakened especially in the trading ports and
towns. Kushanas had established trade links with the Romans. They also established trading
relations with South East Asia, China and Central Asia in this period. There is no evidence for
state monopoly in any sector of the economy nor in day-to-day economic transactions.
However, it did play an important role in encouraging trade and other commercial activites.

By third century B.C. the Krishna - Godavari valleys had witnessed the rise of agrarian
localities of paddy cultivation as the place name Dhanyakataka or Dhamnakada suggests,
presupposing specialisation of arts and crafts, trade networks, urban enclaves, social
differentiation and the entailing political processes. It was obviously not more than a simple
hierarchy of the landed households (gahapati-s) and their servants (dasas and bhrtaka-s) at the
level of production relations. The agrarian localities were small compared to the large
uplands and forest tracks inhabited by the ‘tribal’ people who constituted the majority.
Paithan was the region’s nerve centre of economic activities and its strategic importance in
the context of trade and urbanism also accounts for its Buddhist and Jain importance as well
as the Mauryan political control. The ports of transmarine commerce, such as Barygaza,
Supara and Kalyan added to the region’s significance. The Mauryan control in its turn further
enhanced its importance. It is out of this aristocracy that the line of the Satavahana rule
began. In short, the historical context of the emergence of the Satavahana state relates to the
differentiated economy and stratified societies in the Krishna - Godavari valleys.

Turning to the socio-cultural situation obtaining within the Kushana empire, one observes the
prevalence of numerous languages, religions and cultures. North Indian society was
characterised by rich diversity, the Upper and Middle Gangetic plains being different from
the ancient Punjab. In the Punjab and adjoining regions there were a number of Gana-
samghas, which outlived the Kushanas and continued up to the Guptas, suggesting the
existence of varied socio-economic and political patterns. The official language of the
Kushana state was Bactrian written in Kushanised Greek script. Sanskrit too was in use and
records were written in Brahmi and Kharosthi as well. A coin of Kanishka found near Termez
on the Oxus bears legends in Bactrian on the obverse and Sanskrit on the reverse. The
extensive territory of the Kushanas inhabited by various ethnic groups, speaking different
languages and practising diverse religions made it necessary for the state to adopt a liberal
and accommodative approach. The Kushana state characterised by ethnic, linguistic and
cultural pluralism tried to integrate varied groups by being non-sectarian accommodating
variety and developing a syncretic ideology. Thus, the state tried to sustain and perpetuate
itself by being responsive to the aspirations of diverse groups. That explains the adoption of
multiple royal titles and the accommodation of numerous deities from various traditions,
across the empire. The Kushana titles and motifs on the coins show how zealously they tried
to legitimize their rule.

The social structure of the Deccan under the Satavahanas shows many features which are
different from those prescribed in the Sanskrit texts such as the Manusmriti. For example,
many inscriptions of the Satavahana rulers mention the names of their mothers rather than
those of their fathers, such as Gautamiputra Satakarni or Satakarni, son of Gautami. This is
not in keeping with the Dharmasastras which state that in the approved forms of marriage the
bride acquires the gotra of her husband and loses that of the father. Another interesting feature
of the inscriptions is that the Satavahanas refer to themselves as unique Brahmanas who
crushed the pride of the Kshatriyas. According to the Brahmanical texts it was only the
Kshatriyas who had the right to rule. The inscriptions are also usefull as they record
donations by a cross-section of the population and from this we can judge the prosperity of
certain sections of the society. Traders and merchants, mainly blacksmiths, gardeners and
fishermen mentioned their occupations with their names and not their castes. In most cases
people were known by their occupations rather than their castes.

Women frequently made gifts either on their own or sometimes with their husbands or sons.
One of the Satavahana I queens named Nayanika also performed Vedic sacrifices and made
large donations to I the Brahmana and Buddhist monks. These examples indicate that society
in the Deccan were not governed by rules laid down by the Brahmanical texts. The role of the
Buddhist monasteries mentioned in the records of the period had also changed a great deal
since the time of the Buddha. In the beginning Buddhist monks were allowed very few
personal possessions. These were limited to a few robes and a begging bowl. Gradually the
influence and membership of the Buddhist Sangha increased. We have seen that Satavahana
kings donated large sums of money and land to the Buddhist monasteries. This added to the
wealth of the Sangha. It is also at this time that we get references to donations made by
Buddhist monks and nuns themselves.