Que) Throw light on the Achievements and Personality of Gautamiputra Satakarni.
Ans-
Introduction –
The important king of Satavahana dynasty was Gautamiputra Siri Satakarni and he ruled from about 70 A.D. to 95 A.D. He was the most outstanding monarch of the Satavahana dynasty. He not only restored the fallen fortunes of his dynasty but also brought under his rule vast territories. He has been described as the destroyer of the Sakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas.
Achievements –
His great achievement was the extirpation of the Kshaharata dynasty to which Nahapana, the Saka chief, belonged. The overthrow of Nahapana must have taken place in the 18th year of his reign or shortly after. Aparanta, Anupa Surastra, Kukura, Akara and Avanti were conquered from Nahapana. In addition to these territories, Gautamiputra also held sway over Rishika, Asmaka, Mulaka and Vidarbha Rishika has been identified to be a district round Rishikanagar on the Krishna river. Asmaka has been identified to be the territory in the former Hyderabad state. Mulaka was on the Godavari river with its capital at Pratishthana. Vidarbha has been identified with Berar. The boundaries of the territory under his direct control extended from the Krishna in the South to Malwa and Kathiawar in the North and from Berar in the East to the Konkan in the West.
He described himself as the lord of the Vindhyas, Rikshavat, Pariyatra, Sahya, Mahendra, and other mountain ranges encireling the peninsula of South India. He took up the title of Tri-samudra-toya-pita-vahana which means one whose charges drank the waters of three seas in the East, West and South, viz., the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
It appears that before his death, Gautamiputra Satakarni lost most of the territories got by him from Nahapana. These territories seem to have been lost to the Kardamakas, another Scythian dynasty. Such a conclusion can be arrived at from a study of the geography of Ptolemy. A similar conclusion can be made from the Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman dated 150 A.D. This inscription shows that the whole of the territory conquered by Gautamiputra Satakarni from Nahapana was conquered by Rudradaman. It appears that Gautamiputra Satakarni tried to save some of his conquered territories by contracting a matrimonial alliance with the Kardamaka Sakas. A Kanheri inscription shows a certain Vasishthiputra Satakarni, probably a son of Gautamiputra Satakarni, as the husband of a daughter of a Mahakshatrapa who was probably Rudradaman.
Gautamiputra was not only a great warrior, he was also equal to the tasks of peace. He reformed the society of its abuses. He upheld the interests of all the four Varnas or castes, whether they were Dvijas (twiceborn) or Avaras (those belonging to the lower caste). He stopped the social evil called Varnasamkara, i.e., the intermingling of four social orders.
Personality –
Gautamiputra has been described as, a handsome person with a charming and radiant face. He had a beautiful gait. He had muscular and long arms. He was ready to impart fearlessness to all. He was an obedient son of his mother. He was reluctant to hurt even an offending enemy. He was the refuge of the virtuous. He was the fountain of good manners. He has been described as the asylum of fortune. He took great interest in the happiness of his subjects. He levied taxes according to what was considered to be just.
Conclusion –
An attempt has been made to identify Gautamiputra Satakarni with Vikramaditya. The theory seems to be untenable on the ground that Gautamiputra never took up the title of Vikramaditya. Moreover, he did not use the Vikram era. He used his own regnal reckoning. The title of Gautamiputra as Vara-varana-Vikrama-Charu-Vikrama, i.e., one whose gait is as beautiful as that of the choice elephant, has nothing to do with the title of Vikramaditya which means equal to the sun in valour. Likewise, the suggestion that Gautamiputra Satakarni was the Satavahana contemporary of Nagarjuna does not seem to be probable. According to Hiuen Tsang, this king held sway over South Kosala. However, this name is not mentioned in the list of countries forming part of the empire of Gautamiputra. It is also suggested that Gautamiputra Satakarni ruled generally with his son Vashithiputra Pulumayi. However, this also does not seem to be correct as there is absolutely no inscription or coin where the names of both of them are mentioned together.