Introduction to Andhradesh

• Andhradesa is the ancient name of the eastern part of the Deccan plateau, stretching from the foot of the Balaghat Range and Ajanta Ghats to the Eastern Ghats and the sea coast.

• The region is divided into two distinct parts: the tableland on the west and the coast-strip on the east.

• The tableland is bounded by the Manjīra river on the west and the Eastern Ghats on the east.

• Between the Eastern Ghats and the coast is a fertile belt enriched by the deltas of the Godāvari and Kṛṣṇa rivers.

• The rivers in Andhradesa flow from the north-west to the south-east, draining into the Bay of Bengal.

• The Godāvari and Kṛṣṇa are the major rivers of the region, with their sources in the Western Ghats.

• The Godāvari receives tributaries such as the Manjīra, Prāņahita, Indrāvati, and Sabarī.

• The Kṛṣṇa river flows eastward and southward, with tributaries like the Bhīma, Tungabhadra, Dindi, Mūsi, and Muni joining it.

• The Kṛṣṇa river cuts through the Eastern Ghats, forming gorges and eventually splits into branches at Bezwada, creating a delta.

• Other significant rivers in the region include the Pinākini (North Pennar), Pāleru, Mannēru, Guṇdlakamma, Sārada, Vamsadhāra, Nāgāvali, and Rśikulya.

• The Pinākini rises in Mysore, flows northward, and breaks through the Eastern Ghats before entering the sea.

• The deltas of the Godāvari and Kṛṣṇa rivers almost touch each other, creating fertile lands with sand and silt deposits.

• The Kolanu (Kolleru) lake, formed between the deltas, is an important feature, covering about fifty square miles with numerous islands and fishing villages.

• The Godāvari and Kṛṣṇa rivers flow through deeply trenched valleys, making them navigable for hundreds of miles from the coast into the interior.

• Rich sea-ports flourished along the 400-mile coast of Andhra, encouraging navigation, colonization, and commerce.

• The rivers were important for inland communication, connecting the sea to the interior.

• The region’s physical geography, with its dry soil, extreme climate, and large flowing rivers, contributed to the Andhras’ hardy and brave nature.

• The contrast between the fertile coast-strip and the dry table-land helped shape the Andhra people’s character, making them adventurous, intellectual, and emotional.

• Andhradesa, also known as Andhramandala, Andhrabhūmi, Andhraviṣaya, Andhrapatha, or simply Andhra, is called the Telugu country in modern usage, referring to the land of the Telugu-speaking people.

• Andhra is the ancient name of the Telugu people and their homeland.

• After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the Śātavāhanas (or Imperial Andhras) extended their dominion into north, west, and south, covering much of the Indian Peninsula.

• Andhradesa was the heart of the Imperial Andhra power and remains their original home.

• Early inscriptions, Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, and the writings of foreign travelers support the idea of Andhradesa being the Telugu country.

• The Maidavolu Prakrit charter of the Pallava king Sivaskandavarman is the earliest record to mention Andhrapatha.

• Pali tradition in the Dīpavamsa, Kathāvatthu Commentary, and the Mahāvamsa mention schools like the Andhaka, indicating their origin in Andhradesa.

• Megasthenes (300 B.C.) and Pliny the Elder (77 A.D.) refer to the Andhras as a powerful tribe, controlling villages, walled towns, and a large army with 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants.

• The Puranas mention the Śātavāhanas as Andhras, named after their homeland Andhradesa.

• Vātsyāyana in his Kāmasūtra mentions the Andhras as a distinct nation, and Sankarārya in his commentary defines Andhradesa as lying south of the Narmadā and east of Karnāṭa.

• Varāhamihira (6th century A.D.) mentions Andhradesa lying south of Vidarbha, Vidēha, and Cēdi.

• Yuan Chwang, the Chinese pilgrim (7th century), referred to the region as Andhra and Mah-Andhra, distinguishing territories by the Kṛṣṇa river.

• Dandin (in his Dasakumaracaritra) speaks of Andhra as lying to the south-west of Kalinga, with its capital Vēngi called Andhranagarī.

• From the fall of the Śātavāhana Empire in the 3rd century A.D. to the overthrow of the Viṣṇukuṇdin dynasty in the 7th century, Andhradesa encompassed the eastern region of Dakṣiṇāpatha.

• Andhradesa was bordered by the Manjīra river to the west, Godāvari and its tributaries to the north, and Pinākini to the south.

• The boundaries of Andhra included Mahārāstra, Kuntala, Vidarbha, Cēdi, Dakṣiṇā-Kōsala, Kalinga, and Tondaimaṇdalam.

• From the 9th century, the name Andhradesa gradually fell into disuse, and the Eastern Cālukyas referred to their kingdom as Vēngi, the most prominent province.

• Vēngi became synonymous with Andhradesa during the Eastern Cālukya period, and they were called Andhrapati by neighboring dynasties, meaning lord of Andhra.

• Some foreign and ancient names referred to Andhra, such as Massalia or Maisolia for the Kṛṣṇa river by the Greeks, Manjarika by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Siam, and the Far East, and Manjīradēsa in the Puranas.

• The name Manjīra is preserved in Mājēru, a small fishing village near the Kṛṣṇa river mouth.

• The Nāga Kingdom also borrowed the name Manjīra for its capital.

• These names were not used for the entire Andhra region but referenced certain territories.

• Andhradesa acquired the name Trilingabhūmi or Trilinga due to Brahmanical influence.

• Trilinga means Land of the Three Lingas or phallic emblems of Shiva, referring to three significant lingas in the region.

• These three celebrated lingas are:

  • Mallikārjuna linga at Śrīsailam (Kurnool district, South),

  • Bhīmesvara- linga at Daksārāma (East Godavari district, East),

  • Kālēsvara- linga at the Godāvari river’s confluence with the Mannēru river (Karīmnagar district, North).

• Over time, the name Trilingabhūmi became corrupted into Telungu-bhūmi or Telungu-nādu, and later as Telingāna during the Mohammadan period.

• Telungu-nādu gradually lent its name to both the people and their language, becoming synonymous with Andhra and Telugu.

• Telungu eventually underwent dialectal variations, becoming Tenungu, Telugu, and Tenugu.

• Trilingabhūmi is therefore the same region as Andhradesa, though the term is not as ancient as Andhradesa.

• The terms Trilinga, Trailinga, or Telungu gradually replaced the original names of the land, its people, and their language.

• Andhra language from the Śātavāhana epoch (and the first six or seven centuries A.D.) disappeared due to the gradual transformation of the language through linguistic fusion from multiple immigrations and race mixture.

• The original speech became unintelligible, leading to the loss of early literature.

• The language of Andhradesa during the Śātavāhana Empire was likely a form of Prakrit called Paisāci, in which Guṇādhya wrote the Brhatkatha, now lost.

• The Paisāci dialect was cultivated as a literary language in Andhradesa under the Imperial Andhras and their successors, the Andhrabhṛtyas.

• The modern Andhra language began forming around the 4th century A.D., possibly evolving from the Paisāci dialect.

• The Prakrit used in Amarāvati inscriptions shows close affinity with Paisāci and supports the ancient tradition about Guṇādhya and the Brhatkatha.

• Traces of modern Telugu can be found in village names and local administrative officers from the 4th century A.D..

• The Andhra language gradually evolved into a standard literary dialect, with the earliest specimens emerging from the 7th century A.D..

• The modern Andhra language today stands as the descendant of the original Andhra dialect.

• The disappearance of the old dialect, possibly Andhri or Paisāci, led to the loss of literature such as the Brhatkatha.

• Andhradesa today covers the entire eastern half of the Deccan, from Chanda district in the Central Provinces in the north to Bangalore and Kolar in Mysore in the south.

• A straight line from Madras to Bangalore and up to the point where the Varadā river meets the Prāṇahita river marks the boundaries of Andhradesa.

• Andhradesa lies between latitudes 13° and 19° in the Deccan, with a south-eastward slope, resembling a waxing crescent moon.

• The region’s ancient history, from the fall of the Imperial Andhras in the early 3rd century A.D. to the establishment of the Eastern Cālukya Dynasty in the 7th century, involves the political history of various dynasties ruling the area.

• This period is marked by dynasties ruling Andhradesa as paramount powers or local rulers, spanning from the 3rd century A.D. to the 2nd decade of the 7th century.

The Iksvakus

• The Imperial Andhras or Śātavāhanas established several subordinate dynasties to govern various provinces of their vast empire in Dakṣiṇāpatha.

• After the fall of the Śātavāhana Empire, these subordinate dynasties survived for a time in Andhradesa.

• The Puranas describe various local dynasties that gained power after the fall of the Imperial Andhras.

• Some of these local dynasties assumed imperial dignity, similar to the Śātavāhana dynasty.

• It is necessary to examine the Puranic accounts to reconstruct the history of the dynasty that succeeded or displaced the Imperial Śātavāhanas in Andhradesa.

• The Puranic accounts are typically prophetic, containing two stages of termination:

  • First stage: Period after the downfall of the Imperial Andhras, where local dynasties ruled for a time.

  • Second stage: Chronicles extend to the rise of the Guptas in the 4th century A.D., marking the reign of Chandragupta I.

• Puranas do not mention Samudragupta’s conquests or the rise of the Gupta Empire, indicating they are versified chronicles.

• These accounts were likely compiled in a systematic manner after the middle of the 3rd century A.D., particularly in the Matsya Purana.

• The Vayu, Brahmanda, Viṣnu, and Bhagavata Puranas carry the historical narrative beyond the Śātavāhanas, to include the rise of the Gupta kingdom.

• The Puranas claim they borrowed their accounts from the Bhavisya Purana, which may have existed in the 2nd century A.D. but was augmented to include the Gupta Dynasty.

• There are variations in the narratives of the Puranas:

  • The Matsya Purana generally offers the shorter version.

  • The Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas contain the fuller, revised versions.

  • The India Office Manuscript of the Vayu presents an unrevised version, sometimes agreeing with the Matsya Purana.

• The Vayu Purana Manuscript may represent an intermediate text between the Matsya and other Vayu versions.

• The Matsya Purana is considered the older version than the India Office Manuscript of the Vayu.

• The revised versions of the Vayu, Brahmanda, and Bhagavata Puranas provide a more expansive account of the history.

• The Puranic account of local dynasties consists of three parts:

  • First part: Number of kings in each dynasty.

  • Second part: Duration of each dynasty.

  • Third part: Subsequent kings in each dynasty.

• The Matsya, Vayu, and Brahmanda Puranas generally agree in the first part of the dynastic account.

• The second part differs: The Matsya Purana presents a disarranged version, while the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas maintain a consistent order.

• The Matsya Purana may have been revised in the latter part of the 3rd century A.D., while the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas did not revise the periods or durations of the dynasties after their initial compilation.

• All local dynasties are generally regarded as contemporaneous in the Puranic accounts.

• The number of years assigned to these dynasties should be considered in Prakrit usage and with reference to the political events of the 3rd century A.D., when the Matsya Purana was first compiled.

• Some manuscripts of the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas state that under the Imperial Andhras, five contemporaneous dynasties were established in their empire in Dakṣiṇāpatha.

• The Matsya Purana does not mention the five dynasties but agrees with the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas regarding the summary of dynasties and the number of kings.

• The Bhagavata and Viṣnu Puranas mention only three dynasties, excluding two minor feudatory families, the Mahārathis and Muņdas (also called Murundas, Mundanadas, or Mundiyas), which ceased early.

• The Puranas provide details on the duration and succession of the dynasties that persisted until the next Puranic epoch, marked by the rise of the Kilakilas or Vindhyakas.

• The Matsya, Vayu, and Brahmanda Puranas mention a passage about the fall of the Andhras and the rise of new dynasties:

  • “When the kingdom of the Andhras has come to an end, there will be kings belonging to the lineage of their servants, seven Andhras or Andhra-bhrtyas, and ten Abhīras…”

  • This translation is incorrect, and another possible interpretation is: “While the Andhras are still reigning, seven generations of their lineage and ten Abhīras…”.

• The Bhagavata Purana states “seven Abhīras and Andhrabhṛtyas”.

• The Viṣnu Purana similarly mentions “Andhrabhṛtyas and seven Abhīras”.

• Though the Puranas do not provide an exact number of dynasties, they clearly mention the subordinate Andhras as Andhrabhrtyasas.

• The Matsya Purana provides exclusive information, mentioning one more family, the Śrīparvatīyas, as a subordinate Andhra dynasty.

• The Matsya Purana states that the Andhras and Śrīparvatīyas will endure the earth together for 105 years or 52 years each.

• A majority of Vayu and Brahmanda manuscripts have a different passage: “The Andhras, the two dynasties, will enjoy the earth for 100 years, and 100 years respectively.”

  • This could also mean the two dynasties reigned for 50 years each.

• The Puranas include two subordinate Andhra dynasties: one being the Andhrabhṛtya dynasty and the other the Śrīparvatīya family.

• Regarding the duration of these dynasties, the Matsya and the other two Puranas (Vayu and Brahmanda) do not agree:

  • The Matsya Purana has revised its periods, but the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas did not revise the durations of their dynasties.

• These subordinate Andhra dynasties were classified as contemporaneous.

• The duration of each dynasty must be considered with respect to their contemporaneity and the political events of the middle of the 3rd century A.D..

• The Vayu and Brahmanda Purana texts should be interpreted as meaning both dynasties ruled for one hundred years or one hundred and two years, with each dynasty reigning for 50 or 52 years respectively.

• After the fall of the Imperial Andhras, three paramount dynasties emerged in Dakṣiṇāpatha: the Abhiras, the Andhra-bhrtyas (subordinate Andhras), and the Śrīparvatīyas.

• The Abhīras were not directly established by the Śātavāhanas but rose under them, gaining importance simultaneously with the decline of the imperial power.

• The Andhrabhrtyas and Śrīparvatīyas were directly established by the Imperial Andhras to protect the extensive sea-coast of their empire in Dakṣiṇāpatha.

• The Andhrabhrtyas and Śrīparvatīyas bore the imperial title Śatakarṇi like the parent Śātavāhana dynasty.

• Andhrabhrtyas are also known as Coṭu-kula or the Cutus, and their records are found in Kanheri (Konkan), Banavāsi (North Kanara district), and Mālavalli (Shimoga district, Mysore).

• The region over which their inscriptions are found extends from Konkan in the north to Vēgavati in Mysore in the south, known as Kuntala or Vanavāsa (Vaijayanti), with Banavāsi identified as their ancient metropolis.

• The inscriptions of the Andhrabhrtyas are written in Prakrit language with an archaic script, dating back to the 3rd century A.D..

• The terms Cuṭu or Cuṭu-kula indicate that the Andhrabhrtyas were a subordinate or junior family in relation to the older and imperial Andhra dynasty.

• The identity of the Śrīparvatīya-Andhras (or Śrīparvatīyas) has been clarified through recent archaeological discoveries in the Nāgārjunakonda valley on the Kṛṣṇa River in Guntur district.

• These discoveries revealed the identity of the Ikṣvākus, a prominent dynasty that ruled over Andhradesa and beyond, with their capital at Vijayapuri near Nāgārjunakonda.

• The Ikṣvākus were identified as the Śrīparvatīyas because Śrīparvata, a celebrated hill, lay near Vijayapurī, and both are mentioned in the Nāgārjunakonda inscriptions.

• Vijayapuri is also referred to in Amarāvati inscriptions, indicating its existence before the rise of the Ikṣvākus to power.

• The Ikṣvākus, therefore, were the Śrīparvatīyas or the Śrīparvatīya-Andhras mentioned in the Puranas.

• The Puranas state that one of the subordinate Andhra dynasties will “enjoy the earth”, indicating that they would rise to imperial power like the parent dynasty.

• The Cuṭu-kula kings (Andhrabhrtyas of Vanavāsa) did not rise to imperial dignity, whereas the Śrīparvatīyas (the Ikṣvākus) actually assumed the imperial role.

• The identity of the Śrīparvatīyas with the Ikṣvākus is confirmed by their practice of linking personal names with matronymic appellations such as Vāsisthiputra, Mātharīputra, and others, a practice borrowed from the Imperial Śātavāhanas.

• This practice of using matronymic epithets was not followed by later dynasties like the Pallavas, who introduced a new style by calling themselves by their personal names, patronymic gotra, and family name.

• The Ikṣvākus were the immediate successors of the Śātavāhanas in Andhradesa, and they were closely connected with the parent dynasty through blood ties, copying the political and religious traditions of the Śātavāhana Empire.

• The Ikṣvākus appear to have been an earlier dynasty that ruled in the heart of Andhra even before the Śātavāhanas established their empire in Dakṣiṇāpatha.

• There is an old saying in Andhradesa, “This is as old as the Ikṣvākus,” suggesting their great antiquity and the lasting impression they left in the region.

• The saying implies that the Ikṣvākus were an ancient dynasty, predating the Śātavāhanas, and were likely entrusted with the governance of home provinces in Andhradesa by the Śātavāhanas after they expanded their empire.

• The Ikṣvākus were immigrants from the north, possibly one of the earliest dynasties to establish themselves as rulers in the South.

• The name Ikṣvāku is of great antiquity and appears in the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda, where it is associated with an ancient king.

• The connection of the Ikṣvākus with the Purus or the Pauravas is confirmed in the Satapatha Brahmana, where Purukutsa is mentioned as an Ikṣvāku.

• The name Ikṣvāku recalls the Solar dynasty of Raghu and Sri Ramachandra in the Ramayana and Puranas, with Ayodhya and Kosala descending from Ikṣvāku.

• The Ikṣvākus were mentioned as ruling in Visala, Mithila, and Kusinagara, and forty-eight of the one hundred sons of Ikṣvāku ruled in the South, as per the Vishnu Purana and Vayu Purana.

• The Puranas list several Ikṣvāku kings, including Běhadbala and Prasēnajit, the Pasenadi of Buddhist literature, a contemporary of Buddha and Bimbisāra.

• Siddhārtha, who became the Buddha, is also mentioned in the Puranic list of Ikṣvāku kings, with a tradition linking the Buddha to the Ikṣvāku lineage.

• One of the Ikṣvāku inscriptions at Nāgārjunakonda mentions that the Buddha was born from the Ikṣvāku lineage, emphasizing their illustrious ancestry.

• The Purāṇas state that forty-eight sons of the race of Ikṣvāku ruled in the Deccan (Dākṣiṇa), indicating the expansion of the Ikṣvāku dynasty to the south.

• The Ikṣvākus of Andhradesa, likely a branch of the main Ikṣvāku dynasty, migrated southwards at an unknown period, as confirmed by the Vayu Purana.

• The Vayu Purana traces the foundation of the kingdoms of Asmaka and Mulaka to Ikṣvāku immigrants, with both regions lying along the Godavari river.

• Mulaka’s capital was Paithan (ancient Pratishthāna), and Asmaka was watered by the Godavari, adjacent to Mulaka.

• According to the Suttanipāta, Bāvari, a Brāhman from Kosala, settled in Asmaka and sent his pupils to Paithan, Mābismatī, and Ujjaini in the north, indicating their connection to the northern regions.

• Mulaka and Asmaka were located in the northern part of Andhradesa, roughly in the Aurangabad and Nizamabad districts.

• The migration of the Ikṣvākus to the south likely occurred around the 6th century B.C., when the kingdom of Kosala declined due to the rise of Magadha under Bimbisāra.

• The existence of the kingdom of Maha-Kosala or Dākṣiṇa-Kosala in the Deccan is a strong indication of the Ikṣvāku migration southward.

• Lava ruled Uttara-Kosala from Śrāvastī, while Kusa founded Kusāsthalīpura at the foot of the Vindhyas, reigning over Dākṣiṇa-Kosala.

• The last known descendant of Kusa, Bīhadbala, was killed in the battle of Kurukshetra; however, there is evidence suggesting the Kusa dynasty did not end with the beginning of the Kali Age as the Puranas suggest.

• The recent discovery of Ikṣvāku inscriptions at Nāgārjunakonda disproves the Puranic tradition that the Ikṣvāku rule ended before Christ.

• The inscriptions show that the Ikṣvākus moved southward into Andhradesa, acquired sovereignty, and flourished as an imperial power well into the third century CE.

• Prakrit inscriptions from Nāgārjunakonda, Jaggayyapēta, and Rāmireddipalli refer to a line of powerful Ikṣvāku kings who held paramount sway over the Andhra country for over half a century following the downfall of the Imperial Andhras.

• The Ikṣvākus of Andhradesa emerge as an imperial power after the extinction of the Śātavāhana dynasty, filling the gap in the history of Dākṣiṇāpatha and Andhradesa in the post-Śātavāhana era.

• The Ikṣvākus closely resembled the Śātavāhanas and continued the imperial sovereignty of the Śātavāhanas, adding lustre and glory to the land.