South India-shatavahanas, Kadambas And Gangas

Srikakulam

Simukha was a king of Shathavahanas dynasty who made his capital Srikakulam. Srikakulam is a city and district headquarter in the state of Andhra Pradesh, it is an important historical south Indian city.

Gathasaptashati

Hala was a Satvahan king ruled in present-day Decan region. Gathasaptashati is an ancient work in Prakrit language written by Hala during the time of Shatavahanas.

Halmidi

Halmidi inscription is the first known Kannada inscription which was in use in the 5^th century.

North Canara

The Kadambas (345-540 CE) was an ancient family of Karnataka. Kadambas ruled entire North Canara(Uttara Kannada) district during 325 C.E. to 540 C.E.

Durvinita

Ganga dynasty was an important ancient dynasty of Karnataka ruled in Karnataka region between 350-1000 CE. Durvinita was a famous king of the Ganga dynasty and a great scholar. He was very fond of literature.

Chavunda Purana

Chavundaraya or Chamundraya was an Indian military commander, architect, poet, and minister during Western Ganga Dynasty. Chavunda Purana is second oldest known literary work in the Kannada language.

The last king of the Shatavahanas was Yajnashri Shatakarni. Shakas attacked the empire continuously and empire could not sustain itself. After that empire started to decline and became weak.

Shatavahanas promoted art during their time. They gave us many beautiful and famous paintings. Ajanta paintings and Amaravati paintings are some of them. They also constructed temples,
viharas, and chaityalayas. A chaityagraha built in Karle is also a famous temple or prayer hall of that time.

Despite differentiated on the basis of different sects and religion, the society at the time of Ganga dynasty was dependent on each other. Many social values were found among people of Ganga society like honesty, loyalty, bravery, and patience.

The Gangas were fond of literature work. The works were written in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada languages. Durvinita wrote the Sanskrit work ‘Shabdavatara’, Sree Purusha wrote ‘Gajashastra’, Shivamadhava wrote ‘Gajashtaka’ and Vadibasimha wrote ‘Gadya Chintamani’ and ‘Shatra Chudamani’.

Epigraphy is a term which means the study of inscriptions. It is the science of identifying the smallest unit of inscription writing, clarifying its meaning and its uses with respect to dates, cultural events etc. and concluding the meaning of writing. It also includes critically analyzing the inscription on the basis of religious, political and social context. For example “What is the material and technique of inscription?”, ”Is it about the temple, treaties or building inscriptions?” etc.

I visited the Srikanteshwara temple recently. It is also known as Nanjundeshwara temple. It is an ancient temple located at the right bank of river Kapila in the town of Nanjangud in the Karnataka state. It is also famous as ‘Dakshin Kashi’.

This is the front view of the temple.

This is another top view picture of the temple which shows its vividness clearly.

The best way to cultivate the habit of reading inscriptions is to read and analyze them more and more logically you can do. To do it, firstly you have to gain knowledge about the traditions, culture, administration, and beliefs of people of the place of whom inscription belongs. You don’t have to overstretch yourself but have to be consistent means doing it daily. Consistency is the key to developing a habit. You have to think according to the happenings of the past to study an old inscription.

Halmidi inscription: I studied Halmidi inscription which is an oldest known inscription in the Kannada language. It is engraved on a stone in Halmidi village which is located in Hassan district of Karnataka around 450 C.E.-500 C.E.

It is a replica of original Halmidi inscription. It is written in pre-old Kannada language. Pre-old Kannada language later evolved into old, middle and modern Kannada. It also indicates towards the use of Kannada as an administrative language. The original inscription of this is in an archaeological museum of Bengaluru.

The capitals of Ganga dynasty were Kolar and Talakadu.

Kolar is known as the Golden city of India in the state of Karnataka. It is very famous for the production of milk, silk, mango, and gold-mining. It is land of prominent temples like Someshwara temple, Kolaramma temple. Kolaramma is known as the goddess of the city.

Someshwara Temple

Kolaramma Temple

Talakadu is a desert-like town in Karnataka near Mysore on the left bank of river Kaveri. Earlier it has around 30 temples but now they are under the sand. It is a place of Vaidyeshwara temple, Kirtinarayana temple etc. It is also advancing in horticulture and wine making and emerging as an epicenter of fine wines.

Vaidyeshwara Temple