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D. Raja Reddy
Fig. 2: Left sided coin legend Rano Chimuka. Right sided coin (Ra)
no Satavaha (na).
Kotalingala in Telangana was the beginning of the rule of
Satavahanas:
Though Satavahana coins were found from 1830 onwards the coins
of the first ruler Chimuka were only found only at Kotalingala in
Telangana. It may be worth recalling that in coastal Andhra region
no coins of early rulers of Satavahana dynasty were ever found.
Early ruler’s coins of Satavahana dynasty were found in Telangana
at various Satavahana sites such as Peddabunkur, Dhulikatta and
Kondapur besides Kotalingala thereby confirming that Satavahanas
were Andhras and their rule began in Telangana. Rama Rao stud-
ied 38512 Satavahana coins in Hyderabad museum and 6000 such
coins in Madras museum and opined that Satavahana rule com-
menced in Telangana 3. Rapson reported that the Satavahana coins
found in coastal Andhra belonged to those of later Satavahana kings
beginning with Gautamiputra Satakarni 4. It is well known that the
capital of later rulers of this dynasty was Amaravati or Dhanakataka
in Andhra region.
Fig. 3: Gobada coin on the left side and Samagopa coin on the
right side.
Vasistiputra Pulumavi
Coin 1 (Fig .4): No details of the size and weight are possible since
the coin has been made into an ornament. Metal= Silver;
shape= Round. Obverse: Portrait of the king facing right with orna-
ments. Legend starting around 2’clock: Vasithaputasa Siri
Pudumavisa Rano.Reverse: six arched hill with a crescent at the
top to the right and an Ujjain symbol with crescent at the top. River
sign below. Sun symbol in the center at the top. Legend starts
roughly at 12’oclock: Arhanasha Vahitti Makanasha Tiru
Pudumavisha.
Coin.2 (Fig. 5): Metal= Silver; Shape= Round; Size= 1.5 x 1.75 cms;
Weight= 2.2 gms;
Obverse: Portrait of the king facing right with ornaments. Legend
starts at 3’o clock; Vasitaputa (sa) Vijaya Satakanisa Rano.
Reverse: six arched hill with crescent above it. Ujjain symbol with
sun mark in the center above. Legend starts at 12’o clock
Arahanasha Vahitaputashatiru Vijaya Hatakanisha.
A perusal of the script reveals that similar words are written differ-
ently in two languages namely Prakrit on the obverse and Dravidian
on the reverse. It is well known that all native Indian scripts evolved
from Brahmi. These coins provide a proof that some of the alpha-
bets kept changing by 2nd century AD. It is obvious that the ‘Sha’ is
not used in Prakrit where as ‘sa’ is used.
Table: III
coins and this study also confirmed that Anantpur find of uninscribed
coins were made from Jangamarajapalli ore. The chemical analy-
sis of Satavahana copper coins are listed in table-III. The coper
content of these coins varied greatly.
Fig. 6
Conclusion:
Coins contributed a great deal to the study of Satavahana history
by ending some of the controversies raised by the testimony of the
puranas, literary works and inscriptions. They brought to light the
hitherto unknown rulers of the pre-Satavahana period, established
the identity of the founder of the Satavahana dynasty, his correct
name, whom he succeeded and the place where their rule began.
There is a need to study these ancient coins utilizing the latest
scientific tools that are available to find out the sources of ores and
the method of manufacture of those coins.
References: