Explain the social, and religious conditions of Deccan during the Satavahana period?

 Introduction:  

The Satavahanas who rose to power on the ruins of the Mauryan Empire dominated the destinies of Deccan for more than four hundred and fifty years. It constitutes one of the glorious epochs of Indian History. The Satavahanas achieved political unification of Deccan and dominated the region located in between the South and North India. Hence it has been styled by some historians “The bridge kingdom” and acted as link between two halves of India.

Social Conditions :

Social life:

During the Satavahana period people lived mostly in villages, but industrial and commercial activities lead to the growth of many towns in Deccan. Both the towns and villages built besides the perennial sources of water. Villages were surrounded by agriculture and posture lands and gardens. Cities were protected by high walls with several entrances surmounted by toranas .

Castes and professions:

By the time of Satavahanas, the caste system or the fourfold division of the society in to Brahmana, Khastriya, Vaisya and sudra appears to have struck deep roots in the Deccan but in rigid condition.

Gautamiputra Satakarni claims to have stopped the contamination of the four castes (vinivatita chatuvanasamkara).The political pull from the Sakas forced Gautamiputra Satakarni to change his attitude towards varnadharma.

The attempts of Gautamiputra Satakarni to prevent the inter mixture of castes and the assimilation of foreign invaders into Hindu fold yielded mixed results. The caste system lost its flexibility and became more and more rigid. Thus flexibility crept into social structure.

In society new sub castes were forming on an occupational basis such as Golikas (shepherds) Halikas (cultivators), Sethi (merchant), Vachaka (carpenter), Kolika (weaver), Kamara (Iron worker), Kulara (Potter), Tilapisaka (oilmonger). The peoples following the same profession grouped themselves into sreni or guilds.

3 Position of women :  

One of the outstanding features of the Satavahana society was the high status accorded to women. The inscriptions and other records indicate the prominence of the women in social life. Royal women Naganika, Balasri played a dominant role in the affairs of the state. 

The Satavahana kings took pride in associating their names with their mothers, Ex Gautamiputra Satakarni etc. This does not, however, indicate that the metronomic system of society existed. The social structure was based on the patrilineal system, organized joint family. 

Their lavish charity to Buddhism, construction of Chaityas and Viharas signify their economic and social status. One can presume that some women occupied high positions as we across the terms like Mahaboli, Maharadini and Mahasenapatini in the inscriptions.

 Customs and Manners:

The Satavahana women were fashion conscious. The sculptures of the period at Amaravati and Ellora reveal their scanty dress and profuse ornamentation. Different hair styles were in vogue. They were also fond of ornaments like earrings, necklaces, bangles, bracelets, and anklets. Women delighted in beautifying their bodies further in several ways. 

Pastimes and Amusement

Rural life as depicted in Saptasati was simple. People in towns had naturally many amenities and life there in was a bit sophisticated. Pastimes of the age included music and dance, dice playing, cock and ram fights. Dance was move popular in both the urban and rural areas. Sculptures of Amaravati contain scenes depicting various dance poses. Veena (String Instrument), Venuvu (Flute), Mridangam (Percussion instrument), Sankam (conch) were the musical instruments found in the Sculptures.

Festivals

They celebrated some festival with great pomp. The Kamasutra of Vastyayana gives a number of festivals like Ghatanibandhana, Kaumadivagam, Madanostavam, Holaka and Udyanagamana. There appears to be no taboo on the use of intoxicants and sculptures show man and women par-taking the drink. In short Saptasati and the contemporary sculptures gives the impress that during the Satavahana age Deccan people were very happy

Religious Conditions:

The age of the Satavahana was one of intense religious activity. The religious setup of the age centres round the triumph of Aryan creeds over the native primitive forms of worship and ritual. The inhabitants of the Deccan believed in village divinities, tree and serpent worship

Jainism:;

The Satavahanas rose to power at a time there was in the North strong reaction in favour of Vedic ritualism. Among the early Satavahanas, the Simukha of Paithan was a devotee of Jinadeva according to Asvakasutra.

 If Jaina tradition are to be believed the early rulers patronized Jainism. Jaina literature contains many references to Satavahana kings and their patronage to Jainism. At that time the surroundings of the Satavahana Empire were the strong holds of Jainism, Malwa in the North, Kalinga in east and Mysore in South were important. But it appeared that Jainism could not make much ahead way in the Deccan as long as Buddhism engrossed popular attention

However it was during this period that KonakondaCharya (50 BC to 50 AD) one of the early Jaina teachers lived in Konakondla in Anantapur district. He was the founder of Mulasangha which became popular throughout the south. He was the author of number of chronicles Important Is Samayasara read by both Digambara and Svetambara sects.

The discussions make it clear that though the progress of Jainism was not spectacular, the Jaina formed an important section among the people of Satavahana empire and carried their activities peacefully.

Buddhism

The Buddhist monuments found in Nasik, Karle, Junnar, Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Goli, Bhattiprolu ete; proves the popularity of Buddhism. In this period, there were several sects of Buddhism in the south and various classes of monks were always busy to preach the Buddhist doctrines. Andhra became a strong hold of the Mahasaghikas. The local Mahasanghikas became famous as Chaityakas as they developed the cult of Chaitya. The concepts and practices of Chaityaka and Mahasanghika schools paved the way for Mahayanism. The court of Yajnasri was adorned by Acharya Nagarjuna (200 AD) , the exponent of Madhyamika doctrine of Buddhist philosophy.

One significant development of this period was the admission of the foreign races of the Sakas, Greeks, Kushans and Abhiras to the folds of Hinduism or Buddhism. They became an integral part of the Indian society. They were quite tolerant and exchanged gifts on religious festivals and other occasions.

Brahmanism

Most of the Satavahana rulers were staunch followers of Vedic religion with its ritual and varnadharma. The 3rd Satavahana king Satakarni I performed innumerable sacrifices. The Nanaghat inscription of Naganika mentions the number of sacrifices like Agnadeya, Apthoryama, Anarambhaneeya, Dasaratra, Trayodasaratra beside two Asvamedhas and one Rajasuya sacrifice performed by Satakarni I.

Gautamiputra Satakarni uphold the pillars of the Brahmanism namely the Veda, the Brahmin, and the Varna and thereby won the titles ekabrahmana and vinivatita chatuvanasamkara . Gautami Balasri laid emphasis on the practice of Purushartha and ethical virtues.

The Nanaghat inscription which begins with the invocations like Indra, Sankarshana, Vasudeva, Surya, Varuna and Kubera indicate that during this period was passing through transitions from Vedic to Puranic Panthein. It describes the Vedic sacrifices of Satakarni I but begins with the invocation to Sankarshana, vasudeva the Bhagavata cult.

Summary : The Satavahanas succeeded the Mauryas and extended their power over Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra. The material culture of the Deccan under the Satavahanas was a fusion of local elements and northern ingredients. Their most famous king, Gautamiputra Satakarni, described himself as a brahmana and claimed to have established the fourfold varna system which had fallen into disorder. All their inscriptions were composed in Prakrit language and Brahmi script.