Mod 3: The Fall of the Kanvas — the Andhra (Satavahana) Blow of c. 28 BCE, the Simuka Problem and Who the Satavahanas Were
Concept
11.5 The end of the Kanvas
🏫 School level · NCERT Class 6–12 History (the base for UPSC, BPSC, BSSC and other PSC exams)
Susharma and the Andhras
The Puranas say that the Andhra king Simuka (or Sishuka), a servant of the Kanvas, “having attacked the Kanvayanas and Susharma, and destroyed the remains of the power of the Shungas, will obtain the earth”. Thus in about 28 BCE the last Kanva, Susharma, was killed and the dynasty ended.
- Many historians date Simuka, founder of the Satavahanas, to the late 3rd or 1st century BCE — the dates are disputed.
- If Simuka ruled earlier, then the king who killed Susharma c. 28 BCE must have been a later Satavahana, and the Puranas have simply credited the founder.
- Exams accept the simple answer: the Kanvas were ended by the Satavahanas (Andhras).
Not for long. Their home was the Deccan. The raid on Magadha ended the Kanvas, but the Satavahanas did not hold Magadha permanently, leaving a political vacuum in the Ganga valley.
- c. 28 BCE: Andhras (Satavahanas) kill Susharma; Puranas credit Simuka (chronology debated).
- Satavahanas did not keep Magadha — vacuum in the Ganga valley.
- Question: Who ended the Kanva dynasty? Answer: The Satavahanas (Andhras).
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
Question 4: In 28 BCE, the Kanva dynasty was overthrown by which emerging imperial power?
[BPSC level] The Kanva dynasty ended in about:
[UPSC level] The Puranas credit the destruction of the Kanvas to the Andhra king:
[UPSC level] Why do some historians doubt that Simuka himself killed Susharma?
[BSSC pattern] The Puranas call the Satavahanas:
[BPSC level] Did the Satavahanas keep Magadha after ending the Kanvas?
[School] The last Kanva king Susharma was killed by the:
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
Who ended the Kanva dynasty?
The Satavahanas (Andhras).Concept
11.6 The Satavahanas — the power that ended the Kanvas
🏫 School level · NCERT Class 6–12 History (the base for UPSC, BPSC, BSSC and other PSC exams)
A Deccan dynasty in brief
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Region and capital | Western and central Deccan; Pratishthana (Paithan, Maharashtra), later Amaravati/Dhanyakataka |
| Early kings | Simuka; Kanha (Krishna); Satakarni I, who performed Ashvamedhas (Naneghat inscription of his queen Naganika) |
| Greatest king | Gautamiputra Satakarni (c. 106–130 CE) — defeated the Shaka Kshaharata ruler Nahapana; praised in the Nashik inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri |
| Names | Kings took matronymics (Gautamiputra, Vasishthiputra) — a striking feature |
| Economy and religion | Lead and potin coins, some with ships; earliest land grants to Buddhist monks; Brahmanical kings who patronised Buddhism (Karle, Nashik caves; Amaravati) |
- Satavahanas: Pratishthana; Simuka; Satakarni I (Naneghat, Naganika); Gautamiputra Satakarni (Nashik, beat Nahapana).
- Matronymics; land grants; lead/potin coins; Buddhist caves.
- Question: Who set up the Nashik prashasti? Answer: Gautami Balashri.
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
[BPSC level] The capital of the early Satavahanas was:
[BPSC level] The founder of the Satavahana dynasty was:
[UPSC level] The Naneghat inscription was issued by the Satavahana queen:
[UPSC level] The Nashik prashasti praising Gautamiputra Satakarni was set up by:
[BPSC level] Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated the Shaka ruler:
[UPSC level] A distinctive naming feature of Satavahana kings was:
[BSSC pattern] The Satavahanas are known for the earliest recorded land grants to:
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
Who set up the Nashik prashasti?
Gautami Balashri.Concept
🎯 UPSC · BPSC · BSSC · State PSC level: PYQs, traps and mains
| Exam | What it asks from this module |
|---|---|
| UPSC | Satavahanas: matronymics, land grants, Nashik prashasti |
| BPSC | Kanvas overthrown by Andhras; 28 BCE |
| BSSC / SSC | Founder and capital of Satavahanas |
Which dynasty of ancient India first gave land grants (including to Buddhist monks) on record and used matronymics for its kings? (a) Shunga (b) Satavahana (c) Kanva (d) Maurya
- Satavahana inscriptions at Naneghat, Nashik and Karle record land grants; names like Gautamiputra show matronymics.
- Kanvas ended by the Satavahanas, not the Kushanas or Guptas.
- Satavahana capital = Pratishthana (Paithan), not Pataliputra.
Model question: Why did Magadha lose its political primacy after the Kanvas? Points: weak, short dynasties; palace coups; rise of Deccan (Satavahana) and Kalinga powers; foreign invaders in the north-west (Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas); trade shifting to the west coast and north-west; revival only under the Guptas.
- Kanvas → ended by Satavahanas; Satavahana capital Pratishthana.
- Question: Which queen issued the Naneghat inscription? Answer: Naganika.
MCQs
Answer this question, then use Next.
[BPSC level] Which power ended the Kanvas, according to the Puranas?
[UPSC level] Which statement about the Satavahanas is correct?
[BSSC pattern] Satavahana coins were mostly of:
[UPSC level] After the Kanvas, which region saw a political vacuum?
[BPSC level] Satakarni I is known from the Naneghat inscription for performing:
[School] The Satavahanas belonged mainly to which region?
One-liners
Write your answer, then submit to see the correct answer.
Which queen issued the Naneghat inscription?
Naganika.