Discuss the religious conditions during Satavahana period.
The rise of Satavahanas coincided with the progress of Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Jainism into the Deccan. Each of these religious sects compromised with local cults and also contended with each other to gain popularity.
The inscriptions of Satavahanas kings refer to them as they followers of Brahmanical religion. This is known from the performance of various vedic sacrifices an pleasing Brahmans by rich gifts, including villages, cattle, gold vessels and thousands of Karsapanas(Nanaghat inscription). Brahmanism itself was undergoing change incorporating the local cults. The new system of religion is characterized by belief in Purusharthas, the caste system, good acts like vrata, dana and teertha an devotion to personal god. Gautamiputra Satakarni followed these aspects of neo-brahmanism.
Jainism could not make a headway in Telangana during this time. But Buddhism was able to recieve strong foothold in Telangana, not because of the Satavahana kings but mainly because of the support it received from gahapathis,kamaras and vanijas an their women folk. The magnificent Buddhist monuments at Nagarjuna konda, Phanigiri(Nalgonda district), Kotilingala, Dhulikatta, Peddabankur (knr district), Kondapur (Medak) of Telangana were the popular Buddhist centres during this period. The Prajnaparamita literature, which formed the basis for Mahayanism, was produced in the viharas of the Krishna valley by Acharya Nagarjuna in 160 CE.
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