Question

Who was the mother of Gautami Putra Satakarni?
(A) Naganika
(B) Kundava
(C) Gautami Balasri
(D) Gautami Mahadevi

Answer 1

Hint: One of the rulers of the Satavahana Empire was Gautami Putra Satakarni. Although his exact period of the ruling is uncertain, it is believed he ruled in the 1st or 2nd century CE.

Complete answer:
The coins of Gautami Putra, the Satavahana inscriptions and the royal genealogies in the various Puranas are the sources for the information available about Gautami Putra Satakarni. The best known out of these is the Nashik prashasti which is an inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri. This credits him with extensive military conquests. According to the historical evidence, it is stated that Gautami Putra revived the Satavahana power after a decline which was caused by Shaka invasions. Gautami Putra Satakarni also defeated the Shakas, Pahlavas and the Yavanas according to the inscriptions. These inscriptions also state that Satakarni emerged victorious in various fights against a confederacy of enemies. The Gautami Putra mother’s Nashik prashasti inscription which is located in the Nasik Caves states that the orders of Satakarni were obeyed by the circle of all the kings and called him the ‘king of the kings’. It also states that his rule extended from Konkan in the west to Vidarbha in the east and from Malwa and Saurashtra in the north to Krishna River in the South. The horses of Gautami Putra drank waters of the three oceans which is the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean according to the Nashik prashasti inscription.

Thus, option (C) is correct.

Note: It was believed by D.R. Bhandarkar and R.G. Bhandarkar that the empire of Gautami Putra was ruled jointly by Gautami Putra and his son Vasishtha Putra Pulmavi during the last years of his reign.