The Salankayana (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...
: Śālaṇkāyana) dynasty of ancient India ruled a part of
Andhra
Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...
region in India from 300 to 440 CE. Their territory was located between the
Godavari
The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
and the
Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
rivers. Their capital was located at Vengi, modern Pedavegi near
Eluru
Eluru ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the List of municipal corporations in India#Andhra Pradesh, 14 municipal corporations ...
in
West Godavari district
The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...
of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
.
Salankayana is a Brahmin Sage.
Their name is derived from their symbol and
gotra
In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...
name, which stood for
Nandi (the bull of
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
).
The Salankayanas succeeded the
Andhra Ikshvaku dynasty and were
vassals
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
of the
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The ...
kings of southern India. During their time the script for
Telugu began to clearly separate from that of the other
South Indian
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
and
North Indian
North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
languages. Hastivarman, the first king, was one of the many kings who were defeated by
Samudragupta
Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', ( 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India. A military genius and a patron of arts, he is regarded among the greatest rulers in Indian history. As a son of th ...
, but were later released and paid him tribute.
The verse from the
Allahabad stone pillar inscription of Samudragupta which mentions Hastivarma:
* (Lines 19–20) Whose magnanimity blended with valour was caused by (his) first capturing, and thereafter showing the favour of releasing, all the kings of
Dakshiṇāpatha such as Mahēndra of
Kōsala, Vyāghrarāja of ''Mahākāntāra'', Maṇṭarāja of Kurāḷa, Mahēndragiri of
Pishṭapura, Svāmidatta of Kōṭṭūra, Damana of Ēraṇḍapalla,
Vishṇugōpa of Kāñchī, Nīlarāja of Avamukta,
Hastivarman of Vēṅgī, Ugrasēna of Pālakka, Kubēra of ''Dēvarāshṭra'', and Dhanañjaya of Kusthalapura.
In the late 5th century, the Salankayanas were conquered by
Madhava Varma II
Madhava Varma II was the most successful ruler of the Vishnukundina dynasty, controlling parts of the Deccan and eastern coast of India in the mid-5th century AD. He is regarded as the greatest ruler of his dynasty. The Vishnukundina Empire rea ...
of the
Vishnukundinas.
List of kings
#Devavarma
#Hastiverma
#Nandi Verma
#Vijayadeva Verma
#Vijayanandi Verma
See also
*
Telugu Brahmins
*
Telugu-Kannada script
*
Kadamba script
*
Bhattiprolu script
References
Dynasties of India
History of Andhra Pradesh
{{India-hist-stub