Gathasaptashati
Also called: Gaha Sattasai · Topic: Post-Mauryan India: Shungas to Kushanas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Gathasaptashati, also called the Gaha Sattasai, is a collection of 700 short poems. It is written in Maharashtri Prakrit, a spoken language of the Deccan, not in Sanskrit. Tradition says the Satavahana king Hala put it together, in the early centuries CE. The poems are about love and everyday village life. This makes the book a rare view of ordinary people in the Deccan.
Example
Many of its verses describe village women, farm work and the changing seasons in the Satavahana Deccan. Few royal inscriptions talk about such things.
Don't confuse with
- Sangam literature: Tamil poems from the far south. The Gathasaptashati is in Prakrit and comes from the Deccan.
Related concepts
- Satavahana dynasty
- Simuka
- Pratishthana
- Satavahana coins
- Yajna Sri Satakarni
- Nanaghat inscription
- Satavahana metronymics
- Gautamiputra Satakarni
- Gautami Balashri
- Nashik prashasti