Satavahana metronymics
Also called: Satavahana matronymics, Metronymic names · Topic: Post-Mauryan India: Shungas to Kushanas · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The Age of Reorganisation"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Kinship, Caste and Class - Early Societies"
Meaning
A metronymic is a name taken from a person's mother instead of their father. Satavahana kings had names like Gotami-puta ("son of Gotami") and Vasithi-puta ("son of Vasithi"). The mothers' names came from the gotras of their fathers. A gotra is a family line traced back to a Vedic sage. These queens kept their fathers' gotras after marriage. Some even had the same gotra as their husbands. This went against Brahmanical rules, which said people should marry outside their own gotra.
Example
Gautamiputra Satakarni was named after his mother, Gautami Balashri. Her name comes from the Gotama gotra.
Don't confuse with
- Matrilineal succession: in this system, property and the throne pass through the mother's side. Satavahana succession was patrilineal, which means the throne passed from father to son, even though the names came from mothers.
Related concepts
- Satavahana dynasty
- Simuka
- Pratishthana
- Satavahana coins
- Yajna Sri Satakarni
- Nanaghat inscription
- Gautamiputra Satakarni
- Gautami Balashri
- Nashik prashasti
- Vasishthiputra Pulumavi