Etymology of The Name
Gautamiputra Satakarni bears a name which has made some historians entertain a theory regarding matriarchy among the Satavahanas. He is called Gautamiputra even as there is another ruler called Vasishtiputra Sri Pulumayi and yet another Kausikiputra Satakarni and these mean Satakarni son of Gautami, Sri Pulumayi son of Vasishti and Satakarni son of Kausiki and in these cases Gautami, Vasishti and Kausiki were the names of the mothers of these rulers respectively.
That they prefix their mother's names to theirs seems to mean to these historians that they derive themselves in the female line and not in the male line thereby suggesting matriarchy. This is not acceptable for there is no other evidence to support such a radical conclusion and even in Kerala matriarchy came in much later, certainly not before a few centuries after the Sangam age.
The real explanation for this kind of matronymic seems to be that since the rulers married a number of wives from different royal families a prince was best identified with reference to his mother. This practice is found reflected in the system adopted in the colophons to the Padirruppattu a Tamil Sangam anthology in which early Chera genealogy is mentioned. Gautamiputra was very charitable and there is a record which mentions his gift of a piece of land which had originally belonged to one Ushavadatta. Vasishtiputra Sri Pulumayi (AD 130-158)
Gautamiputra Satakarni took the titles of:
- Trisamudrapitatoyavahana (one whose horses had drunk waters from 3 oceans)
- Sakayavanapallavanisudana (destroyer of Saka, Yavana and Pahlavas)
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