What was the royal language of the Satvahanas?

The correct answer is - Prakrit

Key Points

• Prakrit
  • The Satvahanas, who ruled significant parts of India from around 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE, used Prakrit as their royal language.
  • Prakrit refers to a group of Middle Indic languages that were spoken in ancient India.
  • It was extensively used in inscriptions and literary works during the Satvahana period.
  • Prakrit was more accessible to the common people compared to Sanskrit, which was considered a more classical and scholarly language.

Additional Information

• Sanskrit
  • Sanskrit was the classical language of ancient India, often associated with religious and scholarly texts.
  • It was more prevalent in the Vedic and Gupta periods, not specifically the Satvahana dynasty.
• Pali
  • Pali is closely associated with the Theravada Buddhist canon and was widely used in Buddhist texts.
  • Although prevalent in ancient India, it was not the royal language of the Satvahanas.
• Tamil
  • Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the southern part of India.
  • While it has ancient roots and literature, it was not used by the Satvahanas as their royal language.