MY INDIA: 12/10/12

Sātavāhana Empire

The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indiandynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar (Pune) and Prathisthan (Paithan) in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward. Although there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end, the most liberal estimates suggest that it lasted about 450 years, until around 220 CE. The Satavahanas are credited for establishing peace in the country, resisting the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of Mauryan Empire.

The

Sātavāhanas started out as feudatories to the Mauryan dynasty, but declared independence with its decline. They are known for their patronage of Hinduism and Buddhism which resulted in Buddhist monuments from Ellora (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to Amaravati. The Sātavāhanas were one of the first Indian states to issue coins struck with their rulers embossed. They formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade as well as the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India.

They had to compete with the Sungas and then the Kanvas of Magadha to establish their rule. Later, they played a crucial role to protect a huge part of India against foreign invaders like the Sakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas. In particular their struggles with the Western Kshatrapaswent on for a long time. The great rulers of the Satavahana Dynasty Gautamiputra Satakarni and Sri Yajna Sātakarni were able to defeat the foreign invaders like the Western Kshatrapas and stop their expansion. In the 3rd century CE the empire was split into smaller states.

Andhra Empire, was a royal Indiandynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar (Pune) and Prathisthan (Paithan) in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward. Although there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end, the most liberal estimates suggest that it lasted about 450 years, until around 220 CE. The Satavahanas are credited for establishing peace in the country, resisting the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of Mauryan Empire.

In the Pūrānas and on their coins the dynasty is variously referred to as the Sātavāhanas or Sālavāhaṇa, Sātakarnīs, Andhras and Andhrabhrityas. A reference to the Sātavāhanas by the Greek traveler Megasthenes indicates that they possessed 100,000 infantry, 1,000 elephants, and had more than 30 well built fortified towns:

Next come the Andarae, a still more powerful race, which possesses numerous villages, and thirty towns defended by walls and towers, and which supplies its king with an army of 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants.

—Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 8–23. 11., quoting Megasthenes

The Sātavāhanas ruled a large and powerful empire that withstood the onslaughts from Central Asia. Aside from their military power, their commercialism and naval activity is evidenced by establishment of Indian colonies in Southeast Asia.

Here in the king's domain among the Yavanas (Greeks), the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dhamma.
The Sātavāhanas began as feudatories to the Mauryan Empire. They seem to have been under the control of Emperor Ashoka, who claims they were in his domain, and that he introduced Buddhism among them:

—Rock Edict Nb13 (S. Dhammika)

The Satavahanas declared independence some time after the death of Ashoka (232 BCE), as the MauryaEmpire began to weaken.

It is believed that they were originally practicing Hindu religion (as per Sthala Purana of Amaravathi. Some rulers like Maharaja Satakarni are believed to have performed Vedic sacrifices as well.

They were not only worshipers of Vishnu and Shiva but also respected Buddha, but also other incarnations of,Gauri, Indra, the sun and moon. They were mostly Buddhistic Vaishnavites. Under their reign, Buddha had been worshiped as a form of Vishnu in Amaravati
Etymology

Śātavāhana, Śālivāhana, Śātakarṇi seem to be Sanskritised versions of the aboriginal name Sātakaṇi and appears as Sālavāhaṇa in Prakritvernacular then.

Early rulers
The Early Satavahanas ruled Andhra and present Telangana regions which was always their heartland. The Pūrānas list 30 Andhra rulers. Many are known from their coins and inscriptions as well.
Simuka (c.230–207 BCE)
After becoming independent around 230 BCE, Simuka, the founder of the dynasty, conquered Maharashtra, Malwa and part of Madhya Pradesh. He was succeeded by his brother Kanha (or Krishna) (r. 207–189 BCE), who further extended his state to the west and the south.
Satakarni (c.180–124 BCE)

Satakarni defeated the Sunga dynasty of North India by wresting Western Malwa from them, and performed several Vedic sacrifices at huge cost, including the horse sacrifice – Ashwamedha yajna. He also was in conflict with the Kalinga ruler Kharavela, who mentions him in the Hathigumpha inscription. According to theYuga Purana he conquered Kalinga following the death of Kharavela. He extended Satavahana rule overMadhya Pradesh and pushed back the Sakas from Pataliputra (he is thought to be the Yuga Purana's "Shata", an abbreviation of the full name “Shri Sata” that occurs on coins from Ujjain), where he subsequently ruled for 10 years.
His successor Sātakarnī I was the sixth ruler of the Satavahana. He is said to have ruled for 56 years.

By this time the dynasty was well established, with its capital at Pratishthānapura (Paithan) in Maharashtra, and its power spreading into all of South India.
Kanva suzerainty (75–35 BCE)
Many small rulers succeeded Satakarni, such as Lambodara, Apilaka, Meghasvati and Kuntala Satakarni, who are thought to have been under the suzerainty of the Kanva dynasty. The Puranas (the Matsya Purana, the Vayu Purana, the Brahmanda Purana, the Vishnu Purana) all state that the first of the Andhra rulers rose to power in the 1st century BCE, by slaying Susarman, the last ruler of the Kanvas. This feat is usually thought to have been accomplished by Pulomavi (c. 30–6 BCE), who then ruled over Pataliputra.
Victory over the Shakas, Yavanas and Pahlavas
The 1st century CE saw another incursion of the Sakas of Central Asia into India, where they formed the dynasty of the Western Kshatrapas. The four immediate successors of Hāla (r. 20–24 CE) had short reigns totalling about a dozen years. During the reign of the Western Satrap Nahapana, the Satavahanas lost a considerable territory to the satraps, including eastern Malwa, Southern Gujarat, and Northern Konkan, from Broach to Sopara and theNasik and Pune.

Gautamiputra Satakarni (78–102 CE)

Eventually Gautamiputra (Sri Yagna) Sātakarni (also known as Shalivahan) (r. 78–102 CE) defeated the Western Satrap ruler Nahapana, restoring the prestige of his dynasty by reconquering a large part of the former dominions of the Sātavāhanas.

According to the Nasik inscription made by his mother Gautami Balasri, he is the one...

...who crushed down the pride and conceit of the Kshatriyas (the native Indian princes, the Rajputs of Rajputana, Gujarat and Central India); who destroyed the Shakas (Western Kshatrapas), Yavanas (Indo-Greeks) and Pahlavas (Indo-Parthians),... who rooted the Khakharata family (The Kshaharata family of Nahapana); who restored the glory of the Satavahana race.

Gautamiputra Satakarni may also have defeated Sakas in 78 CE and started the calendar known as Shalivahana era or Shaka era, which is followed by the Gujarati, Marathi, Kannadiga andTelugu people and is the Indian national calendar. Earlier in 56 BCE, Vikramaditya king of Ujjain defeated Sakas and started Vikram Samvat era.

Gautamiputra Sātakarni's son, Vashishtiputra Pulumāyi (r. 102–130 CE), succeeded him. Gautamiputra was the first Sātavāhana ruler to issue the portrait-type coinage, in a style derived from the Western Satraps.

Successors
Gautamiputra's brother, Vashishtiputra Sātakarni, married the daughter of Rudradaman I of the Western Satraps dynasty. Around 150 CE, Rudradaman I, now his father-in-law, waged war against the Satavahanas, who were defeated twice in these conflicts. Vashishtiputra Satakarni was only spared his life because of his family links with Rudradaman:

"Rudradaman (...) who obtained good report because he, in spite of having twice in fair fight completely defeated Satakarni, the lord of Dakshinapatha, on account of the nearness of their connection did not destroy him."

—Junagadh rock inscription

As a result of his victories, Rudradaman regained all the former territories previously held by Nahapana, except for the extreme south territories of Pune and Nasik. Satavahana dominions were limited to their original base in the Deccan and eastern central India around Amaravati. However, the last great king of this dynasty, Yajna Satakarni, defeated the Western Satraps and reconquered their southern regions in western and central India which led to the decline of the Western Satraps Dynasty. During the reign of Sri Yajna Sātakarni (170–199 CE) the Sātavāhanas regained some prosperity, and some of his coins have been found in Saurashtra but around the middle of the 3rd century, the dynasty came to an end.
Decline of the Satavahanas

Several dynasties divided the lands of the kingdom among themselves. Among them were:
Four or five kings of Yajna Satakarni's line succeeded him, and continued to rule till about the mid 200s CE. However, the dynasty was soon extinguished following the rise of its feudatories, perhaps on account of a decline in central power.

Western Satraps in the northwestern part of the kingdom.

Andhra Ikshvakus (or Srīparvatiyas) in the Krishna-Guntur region. (r. 220–320 CE).

Abhiras in the western part of the kingdom. They were ultimately to succeed the Sātavāhanas in their capital Pratishthānapura.

Chutus of Banavasi in North Karnataka.

Kadambas of Banavasi in North Karnataka.

Pallavas of Kanchipuram, of whom the first ruler was Simhavarman I (r. 275–300 CE).

Coinage
Satavahana coins give unique indications as to their chronology, language, and even facial features (curly hair, long ears and strong lips). They issued mainly lead and copper coins; their portrait-style silver coins were usually struck over coins of the Western Kshatrapa kings.
The Satavahanas are the first native Indian rulers to issue their own coins with portraits of their rulers, starting with king Gautamiputra Satakarni, a practice derived from that of the Western Satraps he defeated, itself originating with the Indo-Greek kings to the northwest.

The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods, used a Prakrit dialect without exception. Some reverse coin legends are in Telugulanguage,^[19] which seems to have been in use in their heartland abutting the Godavari, Kotilingala, Karimnagar, Krishna, Amaravati, Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.^[20]

Their coins also display various traditional symbols, such as elephants, lions, horses and chaityas (stupas), as well as the "Ujjain symbol", a cross with four circles at the end. The legendary Ujjayini Emperor Vikramditiya on whose name the Vikram Samvat is initiated might be Satakarni II a Satavahana emperor as the Ujjayini symbol also appeared on the Satavahana coins.
Cultural achievementsThe Satavahanas influenced South-East Asia to a great extent, spreading Hindu culture, language and religion into that part of the world. Their coins had images of ships.
Of the Sātavāhana kings, Hāla (r. 20–24 CE) is famous for compiling the collection of Maharashtri poems known as the Gaha Sattasai (Sanskrit: Gāthā Saptashatī), although from linguistic evidence it seems that the work now extant must have been re-edited in the succeeding century or two. The Lilavatidescribes his marriage with a Ceylonese Princess.
Art of Amaravati &Art of Sanchi
The Sātavāhana rulers are also remarkable for their contributions to Buddhist art and architecture. They built great stupas in the Krishna River Valley, including the stupa at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh. The stupas were decorated in marble slabs and sculpted with scenes from the life of the Buddha, portrayed in a characteristic slim and elegant style. The Satavahana empire colonized Southeast Asia and spread Indian culture to those parts. Mahayana Buddhism, which may have originated in Andhra (northwestern India being the alternative candidate), was carried to many parts of Asia by the rich maritime culture of the Satavahanas. The Amaravati style of sculpture spread to Southeast Asia at this time.

The Satavahanas contributed greatly to the embellishment of the Buddhist stupa of Sanchi. The gateways and the balustrade were built after 70 BCE, and appear to have been commissioned by them. An inscription records the gift of one of the top architraves of the Southern Gateway by the artisans of the Satavahana Emperor Satakarni:

Gift of Ananda, the son of Vasithi, the foreman of the artisans of rajan Siri Satakarni^[21]

Throughout, the Buddhist art of the Satavahanas remained aniconic, denying any human representation of the Buddha, even in highly descriptive scenes. This remained true until the end of the Satavahana rule, in the 2nd century CE.

Comunidades

The Comunidades of Goa are a unique and age-old collective land-ownership pattern that has been predominating in the state of Goa, India.

Codified by the Portuguese

Comunidades are a variant of the system of "gaunkari" that was codified by the Portuguese (called Gramasanstha (ग्रामसंस्था)). The term gram refers to the village. "Comunidades" is the Portuguese word for "Communities".

Members, and divident
Members of the comunidades are called gaonkars, or zonnkars (in Portuguese, jonoeiros). The former are the members of the village, the latter are entitled to zonn, or jono, which is a dividend paid by the comunidade to gaunkars and accionistas, the holders of acções (sing. acção), or shares.

Over time and across the centuries, the old institutions have lost their original characteristics and therefore now mere societies of rightsholders who are members by birth.
Changes over time
After Portuguese rule ended in Goa in 1961, the village development activities, once the preserve of the communidades or gaunkaris, are now entrusted to the gram panchayat, rendering the gaunkaris non-functional.

The working of the comunidades is tightly controlled by the Goa state government, which supporters of the comunidade movement say leaves little scope for them to act as self-governing units.
Limited role
Their sole function at the moment currently is to parcel out their land at government-approved rates. However, supporters of the comunidade movement, have been waging a determined if small campaign to safeguard what they see as their rights, and fight against the erosion of the comunidade system in Goa.

The Tenancy Act, passed in the 1960s by the then Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party government, extended the rights of the tenants of private landowners to those who rented their lands from the comunidade, for the payment of a quit-rent called the comunidade foro. This has resulted in most field property of the comunidades passing into private hands, and erosion of the comunidades as a whole.

At present most of comunidade land is in the hills, which is either uncultivated or given over to cashew plantations, which typically have usufructs.

In the populous and well-developed central coastal parts of the state, almost all the land that once belonged to the comunidades has been taken-over by various quarters—including state government land acquisition, tenants, and industrial quarters.

Typically, no action has been taken by governments against such usurpation: the viewpoint is rather the contrary, as reflected in.

Proto-Australoids

The Proto-Australoids are a hypothesized group of ancient hunter-gather people descended from the first major wave of modern humans to leave sub-Saharan Africa ~100,000 years ago. This hypothesis of human migration was developed in the 1950s, but more recent scientific evidence suggests that the first surviving wave of modern humans to leave sub-Saharan Africa did so ~65,000 years ago rather than ~100,000 years ago.

Proto-Australoids are characterised by gracile body types, and are thought to have had deep dark-brown skin color and wavy, curly or frizzy black hair. They are also thought to have had long heads and broad, flat noses.

Furthermore, the most parsimonious hypothesis with regards to the physical appearance of the members of this group is that, similar to contemporary Africans, they expressed deep dark brown skin and black, tightly coiled, natural afro-hair (as opposed to the black, wavy or curly hair associated with Aboriginal Australians) (Windschuttle & Gillin, 2002). In light of the overwhelming evidence suggesting that the ancestral mammalian (including primate) hair texture was very likely within the range of straight/wavy to curly, the idea that the first modern humans expressed tightly coiled hair runs counter to the intuition that straight/wavy or curly hair was also the ancestral trait for modern humans.

Nevertheless, given the overwhelming evidence that humanity arose recently (~200,000 years ago) in sub-Saharan Africa, the extreme rarity of straight/wavy or even curly hair in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa in favor of tightly coiled Afro-hair suggests that, long before the development of our species (Homo sapiens sapiens), the ancestors of the first modern human migrants out of Africa had already adapted to conditions selecting for the unique sub-Saharan African afro-hair texture. In this sense, as suggested by Windschuttle and Gillin (2002), an intimation that the early modern humans resembled contemporary Aboriginal Australians is less parsimonious than the assertion that they more likely resembled contemporary sub-Saharan Africans (and/or "Negritos") in appearance.

Migration

The so called "proto-Australoids" (or, more likely, as suggested above, the "Afro-Negritos"), are thought to have begun their exodus out of Africa roughly 65,000 years ago. They are thought to have used a simple form of watercraft to cross the narrow span of water between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

From there it is hypothesized that they followed a coastal route through south Asia into Southeast Asia. While some individuals made an oceanic voyage into Australia (~50-60 thousand years ago), giving rise to the Afro-Negrito ancestral component of the Australian Aborigines (Windschuttle & Gillin, 2002), others continued their coastal migration north into East Asia.

The descendants of those who lingered near the Gulf of Aden eventually migrated northwards to populate Central Europe and adapted phenotypically to the new climate and latitude . Meanwhile, those descendants of the coastal migrants who continued their movement north into East Asia also adapted to a northern climate and latitude.

From there some believe that some of the Proto-Australoids pushed on into Siberia and eventually crossed the Bering Land Bridge (or followed a coastal route) into the Americas, contributing to a hypothetical population of Pre-Siberian American Aborigines, which some believe they have found evidence for in Brazil and in Tierra del Fuego.

The 1950s proponents of a "proto-Australoid" population wave theorize that remnants of this early founding population may be found today in the southern portion of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Oceania. Some have proposed connections to the Ainu of Japan.

Genetically, they have been tentatively associated by some authors with mtDNA haplogroup M and Y-chromosome Haplogroup C-M130, the earliest Homo sapiens lineages thought to have migrated outside of Africa. However, while it is indeed true that the descendants of the first major wave of modern humans to leave sub-Saharan Africa migrated to all of these places and passed on these genetic patterns, it would be a misnomer to call such people "proto-Australoids" given that this evokes a phenotypic image that is not aligned with the most parsimonious explanation of the current evidence (Windschuttle & Gillin, 2002); indeed, these descendants evolved into Australoids (Archaic Caucasoids), who in turn evolved into Caucasoids.

In contrast to the above, other scholarship maintains that the term "Proto-Australoid" should be used, and the term "Afro-Negrito" should be abandoned. First, "Proto-Australoid" aptly describes genetically, and to some extent phenotypically, this people as those from whom the Australoids evolved. Second, the term "Afro-Negrito" is incorrect. These people are no more "Afro" than any other who have traveled out of Africa, and "Negrito" in particular is a racist 19th-century Spanish misnomer, an attempt to negrify a people who are not African/black/Negro at all, indeed, who are the most genetically distant from Africans, at most loci studied thus far (except for MC1R, which codes for dark skin). The Proto-Australoids's physical resemblance to Africans may result from random parallel mutations in different tropical environments. Proto-Australoids, however, also possess Asian and Caucasoid traits, and are accordingly classified as Asian/primitive Caucasoid.

Konkani (languages)

Konkani (Devanāgarī: कोंकणी, Kōṅkaṇī), is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-European family of languages and is spoken on the western coast of India. It is one of the official languages of India, the official language of the Indian state of Goa, and a minority language in Karnataka and northern Kerala (Kasaragod district).

Konkani is a member of the southern Indo-Aryan language group. It retains elements of the old Indo-European language structure and shows similarities with both western and eastern Indo-Aryan languages.

Appellations

It is quite possible that Old Konkani was just referred to as Prakrit by its speakers. Reference to the name Konkani is not found in literature prior to 14th century. We have first reference to the name Konkani in the abhanga 263,of the 14th century Marathi saint poet,Namadeva(1270–1350). Konkani has been known by a variety of names: canarim, concanim, gomantaki, bramana, goani. It is calledamchi bhas (our language) by native speakers (amchi gele in Dakshina Kannada), and govi or Goenchi bhas by others. Learned Marathi speakers tend to call it Gomantaki.

Konkani was commonly referred to as lingua canarim by the Portuguese. while it was also known as lingua brahmana by the Catholic missionaries. Portuguese later started referring to Konkani as Lingua Concanim.

The name canarim or lingua canarim, which is how the 16th century European Jesuit, Thomas Stephens refers to it in the title of his famous grammar Arte da lingoa Canarim has always been intriguing. It is possible that the term is derived from the Persian word for coast,kinara; if so, it would be means the language of the coast. The problem is that this term overlaps with Kanarese or Kannada.

All the European authors, however, recognized in Goa two forms of the language: the plebeian,called canarim, and the more regular, used by the educated classes, called lingua canarim brámana or simply brámana de Goa. Since the latter was the preferred choice of the Europeans, and also of other castes, for writing, sermons and religious purpose

History

Etymology

There are different views as to the origin of the word Konkan and hence Konkani

The word Konkan comes from the Kukkana tribe, who were the original inhabitants of the land Konkani originated from.
According to some Hindu legends, Parashurama shot his arrow into the sea and commanded the Sea God to recede up to the point where his arrow landed. The new piece of land thus recovered came to be known as Konkan meaning piece of earth or corner of earth,kōṇa (corner)+ kaṇa (piece). This legend has been mentioned in Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana.

Pre-history and early development

Substratum

Austro-asiatic

The Substratum of the Konkani language lies in the speech of Proto-Australoids tribes called Kurukh, Oraon,Kukni,whose modern representatives are languages like Kurukh and its dialects like Kurux, Kunrukh, Kunna and Malto According to the Indian Anthropological Society,these Australoid tribes speaking Austro-Asiatic or Munda languages once inhabited Konkan,migrated to Northern India (Chota Nagpur Plateau, Mirzapur) and are not found in Konkan anymore Olivinho Gomes in his essay Medieval Konkani literature also mentions Mundari substratum. Goan Indologist Raakrishna Shenvi Dhumeexplains many Austroloid Munda words in Konkani like mund,mundkar,dhumak,goem-bab etc. This substratum is very prominent in Konkani.

These primitive Australoid tribes,once were pre-historic inhabitants of Goa and Konkan. Nothing more is known about them. Modern communities like Gaudes, Kunbis, Mahars of Konkan today are supposed to be the modern representatives of Proto-Australoids. Originally hunter-gatherers later developed a primitive form of agriculture. Few Konkani words related to agriculture find their roots in Proto-Australoid dialects, e.g.: kumeri-type of farming,mer-field boundary,zonn-share of the surplus production,khazan-type of farm land,kudd-room,body,khomp-hut.

Dravidian
The later tribes who reached Konkan speaking early Dravidian languages are believed to be the Mediterraneans. Historians(Sbjobreg1990:48) maintain that thepaleo-Mediterraneans who came to India from north-west passes as early Dravidians formed a heterogeneous racial sub-type. These Mediterraneans orDravidians as many historians call them,knew the craft of systematized agriculture,and inhabited most of the neolithic India.  The grammatical impact of the Dravidian languages on the structure and syntax of Indo-Aryan languages is difficult to fathom. Some linguists explain this anomaly by arguing that Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan were built on a Dravidian substratum.  Some examples of Konkani words of Dravidian origin are:tandul-rice,naall-coconut,madval-washerman,choru-cooked rice,methi-fenugreek,mulo-raddish,chinch-tamarind,vayange-brinjal,bel,pal-house lizard. ^]Linguists also suggest that Substratum of Marathi and Konkani is more closely related to Dravidian Kannada.
The Indo-Aryan element
Though Konkani shows Dravidian substratum it definitely belongs to Indo-Ayan branch and is inflexive and non-dravidian,and is less distant from Sanskrit as compared to other modern Indo-Aryan languages. Konkani as per linguists is a fusion of variety of Prakrits. This could be attributed to confluence of the immigrants that Konkan coast has witnessed since times immemorial.

Migrations of Indo-Aryan vernacular speakers have occurred in the history of the Indian west coast. Around 2400 BC the first wave of Indo-Aryans dialect speakers might have occurred, and the second wave around ca 1000–700 BC.  Many of them spoke Indo-Aryan Prakrit vernacular languages, akin to Vedic Sanskrit,still some spoke Dravidian,Desi dialects. Thus the ancient ofKonkani Prakrit was born as a confluence of the Indo-Aryan dialects while accepting many words from the Dravidian speech. Some linguists associate Shauraseni to be its progenitor whereas some call it Paisaci. The influence of Paisachi over Konkani can be proved from the findings of Dr. Taraporewala who, in his book Elements of Science of Languages, Calcutta University,he ascertains that Konkani shows many Dardic features which are found in present day Kashmiri language.  Thus archaic form of old Konkani is referred to as Paishachi by some linguists. This progenitor of Konkani or Paishachi apabhramsha has preserved an older form of phonetic and grammatic development showing greater variety of verbal forms found in Sanskrit and larger number of grammatical forms that are not found in Marathi, examples of which are found in many works like Dnyaneshwari, and Leela Charitra.  The thus developed is endowed with overall Sanskrit complexity and grammatical structure, that developed a lexical fund of its own.  The second wave of Indo-Aryans is believed been accompanied by Dravidians from the Deccan plateau. Paishachi is also considered it to be an Aryan language spoken by Dravidians.

Goa and Konkan was ruled by the Mauryas and the Bhojaa, as a result numerous migrations occurred from North-east and Western India. Immigrants spoke various vernaculars,which led to an admixture of features of Eastern and Western Prakrits. It was substantially influenced later by Magadhi Prakrit  and the overtones of Pali  (the liturgical language of the Buddhists) that played a very important role in development of Konkani Apabhramsha grammar and vocabulary.  A major number of linguistic innovations in Konkani are shared with Eastern Indo-Aryan languages like Bengali, Oriya which have its roots in Magadhi.

Maharashtri was the official language of the Satavahana Empire that ruled Goa and Konkan in the early centuries of the Common Era. Under the patronage of the Satavahana Empire, Maharashtri became the most widespread Prakrit of its time. Studying early Maharashtri compilations many linguists have called Konkani as the first-born daughter of Maharashtri.  This old language that was prevalent contemporary to old Marathi is found to be distinct from its counterpart.  The Sauraseni impact on Konkani is not so prominent than that of Maharashtri. Very few Konkani words are found to follow the Sauraseni pattern. Konkani forms are rather more akin to Pali than the corresponding Sauraseni forms.  The major Sauraseni influence on Konkani, is the ao sound found at the end of many nouns in Sauraseni, which becomes o or u in Konkani,  e.g.: dando, suno, raakhano and dukh, rukhu, manisu from prakrit dandao, sunnao, rakkhakao, dukkhao, vukkhaoor vrukkhao, mannisso respectively. Another example could be the sound of ण in the beginning of the words, is still retained in many Konkani words as in archaic Shauraseni. E.g.: णव nine. Archaic Konkani born out of Shauraseni vernacular Prakrit at the earlier stage of the evolution and later Maharashtri prakrit, commonly spoken until 875 CE at its later phase ultimately developed into Apabhramsha which could be called as predecessor old Konkani
Development

Later Dravidian influence

Though it belongs to Indo-Aryan group, Konkani was influenced by Kannada, a member of Dravidian family. A branch of the Kadambas who ruled Goa for a long period had their roots inKarnataka. Konkani was never used for official purposes. Another reason Kannada influence on Konkani is proximity of original Konkani speaking territory to Karnataka.

Old Konkani documents show considerable Kannada influence on grammar as well as the vocabulary. Like southern Dravidian languages Konkani has prothetic glides y- and w-. Kannada influence is more evident in Konkani syntax. The question markers in yes/no questions and the negative marker are sentence final. Copula deletion in Konkani is remarkably similar to Kannada.

Phrasal verbs are not so commonly used in Indo-Aryan languages, Konkani spoken in Dravidian regions has however borrowed numerous phrasal verb patterns.

Konkani and Gujarati analogy

It is said that Gujarat has got many historical ties with the port of Goa, mainly because of trade, and it is also said that many people have migrated to Goa via the port of Dwaraka.

The Kols, Kharwas, Yadavas, and the Lothal migrants settled in Goa during the pre-historic and the later period. Chavada, a tribe of warriors (now known as Chaddi or Chaddo), migrated to Goa from Saurashtra,during 7th and 8th century CE, after their kingdom was destroyed by the Arabs in 740 AD. Royal matrimonial relationships between the two states, and the trade relationships had a major impact on Goan society. Many of these groups spoke different Nagar Apabhramsha dialects,which could be seen as precursors of modern Gujarati.

Konkani and Gujarati have many words in common, not found in Marathi.

Konkani O (as opposed to Marathi A which is of different Prakrit origin), is similar to that in Gujarati.

The case terminations in Konkani lo, li, le, and Gujarati no, ni, ne have same Prakrit roots.

In both the languages the present indicatives have no gender, unlike Marathi.

Other foreign languages
Since Goa was a major trade centre for visited by Arabs and Turks since early times, many Arabic and Persian words infiltrated the Konkani language. A large number of Arabic and Persian words now form an integral part of Konkani vocabulary and are commonly used in day-to-day life; examples are dukan (shop), karz (debt), fakt (only), dusman (enemy) and barik (thin). Single and compound words are found wherein the original meaning is changed or distorted: mustaiki, (from Arabic mustaid – ready), kapan khairo – eater of one's own shroud, meaning a miser, and so on.
Portuguese influence
Most of the old Konkani Hindu literature does not show any influence of the Portuguese language. Even the spoken dialects by the majority of Goan Hindus have a very limited Portuguese influence. On the other hand, the spoken dialects of the Catholics from Goa (as well as the Canara to some extent), and their religious literature shows a strong Portuguese influence. They contain a number Portuguese lexical items but these are almost all religious terms. Even in the context of religious terminology, the missionaries adapted native terms associated with Hindu religious concepts. (For example Krupa for grace, Yamakunda for hell, Vaikuntha for paradise and so on). The syntax used by Goan Catholics in their literature shows a prominent Portuguese influence. As a result, many Portuguese loanwords are now commonly found in vernacular Konkani speech.
The LanguageEarly Konkani

The earliest inscription in Konkani found in the village of Aravalem, in Goa dated back in the Gupta period in Brahmi script, ascribed to the 2nd Century AD in the late Brahmi script:

Medieval Konkani

This era was marked by the invasion of Goa and subsequent exodus to Marhatta territory and Canara (today's coastal Karnaraka) and Cochin.

Exodus ( between 1312–1327 when General Malik Kafur of the Delhi Sultans Alauddin Khilji and Muhammed bin Tughlaq destroyed Govepuri and the Kadambas
Exodus subsequent to 1470 when the Bahamani kingdom captured Goa, and subsequently in 1492 by Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur
Exodus due to Christianization of Goa by Portuguese subsequent to 1500
Hindu, Muslim and Neo-Catholic Christian exodus during the Goa Inquisition, which was established in 1560 and abolished in 1812.

These events caused the Konkani language to evolve into multiple dialects. The exodus to coastal Karnataka and Kerala required Konkani speakers in these regions to learn the local languages and hence this caused penetration of local words into the dialects of Konkani spoken by these speakers. e.g. the word dār (door) gave way to the word bāgil. The phoneme "a" in the Salcette dialect was replaced by the phoneme "o".

Other Konkani communities came into being with their own dialects of Konkani. The Konkani Muslim communities of Ratnagiri and Bhatkal came about due to a mixture of intermarriage of Arab seafarers and locals as well as conversions of Hindus to Islam. Another migrant community that picked up Konkani was the Siddis who were sailor-warriors from Ethiopia.

Contemporary Konkani
Contemporary Konkani is written in the Devanagari, Kannada, Malayalam, Persian and Roman scripts. It is written by speakers in their native dialects. However, the Goan Antruz dialect in the Devanagari script has been promulgated Standard Konkani.
Geographical distribution
Ethnologue puts the number of Konkani speakers at 3.6 million in 2000.
The Konkani language is spoken widely in the Western Coastal region of India known as Konkan. This consists of the Konkan division of Maharashtra, the state of Goa, and the Uttara Kannada (formerly North Canara), Udupi and Dakshina Kannada (formerly South Canara) districts of Karnataka, together with many districts in Kerala(Kasargod, Kochi, Alappuzha, Trivandrum, Kottayam etc.). Each region has a different dialect, pronunciation style, vocabulary, tone and sometimes, significant differences in grammar.  The Census Department of India, 1991 figures put the number of Konkani speakers in India as 1,760,607 making up 0.21% of India's population. Out of these, 602,606 were in Goa, 706,397 in Karnataka, 312,618 in Maharashtra and 64,008 inKerala.  It ranks 15th in the list of Scheduled Languages by strength. According to the 2001 estimates of The Census Department of India, there are 2,489,015 Konkani speakers in India.  A very large number of Konkanis live outside India, either as expatriates or citizens of other countries (NRIs). Determining their numbers is difficult.

A significant number of Konkani speakers are found in Kenya and Uganda, Pakistan, Persian Gulf and Portugal. During Portuguese rule many Goans had migrated to these countries. Many families still continue to speak different dialects that their ancestors spoke, which are now highly influenced by the native languages.
Konkani revival

Konkani was in a sorry state, due to the use of Portuguese as the official and social language among the Christians; the predominance of Marathi over Konkani among Hindus and the Konkani Christian-Hindu divide. Seeing this Vaman Raghunath Varde Valaulikar set about on a mission to unite all Konkanis, Hindus as well as Christians, regardless of caste or religion. He saw this movement not just as a nationalistic movement against Portuguese rule, but also against the pre-eminence of Marathi over Konkani. Almost single handedly he crusaded, writing a number of works in Konkani. He is regarded as the pioneer of modern Konkani literature and affectionately remembered as Shenoi Goembab.  His death anniversary, 9 April, is celebrated as World Konkani Day (Viswa Konknni Dis).

Madhav Manjunath Shanbhag, an advocate by profession from Karwar, who with a few like-minded companions travelled in all the Konkani speaking areas, seeking to unite the fragmented Konkani community under the banner of "one language, one script, one literature". He succeeded in organising the first All India Konkani Parishad in Karwar in 1939^]

Successive Adhiveshans of All India Konkani Parishad held at various places in the following years. 27 Annual Adhiveshans of All India Konkani Parishad have been held so far.

Late Pandu Putti Kolambkar an eminient social worker of Kodibag, Karwar strove for the upliftment of Konkani in Karwar (North Kanara) and the Konkan.
Post-independence period
Following India's independence and its subsequent annexation of Goa in 1961, Goa was absorbed into the Indian Union as a Union Territory, directly under central administration.

However, with the reorganisation of states along linguistic lines, and growing calls from Maharashtra, as well as Marathis in Goa for the merger of Goa into Maharashtra, an intense debate was started in Goa. The main issues discussed were the status of Konkani as an independent language and Goa's future as a part of Maharashtra or as an independent state. A plebiscite retained Goa as an independent state in 1967.  However, English, Hindi and Marathi continued to be the preferred languages for official communication, while Konkani was sidelined.
Recognition as an independent language
With the continued insistence of some Marathis that Konkani was a dialect of Marathi and not an independent language, the matter was finally placed before the Sahitya Akademi. Suniti Kumar Chatterji, the president of the Akademi appointed a Committee of linguistic experts to settle the dispute. On 26 February 1975, the Committee after due deliberation, came to the conclusion that Konkani was indeed an independent and literary language with it being classified as an Indo-European language which in its present state is heavily influenced by the Portuguese language.
Official language status
All this did not change anything in Goa. Finally fed up with the delay, Konkani lovers launched an agitation demanding official status to Konkani in 1986. The agitation turned violent in various places, resulting in the death of six agitators from Catholic Community, Mr. Floriano Vaz from Gogal Margao, Aldrin Fernandes, Mathew Faria, C. J. Dias, John Fernandes and Joaquim Pereira all from Agacaim. Finally, on 4 February 1987, the Goa Legislative Assembly passed the Official Language Bill making Konkani the Official Language of Goa.

Konkani was included in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution of India, as per the Seventy-First Amendment on 20 August 1992, adding it to the list of National Languages.
Structure

Phonology

The Konkani language has 16 basic vowels (excluding equal number of long vowels), 36 consonants, 5 semi-vowels, 3 sibilants, 1 aspirate and many diphthongs. Like the other Indo-Aryan languages, it has both long and short vowels and syllables with long vowels may appear to be stressed. Different types of nasal vowels are a special feature of the Konkani language.

The palatal and alveolar stops are affricates. The palatal glides are truly palatal but other the consonants in the palatal column are alveopalatal.

The voiced/voiceless contrasts is found only in the stops and affricates. The affricates are all voiceless and the sonorants are all voiced

The initial vowel-syllable is shortened after the aspirates and the fricatives. Many speakers substitute unaspirated consonants for aspirates.

Aspirates in non-initial position are rare and only occur in careful speech. Palatalisation/non palatisation is found in all Obstruents, except for palatal and alveolars. Where a palatalised alveolar is expected, a palatal is found instead. In case of sonorants, only unaspirated consonants show this contrast, and among the glides only labeo-velar glides exhibit this. Vowels show a contrast between oral and nasal ones.

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