Hala – The Satavahana king who wrote Saptasataka

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Hāla was a Satavahana king who is traditionally assigned the authorship of Saptasataka (Seven Hundred) or Gathasaptashati, the most important literary work in Prakrit. Written in the Arya metre, Saptasataka is a collection of self contained stanzas full of beauty. 

Out of seven hundred poems, some forty-four were penned by Hala, who, according to the Matsya Purana, was the 17th Satavahana ruler. 

Hāla ruled in the Deccan in the 1st century AD.  

The Maharashtri Prakrit work "Lilavati Parinayam" narrates his romance and marriage with Lilavati, a princess of Simhaladvipa (identified with modern Sri Lanka). Lilavati Parinayam was written by  Kuthuhala Koūhala.




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