Hala – The Satavahana king who wrote Saptasataka
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.