What is "chashtana"

Chashtana ( IAST: , or Chastana) was a ruler of the Saka Western Satraps in northwestern India during 78-130 CE. He was satrap of Ujjain during that period. Among the modern scholars, the beginning of the Saka era is widely equated to the ascension of Chashtana (possibly to Mahakshatrapa) in 78 CE.

A statue found in Mathura together with statues of the Kushan king Kanishka and Vima Taktu, and bearing the name "Shastana" is often attributed to Chashtana himself. Chashtana is called Tisman by the bards, a spelling that matches the Greek rendition of his name more closely.

Chashtana was mentioned by Ptolemy as "Tiasthenes" or "Testenes", ruling a large area of Western India into the 2nd century CE, especially the area of Ujjain ("Ozene"), during the reign of the Satavahana king Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi. According to Ptolemy, Chashtana directly ruled Ujjain, while Paithan (Pratisthana) continued to be ruled by Siristolemaios (identified with Sri Pulumayi, son of Gautamiputra Satakarni). Ptolemy in his "Geographia", where he qualifies the Western Satraps as "Indo-Scythians", describes Chashtana's territory as starting from Patalene in the West, to his capital Ujjain in the east ("Ozena-Regia Tiastani", "Ozene, capital of king Chashtana"), and beyond Barigaza in the south:

Chashtana was the grandfather of the great Western Satrap conqueror Rudradaman I. Chashtana was founder of one of the two major Saka Satrap dynasties in north-western India; the other, short-lived dynasty included Bhumaka and Nahapana.