Uninterrupted political and cultural accounts of Andhra Pradesh begin during the rise of the Satavahana dynasty. According to the "Matsya Purana", the dynasty had 29 rulers in a 456-year period from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. An inscription at Nasik, written at the time of Gautamiputra Satakarni (the 23rd Satavahana ruler), indicates that the kingdom included most of the southern peninsula and southern parts of Maharashtra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The court language used by the Satavahanas was Prakrit, and their kings observed the Vedic religion.