Chapter III: Coins of the Western Satraps and Other Imitators of the Greek

MODELS

The coinage of the Indo-Greek kings made a deep impression upon their successors and neighbours, just as the coinage of Bactria had impressed the conquering Śakas, who copied it extensively in that country. The crude coins of Miaos (or Heraos) and of Sapeleizes, two very obscure rulers, are evidently modelled on the issues of Heliokles and Eukratides. Śaka princes, like Maues, as we have seen, while adopting many Greek features, employed a characteristic coinage of their own. On the other hand, we find Rājuvula, one of the Śaka satraps who replaced the Hindu kings of Mathurā in the first century A.D., slavishly copying the billon hemidrachms of Strato II (Pl. I, 8). Nahapāna, a great Śaka conqueror who founded a kingdom in the Western Ghats at about the same period, also reproduced the Greek hemidrachm (Pl. II, 11), as did the Andhra king, Śrī Yajña Gotamīputra (Pl. III, 1). Another Śaka chieftain, Chashṭana, about A.D. 115, founded a kingdom in Mālwā, striking hemidrachms like those of Nahapāna on the Greek model, and resembling most nearly the coins of Apollodotos. The coins of both these princes preserve the remains of Greek characters on the obverse, and on the reverse are inscriptions in both Nāgarī[22] and Kharoshṭhī, but after the death of Chashṭana the Kharoshṭhī inscription disappears. His successors, known as the Western Satraps, extended his dominions by conquests from the Andhras until they embraced all the flourishing ports on the west coast with their valuable sea-borne trade. Their hemidrachms are found in great abundance throughout Western India: on the reverse of all appears the Buddhist _chaitya_ copied from the Andhra coinage; the portraits on the obverse are distinctly Scythian in appearance. These coins are of special historical importance; for in the reign of the fifth satrap, Jīvadāman, dates in the so-called Śaka era,[23] recording the year of issue, were added to the inscription (Pl. III, 2); and these are of the greatest service in helping to date events here and elsewhere in India down to the year A.D. 395, when the Guptas conquered the country, and the long and monotonous series of Western Satrap coins came to an end. The Guptas in their turn struck silver of the same type; and these degenerate descendants of the Greek hemidrachm had a further lease of life, when, imported by the Guptas from their western (Pl. VI, 1) to their central dominions (Pl. VI, 2), they were adopted by several minor dynasties, including the Maukharīs, and were even struck by the invading Huns (Pl. VI, 7).

[22] Nāgarī is a later form of Brāhmī script.

[23] The Śaka era started in A.D. 78; this date is now considered to mark the first year of Kanishka’s reign.

Imitation of both Greek and Śaka models is noticeable in the coins of the Hindu state of Odumbara. (Pl. III, 3), the modern Pathānkot; both these and the earlier silver coins of the Kuṇindas, who occupied hilly districts near the river Satlej, have legends in Brāhmī and Kharoshṭhī; both may be assigned to the first century B.C.

III

COINS OF THE KUSHĀṆA KINGS

_Note._—The monograms in Fig. 3b occur on coins
of the following: (1) Eukratides, (2) Apollodotos, (3)
Apollodotos, Maues, (4) Azes I, (5) Sotēr Megas, (6)
Gondopharnes and Aspavarma.

The Yueh-chi, who drove the Śakas out of Bactria about the year 126 B.C., were destined to create “one of the greatest empires of ancient India.” At some date after A.D. 25, one of the five tribes of which they were composed, the Kushāṇas, became supreme, and under the leadership of the head of that tribe, Kujūla Kadphises, they passed south of the Hindu Kush, and overwhelmed the Pahlavas, then ruling in the Kābul valley. The deposition of Pacores, successor of Gondopharnes to the Pahlava kingdom of Taxila, must have taken place between the years A.D. 45 and A.D. 64, and was effected by Vima Kadphises, the second Kushāṇa king. Henceforward there is less confusion of dynasties. We know the names and the chronological order of these powerful Kushāṇa princes—Kujūla Kadphises, Vima Kadphises, Kanishka, Huvishka, Vāsudeva; the names of the three last are even recorded in several inscriptions. It seems to be now generally accepted that Kanishka was the founder of the so-called Śaka era, and that consequently his reign started in A.D. 78.[24] The chief remaining difficulty is the attribution of certain copper coins bearing the title _Kujūla Kadaphes_ (Kharoshṭhī—_Kuyula Kaphasa_); this must remain for the present unsettled.

[24] _Camb. History of India_, Vol. I, p. 583.

The commoner type of these Kadaphes coins deserves special attention (Pl. IV, 2); for the head on the obverse is directly copied from the coins of one of the earlier Roman Emperors, probably Augustus, and bears evidence to that Roman influence which is so marked in the gold coinage of the Kushāṇas, and which is partly traceable to the intercourse between the Yueh-chi and the Roman Empire before their invasion of India, an intercourse which resulted in Kushāṇa ambassadors being actually sent to the court of Augustus. But the plentiful issues in gold of Vima Kadphises and his two successors, all struck on the same standard as the Roman _aureus_, are due also to other causes. Exports from India to different provinces of the Roman Empire, carried by sea from the south, and by the overland routes in the north, were paid for in Roman gold; and the _aureus_ had, like the English _sovereign_ in more recent times, at this period acquired that status as a current coin in India, which it already possessed in those parts of Asia more directly under the influence of the imperial power. It was only natural that these Kushāṇa invaders should seek to win acceptance for their new gold currency by placing it on an equality with the popular Roman gold. There was, moreover, at this time a world shortage of silver: not only do we find the Pahlava kings striking didrachms in debased silver, but the silver _denarius_ itself was, during the early empire, being reduced in weight and fineness. This accounts for the disappearance of silver and the important place of gold in the Kushāṇa coinage, and is probably also partly the reason why the Western Satraps struck only small hemidrachms, and these often in inferior silver.

The coins of Kujūla Kadphises are all of copper. Those which he struck in the style of Hermaios have the head of the Greek king on the obverse (Pl. IV, 1), and he used the same type after the name of Hermaios had disappeared from the inscriptions; both these types were current in the Kābul province. Another type, akin to the Śaka coins, has a bull on the obverse and a Bactrian camel on the reverse. In one of his inscriptions, for which like his successor he uses both Greek and Kharoshṭhī, he is styled “_The Great King, King of Kings, the Son of Heaven_.”

The gold of Vima Kadphises (c. A.D. 45-78) was struck in three denominations, the double stater (Pl. IV, 3), the stater or _dināra_,[25] as the Kushāṇas called it (= the Roman _aureus_ of 124 grains weight), and the quarter stater. On the obverse of these appears either the king’s head or bust, or the king seated cross-legged on a couch, or, as on a rare stater in the British Museum, sitting in a two-horsed chariot. On the copper coins, which are of three sizes, the king is almost invariably standing, with his right hand placing an offering upon a small altar at his side. The portrait of the king is most realistic, though hardly flattering—a corpulent figure with a long heavy face and a large nose, he appears wearing the long Kushāṇa cloak and tall “Gilgit” boots, on his head a conical hat with streamers. Vima Kadphises must have been a zealous convert to the worship of the Hindu god Śiva, for the god or his emblem, the trident battle-axe, is the invariable device on the reverse of all his coins. The title “_Sotēr Megas_” on this king’s copper coins indicates a relationship between him and the so-called “nameless king” mentioned in the previous chapter, whose coins bear the same legend.

[25] _Dināra_ is derived from the Roman _denarius_. It affords an interesting example of the vicissitudes which so many coin names have experienced. The first letter of the same word _d (enarius)_ now signifies copper in English money.

Kanishka, the real founder of the great Kushāṇa empire, which stretched from Kābul[26] to the banks of the Ganges, may have belonged to another branch of the Yueh-chi—he was not, at any rate, nearly related to Vima Kadphises, whose coins are distinct in many respects from those of Kanishka and his successors. One marked distinction is the use of Greek legends only by these later kings. The Greek is often very debased, and the reason suggested for its employment is that Khotanese, the native tongue of the Kushāṇas, was first reduced to writing in the Greek character. Kanishka also introduced the Iranian title, _Shāonānoshāo_—“King of Kings”—in place of the Greek form _Basileōs Basileōn_. On the reverse side of the extensive gold (full and quarter staters only) and copper coinage of Kanishka and Huvishka is portrayed a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses; among them are the Greek gods, Helios, Herakles (Pl. IV, 8), Selene; the Hindu god, Śiva (_Oesho_ on the coins); the Iranian deities, Athro, “Fire,” Oado, the wind god, Ardokhsho and Nāna, and even the great Buddha himself (Pl. IV, 4), who had previously appeared on a copper coin of Kadaphes. The representation of this “mixed multitude” was probably intended to conciliate the religious scruples of the numerous peoples included within the vast territory of the Kushāṇa Empire. A standing figure of the king appears on the obverse of Kanishka’s gold staters, on the small quarter staters is a half (Pl. IV, 5) or quarter length portrait. On Huvishka’s gold the standing figure never appears; the portrait is either half-length or merely the king’s head; on one coin the king is seated cross-legged; on another (exceedingly rare) he is riding an elephant (Pl. VI, 7). Vāsudeva closely imitates Kanishka’s standing figure type on his gold.

[26] The province of Kābul must be reckoned Indian territory from the time of Chandragupta Maurya till the eleventh century. It was reunited to India by the Mug̱ẖal Emperor Bābur in the sixteenth century and lost again in the middle of the eighteenth.

Kanishka’s copper coinage is of two types: one has the usual “standing king” obverse (Pl. IV, 6); and on the rarer second type the king is sitting on a throne. Huvishka’s copper is more varied; on the reverse, as on Kanishka’s copper, there is always one of the numerous deities; on the obverse the king is portrayed (1) riding on an elephant, or (2) reclining on a couch, or (3) seated cross-legged, or (4) seated with arms raised.

Kanishka had been a great patron of Buddhism. Vāsudeva was evidently a convert to Hinduism and an ardent devotee of Śiva. On the reverses of his coins the deity is almost invariably Śiva accompanied by his bull (Pl. IV, 9), but there is a rare copper piece on which the word “Vāsu” in Brāhmī occupies the obverse, and the special symbol of Vāsudeva the reverse. About half-a-dozen other symbols, which take the place of the monograms of the Indo-Greeks, appear on the coins of the Kushāṇas.

After the death of Vāsudeva, in A.D. 220, the Kushāṇa power declined, though the descendants of Kanishka held the Kābul valley till A.D. 425. The coins of these kings, principally of two classes, are degenerate copies of the gold coins of Kanishka and Vāsudeva. One continues the standing king type with the Śiva and bull reverse; the second has the standing king obverse, with the deity Ardokhsho, who was by this time identified with the Indian Lakshmī, represented as sitting on a throne and holding a cornucopia on the reverse (Pl. IV, 10). Certain Brāhmī letters, now unintelligible, seem to have distinguished the coins of successive rulers. It was this latter type, current throughout the Panjāb, that the Gupta kings took as the model for their earliest coinage. In A.D. 425 a tribe of the Little Yueh-chi, under a chief named Kidāra, replaced the great Kushāṇa dynasty at Kābul; but they were driven out fifty years later by an inroad of the Ephthalites, or White Huns, and settled in the Chitrāl district and in Kashmīr. There they struck coins in much alloyed gold and also in copper of this same standing king and seated goddess type, and there it survived in a hardly recognizable form in the later coins, until the Muhammadans put an end to the Hindu kingdom in the fourteenth century. Certain kingdoms in the Panjāb also copied the large copper coins of the Kushāṇas: the most striking of these minor coinages is that of the Yaudheyas, whose territory included the modern state of Bahāwalpūr. One type of their coins shows a female standing figure on the obverse, and a soldier with a Brāhmī inscription on the reverse (Pl. IV, 11). The earliest coins of Nepāl current from the fifth to the seventh century also show traces of Kushāṇa influence. These large copper pieces give the names of at least four kings, Mānāṅka, Gunāṅka,[27] Aṅśuvarman and Jishṇugupta. Various devices are used, among them the goddess seated cross-legged. The coins of Aṅśuvarman, of the seventh century, have a cow standing to the left on the obverse and a winged horse with the king’s name on the reverse (Pl. V, 1).

[27] It has been suggested with great probability that these are really compound words signifying “the mark or device of Māna, of Guna.”

KEY TO PLATE V

1. Nepāl: Aṁśuvarman. Æ.
Obv., cow to left, _Kāmadehī_,
“The cow that yields every wish.”
Rev., winged lion to left, _Śryaṁśuvarma_.

2. Samudragupta. Standard type. AV. Wt. 116 grs.
Obv., king standing to left, holding standard in left hand,
sacrificing at altar to his right; behind altar Garuḍa-headed
standard; beneath king’s arm, _Samudra_; around,
_Samaraśatavitatavijayo jitaripur ajito divaṁ jayati_,
“The unconquered one, whose victories extend over a century
of battles, having conquered his enemies, wins heaven.”
Rev., goddess Lakshmī on a throne, her feet on a lotus; to left
symbol, to right _Parākramaḥ_,
“The [king] of supreme might.”

3. Id: Lyrist type. AV. Wt. 119·5 grs.
Obv., king seated cross-legged on high-backed couch, playing on a
lyre; beneath couch a foot-stool inscribed Si. Legend,
_Mahārājādhirāja Śrī Samudraguptaḥ_.
Rev., Lakshmī seated on wicker stool, holding fillet in right
hand, cornucopiae on left arm; to right _Samudraguptaḥ_.

4. Id: Chandragupta I type. AV. Wt. 118 grs.
Obv., Chandragupta on right, holding crescent-topped standard,
offering ring to Kumāradevī on left; on right
_Chandragupta_; on left _Śrī Kumāradevī_.

5. Id: Aśvamedha type. AV. Wt. 118·6 grs.
Obv., horse stands to left before a sacrificial post; beneath
horse _Si_; around, parts of _Rājādhirājaḥ
pṛithivīvijitva divaṁ jayatyā hṛtavājimedhaḥ_, “The king
of kings, having conquered the earth, wins heaven, being the
restorer of the Aśvamedha.”

6. Chandragupta II. Archer type. AV. Wt. 124·3 grs.
Obv., king standing to left, drawing arrow from a quiver; Garuḍa
standard on left; under left arm, _Chandra_; around,
_Deva-Śrī-Mahārājādhirāja-Śrī-Chandraguptaḥ_.
Rev., goddess seated facing, on lotus; lotus in left, fillet in
right hand; symbol to left; to right, _Śrī Vikrama_.

7. Id: Chattra type. AV. Wt. 119 grs.
Obv., king standing to left, casting incense on altar; behind him
dwarf attendant holds a “chattra” over his head. Around,
_Kṣitim avajitya sucaritair divaṁ jayati Vikramādityaḥ_,
“Vikramāditya, having conquered the earth, wins heaven by
good deeds.”
Rev., goddess Lakshmī standing facing, holding fillet and lotus;
symbol to left; to right, _Vikramādityaḥ_.

8. Id: Horseman type. AV. Wt. 120·7 grs.
Obv., king riding on fully caparisoned horse to left, holding a
bow. Around, _Paramabhāgavata Mahārājādhirāja Śrī
Chandraguptaḥ_, “Supreme among Bhāgavatas, king of kings,”
etc.
Rev., as No. 3. To right, _Ajitavikramaḥ_,
“He whose prowess is unsurpassed.”

9. Kumāragupta I. Lion-slayer type. AV. Wt. 125·6 grs.
Obv., king standing to right shoots a lion, which falls backward.
Around, _Kumāragupto yudhi siṅhavikkramaḥ_,
“Kumāragupta, who has the valour of a lion in battle.”
Rev., goddess Ambikā-Lakshmī seated facing, on a lion, holding
fillet and lotus. To right, _Siṅhamahendraḥ_, “The lion
Mahendra.”

10. Id: Peacock type. AV. Wt. 128·5 grs.
Obv., king standing to left, feeding peacock with a bunch of
grapes. Legend uncertain.
Rev., Kārttikeya, riding on his peacock, Parvāṇi, spear in left
hand, sprinkling incense on altar. To right,
_Mahendrakumāraḥ_.

11. Prakāśāditya. Horseman type. AV. Wt. 145·1 grs.
Obv., king slaying a lion from horseback; Garuḍa standard on
right. Legend incomplete.
Rev., goddess seated as on No. 6. To right, _Śrī Prakāśāditya_.

12. Śaśāṅka, king of Gauḍa. AV. Wt. 145 grs.
Obv., Śiva nimbate, reclining on bull (Nandi); moon above on
left. On right, _Śrī Śa_; below, _jaya_.
Rev., Lakshmī seated on lotus, elephants above on either side
sprinkling water on her. On right, _Śrī Śaśāṅka_.

13. Chandragupta II. Chattra type. Æ.
Obv., as on No. 7.
Rev., Garuḍa standing facing, with outspread wings and human
arms. Below, portions of _Mahārāja Śrī Chandraguptaḥ_.

KEY TO PLATE VI

1. Kumāragupta I. W. Provinces type. AR. Wt. 33·5 grs.
Obv., bust of king to right; corrupt Greek letters.
Rev., Garuḍa standing facing, with outstretched wings. Around,
_Paramabhāgavata Mahārājādhirāja Śrī Kumāragupta
Mahendrādityaḥ_.

2. Skandagupta. Central Provinces Type. AR. Wt. 32·1 grs.
Obv., bust of king to right; to right, date in Brāhmī numerals.
Rev., peacock standing facing, with wings and tail outspread;
border of dots. Around, _Vijitāvanir avanipati jayati
divaṁ Skandagupto ’yam_,
“This Skandagupta, having conquered the world, [as]
world-lord, wins heaven.”

3. Śilāditya (Harshavardhana) of Thāṇeśar. AR. Wt. about 36 grs.
Obv., bust of king to left; to left, _Sa_ and uncertain date.
Rev., peacock as on No. 2. Around, _Vijitāvanir avanipati.
Śrī Śilāditya divaṁ jayati_, “Śrī Śilāditya having
conquered the world, [as] world-lord, wins heaven.”

4. Mihiragula. AR. Wt. 54·2 grs.
Obv., bust of king to right; in front, bull-standard; behind,
trident. Legend, _Jayatu Mihirakula_.
Rev., debased fire-altar and attendants.

5. Napkī Malik. AR (base). About 52 grs.
Obv., bust of king with winged head-dress; above, buffalo’s head
facing. Pahlavī legend, _Napkī Malik_.
Rev., Fire-altar and attendants, wheel over head of each.

6. Indian imitation of Sassanian coin. AR (base).
Obv. and Rev., as on No. 4, but very barbarous.

7. Toramāṇa. AR. Wt. 32·8 grs.
Obv., as on No. 3.
Rev., as on No. 3, but _Śrī Toramāṇa_.

8. Gadhiya paisa. AR (base). Wt. 60 grs.
Obv., head of king to right.
Rev., fire-altar. More debased than No. 6.

9. Mahoba: Hallakshaṇavarma. AV. Dramma. Wt. 63 grs.
Obv., four-armed goddess seated facing.
Rev., _Śrīmad Hallakshaṇavarma Deva_.

10. Ḍahāla: Gāṅgeya-deva. AV. Wt. 62 grs.
Obv., as on No. 9.
Rev., _Śrīmad Gāṅgeya-deva_.

11. Dehlī and Ajmer: Pṛithvī Rāja. Bil. Wt. 52 grs.
Obv., horseman to right; _Śrī Pṛithvī Rāja deva_.
Rev., recumbent bull to left; _Asāvari Śrī Sāmanta
deva_.[28]

12. Shāhis of Ohind: Spalapati-deva. AR. Wt. 50 grs.
Obv., horseman to right. Inscription in undeciphered characters.
Rev., recumbent bull to left. _Śrī Spalapati-deva._

13. Narwar: Chāhaḍa-deva. Æ. Wt. 52 grs.
Obv., as No. 11, but legend _Śrī Chāhaḍa-deva_.
Rev., as No. 11.

14. Kashmīr; Harsha-deva. AV. Wt. 73 grs.
Obv., horseman to right; _Harsha-deva_.
Rev., seated goddess.

15. Id: Diddā Rānī. Æ. Wt. about 85 grs.
Obv., standing king to right.
Rev., seated goddess. To left, _Śrī_; to right,
_Diddā_.

16. Id: Yaśovarman. AV (base). Wt. 112 grs.
Obv., standing king; under left arm, _Kidā (ra)_.
Rev., seated goddess, _Śrī Yaśovarma_.

[28] Asāvari is said to be a name of Durga; Śrī Sāmanta deva is borrowed from the coinage of Ohind.

The reigns of Kanishka and Huvishka coincide with the most flourishing period of the great Gandhāra school of sculpture, which had arisen during the rule of the Śaka princes. Hellenistic influence is very strongly marked in that art, and it may be interesting to consider here briefly what contribution the coins make to the vexed question of the respective parts played by Greek and Indian ideals in moulding its character. A careful inspection of the successive coinages of the Indo-Greeks, the Śakas and the Kushāṇas will show that the strongest influences of pure Greek art had passed away before the reign of Kanishka. With the establishment of Greek rule south of the Hindu Kush, traces of the Indian craftsman’s hand begin to appear. As time goes on these become more apparent, until, in the Kushāṇa period, the whole fabric of the coins, if not entirely Indian, is far more Oriental than Greek. That purely Indian influences were strongly at work is very evident in the cult of Śiva as expressed on the coins of Vima Kadphises and Vāsudeva for instance; in the Buddha coins of Kadaphes and Kanishka, and in the typical Indian cross-legged attitude in which Kadphises II and Huvishka are depicted; and, after all is said, the art was produced in India and must have been largely if not entirely the work of Indian craftsmen. Originality in art does not so much consist in evolving something which has never existed before, but rather in the ability to absorb fresh ideas and transmute them into a new form. And thus it was in the time of Kanishka: Indian mysticism allowed itself to be clad in Greek beauty of form. Eastern feeling ran, as it were, into Western moulds to create this wonderful aftermath of Hellenic art, which left an indelible mark upon every country of the Orient where the cult of the Buddha penetrated.

IV

THE COINAGE OF THE GUPTAS

The Gupta period, computing it roughly as lasting from A.D. 320 to 480, synchronises with a great revival of Hinduism, and along with it of literature, the arts and sciences. The Gupta monarchs, as is evident from their coins, although orthodox devotees of Vishṇu, were liberal patrons. Kālidāsa and other writers raised literary Sanskrit to a point of perfection never equalled before or since; the cave frescoes of Ajanta bear witness to the genius of the Gupta painters; the architecture and sculpture of the period show an equally high level of attainment; all the greatest Hindu mathematicians and astronomers flourished in the fifth and sixth centuries. It is, in fact, evident that when the Hindu of to-day harks back to the Golden Age of Hinduism, the picture he draws in his mind is coloured by traditions, which have come to him from books or hearsay, of the age of the Guptas, rather than by the fainter glimmerings of more heroic times from the Vedas or the great Epics. So, too, the splendid gold coinage of the Guptas, with its many types and infinite varieties and its inscriptions in classical Sanskrit, now appearing on Indian coins for the first time, are the finest examples of purely Indian art of this kind we possess.

The origin of the Gupta family is obscure. This much seems certain, that the family was not of high caste, perhaps of the lowest. The territory which the Guptas are first found ruling lay near Pāṭaliputra, the modern Patna; it was much enlarged by one Gupta, on the decline of the Kushāṇa power in its eastern territories; he was succeeded by a son, Ghaṭotkacha, who assumed the title of Mahārāja, which brings us out into the light of history; for with the year of his son Chandragupta I’s accession, A.D. 320, the Gupta era starts. It may appear strange that this monarch should have issued no coins of his own, but there seems little reason now to doubt that, to his son and successor, Samudragupta, the real founder of the Gupta Empire, should be assigned those coins (Pl. V, 4) which bear the portraits of Chandragupta and his wife Kumāradevī,[29] a member of the illustrious Lichchavi family reigning at Vaiśālī[30] as early as the seventh century B.C. Samudragupta’s conquests, as we learn from his Allahabad pillar inscription, carved out for him an empire which extended north to the base of the Himalayas, east to the Brahmaputra river, south to the banks of the Narbadā, and west to the Jumna and the Chambal, with a number of protected states on his frontier between those rivers and the Chināb. On the completion of his conquests he revived an ancient Hindu rite in celebrating the Aśvamedha, or Horse-sacrifice. Now the states under Samudragupta’s protection in the Panjāb were the districts of the old Kushāṇa Empire in which the gold coinage current at this time was, as we saw in the last chapter, a degraded form of the Kushāṇa “standing king” and “seated goddess,” Ardokhsho-Lakshmī type: it was from these coins (Pl. IV, 10) that the earliest and commonest form of Samudragupta’s issues, the Standard type (Pl. V, 2) was imitated. The earliest specimens, though much superior in workmanship, follow their model very closely: the “standing king” still wears Kushāṇa dress; a Kushāṇa symbol still appears on the reverse; only, on the obverse, in place of Śiva’s trident, appears a Garuḍa-headed standard (_Garuḍadhvaja_), emblem of the cult of Vishṇu. This coinage appears to have been introduced about the middle of the reign: such legends as “_The invincible one, the lord of the earth_” suggest, as indeed is obvious, that only rich plunder made such a varied and plentiful gold currency possible. Samudragupta struck only gold. In such abundance did the Kushāṇa kings mint copper money that it may be said without exaggeration to have remained in circulation in the Panjāb down to the nineteenth century; in the time of the Guptas the bazars must have been full of it. But for gold there is always an insatiable demand in India, and seven other distinct varieties appeared during this reign. Of these the Archer type, the commonest and most characteristic Gupta coin (Pl. V, 6), struck by at least eight succeeding kings, is a natural development of the Standard type, of which also further modifications are to be found in the Battle-axe and Kācha types. On the obverse of the former a second attendant figure is introduced, and a battle-axe instead of a standard is in the king’s left hand. In the Kācha coins the change takes place on the reverse, where a standing figure of Lakshmī facing left takes the place of the seated goddess: the reverses of the Tiger-slayer and Aśvamedha coins present variations of this motif. The Tiger-slayer type, of which four specimens only are at present known, is the prototype of the Lion-slayer issues of later kings, and represents the king, dressed for the first time in an Indian waistcoat and turban, trampling on a tiger as he shoots it. There remain the Chandragupta I, Aśvamedha (Pl. V, 5) and Lyrist types, all three obviously in the nature of commemorative medals, and perhaps intended as pious gifts (_dakshiṇa_) to Brahmans. The Lyrist coins (Pl. V, 3), the rarest of the three, merit special attention. Evidently intended as a graceful tribute to the king’s accomplishments, he is portrayed in Indian dress, sitting cross-legged on a high-backed rather ornate couch, playing on a _vīṇā_, or Indian lute. On the reverse appears the goddess Lakshmī seated to left on a _mora_ (wicker stool). The excellent modelling of the king’s figure, the skilful delineation of the features, the careful attention to details, and the general ornateness of design in the best specimens constitute this type as the highest expression of Gupta numismatic art.

[29] Cf. _B.M.C._, “Coins of the Gupta Dynasties,” Introduction, pp. lxiv-lxviii.

[30] Situated in Tirhut, Bengal.

Chandragupta II Vikramāditya (= Sun of Power), who succeeded to the throne in A.D. 375, extended still further the boundaries of the empire, and at some time during his long reign, which lasted till A.D. 413, removed the capital from Pāṭaliputra to Ayodhyā. His gold coinage is even more abundant than his father’s, two of whose types, the Archer and Lion-slayer (Tiger-slayer), he continued; but on his later Archer coins (Pl. V, 6) the goddess Lakshmī sits upon a lotus instead of a throne; and in the second type, besides the substitution of a lion for a tiger, there is a change on the reverse, Lakshmī being seated on a lion in various attitudes. The figure of the Lion-slayer on the obverse is sometimes turned to the right and sometimes to the left; and a unique coin in the Lucknow Museum shows him attacking the lion with a sword. The very rare Couch design of Chandragupta is a derivative of Samudragupta’s Lyrist type. In the new Chattra type coins (Pl. V, 7) we have yet a further variant of the Standard type: on the obverse of these, behind the “standing king,” appears a boy or dwarf, holding an umbrella (_chattra_) over his head; the reverse shows the goddess Lakshmī standing on a lotus. An entirely new design is furnished by this king’s Horseman coins (Pl. V, 8). A king on horseback was, as we have seen, employed by the Indo-Greeks, and was characteristic of the issues of the Śakas. The Gupta rendering of the motif is new and spirited. The horse is fully caparisoned, facing in some coins to the right, on others to the left, and the king, either fully clad or sometimes only in a waistcoat, carries either a sword or a bow; the reverse resembles that of the Lyrist type.

Kumāragupta I (413-455) struck a few very rare Aśvamedha coins, closely resembling those of Samudragupta, except that they are far inferior in execution, and the sacrificial horse on the obverse is standing to the right instead of to the left.

He also continued to issue the Archer, Horseman and Lion-slayer (Pl. V, 9) types of his predecessors. Kumāragupta’s Tiger-slayer coins closely resemble their prototype struck by Samudragupta, except that on the reverse the goddess Lakshmī is depicted feeding a peacock. Four new designs appear on the gold of this reign. The Swordsman coins present still another modification of the Standard type, their distinguishing mark being that the king’s left hand rests on his sword-hilt instead of grasping a standard; on the reverse is the usual goddess seated on a lotus. Kumāragupta held the god Kārttikeya, one of whose names was Kumāra, in special veneration. The Peacock type (Pl. V, 10) bears evidence to this, for on the reverse the god himself appears riding on his peacock, Paravāṇi, and on the obverse the king is shown standing and feeding a peacock from a bunch of grapes. The rare Elephant-rider type shows the king on the obverse riding on an elephant trampling on a tiger; and the obverse of the still rarer Pratāpa type, so-called from the legend on the reverse, is evidently an adaption from some foreign, probably Roman, model.

Skandagupta, the last of the great Gupta kings, who succeeded his father in A.D. 455, was occupied during the earlier part of his reign in defending his empire against the inroads of the Huns, over whom he appears to have gained a decisive victory. This probably accounts for the comparative scarcity of his gold, of which only two types are known. He continued the favourite device of the Archer with the “seated goddess” reverse, and introduced a new type, on the obverse of which the king appears standing on the left, facing the goddess Lakshmī on the right, with the Garuḍa standard between them. But in this reign the gold coinage underwent an important change of a different character. Hitherto all the Gupta gold pieces had been _dināras_ and followed the weight standard adopted by the Kushāṇa kings from the Romans. All Skandagupta’s coins are, on an average, heavier than those of his predecessors; and certain of his Archer coins evidently represent a new standard of about 142 grains, based, perhaps, on the ancient Hindu _suvarṇa_; but along with the increase in weight there is a corresponding depreciation in the purity of the gold.

The successors of Skandagupta—Puragupta, Narasiṅhagupta, Kumāragupta II, Chandragupta III and Vishṇugupta, whose relationship and dates are somewhat doubtful, struck gold coins only of the Archer type, showing a gradual deterioration in design and execution. On a few coins of the same type are found portions of names, such as _Ghaṭo_ and _Jaya_, even more difficult to identify. A certain Prakāśāditya, perhaps identical with Puragupta, struck coins on which the king appears on horseback slaying a lion, a combination of the Horseman and Lion-slayer types (Pl. V, 11).

The inscriptions on Gupta coins are scarcely inferior to the designs in interest: they vary with each successive type and frequently bear a close relation to them. Thus on Samudragupta’s Battle-axe issue the king is described as “_Wielding the axe of Kṛitānta_” (= Yama, the god of Death), while on his Tiger-slayer coins he is given the title _Vyāghraparākramaḥ_, “He who has the prowess of a tiger.” Sometimes varieties of the same type are marked by a difference in the inscription: no less than seven different legends are found on Kumāragupta I’s Archer coins alone. The obverse legend, which encircles the design, usually takes the form of a verse in _Upagīti_ or some other Sanskrit metre, celebrating in highly ornate language the king’s glory on the earth and his future bliss in heaven, attained through his merit acquired by sacrifice. On the gold of Samudragupta six such metrical legends appear; Chandragupta II has only three; while at least twelve are employed by Kumāragupta I. As an example the obverse inscription on one class of Chandragupta II’s Chattra coins (Fig. 4) may be taken: “_Vikramāditya, having conquered the earth, wins heaven by good works_”; or the more ornate legend on a variety of Kumāragupta I’s Horseman type: “_The unconquered Mahendra, invincible, the moon in the sky of the Gupta line, is victorious_.” When a verse appears on the obverse, the reverse legend is distinct, consisting of a title, sometimes the repetition of one which appears already in the metrical obverse inscription, such as _Apratirathaḥ_, “The invincible one,” on the Archer coins of Samudragupta. Sometimes the king’s name and titles only appear, and then the legend on both obverse and reverse is often, though not always, continuous, but here again the reverse inscription, which appears to the right of the device, consists of a single title. Thus on Chandragupta II’s Archer type appears the following: obverse, _Deva-Śrī-Mahārājādhirāja-Śrī-Chandraguptaḥ_; reverse, _Śrī Vikramaḥ_. Entirely distinct in point of their inscriptions from all other Gupta coins are those struck by Samudragupta in memory of his father and mother, known as the Chandragupta I type; on the obverse appear the two names _Chandragupta_ and _Kumāradevī_, and on the reverse his mother’s family name, _Lichchavayaḥ_. This relationship was evidently a matter of pride to the striker. Finally, on the obverse of all coins of the Archer and most of the allied types appears vertically, under or near the king’s left arm, part of the king’s name, as _Samudra_, _Chandra_ or _Kumāra_. This vertical method of inscription can be traced back through the later Kushāṇa coins to a Chinese source.[31]

[31] Coins have been found in Khotān with a Chinese legend on the obverse and a Kharoshṭhī inscription on the reverse. Cf. _P.M.C._, Vol. I, p. 167, Nos. 134, 135.

Whether the symbols which occur regularly on all Gupta gold are anything more than ornaments is doubtful.

The silver coinage of the Guptas starts, as has been already noticed, with the overthrow of the Western Satraps by Chandragupta II. His issues follow those of the conquered nation very closely, except that on the obverse appears a figure of Vishṇu’s sacred bird, Garuḍa, in place of the _chaitya_, and the dates are computed in the Gupta instead of in the Śaka era. Obviously these were intended for circulation in the recently annexed provinces. Kumāragupta, while striking large quantities of the Garuḍa-type coins in the west (Pl. VI, 1), extended the silver coinage to the Central Provinces of his Empire. This latter class of money is entirely distinct in character: the head on the obverse is drawn in a crude but quite original manner, and is probably intended as a portrait of the king; on the reverse the king’s devotion to Kārttikeya is once more displayed in the representation of a peacock with outstretched wings. A third class of silver-plated coins, with a rude figure of Garuḍa on the reverse, seems to have been intended for the tributary state of Valabhī.[32] Skandagupta continued the Garuḍa and Peacock types (Pl. VI, 2) of his father, and introduced two new ones. The coins, of very base silver, with Śiva’s sacred bull Nandi on the reverse, were probably current in Kathiawar; but commoner than any of the preceding are certain ill-shaped pieces with an altar on the reverse. None of the direct descendants of Skandagupta appears to have struck silver, but a few coins of the Peacock type were issued by Budhagupta, a king of Eastern Mālwā, about A.D. 480. The dates which appear on these coins to the left of the obverse head in the Western, and to the right in the Central, issues are frequently defective or illegible. Inscriptions are confined to the reverse, on the Peacock type always a metrical legend, on all other types the king’s name accompanied by high-sounding titles.

[32] In the Kathiawar peninsula, forming part of what was then known as Surāshṭra.

The copper coinage, which is practically confined to the reign of Chandragupta II, is far more original in design. Eight out of the nine types known to have been struck by him have a figure of Garuḍa on the reverse, usually accompanied by the name of the king, while the obverse is occupied by the bust or head of the king, or by a three-quarter length portrait. In one class this is varied by the reproduction of the gold Chattra type obverse (Pl. V, 13). The tiny coins which constitute the ninth type have the word _Chandra_ in the obverse and a flower vase (_kalaśa_) on the reverse. Only four copper pieces are at present known of Kumāragupta.

After the death of Skandagupta, in A.D. 480,[33] the Gupta Empire rapidly broke up. The inferiority and comparative scarcity of his own gold coins, the still more debased issues of his brother Puragupta and subsequent kings, and the disappearance of silver money, bear ample evidence to their curtailed territory.

[33] Or according to Mr. Panna Lal, “Dates of Skandagupta and His Successors,” _Hindustan Review_, January, 1918, in A.D. 467.

The impression produced by the magnificent coinage of the Guptas upon the peoples of Northern India was undoubtedly as great as that created by the currency of their Kushāṇa predecessors; but, after the general devastation caused by the inroads of the Huns, few princes could have retained sufficient wealth in their treasuries to imitate it. It is significant then that the most notable imitations were the product of a mint, secured by its remoteness from the ruthless hand of the invader, in Central Bengal. These remarkable and not uncommon coins, with Śiva reclining on his bull Nandi on the obverse, and the goddess Lakshmī seated on a lotus on the reverse (Pl. V, 12), were struck by Śaśāṅka, king of Gauḍa (circ. 600-625), notorious as the assassinator of Harshavardhana’s elder brother, and a great “persecutor of Buddhism.” In Bengal, too, for many years after the passing of the Gupta Empire, were current flat gold pieces with crude reproductions of Gupta designs, and, with the exception of the word _Śrī_ on the obverse, completely illegible inscriptions. Another rather striking coin connected with the Gupta series, with a standing bull on the obverse, bears the name _Śrī Vīrasena_, but who Vīrasena was is at present unknown. A modification of the seated goddess motif was preserved on the gold coinage of certain mediæval Rājpūt kingdoms.

KEY TO PLATE VII

1. Gold globule, with faint punch-mark on reverse. Wt. about 52 grs.

2. Padma-ṭaṅka. AV. Wt. 57 grs.
Obv., eight-petalled lotus, surrounded by “Śaṅka” and two other
symbols. Inscription in a form of Nāgarī.

3. Pāṇḍya. AV. Wt. 57 grs.
Obv., two fishes under canopy; to right, lamp, to left, “chauri”
(fly-whisk).
Rev., undeciphered inscription.

4. Eastern Chālukya: Rājarāja. AV. Wt. 66·8 grs.
Obv., in centre, boar to right; around, _Śrī Rājarāja Saṁvat 35_.

5. Koṅgudeśa. AV. Wt. 60·2 grs.
Obv., ornate elephant to right.
Rev., floral scroll design.

6. Choḷa. AR. Wt. 52 grs.
Obv. and Rev., tiger seated under a canopy, behind it a bow, in
front two fish, whole flanked by two fly-whisks. In Nāgarī,
below, _Śrī Rājendraḥ_.

7. Ceylon: Parākrama Bāhu. Æ.
Obv., standing king.
Rev., seated goddess. In Nāgarī, _Śrī Parākramabāhu_.

8. Pallava or Chālukya (?). AR. Wt. 103·9 grs.
Obv., lion to right.
Rev., vase on stand, circle of rays.

9. Kerala. AR. Wt. 36·3 grs.
Obv., undeciphered inscription.
Rev., in Nāgarī, _Śrī Vīrakeralasya_.

10. Kalīkūt: Tīpū. AV. Fanam. Wt. about 5·2 grs.
Obv., Persian “hē” (= Ḥaidar).
Rev., in Persian, _Kalīkūt, 1199_.

11. Vijayanagar: Kṛishṇa Deva Rāya. AV. Half pagoda. Wt. about 26
grs.
Obv., Vishṇu seated with discus and conch.
Rev., in Nāgarī, _Śrī Pratāpa Kṛishṇa Rāya_.

12. Id: Harihara II. AV. Half pagoda. Wt. 25 grs.
Obv., god and goddess seated.
Rev., in Nāgarī, _Śrī Pratāpa Harihara_.

13. Kananūr: ’Ali Rāja. AV.
Obv., in Arabic, _Al-wālīu-l-mulk ’Alī Rāja_, “The guardian
of the kingdom, ’Alī Rāja.”
Rev., _Bi-l-hijrati as-sina 1194_, “In the Hijrī year 1194.”

KEY TO PLATE VIII

1. Altamsh. Æ.
Obv., in hexagon, _’Adl_.
Rev., in square, inscribed in a circle, _As-sult̤ān_.

2. Id: AR. Wt. about 165 grs.
Rev., in square, inscribed in a circle, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am
Shamsu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn abu-l-muz̤affar Altamsh as-sult̤ān_,
“The supreme sultan, the sun of the world and the faith, the
father of the victorious, Altamsh the sultan.” Marginal legends
incomplete.

3. Raẓiya. Bil. Wt. about 54 grs.
Obv., horseman to right. Around, in Nāgarī, _Śrī Hamīrah_
(= the Amīr).
Rev., in Arabic, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am Raẓiyatu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn_.

4. Ghiyās̤u-d-dīn Balban. Bil. Wt. about 55 grs.
Obv., in circle, in Arabic, _Balban_; around, in Nāgarī,
_Śrī Sultān Giyāsudīn_.
Rev., in Arabic, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am Ghiyās̤u-d-dunyā
wa-d-dīn_.

5. ’Alāu-d-dīn Muḥammad. Dehlī. 698 A.H. AV. Wt. 170 grs.
Obv., in a circle, _Sikandaru-s̤-s̤ānī yamīnu-l-khilāfati
nāṣiru amīru-l-mominīn_, “The second Alexander, the right
hand of the Khalifate, the helper of the commander of the
faithful”; margin, _Ẓuriba hazihi-s-sikkatu bi ḥaẓrati
Dehlī fī sinate s̤amāna wa tis ’aina wa sittami ’ata_,
“Struck this coin at the capital, Dehlī, in the year eight
and ninety and six hundred.”
Rev., as on No. 2, but title, _’Alāu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn_, and
name _Muḥammad Shāh_.

6. Qut̤bu-d-dīn Mubārak. 719 A.H. Bil. Wt. 80 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Ḵẖ̱alīfatu ’llah Mubārak Shāh_, “The
Khalif of God, Mubārak Shāh”; around, _As-sult̤an al
wās̤iqu bi ’llah amīru-l-mominīn_, “The sultan, the
truster in God, the commander of the faithful.”
Rev., _Al imāmu-l-a’z̤am Qut̤bu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn abu-l-muz̤affar_,
“The Supreme Imām, Qut̤bu-d-dīn, the father of the victorious.”

7. Muḥammad bin Tughlaq. Dehlī. 726 A.H. AV. Wt. 199 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Al wās̤iqu bi taʾīdu-r-rahman_ (“The
truster in the help of the Merciful”) _Muḥammad Shāh
as-sult̤ān_. Margin similar to that on No. 5, but
_hazihi-d-dīnār_ and date 726 in Arabic words.
Rev., _Ashhadu an lā ilāha illallaho wa ashhadu an Muḥammadan
’abduhu wa rasūluhu_, “I testify that there is no god but
God, and I testify that Muḥammad is his servant and apostle.”

8. Id: in the name of the Khalif Al Ḥākim. Bil. Wt. about 140 grs.
Obv., within quatrefoil, _Al Ḥākim b’ amru ’llah_.
Rev., within quatrefoil, _Abū-l-’abbās Aḥmad_.

9. Id: Forced Currency. Tulghlaqpūr, 730 A.H. Brass. Wt. about 140 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Man atā’ as-sult̤ān faqad atā’ ar-rahmān_,
“He who obeys the sultan surely he obeys the Merciful”;
margin, in Persian, _Dar iqlīm-i-Tug̱ẖlaqpūr’urf Tirhut
sāl bar hafsad sī_ “(Struck) in the territory of
Tulghlaqpūr, alias Tirhut, in the year seven hundred and
thirty.”
Rev., in Persian, _Muhar shud tankah-i-ra’īj dar
rūzgāh-i-bandah-i-ummīdwār Muḥammad Tug̱ẖlaq_, “Stamped
as a tankah current in the reign of the slave, hopeful (of
mercy), Muḥammad Tughlaq.”

10. Fīroz Shāh. Dehlī. 773 A.H. Bil. Wt. 140 grs.
Obv., _Al Khalīfatu amiru-l-mominīn khuldat khilāfatuhu 773_,
“The Khalif of the Commander of the faithful, may the
Khalifate be perpetuated.”
Rev., _Fīroz Shāh sult̤ānī ẓuriba bi ḥaẓrati Dehlī_,
cf. No. 5, Obv., margin.

11. Fīroz Shāh Z̤afar. AV. Wt. 169 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Fī zamani-l-imāmi amīru-l-mominīn Abu
’Abdu ’llah khuldat khilāfatuhu_, “In the time of the Imām,
the commander of the faithful, Abu ’Abdu ’llah,” etc.; margin
illegible.
Rev., _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am Fīroz Shāh Z̤afar Shāh ibn-i-Fīroz
Shāh sult̤ānī_, “The supreme sultan Fīroz Shāh Z̤afar Shāh,
son of Fīroz Shāh, sultan.”

12. Abūbakr Shāh. 792 A.H. Æ. Wt. about 102 grs.
Obv., in square, _Abūbakr Shāh_; in margin, _bin Z̤afar
bin Fīroz Shāh sult̤ānī_.
Rev., _Nāʾībi amīru-l-mominīn 792_, “The deputy of the
Commander of the faithful.”

13. Bahlol Lodī. Dehlī. 858 A.H. Bil. Wt. 140-146 grs.
Obv., _Fī zamani amīru-l-mominīn khuldat khilāfatuhu 858_.
Rev., _Al mutawakkilu ’ala-r-rahmān_ (“Trusting in the
Merciful one”) _Bahlol Shāh sult̤ān bi ḥaẓrati Dehlī_.

The western silver coinage of the Guptas may have been imitated by some of the powerful Maitraka rulers of Valabhī, who asserted their independence at the end of the fifth century: coins bearing the name Kṛishṇarāja, at present unidentified, are copied from Skandagupta’s bull type. Far more important are the coins struck by Īśānavarman, the Maukhari, and his successors, whose kingdom was in Bihār. These follow the Central Peacock type, but the head on the obverse, excepting the issue of one king, is turned to the left instead of to the right. These otherwise insignificant coins have a twofold interest: they were copied by the Hun Toramāṇa; and, more important still, the name appearing on the last and most abundant coins of the series is Śilāditya (Pl. VI, 3), who is almost certainly to be identified with the great Harshavardhana of Thāṇeśar and Kanauj, himself a relation of the Maukhari princes. What further strengthens this conjecture is the fact that the dates on the Śilāditya coins are reckoned in a new era, doubtless that which commenced with Harshavardhana’s coronation in A.D. 606, whereas the Maukhari kings use the Gupta era. It is striking testimony to the havoc wrought by the Hun invasions that these tiny silver pieces are the only coins[34] known to have been issued by this great king, who built up on the ruins of Northern India an empire scarcely less extensive than that of the Guptas.

[34] Certain thin silver coins of Sassanian type have been doubtfully ascribed to him. Cf. Rapson, _Indian Coins_, p. 34, § 122.

The copper money of the Guptas was copied by the Hun princes, Toramāṇa and Mihiragula, but left no legacy behind, unless the small coins which record the names of six Nāga princes of Narwar in Northern Rājputāna may have been derived from it.

V

MEDIÆVAL COINAGES OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIA TILL THE MUHAMMADAN CONQUEST

The centuries which elapsed between that great turning point in Indian history, the Hun invasions, and the coming of the Muhammadans in the twelfth century, suggest several points of comparison with the so-called Dark Ages of European history. It was an age of transition, pregnant with important developments for the future, but individualistic expression, both in art and literature, remained largely in abeyance. This want of originality is particularly marked in the limited coinage of the numerous petty kingdoms which flourished and declined during the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries. The most important movement of the time was the rise of the Rājpūt clans, which were now emerging as the dominant powers in Hindustān. The Bull and Horseman type in the Rājpūt coinage symbolises this new force. In addition to the issues of the Huns and the Rājpūt dynasties will be described the money of Kashmīr, which, protected by its mountainous frontiers, ordinarily remained shut off from the influence of political events which agitated the kingdoms of the plains.