The Development of Hindu Iconography c11.3

c11.3

¹ For a somewhat detailed discussion about the significance of some of the symbols appearing on them, refer to Coomaraswamy, *H.I.I.A.*, pp. 43-45. D. B. Spooner at first suggested that many of the symbols were particularly Buddhist in character, the so-called solar symbol stood for Dharmacakra, the tree, for Bodhi tree, etc., *A.S.I.A.R.*, 1905-06, pp. 151 ff. But later he discarded this view in favour of another, viz., that many of them were Zoroastrian in nature; thus, the solar symbol stood for Mithra, the tree for haoma tree, etc., *J.R.A.S.*, 1915, pp. 411-13. D. R. Bhandarkar supposed that many of these can be explained as the various ways of representing the seven jewels (*sapta ratnāni*, such as *hasti*, *aśva*, *ratha*, *maṇi*, *strī*, *gṛhapati* and *pariṇāyaka*, the insignia of an Indian Cakravartin empowered to strike coins, *A.S.I.A.R.*, 1913-14, p. 211. Durga Prasad tried to explain the significance of these symbols with the help of some late texts and suggested that most of these were Tāntric in character; he described the circular cluster of dots as *vindumaṇḍala*, a variant of the so-called Taxila symbol as *ṣaḍara cakra*, etc., *J.A.S.B.*, 1934, Numismatic Supplement No. XLV, pp. 16-55. J. Allan in his publication—*Catalogue of Coins of Ancient India in the British Museum*—has justifiably refrained from putting forth any suggestion about their character and has gone to the length of drawing most of these for referring to them in his description. P. N. Bhattacharyya in his Memoir (of the Archaeological Survey of India, No. 62), on a hoard of silver punch-marked coins from Purnea, has very carefully noted the multifarious symbols and their variants appearing on them; he has also not attempted to explain any of them.