The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c11.s4.4

c11.s4.4

Behind the king is a dwarf attendant, holding a parasol over the king's head; he reminds us of the frequent references in Sanskrit literature to dwarf attendants in the royal household discharging different duties. The dwarf attendant on the coins is a male. He is seen wearing a coat in some cases (Pl. VIII. 10.) and a boot in others (Pl. VIII. 7-9). In some cases, however, the figure of the dwarf resembles that of a female with prominent breasts (Pl. VIII. 12-14). Females are frequently mentioned in Sanskrit literature as carrying the parasol or the chourī in the royal retenue; sculptures at Amaravati confirm the evidence of literature. It is therefore not unlikely that some mint-masters might have preferred to represent the parasol-bearer as a female. The figure, however, is too small to enable us to arrive at a definite conclusion. None of the parasol bearers is, however, so distinctly feminine in look as the admittedly female umbrella-bearers on the reverse of the Rhinoceros-slayer type of Kumāragupta I.