The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c11.s5.7

c11.s5.7

*Rupa* technically denotes a certain variety of drama in Sanskrit, and had the legend been *rūpakṛti*, it would have been possible to interpret it as one who is expert or successful (*kṛtin*) in composing *rūpa*, a variety of drama. Chandragupta is well known as a parton of literature and may himself have been a dramatist. But the legend in question distinctly reads as *rūpākṛti*, and not as *rūpakṛti*, so this interpretation is impossible, unless we suppose that *rūpākṛti* is a mistake for *rūpakṛti*. It may be, however, pointed out that what is usually taken as the medial *ā* stroke of *pa* is quite detached from that letter, and it may be due to a flaw in the die. In that case the legend would read *rūpakṛti* and mean ‘one who is skilled in dramatic composition,’ or ‘one who has gained his end in dramatic composition.’