The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c13.s4.1

c13.s4.1

Tiger-slayer type was one of the rare types of Samudragupta; we find Kumāragupta reviving it in his reign. The resemblance to the prototype is fairly close on the obverse; the king faces left wearing a similar head-dress and shoots the tiger by arrow; there is a crescent standard between the two. The wording of the legend is also similar; Kumāragupta only adds the word *śrīmān* in the beginning and *bala* in the middle, the new legend thus assuming the form, *Śrīmān vyāghraybalaparākramaḥ* (Pl. XXII. 35); ‘the glorious (king), whose strength and valour is like that of a tiger.’ On Samudragupta’s coins the entire legend was on the right; here the word *śrīmān* is always on the left. The *anusvāra* above the letter *mā* is, however, not to be seen on any specimen.