The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c13.s6: Elephant-Rider Lion-Slayer Type
The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c13.s6
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Elephant-Rider Lion-Slayer Type
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The first coin of this type was published by Dr. Hiranand Sastri in 1917¹ from the cast of a specimen offered for sale to Lucknow Museum. It was, however, not a well preservd specimen and the legend could not be properly deciphered. The present writer discovered four fairly good specimens in the Bayana hoard, which has enabled him to restore the legend to some extent. All coins of this type are issued to the weight standard of 127 grains.
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¹ *J.A.S.B.*, 1917, p. 155; Pl. VII. 3. The coin could not be purchased by the Lucknow Museum and it is now in a private collection at Lucknow.
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The general description of the type is as follows:
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*Obv:* King bare-headed, riding a caparisoned elephant, furiously advanciug to r., raising his r. hand holding a dagger in the posture of attack. Dwarf behind him, holding a *chhatra* over his head. A lion is in front of the elephant, which the latter is about to trample with l. fore-leg; the lion tries to bite the r. front leg of the elephant by opening its jaw. Circular legend is uncertain and incomplete. It begins wiht *Kshata*; probably it may have been the same as that on the Elephant-rider type, *Kshataripu-Kumāragupto rājatrātā jayati ripūn* (Pl. XXIII. 40). The metre is Upagīti.
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*Rev:* Goddess, nimbate, wearing earrings, necklace, bangles, and armlets, with hair on head tied in a knot above the neck, standing three-fourths to r. on a lotus, but looking to l., and holding in r. hand some indistinct object before a peacock looking up towards it; l. hand resting on waist and holding a lotus with long stalk. The goddess is wearing a *sārī*, and an upper garment, whose ends are hanging on her either side. No symbol. Legend partly on the l. and partly on the r., *Siṃhanihantā Mahendragajaḥ*., (Pl. XXIV. 68); ‘The elephant of king Mahendra, destroyer of lion.’
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COINS ILLUSTRATED : 2
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(1) Gold; .8"; 126.8 grains; B.H., Pl. XXX. 2.
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*Obv:* Parasol is visible over the king’s head. Elephant’s body is elegant and it is lifting up its trunk in fury. Lion is only partly visible on the coin. Elephant’s left fore-leg is being planted upon the back of the lion. Legend beginning at XII, *Kshata*, at IX, yatara, at X, pūn.
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*Rev:* Plumage of the peacock is fully visible. Torso of the goddess is graceful, but her legs are clumsy. No symbol. Legend, at X, Siṃhani, at III, hanta Mahendragaja; rather blurred. (Pl. XIII. 1)
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(2) Gold; .75"; 115.2 grains, but much worn; B.H., Pl. XXX. 3.
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*Obv:* Attendant is poorly drawn and the parasol in his hand is off the flan. The lion is almost fully accommodated on the flan and his jaw, opened out to bite the elephant's leg, can be distinctly seen. Legend is incomplete and indistinct; Kshata at XII. Crack in the coin at II.
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*Rev:* Peacock's plumage is not quite distinct, as also the legend on the l.; on r., hata Mahandragaja. (Pl. XIII. 2)