The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c13.s7.2

c13.s7.2

This type is both unique and artistic. On the obverse the king is riding a horse and attacking a rhinoceros by the sword. The legend is metrical and makes a pun upon the word khadga, which means both a sword and a rhinoceros; it reads, Bhartā khadgatrātā Kumāragupto jayatyaniśam, (Pl. XXII. 36); ‘Ever victorious is the lord Kumāragupta, who is khadgatrātā, protector by the sword (khadgena trātā) from the rhinoceros (khadgāt trātā). The metre is Upagīti. The reverse is unique; the goddess has a female parasol-bearer behind and is being offered a lotus by the snout by an elephant-headed crocodile upon which she is standing.