The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c16.s4: (4) Coinage of Kumaragupta II

The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c16.s4

Language: English

(4) Coinage of Kumaragupta II

c16.s4.1

Narasimhagupta was succeeded by his son Kumāragupta II. Inscriptions at Sarnath show that he was on the throne in 473 A.D., but that he was succeeded by his uncle Budhagupta sometime in or before 476 A.D.¹ If we assume that he did not continue to rule along with Budhagupta in a part of the Gupta empire, his reign will be a short one. His coins are, however, fairly numerous, and they also show some variations on the obverse; the letter between the king's feet is *jo* in some cases and *gā* or *go* in others. Numismatic evidence thus suggests that he should have ruled longer than four years. It is therefore best to assume that he continued to rule over a small part of the Gupta dominion as a feudatory of Budhagupta even after 476 A. D. and was succeeded in his principality by his son Vishṇugupta. Both the father and the son were probably ruling somewhere in Bengal, as most of their coins hail from the Kālighāṭ hoard. Coins of class I, which have lesser alloy,² may have been issued when Kumāragupta II was ruling over the whole Gupta empire; coins of class II, which have greater alloy,³ may belong to the later stage of his career, when he had become a mere feudatory.

c16.s4.2

¹ *A.S.I., A.R.*, 1914-5, pp. 124-5.

c16.s4.3

² Coin No. 571 of the *B.M.C.* belonging to this class has an alloy of 21% only.

c16.s4.4

³ Coin No. 576 of the *B.M.C.* belonging to this class has an alloy of 46%.

c16.s4.5

There are some indications to suggest that a Kumāragupta III may have flourished in Magadha towards the middle of the 6th century; Damodarpur copperplate of the year 224 G. E. (543 A. D.),¹ where the name of the issuer is imperfectly preserved, is presumed to have contained the name of Kumāragupta by some scholars and of Budhagupta and Viṣṇugupta by others.² If there was Kumāragupta III, who ruled during *c.* 540 to 550 A.D., it is not impossible that he might have issued the coins of class II. Coins of class II are however numerous and one may wonder whether Kumāragupta III ruling in *c.* 540 A.D. had leisure enough to issue such a copious currency, when his kingdom was threatened by Yaśodharman, the Maukharis and the Later Guptas. Further discoveries alone can settle this question.

c16.s4.6

¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XV, p. 142; XVII. p. 193, Sircar, *Select Inscriptions*, p. 337.

c16.s4.7

² D. C. Sircar, *Select Inscriptions*, p. 337.

c16.s4.8

In the genealogy of the Later Guptas of Magadha, we have also a Kumāragupta, ruling by the middle of the 7th century. Very probably none of the coins we are discussing now were issued by him. For no other ruler of that dynasty is so far known to have issued any gold coins, similar to those we are discussing at present.

c16.s4.9

The coins of Kumāragupta II are all in gold only and confined to the Archer type. The type shows no variations in the manner of holding the bow. Classes however can be distinguished by the presence or absence of the letters between the king's feet. Coins of class I have no letters between the king's feet and have an alloy of 29% only; the circular legend is mostly off and the reverse legend is *Kramāditya* only and not *Śrī-Kramāditya*. Coins of class II have letters between the feet and have 46% alloy. Such traces of the circular legend as remain show that it was intended to be *Mahārājādhirāja-śrī-* *Kumāragupta-Kramādityaḥ* (Pl. XXVI. 19). The reverse legend is *Śrī-Kramāditya* and not merely *Kramāditya*. The variety A shows the letter *go*¹ between the feet and the variety B, *jā* or *jo*. These letters must obviously have had a significance, but unfortunately we cannot yet make it out. Probably they are the initials of local governors.

c16.s4.10

¹ It is tempting to suggest that *Go* may stand for *Goparāja*, who was killed while fighting the Hūṇas in 510 A.D. But his suzerain was Bhānugupta and Goparāja was unlikely to have been a contemporary of Kumāragupta II, whose reign probably did not extend beyond 485 or 490 A.D.

c16.s4.11

The Archer type of Kumāragupta II can be easily distinguished from class II of the same type of Kumāragupta I. It is true that on both, we have only the letter *Ku* under the arm. But there is a marked difference in weight; the coins of Kumāragupta I weigh only about 124 grains, while those of Kumāragupta II are at least 20 grains heavier. The *biruda* on the reverse of the one is *Mahendra*, while that on the other is *Kramāditya*. Smith had suggested that the coins of class I may be the issues of Kumāragupta I,² but the reverse legend *Kramāditya* of these coins goes against that theory. The *biruda* of Kumāragupta I was always *Mahendra* or *Mahendrāditya* and never *Kramāditya*.

c16.s4.12

² *J.R.A.S.*, 1889, p. 94.

c16.s4.13

We now proceed to describe the coins of this ruler, illustrated in this work.

c16.s4.14

CLASS I

c16.s4.15

(With no letter between king's feet)³

c16.s4.16

³ *B.M.C., G.D.*, Pl. XXII. 13-14.

c16.s4.17

(1) Gold; ·8"; 143 grains; *B.M.C., G.D.*, Pl. XXII. 14. *Obv:* King, nimbate, head bare, hair curly, standing l. holding bow in l. hand and arrow in r.; Garuḍa standard behind the r. arm. Below the l. arm *Ku* with crescent above. Marginal legend mostly off the flan, the traces of the last letter *pta* alone being visible on l. No letter between the feet. *Rev:* Goddess Lakshmī seated on lotus facing, with lotus in l. hand and noose in r. hand. Symbol on left. Legend, *Kramāditya*. (Pl. XV. 3)

c16.s4.18

(Base gold and letters between king's feet)¹

c16.s4.19

(With letter *go* between king's feet)

c16.s4.20

(2) Gold; .75"; 149.2 grains; *B.M.C., G.D.*, Pl. XXIII. 2. *Obv:* As in class I, but with the letter *go* between the feet. Traces of *Mahārājādharāja-śrī-Ku* on the r. *Rev:* Same as in class I but the legend is *Śrī-Kramādityaḥ* and not *Kramādityaḥ* only. Symbol on l. (Pl. XV. 4)

Linked texts (1)

Sārnāth