The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c16.s7: (7) Vainyagupta
The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c16.s7
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(7) Vainyagupta
c16.s7.1
The Gunaighar plate¹ disclosed the existence of a Gupta king named Vainyagupta ruling in south Bengal in 507 A.D.; a seal of this ruler was also found at Nālandā. It is therefore clear that Viṣṇugupta was probably succeeded by Vainyagupta in lower Bengal. Another Gupta king, Bhānugupta, is known to be ruling in 510 A.D. over eastern Mālwa. He may have been a contemporary of Vainyagupta or his successor ruling over the main Gupta kingdom. No coins of Bhānugupta have so far come to light.
c16.s7.2
¹ *Indian Historical Quarterly*, 1930, p. 45.
c16.s7.3
Coins of Vainyagupta were for a long time in our museums, but they were mistaken for those of Chandragupta III. Rapson, who had first read the name under the left arm as *Chandra*, was not sure about his reading.² Mr. Allan admitted that the first letter looked like *va* and the second one like *tya* on *B.M.C.* No. 588, but felt that the reading *Chandra* was fully justified by *B.M.C.* Nos. 588-589 and assigned the coins to a hither-to-unknown Chandragupta III. The medial *mātrā* over the upper letter was taken by him to be a crescent.³
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² *Num. Chr.*, 1891, p. 57.
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³ *B.M.C.*, *G.D.*, liii-liv.
c16.s7.6
When the Gunaighar plate disclosed the existence of a king named Vainyagupta, Dr. D. C. Ganguli was the first to propose that the coins in question should be attributed to Vainyagupta.⁴ When once such a name as Vainyagupta was disclosed, the reading of the legend under the arm presented no doubt or difficulty. The so-called crescent over the first letter was clearly a *mātrā* for medial *ai*, and the letter itself was *va* rather than *cha*; the lower letter could stand for a *nya* as well as *ndra*. It is thus clear that the issuer was Vainyagupta and not Chandragupta.
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⁴ *Indian Historical Quarterly*, 1934, p. 195.
c16.s7.8
Coins of Vainyagupta, who had adopted the *biruda* of *Dvādaśāditya*, are only in gold and confined to the Archer type. The alloy in one of his coins, *B.M.C.* No. 589, was found to be 27%. Between the king's feet is the letter *bhā*. Bhānugupta, as shown above, was almost a contemporary of Vainyagupta. Can it be that he recognised his suzerainty and worked as his Mālwā viceroy and that Vainyagupta permitted the engraving of the initial of his viceroy on his issues? Vainyagupta's dominion however appears to have been confined to Southern Bengal, as suggested by the find-spots of his coins and copper-plate. Only further discoveries can solve the mystery of the interrelation between these two rulers.
c16.s7.9
We now describe the coin of Vainyagupta illustrated in this work.
c16.s7.10
(1) Gold; .8"; 144.7 grains; *B.M.C.*, *G.D.*, Pl. XXIII. 8. *Obv:* King, wearing *dhoti*, necklace, armlets and wristlets standing to l.; hair falls on the neck in tresses; he is holding bow in the l. hand and arrow in the r.; Garuḍa standard in front. Indistinct traces of circular legend. *Rev:* Goddess seated on lotus, facing, profuse hair on the head, holding lotus with long stalk in l. hand and noose in r. Symbol, partly visible. Legend, *Dvādaśādityaḥ*.
c16.s7.11
(Pl. XV. 13)