The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c7: Chapter II: General Introduction to the Gupta Coinage
The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c7
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Contents
- c7.s1 Types of Gupta Gold Coinage — 29 parts
Chapter II: General Introduction to the Gupta Coinage
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In the realm of Indian numismatics, the coinage of the Imperial Guptas occupies a place of great importance. Some of their predecessors like the Indo-Bactrians and the Kushāṇas had no doubt issued coins of high artistic beauty, but they were usually foreign in inspiration, with their legends written in non-indigenous scripts like the Greek or the Kharoshṭhī. Some Indian predecessors of the Guptas like the Mitras of Pañchāla and the Sātavāhanas of the Deccan had issued inscribed coins; they were, however, poor in artistic merit and irregular in size and weight. They also usually showed no portrait, bust or figure of the issuer. Gupta coins constitute the earliest indigenous coinage of India, which approximates most closely to the coins as we know them in the modern age. They are regular in size and weight and bear the figure and name of the issuer. For a few years they showed some foreign influence, but very soon they became thoroughly national in their art, motif and execution.
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In its artistic merit, variety and originality, the gold coinage of the Imperial Guptas has hardly any equals among the coinages of ancient India. The artistic merit of Indo-Bactrian coins is no doubt very high, but they do not show that striking and pleasing variety in types and motifs, which we see on the Gupta coins. On the Indo-Bactrian coins, the obverse usually shows the bust of the king; in rare cases, we find the king shown as a horseman. On the Gupta coins, on the other hand, the bust of the king is rare. The king is shown in a variety of attitudes and with a variety of attributes. He is usually standing and wielding either a bow (Pl. II. 14), or a battle-axe, (Pl. III. 1-5) or a standard (Pl. II. 1-6); sometimes there is an umbrella-bearer by his side (Pl. VIII. 11). He is often shown in a deadly grapple with the lion (Pl. VI. 1-15), the tiger (Pl. III. 14), or the rhinoceros (Pl. XIII. 3). Sometimes we find him riding a horse (Pl. X. 11), sometimes an elephant (Pl. XII. 14); sometimes he is playing on a lute (Pl. III. 15) and sometimes feeding a peacock (Pl. XIII. 13). We see no such pleasing and artistic variety on the Indo-Bactrian coinage. There is a remarkable variety on the reverses of the Kuṣāṇa coinage; but it is due simply to the desire to include a number of Greek, Roman, Iranian, Hindu and Buddhist deities, and not to any artistic impulse of the age, as is clearly the case with the Gupta coinage.
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That the Hindu art was remarkably creative in the Gupta age is shown not only by its sculpture, but also by its coinage. During the golden age of the Gupta history, no king was content with a single coin-type. Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumāragupta I had each of them more than half a dozen coin-types. Coinage received special attention, most probably of the emperor himself. At the beginning of a new reign the whole situation was reviewed. Some of the old types were discarded, others were modified and some new ones were sanctioned and introduced in the course of time.
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Not only do we have a multiplicity of types, but each type shows a surprising number of varieties. Archer type was the most common type of Chandragupta II in which hundreds of coins were issued, but how bewildering is the variety we see in it! Sometimes the name of the king, *Chandra*, is written under the arm (Pl. IV. 6-9), sometimes between the bow and the bowstring (Pl. IV. 10-11), sometimes outside the string (Pl. IV. 12). Sometimes the bow is held in the right and sometimes in the left hand (Pl. IV. 6-15; Pl. V. 11), sometimes at the top and sometimes by the middle (Pl. IV. 6-11; 12). Sometimes the king faces left and looks to left, sometimes he faces left but looks to right (Pl. IV. 6-15; V. 9, 14). How studied and artistic is this pleasing variety! We find it occurring on the reverse side also. Take, for instance, the Lion-slayer type. The goddess on the reverse is seated facing on the lion couchant sometimes to left and sometimes to right (Pl. VI. 1-5; XII. 3), but sometimes she is seated astride her mount (Pl. VI. 8). In some cases the lion is walking to left (Pl. VI. 14), and in some cases to right (Pl. VI. 9-10).
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We have already observed that the art of the Gupta coinage is thoroughly Indian. This statement requires a little further consideration, because Smith has strenuously advocated the view that many of the motifs of the Gupta coinage show foreign inspiration. In most cases, however, Smith’s views are untenable. Those conversant with the Bhāgavata religion and aware of the great importance it attached to Viṣṇu and his mount Garuḍa, will hardly attach any weight to Smith’s contention that the Gupta emperors, who were Bhāgavatas, borrowed the Garuḍadhvaja from the Eagle of the Roman aurei.¹ The Besnagar pillar shows that Garuḍadhvaja was quite a common motif with the Bhāgavatas long before it was introduced upon the Roman aurei. Peacock was the mount of god Kumāra or Kārtikeya, after whom Kumāragupta I was named; one can therefore well understand why peacock should figure prominently on his gold and silver coins. We would therefore be hardly justified in supposing that the fan-tailed peacock device on the silver coinage of this emperor is borrowed from a rare coin of Julia Augusta, a daughter of Titus, who died sometime between the years 81-90 A. D.² Smith admits that the interval of time between this princess and Kumāragupta I is very considerable, but still persists in thinking that her scarce coinage, which is not known to have reached India, must have supplied the prototype. The motif of the king or the goddess feeding peacock is also a purely Indian one; the resemblance, if any, between it and that of Juno feeding a peacock, occurring on some Roman coins, must be regarded as purely accidental. The Horseman and the Lion-slayer types show such common motifs intimately connected with the usual life of Hindu kings, that one can hardly agree with Smith in thinking that they were borrowed from some rare Roman types.¹
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¹ J. R. A. S., 1889 p. 24
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² Ibid, p. 22.
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¹ For Smith's views in detail, see *J. R. A. S.*, 1889 pp. 18-22. How unconvincing and half-hearted were his arguments may be judged from the following two excerpts:—
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In its initial stages, the Gupta gold coinage does show some foreign influence, but it is Kushāṇa rather than Roman. Even in the marriage scene depicted upon the coinage of Chandragupta I (Pl. I. 8-13), the Gupta emperor is shown as wearing Kushāṇa coat and trousers. He does not discard it even when offering oblations on altar in the Standard type (Pl. I. 14-15). The goddess on the reverse on early coins is an exact copy of Ardoxsho with cornucopiæ in her hand seated on a high-backed throne (Pl. I. 14-15); only her name is omitted. Contrary to Hindu canons of propriety, Samudragupta is shown as his own standard-bearer (Pl. II. 1-7), simply because such was the case with the king on the Kushāṇa coins, which were being imitated by the Gupta mint-masters.
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Gupta artists were, however, out to Indianise these foreign types as soon as numismatic conservatism would permit the
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"The unique Retreating Lion type of Chandragupta II presents another variation of the same conception and is the most artistic piece of the Gupta coinage. It is possible that these lion and tiger obverses may have been suggested by Greek representation of Heracles contending with Nemean lion, but *I am not able to show any clear connection between the Greek and Indian designs*. The Retreating Lion coin certainly has a *Greek look* and *I am persuaded* that its spirited design was inspired by Western models." (p. 20).
"The device of the Archer coins may have been suggested by the Persian darics, but this is not probable." (p. 18).
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procedure. The Kushāṇa peaked cap was replaced by the Hindu head-dress from the beginning (Pl. I. 8-15), but the foreign coat and trousers lingered on some coin-types for several decades. On vast majority of the coins, however, the king began to be shown as wearing the Indian dhoti. Ardox-sho was transformed into Durgā by seating her on lion (Pl. I. 8-13), or into Lakshmī by providing her with a lotus seat and by substituting the cornucopiæ by the lotus (Pl. V. 1-5). The Standard type was sought to be successfully Indianised by substituting the standard either by the battle-axe (Pl. III. 5), or by the bow (Pl. IV. 6). The vast majority of the types of the Gupta emperors are thoroughly national and represent the indigenous numismatic art at its best.
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Gupta gold coins display superb craftsmanship and are masterpieces of design and artistic technique. The Lion-slayer coins of Chandragupta II, displaying his slim, muscular and graceful body (Pl. VI. 6; VII. 5) have hardly any equals in their superb grace. The figures of standing queens or goddesses are slim, lovely and winsome (Pl. VIII. 7, 11); the graceful manner in which they hold a lotus flower or scatter gold coins or feed the peacock, show the refined taste of the age (Pl. IV. 1; IV. 8, XI. 2-4). Their tribhaṅga posture is extremely charming (Pl. XII. 1). The tall and majestic personality of Samudragupta can be very well visualised from his coins (Pl. II). The designs of the King-and-the-Queen types of Chandragupta I (Pl. I. 8-13) and Kumāragupta I (Pl. XIV. 4), of the Lyrist and Aśvamedha types of Samudragupta (Pl. III. 15-16, 6-12), of the Chakravikrama and Lion-slayer types of Chandragupta II (Pl. IX. 8-9; VI), and the ‘Apratigha’, Rhinoceros-slayer and the Elephant-rider-Lion-slayer types of Kumāragupta I (Pl. XIV. 1-3, XIII. 3-6; XIII. 1-2), are all original and show complete mastery of the artistic technique.
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The artists pay considerable attention to details and ornamentation revealing the classical taste of the age. Buttoned coats and trousers of the king look graceful (Pl. IV. 12; II. 5), as also his pearl-bordered cap (Pl. III. 5, 15) and the crest on his crown (Pl. VIII. 7). His hair is shown in a variety of ways; sometimes it is frizzled (Pl. XII. 6), sometimes it is falling in graceful tresses (Pl. IV. 13), and sometimes it looks like a wig (Pl. X. 11-15). The ornaments of ladies do not shroud them as happens in later art; they are few and graceful (Pl. I. 8-13; III. 6-14). Their *sārīs* and draperies reveal their charm without any offence to decency (Pl. III. 7-8). The mane of the horse is nicely pleated and its plumage and accoutrements is shown in an attractive manner (Pl. III. 6-7; X. 11-12).
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The literary renaissance, which characterised the Gupta age is reflected in its coinage. For the first time in the history of Indian numismatics, coin legends become mostly metrical;¹ their poetical merit is also very high. It is not improbable that the Gupta emperors, most of whom were men of literary taste, may have themselves composed many of the poetic lines that adorn their coinage.¹ The usual metres are Upagīti Pṛithvī, Upajāti and Vaṃsthavila. It is interesting to note that no successors of the Imperial Guptas cared to follow their tradition of engraving metrical legends on their coinage.²
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¹ The credit of detection the metrical nature of Gupta coin-legends belongs to Mr. J. Allan.
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² The occurrence of the legend *Vijitāvaniravanipatiḥ-śri* . . . . . *divaṃ jayati*, on the coins of Toramāṇa, the Maukharis and Harsha is due merely to blind imitation.
Types of Gupta Gold Coinage
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The special features and full description of the numerous types of coinage issued by the Gupta emperors will be discussed later, while dealing with the coinage of each emperor. Here we shall, for the sake of ready reference, enumerate the types issued by each of them with brief and general observations about each.
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Mahārājas Gupta and Ghaṭotkacha, the grand-father and father of Chandragupta I, were not rulers of importance, and so they did not issue any coins. The coinage was started by Chandragupta I, perhaps at the time when he assumed the imperial title of Mahārājādhirāja probably towards the end of his reign. The Gupta dominion was at this time a kind of dual kingdom, the share of the Guptas and Lichchhavis being more or less equal. This political circumstance was reflected in the coinage of Chandragupta I, which was confined to a single type, showing the Gupta emperor and his queen on the obverse and mentioning on the reverse the name of the powerful Lichchhavi clan from which his bride hailed.¹ None of the coins of Chandragupta II can be assigned to Chandragupta I, as they all show the biruda (epithet) Vikrama either alone or in combination. There is so far no evidence to show that Chandragupta I also bore this epithet.
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¹ The view that these coins are commemoration medals issued by Samudragupta in memory of his parents is untenable. It will be later discussed when this type is described.
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Bailey had no doubt suggested that some coins of the Indo-Scythian style in his possession may possibly have been issued by Chandragupta I. These coins, however, have not been illustrated and Bailey himself was doubtful about the reading of the legend under the arm as Chandra. The British Museum has two similar coins, which in addition to the disputed legend under the arm, have the legend outside the standard as well. One of these coins has been illustrated in J. A. S. B., 1884, Pl. III. 6. A similar coin has been published by Cunningham, which we reproduce in Pl. I. 5. It will be clear from this specimen that the legend in question is really Bhadra, but that it can be easily mistaken for Chandra. Since Bailey himself was doubtful about the reading of the legend, and since other coins of the type show that it is really Bhadra, there is no evidence to show that Chandragupta had really issued any coins of the Standard type.
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It has been recently suggested by Dr. Chhabra that the unique Standard type coin with the legend *Paramabhāgavata* on the reverse should be attributed to Chandragupta I, rather than to Chandragupta II.¹ His arguments, however, though ingenious, are not convincing. The matter can finally be decided only by the help of further evidence. But the fact that Chandragupta II had used the Standard type for the obverse of his unique Couch type (Pl. IX. 6) tends to show that the solitary coin of the Standard type should be attributed to him, and this conclusion gets further support from the circumstance that so far there is no evidence to show that Chandragupta I had also adopted the title *Paramabhāgavata*. We may therefore well conclude that the coinage of Chandragupta I was confined only to the King-and-the-Queen type.
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¹ *J. N. S. I.*, XI, p. 15.
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Samudragupta, the son and successor of Chandragupta I, had a long reign from *c.* 330 to 370 A. D.; he is known to have issued coins in six different types. Of these the Standard type is the most common. It is a very close copy of the type current in the central Punjab under the Shāka or later Kushāṇa rulers during the 3rd century (Pl. I. 3-4) and shows the king standing left with a standard in left hand and offering sacrifice on an altar in his front by the right. The trident (*triśūla*) of the prototype is, however, replaced by *Garuḍadhvaja*, the imperial insignia of the new house (Pl. I. 14-15).
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An attempt to Indianise this type is to be seen in the Archer and Battle-axe types, which were issued later in the reign. Hindu etiquette did not approve of a king becoming his own standard-bearer. The presence of the *Garuḍadhvaja* in front of the king also rendered a banner in his left hand superfluous. It was therefore replaced by a bow and the right hand was shown as holding an arrow instead of throwing incense; the result was the Archer type (Pl. II. 12-14), which remained very popular till the end of the dynasty. In the Battle-axe type (Pl. III. 1-5), the standard was replaced by the battle-axe. This type also shows a dwarf attendant standing before the king, completely accoutred on some specimens. The type appears to be showing His Majesty reviewing the progress of a battle from a point of vantage and receiving a report from or issuing instructions to a soldier arriving from the battle-field with the latest news.
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Kṛitāntaparaśu was an epithet exclusively used of Samudragupta in the Gupta official records, and it is interesting to notice that the Battle-axe type was not continued by any of Samudragupta's successors.
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Samudragupta conceived the idea of proclaiming his hobbies and achievements to his subjects through the instrumentality of his coins and the result was the Tiger-slayer, the Lyrist and the Aśvamedha types of coins. The Tiger-slayer type shows that the emperor was fond of hunting. The coins of this type are rather rare, but they are very beautiful (Pl. III. 13-14). The attitude of the king is very energetic and he is shown wearing the Indian dhoti and jewelry. The Lyrist type shows the emperor passing his rather rare leisure hours in playing on a lute, seated on a couch most probably on the terrace of his Pāṭaliputra palace and in a summer evening, as suggested by his scanty dress (Pl. III. 15-17). The Allahabad pillar inscription claims that Samudragupta excelled Nārada and Tumburu in his musical skill; we should not, therefore, be surprised to find the king ordering the issue of coins proclaiming this hobby of his. The Aśvamedha type (Pl. III. 6-12) proclaims the most spectacular achievement of the emperor. This sacrifice may not have been in real abeyance for a long time, as claimed by the Gupta court panegyrists. But there is no doubt that Samudragupta celebrated it with an unprecedented pomp, and commemorated the occasion by issuing his Aśvamedha coins, which were probably issued primarily for giving presents (dakṣiṇā) to the officiating priests and invited Brāhmaṇas.
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The Lyrist, the Tiger-slayer and the Aśvamedha type coins of Samudragupta rank among the best specimens of ancient Indian numismatic art. R. D. Banerji describes them as ‘freak’ types, but there is no doubt that more careful thought and attention was bestowed in determining the details of these types than those of the Standard, the Archer and the Battle-axe types, which are regarded by Banerji as regular types. It is not clear as to what led Banerji to describe these types as freak ones.¹ It is true that they are rare, but such is also the case with the Archer and the Battle-axe types of the emperor, which are equally scarce. The Aśvamedha type coins are in fact more common than those of the Battle-axe or the Archer type.
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¹ R. D. Banerji, *The Age of the Imperial Guptas*, p. 215—17.
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The goddess seated on a high-backed throne is the most common motif on the reverse of the coins of Samudragupta; it occurs on the Standard and Archer types; it is borrowed from the Kushāṇa prototype (Pl. I. 3-4). Efforts were made to Indianise the type by showing the goddess using a lotus as her foot-stool in the Battle-axe type (Pl. III. 1-2). We find her seated on a wicker stool on the Lyrist type (Pl. III. 15-17). In the Tiger-slayer type, we find her standing on a makara or crocodile (Pl. III. 13-14), and the idea probably was to identify her with the Gaṅgā. The reverse of the Aśvamedha type shows Dattadevī, the crowned queen, with a fly-whisk over her shoulder, ready to attend upon the horse which was to be sacrificed (Pl. III. 6-8).
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The problems connected with the identification of Kācha will be fully discussed when dealing with his coinage. Kācha had a short reign and so his coinage is confined to a single type, —the Chakradhvaja type, showing the king bearing a wheel-topped banner in the left hand and offering sacrifice with the right. The reverse shows a standing goddess, as on the Tiger-slayer type of the preceeding reign. This type of Kācha is not later copied by any other Gupta emperor.
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So far we know of eight types of the gold coinage issued by Chandragupta II. Curiously enough, the Standard type, which was most popular with his father, was very scarcely issued by him; so far only one coin of this type has been found. The Archer type, which was rather rare with Samudragupta, becomes most common with Chandragupta II.
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In the Bayana hoard, out of 983 coins of Chandragupta II, as many as 798 were of this type. In the earlier issues of this type the Goddess was shown as seated on a high-backed throne (Pl. IV. 6-12), as on the later Kushāṇa coins. But soon she was converted into a lotus-seated Lakshmī (Pl. IV. 13-15; V). Great pains were taken to introduce a pleasing variety both on the obverse and reverse of this popular type, to which we have referred already.
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Lion-slayer type is one of the most artistic types of Chandragupta II. Many coins of this class are among the best specimens of Indian art. Here again the mint-masters show great variety in representing the main theme. The lion is sometimes to the right (Pl. VI. 5-6), and sometimes to the left of the king (Pl. VI. 1-4); it is sometimes standing at bay, (Pl. VI. 3-6), sometimes it is being trampled upon by the king (Pl. VI. 9-10). Sometimes it is leaping at the king (Pl. VI. 5), sometimes it is retreating away from him (Pl. VII. 5-7).
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The Horseman and the Chhattra types (Pl. VIII) of Chandragupta are the most common ones among his new types. The former probably shows that Chandragupta was famous as a horseman among his contemporaries, and the latter is intended to proclaim the undisputed imperial position of the issuer by showing him as the only ruler entitled to the use of the imperial umbrella. Couch type of Chandragupta (Pl. IX. 1-5), was probably suggested by the Lyrist type of his father. It is not yet possible to interpret it confidently, but the legend rūpākṛiti contained on one coin of this type (Pl. IX. 1) would suggest that the emperor is engaged in seeing a dramatic performance, while seated comfortably on a couch. The King-and-the-Queen-on-the-couch type is known from two pieces only and refers to a homely scene in the life of the busy emperor (Pl. IX. 6). The Chakravikrama type is known at present from a single specimen found in the Bayana hoard. It does not bear the king’s personal name, but the reverse legend Chakravikrama suggests that the issuer was Chandragupta II. The obverse of this type shows Vishnu with a double halo round his face and a mace in his left hand, bestowing some gift upon the king standing nimbate before him and extending his right hand to receive the divine favour (Pl. IX. 8-9).
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On the reverse of the gold coins of Chandragupta II, there is usually the seated goddess. In the vast majority of cases she is seated on a lotus; in a few cases, however, she continues to occupy the high-backed throne as on the Kushāṇa prototype. On the Horseman type, however, (Pl. VIII. 1-5) she is usually seated on a wicker stool as on the couch type of his father. On the Chhatra type she is sometimes standing to front and sometimes to left, and sometimes walking in the same direction (Pl. VIII. 6-15). On the Lion-slayer type, she is seated on a lion (Pl. VI).
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General observations about the silver and copper coinage of Chandragupta II will be found at the beginning of the sections dealing with those topics.
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Kumāragupta I had a long reign (c. 414—455 A. D.), which was mostly prosperous, and the number of types of his gold coinage is equal to the types issued by his father and grand-father put together. So far he is known to have issued as many as 14 different types and it is not impossible that some more may be discovered. The Archer (Pl. IX. 10-14), the Horseman (Pl. X. 11-15), the Lion-slayer (Pl. XII. 1-10), and the Chhatra (Pl. XIII. 15) types, which were most popular in the preceeding reign, were continued by him. His Chhatra type is, however, very scarce. He revived the Aśvamedha, the Lyrist and the Tiger-slayer types of his grand-father and the King-and-Queen type of his great-grand-father (Pl. XIII. 7-10; Pl. XIV. 5; Pl. XII. 11-13; Pl. XIV. 4). He also introduced several new types. His Kārttikeya type (Pl. XIII. 11-14) is a numismatic homage to the deity after whom he was named; his Swordsman type (Pl. XI. 14-15) is probably due to his being well-known as a swordsman. In the field of sport he devised three new types, the Elephant-rider (Pl. XII. 14-15), the Rhinoceros-slayer (Pl. XIII. 3-6) and the Elephant-rider-Lion-slayer types (Pl. XIII. 1-2). The mystery of the type where he is seen standing with his arms folded on his chest is still unsolved (Pl. XIV. 1-3). For the sake of convenience it was once described as ‘Pratāpa’ type on account of the legend on the reverse; this legend, however, is now seen to be apratigha. We may therefore call it Apratigha type, till its mystery is solved.
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The reverse of the gold coins of Kumāragupta I shows a goddess, except in the case of the Kārttikeya type, where we see that deity at that place, and in the Aśvamedha type, where we find the crowned queen standing with a chourī, ready to attend on the horse. The goddess is usually seated on lotus,¹ but she is sometimes to be seen seated on a wicker stool, and in some cases engaged in feeding a peacock, as on the Horseman, the Tiger-slayer and the Elephant-rider-Lion-slayer types. The Lion-slayer type follows the old tradition and represents the goddess on the reverse as seated on lion. On the Elephant-rider type the goddess is standing to front.
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¹ This is the case on the Archer, the Swordsman and the Apratigha types.
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The types of the silver coinage of Kumāragupta I will be found discussed in Chap. IX.
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There was considerable trouble towards the end of the reign of Kumāragupta I. There was the Hūṇa invasion, which shook the empire to its foundations and must have drained its treasury. The financial stringency, however, did not induce Kumāragupta I to issue adulterated gold coins. But it compelled him to sanction the issue of silver-plated copper pieces as silver coins.
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The decline in the fortune of the Gupta empire, that started with the accession of Skandagupta, is perhaps responsible for the absence of that pleasing variety of types, which we noticed in the coinage of his great predecessors. The earlier view that his gold coins are heavily adulterated is now shown to be wrong. Why he should have increased the weight of his gold coins to about 140 grains is a mystery. Possibly he wanted to revive the national *suvarṇa* standard.
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Only two types were issued by Skandagupta in large numbers. One of them was the Archer type, so popular in the two previous reigns. The other was his numismatic novelty, where we find Goddess Lakshmī, probably offering him the sovereignty of his empire, as described in one of his inscriptions. The unique coin of the Bayana hoard of the Chhattra type with the *biruda* Kramāditya is probably his issue. The same is most probably the case with the solitary coin of the Horseman type, bearing the legend *Kramājitaḥ* or *Kramādataḥ*.
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The types of the silver coins of Skandagupta will be found discussed in Chap. X.
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Most of the successors of Skandagupta confined themselves to a single type, viz, the Archer type. Such is the case with Budhagupta, Narasiṃhagupta, Kumāragupta II, Viṣṇugupta and Vainyagupta. The coins of all these rulers are in base gold, though they weigh about 144 grains. Only Prakāśāditya among the later Gupta rulers issued *suvarṇa* standard coins in pure gold. The type he had selected was the Horseman-Lion-slayer type.