The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c7.16

c7.16

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