The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c9.s1.10

c9.s1.10

The identity of the goddess on this type is difficult to determine. The mint masters have deliberately expunged her Roman name Ardoxsho. It is clear that they desired to identify her with an Indian deity, which was most probably Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, whose mount Garuḍa appears on the standard on the obverse. She, however, has no peculiar symbols of that goddess, and we cannot exclude the possibility of the goddess being Durgā, who figured on the reverse of the coins of Chandragupta I, as indicated by her mount, the lion.