The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c9.s5: Tiger-Slayer Type

The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c9.s5

Language: English

Tiger-Slayer Type

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The Tiger-slayer type is one of the rarest types of Samudragupta, only six coins having been found so far. Two of them were found in the Bayana hoard; the findspots of others are not known. Their size is .85" and their weight varies from 117 to 111 grains. The British Museum and the Lucknow Museum have two and one coins respectively of this type; Hoey’s collection had one specimen. The coin giving the lowest weight is, however, worn out. The average weight of good specimens is 115 grains.

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On the obverse of the Tiger-slayer type, the king stands to left and tramples upon and shoots at a tiger by his bow. Between the king and the tiger there is a crescent-topped banner. On the reverse, there is the goddess Gaṅgā, standing on a crocodile, holding a full blown lotus in left hand, right hand being empty. In her front also there is a crescent-topped banner.

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The Tiger-slayer type is artistically very beautiful and the representation of the scene is very effective. The king’s position is graceful, natural and yet energetic. The close fitting garments reveal the well-built muscular body of the great emperor, The type shows no foreign influence whatsoever; the coat and trousers are replaced by their Indian counterparts; the throned goddess on the reverse gives place to the Gaṅgā, whose figure is slender and graceful.

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The type, therefore, presupposes considerable numismatic experience and was probably issued in the latter part of the regin of Samudragupta. It served as the prototype for the Lion-slayer type, which became so popular in the subsequent reigns.

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The identity of the Goddess on the reverse is not quite free from difficulty. Smith thought that the aquatic mount (vāhana) would suggest that she is the wife of Varuṇa, the god being suggested by the king’s name Samudra. He also suggested that she may be, Rati consort of Kāma, as her vāhana is a kind of fish or makara.¹ The Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, however, figure frequently in Gupta art and since makara, the vāhana of the deity on the reverse, is identical with that of the Gaṅgā, we may conclude that the deity is intended to be that river. She no doubt holds a lotus in her hand, but it appears that it had not been exclusively associated with Lakshmī during this period.

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¹ J. A. S. B., 1884, i, p. 177.

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The posture of the Gaṅgā on the reverse of this type closely resembles that of the queen on the Aśvamedha type. The figures of both are slim and graceful. There is no symbol on the reverse of both the types. Probably the types were contemporary.

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The reverse legend on the variety A, *Rājā Samudraguptaḥ*, which gives no imperial title to the issuer, has given rise to various speculations. Smith once thought that it was issued by Samudragupta during the life time of his father;¹ Jayaswal believed that the coin was issued during the short period when the Guptas were once more reduced to the feudatory position by the Vākāṭaka emperor Pravarasena I.² There can, however, be no doubt that the coin was issued late in Samudragupta’s reign. The reverse legend gives the simple title *rājā* to the king, because the numismatic convention prescribed only a short legend on that side. The reverse legends on the couch type of Samudragupta and the Swordsman type of Kumāragupta I are shorter still; they omit all titles and describe the issuers by their simple names, *Samudraguptaḥ* and *Śrī Kumāraguptaḥ*. No regal title occurs either on the obverse or on the reverse legend of the swordsman type of Kumāragupta I. Are we therefore to conclude that he was not even a feudatory when the type was issued?

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¹ J. R. A. S., 1889, p. 65.

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² History of India, p. 118.

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Two varieties can be distinguished in this type, variety A having the same legend *Vyāghraparākramaḥ* on both the sides and variety B, substituting *Rājā Samudraguptaḥ* on the reverse. We give below the full description of the type.

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³ B. M. C., G. D., Pl. II. 14-15; J. A. S. B., 1884, i. Pl. II. 10; 1894, i, Pl. VI. 2; J. R. A. S., 1889, Pl. I. 2.

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*Obv*: King standing to l. wearing a turban, short jacket and a close-fitting *dhoti*; necklace, earrings and armlets on his person; he tramples on a tiger attacking him, which falls back as he shoots it with bow in r. hand, l. hand stretching the bow-string to the ear; on l. behind the tiger, crescent-topped standard adorned with fillet as on the Battle-axe type. Circular legend, *Vyāghraparākramaḥ*, ‘Valiant like a tiger.’

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*Rev:* Goddess Gaṅgā standing on a *makara* (elephant-headed fish) wearing a *sārī* and close-fitting bodice, earrings, necklace, armlets and anklets on her person; full-blown lotus in l. hand, r. hand outstretched and empty; on the l. crescent-topped banner with fillets; border of dots. No symbol. Legend, as above, or *Rājā Samudraguptaḥ*. ‘King Samudragupta.’¹ (Pl. XXIII. 48.)

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COINS ILLUSTRATED : 2

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Variety A¹

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¹ *B. M. C., G. D.*, II. 15.

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(1) Gold; .8"; 119 grains; *B. H.*, VI. 10. *Obv:* The figure of the king is graceful and he is trampling the tiger on its tail. Legend is truncated, traces of *vyāghra* and *ra* are however visible on r. The tiger is shown as collapsing. The coin is a much better preserved specimen than *B. M. C., G. D.*, Pl. II. 15. *Rev:* Legend, *Vyāghraparākramaḥ*. (Pl. III. 13.)