The Coinage of the Gupta Empire and its Imitations c9.s5.5

c9.s5.5

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.