Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c21.26

c21.26

§ 53. Pañcāla **(Plate III, 16)**. — The coins discussed under this heading have usually been attributed to the Śuṅga or Mitra dynasty, and it is by no means certain that they should not still be so classed. The difficulties affecting this identification are (1) the fact that most of the coins are found in Rohilkhand, the ancient kingdom of North Pañcāla, whereas other indications point to East Mālwa as the seat of Śuṅga power, (2) the fact that of the dozen names which occur on the coins, only one, that of Agnimitra, is found in the Śuṅga dynastic lists given in the Purāṇas. On the other hand, the *formation* of the names which generally end in *-mitra* is similar in either case; and the Śuṅga period, inferred from the Purāṇas, B.C. 176—66, is that of the style and epigraphy of the coins. There is probably, too, some connexion between these coins and the Mitra coins found at Ayodhyā (v. sup. § 44). These Pañcāla (Śuṅga) coins bear inscrr. in Brāhmī letters. For the characteristic features of their fabric, v. sup. § 52.