Indian Epigraphy c16.s8.41

c16.s8.41

The medieval inscriptions of the Orissa region speak of a coin called Māḍha (sometimes called Māḍhā) which was of both gold and silver. Oḍiyā lexicons recognise the word in the sense of the weight of half a Karṣa or Tolā, i.e. 40 Ratis, although it is believed to have been regarded in later times to have been half this weight. The same name occurs in Telugu records as Māḍa which is explained in the lexicons as an old gold coin weighing about 25 grains.⁴ Various kinds of Māḍhas or Māḍas are known from inscriptions, e.g. Malla-māḍa, Malla-nandi-māḍa, Surabhi-māḍa, Gaṇḍa-māḍa, Kulottuṅga-māḍa, Gandhavāraṇa-māḍa or Gandhahasti-māḍa, Cāmara-māḍa, Uttama-gaṇḍa-māḍa, Padmanidhi-malla-māḍa, Rājarāja-māḍa, Rājendra-coḷa-māḍa, etc.⁵ The Gaṇḍa-māḍa is sometimes also called Kārṣāpaṇa, Niṣka and Gaṇḍa-niṣka, although originally the weight of a silver and gold Kārṣāpaṇa was respectively 32 and 80 Ratis (i.e. 58.56 and 146.4 grains) and that of a gold Niṣka 4 Suvarṇas or 320 Ratis (585.6 grains). The epithet ‘small’ applied to the Gaṇḍa-māḍa in some records suggests that all the Māḍas did not follow the same weight standard. The Cāmara-māḍa reminds us of the Cāmara coin of medieval Orissa, which weighed 4 Ratis and was probably also called Ciṇā, ten of which were regarded as equal to a *Māḍa*. The *Rāja-rāja-māḍa* was probably issued by Cālukya Rājarāja I of Veṅgī and *Kulottuṅga-māḍa* or *Rājendra-coḻa-māḍa* by the Coḻa-Cālukya king Rājendra Kulottuṅga I. Considering the meanings of the words in the names of the coins such as *malla* (a wrestler), *nandin* (Śiva’s bull), *surabhi* (a mythical cow), *gaṇḍa* (a rhinoceros), *gandha-vāraṇa* or *°hastin* (an elephant in rut) and *cāmara* (a chowrie), it appears that these referred to particular representations on the coins. The word *padmanidhi* is sometimes used in inscriptions in the sense of a sacred deposit made in the temple treasury and the *Padmanidhi-malla-māḍa* may have been a coin issued by the temples.