History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c14.48.3

v1.c14.48.3

We now know the history of Orissa pretty accurately from the beginning of the 7th century and, therefore, it is possible for us to state with a tolerable amount of certainty that this foreign invasion did not take place after the time of the Śailodbhava prince, Mādhavarāja II. The corroborative evidence I have spoken of above is a class of copper coins, termed “Puri Kushan” by Numismatists in India, without much reason. These coins were current in Orissa and Chhoṭa Nagpur up to a fairly late date. They are generally uninscribed, but one or two specimens, which it was my good fortune to describe, bore the word *Taṅka* in character of the 8th Century A. D.¹ These coins are very rude in appearance. The late Dr. V. A. Smith was of opinion that "They may have been issued by rulers of Kaliṅga in the fourth or fifth century, and it is possible they may have been struck only for use as temple offerings. All Numismatists acknowledge that they exhibit a reminiscence of the characteristic Kushan type."² The latest described hoard of these coins was discovered on the Northern slope of the Rakha hills in the Singbhum district in 1917. The majority of the coins show the standing figure of a man holding a crescent in his left hand, which reminds one very strongly of the figure of the standing king on the obverse of Imperial Kushan coinage. A similar figure, with or without the crescent, is to be found on the reverse. Mr. E. H. C. Walsh, I. C. S., C. S.