Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

COINS

Cholas and Pandyas : Early Chola coins have a tiger, fish and a

Karthiraya hana has on the obverse the figure of Narasimha and on the reverse the figures of the sun and moon of Sri Kantiraya in Nagari characters. The Chikka Deva Raja hana has the chamundi on the obverse and Chikka Deva Raja (in Kannada) on the reverse.

bow on the obverse and titles or Birudas on the reverse like Utham Chola, Kataikonda Chola etc. When the Chalukya and Pandya kingdom had been absorbed by the Cholas, the Chalukyan boar and Pandyan fish emblems continued to ap- pear on their coins from the 11th century A. D. coins had a sign on the obverse Sardula or mythical tiger facing the right and a smaller one above, which is between the sun and the moon. On the reverse is a legend in three lines of old Kannada let- ters. During the period of Vishnuvardhana (1111-1141 A.D.), the coins were of three sizes - Varahas, Panas and Half-Panas (larger, medium, smallest). names such as Nishka, Gadyana, Suvarna Pana, Visa Asus, Dramma etc. The gold coins of the Yadava Dynasty are known as Padmatankas because of the central punch of the Padma. There is an eight- petalled lotus on the obverse and reverse of the coins is blank.

Gods and Goddesses on the coins of Karnataka

The deity that is represented most often on the coins of Karna- taka is Shiva. Though the Chalukyas of Kalyana and the Hoysalas built a large number of temples for Shiva, their coins do not contain this deity. The earliest to portray Shiva on coins was the Vijay- anagar king Harihara II. Shiva and Parvati are portrayed on the obverse of his half varaha gold coins seated on a raised pedestal. King Devaraya I also portrayed Shiva and Parvati on his full varaha coins. Devaraya II issued a large number of gold, silver and copper coins but his copper coins alone contain Shiva and Parvati . Krish- nadevaraya's gold varahas also depict Shiva and Parvati. The next portrayal of Shiva and Parvati is seen on the coins of the Nayaks of Keladi. The coins of Haider Ali also contain Shiva and Parvati. This may be taken as an index of the religious toleration of Haider. But political considerations may have also influenced him. He was wise enough to continue the old tradition of Hindu deities on his coins. His gold coins are based upon the model of Keladi Sadashivanay- aka. The only difference is that the deities were transferred to the reverse of the coins. Similar coins were printed by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. Vishnu and Lakshmi do not appear as frequently as Shiva on Karantaka coins. Vishnu and Lakshmi appear on the gold varaha and half varaha. coins of the Vijayanagar king Devaraya I. On the varaha coins Lakshmi and Vishnu are seated on a lotus. Vishnu holds the Sudarshana Chakra. Harihara II and Sadashivaraya of the Vijayanagar dynasty also issued similar coins. Lakshmi and Narasimha appear on the coins of Hoysala King Narasimha II. The deities appear on the coins of Harihara II and Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar who was the first to establish a mint and strike coins in the Mysore Wodeyar dynasty. Venkateshvara of Tirupathi had a large number of kings as his devotees among whom the Vijayanagar kings are important. Krish- nadevaraya issued coins with the portrait of this god on the ob- verse, after his victory over Orissa. Krishnadevaraya after his victory over Udayagiri minted the Balakrishna type of gold coins which portrayed Krishna on the obverse. Though stories of Rama are very popular his portrayal on coins did not become popular. The only coin with Rama and Sita was issued by Vijayanagar king Tirumalaraya I. Among the goddesses Durga is seen on the coins of many dynasties in Karnataka. The earliest representation of this goddess is seen on the coins of the Hoysalas. Hanuman is another popular deity on the coins of the Vijayanagar kings. However the Kadambas of Itangal first por- trayed this deity on their coins. Full credit must be given to King Sher Shah Suri for his innovations in administrative and currency reforms. He introduced the uniform Rupee Silver coin of standard weight and fineness in place of the highly debased coins of mixed metals. He issued a large number of silver coins and abolished all old and mixed currency. This in turn helped in the growth of trade, commerce and COINS OF MUGHALS

Hoysalas : The Hoysal

Sevunas : The Yadava inscriptions mention a number of coin-

Vijayanagar Dynasty :The coins of Vijayanagar indeed set the fashion, which has lasted to the present age. The coins are of gold

or copper, on the obverse bull, the ele- phant, various Hindu deities (Siva and Parvati seated), the fabulous Gand- abherunda, a double eagle, either alone or holding an elephant in each beak and claw and on the reverse the Kings' name in three lines in Nagari or Kannada letters.

Hyder and Tippu Hyder did not show much interest in coinage and his coins are ugly pieces. Tippu's coins were issued in gold and some of them appeared in every one of the 17 years of his reign. Coins of the first four years

of Tippu's reign bear the Hijri date and the figures read from right to left. As regards the Cyclic years mentioned on certain of his coins Tippu followed first the abjad and then the abtath system in both of which a certain numerical value is assigned to the letter of the Arabic alphabet. Of the Mysore Rajas the first to establish a mint was Karthiraya Narasa Raja Wodeyar, (1636-1959). He coined the Kantiraya hana (6 to 8 grains). Ten of these were taken to be equal to a varaha or pagoda which had no actual existence but was a nominal coin in accounts. The

Mysore Rajas