Curious Vaishnavite coins from Gandhāra

Joe Cribb

Curious Vaishnavite coins from Gandhāra

Joe Cribb

2024, Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 256

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The recent discovery in Pakistan of coins depicting Vaishnava imagery relating to Varāha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, throws light on similar coins acquired by the British Museum in the 1920s. The imagery and context of these coins suggests they are coins issued under the Hindu Shahi rulers of Gandhāra in the ninth century. The identity of their issuers is not known, perhaps local Shahi rulers or previously unknown Shahi kings. 1 Since the completion of this article a piece struck from these dies has been offered in the CNG electronic auction 557 (6.3.2024), lot 206, 2.22 grams, 19.5 millimetres).

Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society Summer 2024 256 S N O Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 256 Summer 2024 136 141 144 146 137 142 145 148 Curious Vaishnavite coins from Gandhāra Joe Cribb, Aman ur Rahman and Muhammad Khalid read with confidence when all five examples are examined together (figures 1–5 and table 1).1 The inscription reads śrī jayavarāha . . . The end of the inscription is obscured and may continue for two or more letters or it may end after the legible part. The inscription therefore seems to be labelling the image of the god as the ‘lord victorious boar’, or naming the issuing king with a name expressing devotion to the god, such as śrī jayavarāha, śrī jayavarāhadeva or śrī jayavarāhapala. In the British Museum there is a closely related coin (1922,0213.143) which also makes reference to Viṣṇu in a similar way, but shows a running boar on the obverse and a man-headed bird on the reverse. The inscription above the boar is partially off the edge of the flan, but can be recognized from the surviving parts of the letters in late Brāhmī script as śrī varāhadeva, i.e. as a royal name expressing devotion to Viṣṇu’s boar incarnation. This coin was bought from the collection of James Parke Rawlins (1855–1927), who had served in the Indian police in the Punjab. More recently three coins with the same designs have been discovered, but they are inscribed in late Brāhmī script śrī dharaṇīvarāha (lord earthlifting boar), a title of Viṣṇu and also a royal name (figures 6–9 and table 2). Both types have the running boar and manheaded bird images.The identification of the man-headed boar and the running boar as representations of Varāha the boar incarnation of Viṣṇu is firmly attested by the inscriptions on all these coins. Rapson’s identification of the man-headed bird on the reverse as Viṣṇu’s mount Garuḍa is more problematic. The creature on the reverse of the striding Varāha type 1 is without wings and has a foliage tail. On these coins the figure has the upper body of a man with arms, with his head facing to the left, and the lower body of a bird. The depiction on the running boar type 2 is the same but with a more solid tail (like a peacock). The closest creatures to these representations are Kinnara, celestial music makers. The representation on running boar type 3 shows the same type of figure as on type 2, but with wings and head with large circular earrings facing the viewer. There are later representations of Garuḍa with a human upper body with arms and wings, but none of the Shahi period. The representations without wings do not conform Abstract The recent discovery in Pakistan of coins depicting Vaishnava imagery relating to Varāha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, throws light on similar coins acquired by the British Museum in the 1920s. The imagery and context of these coins suggests they are coins issued under the Hindu Shahi rulers of Gandhāra in the ninth century. The identity of their issuers is not known, perhaps local Shahi rulers or previously unknown Shahi kings. In 1920 an enigmatic bronze coin was presented to the British Museum by a Mrs Marietta Stuart Jacomb (1920,0515.166), as coming from the collection of her late father Major General Malcolm George Clerk (1836–1907), a former Indian Army officer, serving in Rawalpindi, coin collector and member of the Royal Numismatic Society. The coin had already been published by Edward Rapson in 1903 in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1903, 291–2, pl. V, no. 6). Rapson’s account of the coin reported that it was with Vincent Arthur Smith, the renowned historian of India. It is not clear whether the coin was then owned by Smith or by Clerk. Smith’s service in India had mostly been in the United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh), and Clerk’s had been both in the United Provinces and in the northern Punjab (Allen’s Indian Mail and Official Gazette 3 January 1871, 13, and 14 July 1885, 579), so it is not possible to be certain of its provenance. Rapson’s plate makes it clear that it is the piece acquired in 1920 by the British Museum. Rapson identified the images on the coin as the pig-headed striding male figure of Varāha, the boar incarnation of Viṣṇu, on the obverse and as the man-headed bird figure of his mount Garuḍa on the reverse. However he misread the late Brāhmī script inscription as jaya purahā, interpreting it as epithets of the god, referring to him as the victorious (jaya) destroyer of the demon Pura (purahā), the latter epithet more normally associated with Śiva. The presence of the striding image of Varāha suggested to Rapson that the coin should be attributed to the ‘Raghuvaṃśin dynasty of Kanauj’, i.e. GurjaraPratīhāra kings, because such an image appears on the coins of king Bhojadeva I (c. 836–882) (Deyell 1990, type 8). Since Rapson’s publication the coin type appears not to have been mentioned again. Recently four more examples of this type have come to light and the inscription can be 1 Since the completion of this article a piece struck from these dies has been offered in the CNG electronic auction 557 (6.3.2024), lot 206, 2.22 grams, 19.5 millimetres). 18 Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 256 Summer 2024 Table 1 Standing Varāha/Kinnara coins, type 1 Figure no. Source Weight (g) Diameter (mm) Type 1 inscribed śrī jayavarāha 1 British Museum 1920,0515.166 2.29 21 2 Aman ur Rahman collection 1.97 21 3 Seen by Muhammad Khalid — — 4 Aman ur Rahman collection 2.01 18.5 5 In trade 4.50 — Table 2 Running boar/Kinnara coins, types 2 and 3 Figure no. Source Weight (g) Diameter (mm) Type 2 inscribed śrī varāhadeva 6 British Museum 1922,0213.143 1.92 16 Type 3 inscribed śrī dharaṇīvarāha 7 Aman ur Rahman collection 1.60 — 8 Muhammad Khalid collection 1.80 14.5 9 Shown to Shailendra Bhandare — — Where found Obverse die Reverse die 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 Obverse die Reverse die Punjab? 1 1 Northern Gandhāra Rustam Swabi 2 3 4 2 3 4 — Northern Gandhāra Swabi Northern Gandhāra Mardan Where found Figure 1 Figure 6 Figure 2 Figure 7 Figure 3 Figure 8 Figure 4 Figure 9 Figure 5 19 Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society with the normal representations of Garuḍa as a winged hawklike creature, who later acquired more human characteristics, such as arms and a more human face. The other form of manheaded bird, the Kinnara, can be represented as human figures with bird lower parts, as on types 1 and 2, but sometimes they can be shown with wings, and can also be represented with both arms and wings. The Vaishnavite context of these coins suggests Garuḍa is intended, but the iconography is closer to that of Kinnara. Better preserved examples will perhaps resolve this, but from the existing specimens it is difficult to be certain of the identity of the reverse depiction on these coins. Two of these Varāha coin types have attested provenances in Gandhāra, so should be considered as most likely issued in that region, but unfortunately they have inscriptions which cannot be directly linked with any known ruler of Gandhāra. Their attribution can only be deduced from their context. The same man-bird appears on the reverse of another copper coin from Gandhāra (figure 10), published from an example in the British Museum, 1.96 grams, 16.5 millimetre (ex Major George E. Hollings, 1855,0608.46; Bailey 1882, p. 162, pl. 1, fig. 1; Cunningham 1894, p. 62, pl. VII, no. 1). When published it was thought to depict a peacock. On the obverse is a Śāradā inscription, read by Bayley and Cunningham as śrī kamara . . . and an image of a standing lion, facing left, with raised tail. A second example of the type, weighing 1.96g, diameter 17millimetre, has recently been published by Ziad, also reading śrī kamara (Ziad 2022, p. 159, no. 3.1.6). Ziad (idem, p. 152, 159) attributed the coin to the Hindu Shahi king Kamalū, reigning c. AD 895–921. The inscription is clearly written, but this reading is not clear, as it would equally be read as śrī kaspa… or śrī Kasara… The lion could be understand as another reference to Viṣṇu in his lion avatar Narasiṃha. The British Museum coin came from the collection of a British Army officer stationed in the 1850s at Shahpur, near Sarghoda in the Punjab (Pakistan), but the piece published by Ziad is without an indicated provenance. The attribution to the Hindu Shahis seems appropriate, as there are other Shahi copper coins with the same lion design (normally facing the other way) in the name of Bhimadevi, Vakkadeva and Samantadeva (Deyell 1990, types 38–43 and 54–55). 256 Summer 2024 śrī ja ya śrī śrī dha ra ṇī va rā ha va rā ha va rā ha de va Figure 3 Letter forms on types 1–3 are similar to those on the silver coins of the Amirs of Multan which were issued c. 840–960. These have the same extension of the long ī vowel of the śrī reaching over the top of the following letters (Fishman and Todd 2018, 201 and types M54–63, 65–74, 76–80). The basic form of śrī, however, shows different characteristics, and only matches that on one type of a Multan coin type, dated c. 861–4 (ibid., type M63). This type was issued by Amir Muhammad [III] and inscribed in late Brāhmī śrī mihiradeva, another title of Viṣṇu. The śrī, with its long ī vowel to the right, on the running boar coins inscribed śrī dharaṇīvarā[ha] . . . is close to some of the versions appearing on Shahi coins inscribed śrī spalapatideva, śrī samantadeva, śrī bhimadeva and śrī vakkadeva (Deyell 1990, types 17–23, 37–55). The deva on these Shahi coins is also very similar to that on the running boar coin inscribed śrī varāhadeva, but unfortunately the details of the śrī on this coin are not visible. The Shahi parallels also place these coins in the ninth century. The use of a striding Varāha as a coin design is well know from the silver coins of the Gurgara–Pratihara king Bhojadeva I (c. 836–882), a contemporary of the Amirs of Multan mentioned above (Deyell 1990, type 8). His coins are inscribed with the name of the god śrīmad ādivarāha (meaning the glorious primal boar), whose name he also adopted as his own. The inscription is written in proto-Nāgarī in a different style to the running boar coins. Inscriptions naming Varāha also appear on the coins of the Amirs of Multan, in the forms śrīmad varāha, śrī ādivarāha and śrī dharaṇīvarāha, also in proto-Nāgarī, in a similar style to the coins of Bhojadeva I. The inscription śrī varāha also appears around a trident on small eight-century silver and copper coins from Sind (Fishman, Todd and Pieper 2021, 392–7). The title śrī dharaṇīvarāha in proto-Nāgarī also appears on the coins of a ruler with this name in Saurashtra in Gujarat, c. 910–30 or c. 942 (Classical Numismatic Gallery auction 38, 24 April 2021, lots 225 and 226), but again in a style dissimilar to the coins found in Gandhāra. The Varāha rulers of Saurashtra are known from a copper grant found at Haddala, mentioning Śrī Dharaṇīvarāha (Ganguly 1955, 101–4, 131, n. 23; Verma 1964, p. 83), from a Jain text the Harivaṁśapurāṇa, mentioning a ruler called (Jaya)varāha, c. 783 (Smith 1909, p. 252; Majumdar 1955, 21), and from another copper plate from Baroda mentions another ruler called Mahāvarāha, c. 758–773 (Ganguly 1955, 102, 131, n. 20). The coincidence of the names of the Saurashtran kings with those on the coins in question initially suggested that they might be issues from Saurashtra, but is this a plausible explanation? The same could also be suggested of the Figure 10 The use of late Brāhmī script for the inscription suggests that these coins were issued in the eighth to ninth century (Deambi 2008, 88–94). The inscriptions on types 1 and 2 share similar features, but that on type 3 is in a different hand. The form of ha on types 1 and 2 are closer to early Śāradā inscriptions and the de on type 2 also shows Śāradā features (Deambi 2008, 100–1). These Śāradā forms began to emerge in the ninth century, so a ninth-century date for these coins seems more likely. Some aspects of the script on these coins 20 Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 256 Summer 2024 Pratihara kings, the Amirs of Multan and Sind kings. The differences in script and different flan shapes make such attributions implausible. The discovery in Gandhāra of these coins and the lack of reports from elsewhere also contradict such suggestions. One could argue that there was influence from the coinages of the important states to the south-east of Gandhāra, but these coins do not fit into the monetary systems of either the Saurashtran Varahas, the Gurjara-Pratiharas or the Amirs of Multan. If there was influence it could be political with the issuers adopting names or coin inscriptions similar to their more powerful neighbours. It is possible that the Saurashtran kings were influenced in such a way. The close proximality of the Amirs of Multan to the Pratiharas also suggests there may have been some such influence (Fishman and Todd 2018, 276–8). The discovery of the majority of these coins in Gandhāra, which was Shahi territory in the eighth to tenth centuries, suggests a closer examination of their links with Shahi coinage. Although the majority of Shahi coins in the literature are silver, there are copper coinages inscribed śrī spalapatideva, śrī samantadeva, śrī bhimadeva and śrī vakkadeva. The denominations and fabric of these boar coins suggest a closer link with Shahi coins than with any other series. As indicated above there are links between the letter forms on these Shahi coins and those being discussed here. Unfortunately historical records of the Shahi kings are so meagre that it cannot be ruled out that the inscriptions on these coins refer to local Shahi rulers. There are other Shahi period copper coins inscribed with names not featured on silver coins or mentioned in the meagre sources, such as the horseman holding sword/ reclining bull coins, scribed śrī pa . . . (Errington 2021, 197, nos 8–9; Ziad 2022, 162–3). Further evidence is needed to take this enquiry further forward. It can only be concluded that although Shahi coins normally have Shaivite imagery (bull), coins with Vaishnavite imagery referring to the boar incarnation of Viṣṇu were issued in Gandhāra in the Shahi period, probably in the ninth century. References Bayley, C. E. (1882) ‘Remarks on certain dates occurring on the coins of the Hindu kings of Kabul, expressed in the Gupta era and in Arabic (or quasi-Arabic) numerals’, Numismatic Chronicle 3rd Ser. 2, 128–65 Cunningham, A. (1894) Coins of Mediaeval India London Deambi, B. K. K. (2008) Śāradā and Ṭākarī Alphabets: Origin and development New Delhi. Deyell, J. (1990) Living Without Silver: The monetary history of early medieval north India Delhi Errington, E. (2021) Charles Masson: Collections from Begram and Kabul Bazaar, Afghanistan 1833–1838 London Fishman, A. and I. J. Todd (2018) The Silver Damma:On the mashas, daniqs, qinari dirhams and other diminutive coins of India 600–1100 CE Mumbai —, — and W. Pieper (2021) ‘Recently discovered gold, silver and copper coins of pre-Islamic Sindh and the Yashaditya series’, Numismatische Zeitschrift 127, 389–97 Ganguly, D. C. (1955) ‘Central and western India’, in R. C. Majumdar (ed.) The History and Culture of the Indian People: The age of imperial Kanauj Bombay, 83–132 Majumdar, R. C. (1955) ‘Rise and fall of the Pratihara empire’, in R.C. Majumdar (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People: The age of imperial Kanauj Bombay, 19–43 Rapson, E. J. (1903) ‘Notes on Indian coins and seals’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 35:2, 285–312, pl. 5 Smith, V. A. (1909) ‘The Gurjaras of Rajputana and Kanauj’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 41:1, 53–75, 247–81 Verma, O. P. (1964) ‘Reconstruction of later Pratihara Genealogy’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 1964 26.1,79–85 Ziad, W. 2022. In the Treasure Room of the Sakra King: Votive coins from Gandhāran shrines New York Acknowledgements Thanks to Shailendra Bhandare and John Deyell for their help with this paper. Joe Cribb is adjunct professor of numismatics, Hebei Normal University, China, and former Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Aman ur Rahman is a chemical engineer and businessman by profession, A passionate numismatist and coin collector, he is the author of several notable books, including PreKushan Coins in Pakistan (with Osmund Bopearachchi, Karachi 1995), Zahir-uddin Muhammad Babur: A numismatic study (Karachi 2005) and Seals, Sealings and Tokens from Gandhara (with Harry Falk, Wiesbaden 2011). Muhammad Khalid is a Pakistani coin collector specializing in coins circulating in pre-modern Gandhāra. 21

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