2019-10-17 Thu

The word ‘Jaintia’ is derived from the shrine of Jayanti Devi or Jainteswari, an incarnation of Hindu goddess Durga. Some people also called it as Pnar, also known as Jaintia, a sub tribal group of Khasi Tribe in Meghalaya, India.

Today the kingdom of Jaintia is situated in present-day Bangladesh and North-East India. Later it was annexed by the British East India Company in the year 1835. The origin of this kingdom is unknown, but the people of Jaintia share culture from the Megalithic Phase. A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones.

This silver tanka was issued by king Jayanarayan of the Jaintiapur Kingdom in the Saka Year 1630. The weight of this silver tanka is around 9.19g. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Sri Sri/Va Charana Ka/Mala Madhu Karasya. The reverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Sri Sri Ja/Yantipura Pu/Randarasya Sa/ Ke 1630.

Image Courtesy: Classical Numismatic Gallery