2020-01-31 Fri

Vijayanagar was one of the powerful dynasties in south India. Krishna Deva Raya was the most prominent ruler of the (Tuluva) dynasty. Because of his mesmerizing personality, he was given the title ‘Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana’ meaning ‘Lord of the Kannada Empire’.

Krishna Deva Raya was coroneted on the day when Krishna (Hindu God) was born. He was a great patron of Lord Vishnu and this can be seen through his coins too.

The given coin is a Double Pagoda or Dodda Honnu weighing around 7.8 grams. The obverse of the coins depicts Shri Balaji/ Venkateshwar standing facing under an arch ornamented with makaras, wearing a crown, holding Shankha and Chakra his weapon in his upper arms, and his lower hand held out with the palm uppermost and the fingers pointing downwards making Varadamudra the dispensing of boons, and mace and lotus as the attributes of Lord Vishnu. While the reverse bears Devanagari legend ‘Sri Krishna Raya’ in three lines within a double circular border.

According to the historical records after defeating Kondavidu and Gangas, Krishna Deva Raya along with his two wives, Tirumala Devi and Chinnama Devi went to pay a visit to the temple of Balaji. In order to gratify this victory, he ordered to issue coins for a Kanak Abhishek (Shower of Gold) for his most beloved God Vishnu. The given specimen is one of them and this was sold for INR 27,00,000 in Todywalla Auctions in 2014.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction