Uttam Chola was born as Madurantaka to king Gandaraditha Chola and queen Sembiyan Mahadevi. He sat on the throne of the Chola Empire in 971 CE, after succeeding Aditya Chola II, and ruled it till 987 CE.

When Uttam Chola sat on the throne of the Chola Empire, he was surrounded; by controversy and mystery. During his rule, the Chola army seems to have continued battles with the Pandyas and their ally the Sinhalas in Eelam or Sri Lanka. They had also recovered much Thondaimandalam from Rashtrakutas.

This silver Kahavanu was issued by King UttamChola; during his rule in Chola Empire. The obverse of this coin depicts Chola tiger seated right, an umbrella, and a pair of upright fish with bow and lamp behind. The reverse of this coin depicts Devanagari legend Uttama/Cholah in two lines.

This silver Kahavanu is listed for INR 7,000 in the upcoming auction of Classical Numismatic Gallery that will be held in Kolkatta on 26th December 2021.

Image Courtesy: classical numismatic gallery