2022-02-19 Sat

Malhar Rao Gaekwad was the 11th Maharaja of Baroda State [1870 to 1875]. He was the sixth son of Sayaji Rao Gaekwad II and became Maharaja of Baroda after the death of his elder brother, Khanderao II Gaekwad.

The Princely state of Baroda was ruled from 1721 to 1949 by the Gaekwads of the Maratha Confederacy. The genesis of ‘Gaekwad’ can be traced from ‘gaikwar’, meaning cowherd. Archaeological findings have been unearthed from an area in Baroda, earlier called Ankottaka in the 5th and 6th century which was a popular centre of Jainism. It was located on the banks of Vishvamitri. At the time of state re-organization after independence, Baroda became a part of the Union of India on 1st May 1949.

Term ‘Baroda’ or native name ‘Vadodara’ traces roots in Sanskrit which can be understood by dividing it into Vat means Banyan tree and ‘Oodara’ means stomach. In some references, Vadodara is also defined as the ‘heart of Banyan tree’.

An adjoined coin is issued by Malhar Rao in 1289 AH. The coin was minted at Baroda and the obverse of the coin reads, “Devanagari Ma Ga, date and scimitar” and the reverse of the coin deciphers, “Persian legend, Dotted flower (rosettes)”.

Image Courtesy: Mintage World