2016-10-12 Wed

Ancient Padmavati, situated in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh is better known in Numismatics world for the hoard of 100, 000 coins yielded of the Naga dynasty. Numismatics played a significant role in bringing back forgotten history of Nagas in general and Nagas of Padmavati in particular.

Naga coins of Padmavati are part of the larger family known as Gwalior Coins. The Padmavati region started yielding coins in the 1800s when heavy rains started to erode the present high level of mud. Villages started finding these coins each year after the rains, subsequently many collections have been discovered from this place.

It seems that Nagas migrated to a number of places in North India around 1000 BC and one of the group over the years settled in Gwalior. The earliest rulers of Nagas of Padmavati seem to be Sesha Naga 110-90 BCE.

Naga coins of Padmavati are mostly copper, and mostly circular, about one centimeter in diameter. The circular shape seems more an accident than planned because one can discern three to four corners in many of these coins. These are some of the smallest coins from North India, where the coinage tends to be of larger size than corresponding South Indian coinage. Humped bull was a common theme, though it was not the only theme that one sees on these coins. One can also see wheel, linga, horse, triangular banner, peacock etc.

The Nagas of Padmavati were a powerful ruling family and most of the kings are known only from their coins