2017-02-18 Sat

“God is beyond the concept of gender, but yet he naturally represents it in the form of Aradhanarishvara”

The royal lineages of Manikya dynasty were the follower of Shaivite beliefs and it was beautifully illustrated on their coinage. This silver Tanka of King Vijay Manikya-I is a very good proof for this. It was minted in 1482 SE (Saka Era). This coin depicts the 64th manifestation of Parashiva called Ardhanarishvara (Form of Shiva & Parvati) .

This Tanka of Tripura depicts the Ardhanarishvara in a seated form with a bull in left and lion on right and Saka date in exergue within a designed border. Its reverse side depicted legend in Bengali “Lakshya Snayi Sri Sri Tripura Mahesh Vijay Manikya Deva Sri Lakshmi Rani Devyah” in five lines across the flan within the twelve arched border.

The concept of Ardhanarishvara goes beyond gender equality. It is about accepting the dual form of human nature called ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ sides. The masculine side represents the physical strength, calm state of mind and determination but feminine side represents development, love and protection. This concept can also be adopted by a society or an individual because this Ardha nara-nari represents the rule of creation.

This form of Ardhanarishvara is also about new start and development. Hence, this silver tanka was minted to commemorates a ritual bath that King Vijay Manikya I took in River Lakhi ( Brahmaputras tributary) which was undertaken during a raid into Muslim Territory.