2017-06-08 Thu

Many dynasties grew and fell on the land of South India! The Alupas were one of them. Ruling in Karnataka from 4th CE to 15th CE, they were also known as Alva. They were the feudatory of Western Chalukyas.

Coinage of the Alupas is just mesmerizing because of the gold coins! The Mangalore mint is supposed to have issued coins having Kannada legend while Upidi mint issued Nagari legend coins.

The given gold pagoda aside belonging to Udayadityaraya or Gopisvararaya Panday (1088 CE-1332 CE) was sold for INR 1,60,000 in the Todywalla Auction. The obverse of the coins depicts the beautiful dynastic emblem: two stylized vertical fish with crescent and divas (lamps) on either side. The reverse bears the Kannada legend ‘Sri Pandya Dhananjaya’.

One Interesting thing is that Alupas were one of the three dynasties who issued gold coins in the 8th Century. Also, it is said that the gold which was used for issuing these coins came from the Romans, Arabs and from the adjacent kingdom of Gangas.