2018-06-12 Tue

This base gold dinar was issued by the Kidarite dynasties of the Kashmir, during the reign of king Meghavahana. It weighs around 7.46 g.

The obverse of this coin depicts standing human figurine associated with Lord Shiva is facing towards the right. The posture of this figure is slighted bent on three sides called 'tribhanga kaya' with a hand gesture called 'tribhaga mudra' on right hand. He is holding a trident in the left hand with an extra prong on the outer side with two banners or ribbon flying off to the right field. Lord Shiva is shown wearing a dhoti and uttariya on the shoulder. A tiger is depicted in the background walking towards the left, it is looking towards the lord with his head turned back. On the upper left side, a legend is inscribed in Gupta Brahmi which reads as ‘Sri Meghamah’.

Goddess Lakshmi is depicted on the reverse side of this coin; she is seated on a lotus and facing front. She is illustrated wearing a flowing garb and an Uttariya over the shoulder. Goddess is shown holding a small lotus in the left hand and a big lotus in the right hand which is surmounted by the Kalasa. On a pedestal, a 'shankha' is mounted with the trace of ‘kidara’ in Brahmi script with legend ‘Jaya’ on the right.

The Shiva on this coin is represented as the Pashupatinath or ‘Lord of the Beasts’. This coin is extremely rare and its reference is published in Sir Alexander Cunningham’s book Coins of Medieval India in 1894. The die of this coin is carved by the expert mint master and probably these coins were minted to commemorate either important occasions or events.

To know more about this dynasty click here.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction