1. Kumāragupta I. W. Provinces type. AR. Wt. 33·5 grs.
Obv., bust of king to right; corrupt Greek letters.
Rev., Garuḍa standing facing, with outstretched wings. Around,
_Paramabhāgavata Mahārājādhirāja Śrī Kumāragupta
Mahendrādityaḥ_.
2. Skandagupta. Central Provinces Type. AR. Wt. 32·1 grs.
Obv., bust of king to right; to right, date in Brāhmī numerals.
Rev., peacock standing facing, with wings and tail outspread;
border of dots. Around, _Vijitāvanir avanipati jayati
divaṁ Skandagupto ’yam_,
“This Skandagupta, having conquered the world, [as]
world-lord, wins heaven.”
3. Śilāditya (Harshavardhana) of Thāṇeśar. AR. Wt. about 36 grs.
Obv., bust of king to left; to left, _Sa_ and uncertain date.
Rev., peacock as on No. 2. Around, _Vijitāvanir avanipati.
Śrī Śilāditya divaṁ jayati_, “Śrī Śilāditya having
conquered the world, [as] world-lord, wins heaven.”
4. Mihiragula. AR. Wt. 54·2 grs.
Obv., bust of king to right; in front, bull-standard; behind,
trident. Legend, _Jayatu Mihirakula_.
Rev., debased fire-altar and attendants.
5. Napkī Malik. AR (base). About 52 grs.
Obv., bust of king with winged head-dress; above, buffalo’s head
facing. Pahlavī legend, _Napkī Malik_.
Rev., Fire-altar and attendants, wheel over head of each.
6. Indian imitation of Sassanian coin. AR (base).
Obv. and Rev., as on No. 4, but very barbarous.
7. Toramāṇa. AR. Wt. 32·8 grs.
Obv., as on No. 3.
Rev., as on No. 3, but _Śrī Toramāṇa_.
8. Gadhiya paisa. AR (base). Wt. 60 grs.
Obv., head of king to right.
Rev., fire-altar. More debased than No. 6.
9. Mahoba: Hallakshaṇavarma. AV. Dramma. Wt. 63 grs.
Obv., four-armed goddess seated facing.
Rev., _Śrīmad Hallakshaṇavarma Deva_.
10. Ḍahāla: Gāṅgeya-deva. AV. Wt. 62 grs.
Obv., as on No. 9.
Rev., _Śrīmad Gāṅgeya-deva_.
11. Dehlī and Ajmer: Pṛithvī Rāja. Bil. Wt. 52 grs.
Obv., horseman to right; _Śrī Pṛithvī Rāja deva_.
Rev., recumbent bull to left; _Asāvari Śrī Sāmanta
deva_.[28]
12. Shāhis of Ohind: Spalapati-deva. AR. Wt. 50 grs.
Obv., horseman to right. Inscription in undeciphered characters.
Rev., recumbent bull to left. _Śrī Spalapati-deva._
13. Narwar: Chāhaḍa-deva. Æ. Wt. 52 grs.
Obv., as No. 11, but legend _Śrī Chāhaḍa-deva_.
Rev., as No. 11.
14. Kashmīr; Harsha-deva. AV. Wt. 73 grs.
Obv., horseman to right; _Harsha-deva_.
Rev., seated goddess.
15. Id: Diddā Rānī. Æ. Wt. about 85 grs.
Obv., standing king to right.
Rev., seated goddess. To left, _Śrī_; to right,
_Diddā_.
16. Id: Yaśovarman. AV (base). Wt. 112 grs.
Obv., standing king; under left arm, _Kidā (ra)_.
Rev., seated goddess, _Śrī Yaśovarma_.
[28] Asāvari is said to be a name of Durga; Śrī Sāmanta deva is
borrowed from the coinage of Ohind.
The reigns of Kanishka and Huvishka coincide with the most flourishing
period of the great Gandhāra school of sculpture, which had arisen
during the rule of the Śaka princes. Hellenistic influence is very
strongly marked in that art, and it may be interesting to consider
here briefly what contribution the coins make to the vexed question
of the respective parts played by Greek and Indian ideals in moulding
its character. A careful inspection of the successive coinages of the
Indo-Greeks, the Śakas and the Kushāṇas will show that the strongest
influences of pure Greek art had passed away before the reign of
Kanishka. With the establishment of Greek rule south of the Hindu
Kush, traces of the Indian craftsman’s hand begin to appear. As time
goes on these become more apparent, until, in the Kushāṇa period, the
whole fabric of the coins, if not entirely Indian, is far more Oriental
than Greek. That purely Indian influences were strongly at work is
very evident in the cult of Śiva as expressed on the coins of Vima
Kadphises and Vāsudeva for instance; in the Buddha coins of Kadaphes
and Kanishka, and in the typical Indian cross-legged attitude in which
Kadphises II and Huvishka are depicted; and, after all is said, the art
was produced in India and must have been largely if not entirely the
work of Indian craftsmen. Originality in art does not so much consist
in evolving something which has never existed before, but rather in the
ability to absorb fresh ideas and transmute them into a new form. And
thus it was in the time of Kanishka: Indian mysticism allowed itself
to be clad in Greek beauty of form. Eastern feeling ran, as it were,
into Western moulds to create this wonderful aftermath of Hellenic art,
which left an indelible mark upon every country of the Orient where the
cult of the Buddha penetrated.
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Gupta Script on coin of Chandragupta II. Cf. Pl.
V, 7 (obverse).]