Assam, Gadadhara Simha, 1681-1696 AD,
Silver Rupee, 11.38g, 22mm, Ahom legend, Lion & bird type, KM 30
Obv: Cao Su/patpha pi/n Khun
lakni raisan
(lion facing right at 10-11 'o' clock)
lakni raisan
(lion facing right at 10-11 'o' clock)
Rev: Kao bay/pha Leng/dun
heu/cu
(bird at 7 'o' clock)
heu/cu
(bird at 7 'o' clock)
Coins bearing Ahom legend were
struck only during the ruler’s coronation. Gadadhara Simha was the founder of
the last line of Ahom royal house whose descendants ruled till the end of the
Ahom Kingdom in c. 1826 AD. He was the son of Gobar Raja who ruled for only 20
days before he was assassinated. Gadadhara defeated the Mughals and established
strong foundations for the Ahom power that was taken to its zenith by his son,
Rudra Simha.
The Obverse mentions the Ahom
name of the King ie Supatpha and also his title ie Cao or Chao (Ruler) whereas
the Reverse invokes the name of the principle Ahom deity ie Lengdun (King of
Gods) specifically mentioning pha (Heaven). Caopha or Chaopha in Ahom language
would therefore mean 'Ruler of Heaven' affixed before the name of Lengdun as
the principle deity or Ruler of Gods (in Heaven). Lengdun is identified with
Indra who, as per Hindu mythology, is the Lord or God of the Heaven. This
epithet later manisfested itself as 'Svargadeo' (Svarg = Heaven, Deo or Dev =
God or Lord) on the later coins ('Sri Sri Svargadeo' before the King's name)
featuring sanskrit language written in bengali/assamese/devanagari script. The
bird featured on the coin probably depicts the incarnation of the God Lengdun
in the form of a heron as per mythology.
While the octagonal shape of
the Ahom coins is believed to be based on the popular legend of the Ahom
Kingdom being eight-sided, another view is that the shape of the Ahom coins was
influenced by the Octaganol pattern observed on the earlier coins of the
neighbouring Bengal Sultans viz Sikandar Ilyas, Bayazid Shah etc, that became
the prototype for the octagonal Assam coins.
For more on Ahom Dynasty, see
the Wiki link here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahom_dynasty
Blog Post Author: Mitresh Singh
