Showing posts with label KRISHNA DEVARAYA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KRISHNA DEVARAYA. Show all posts

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Sri Krishnadevaraya Gold Pagoda - Bala Krishna type


This coin was minted probably in 1513 AD to commemorate and celebrate the conquest of the eastern Gajapati kingdom of Udayagiri or Utkala (in the present day Kalinga of Orissa state) then ruled by Pratapa Rudra Deva. It is said that following this victory, Krishnadevaraya seized the idol of Balakrishna (Lord Krishna as infant) and brought it to Vijayanagar as a war trophy. He then built the Krishna Temple at Hampi where the idol was then consecrated. The idol is now displayed in the state museum at Chennai and a huge slab installed inside the courtyard of the temple states the story of this temple and the conquest of Utkala.

Obverse: Crowned and ornamented cute Balakrishna, potbellied, seated on a dotted bordered dais with right leg folded, discus to right, conch to left, holding a lump of butter in right hand.