1855.] On the Coins of the Gupta Dynasty. 497 



Legend. Kubhava paraguja, (Prinsep V. 645.) 



f 



Under the arm — < t? 



U 



Reverse. The ordinary Parvati figure — but her feet rest on 

 either " seeming flame" according to the A. A. Coin ; or " the 

 leaves of the lotus," in the Prinsep specimens. 



Legend, sScT»fr "R^^ The battle-axe of Pluto. 



Prof. Wilson in speaking of Prinsep' s decipherment of these le- 

 gends, remarks " his attempts to give a meaning to these syllables 

 are very unsuccessful," he himself suggests _fi>0^-paraga (A. A. 

 p. 324, 325). 



This legend, therefore, has hitherto presented an acknowledged 

 difficulty ; however, the individual letters appear in their well-formed 

 outlines to be readily susceptible of definite identification. The 

 legend obtained from several specimens and determined by Major 

 Bush's coin, is UcTX^rf Xf^^g ^T^flfVcTST. " Sovereign of Kings 

 whose battle-axe is like Pluto's." 



A second coin in the Prinsep Cabinet, now in the British Muse- 

 um, confirms this reading — with the important modification, that 

 the second perpendicular line of the final consonant % in Parasu, 

 is prolonged downwards and forms thus the alternative subjunctive 

 vowel n3, which letter the continuous curved up-stroke of the same 

 limb of the tr; in coin 23, equally serves to represent. In this new 

 coin the letter ^r intervenes between the T and the succeeding 13, 

 forming the word Raja, possibly used as the opening of Rdjadhi- 

 raja. In regard to the s which I read in preference to Prinsep's 

 g,* a moment's examination of coin 11. PI. XXXVI. Yol. V. will 

 satisfy the reader that if the second letter in the reverse legend 

 is an admitted g, the final consonant of the same word should ac- 

 cord with it in form, if the latter is to be received as an identical 

 letter — it will be seen that it does not do so — but, as more distinct 

 evidence of my assertion may be needed, I am in a position to add 

 that the unpublished coin above alluded to, gives in the reverse 

 final the ¥5; in all the distinct identity of the cross-stroke within 



* J. R. A. S. XII. 75. 



