512 On the Coins of the Gupta Dynasty. [No. 6. 



examination in conjunction with the Indian Numerical series at 

 large to which their various examples contribute an independent 

 section. 



Reverse. — Device, a full front view of a peacock with expanded 

 tail. 



Legends. 



Class 1. Kum&ra Gupta, J. A. S. B. IV. PL XLIX. figs. 10, 

 11 and 12. 



Dev(o) jayati vijitdvanir avanipati(h) Kum&ra Gupto "His Ma- 

 jesty Kttmara Gupta, who has subdued the earth, rules." 



Class 2. Skanda Gupta, J. E. A. S. XII. PL II. figs. 52, 53.* 



Vijitdvanir avanipati(r) jayati deva(h) Skanda Gupta-y. 

 Class 3. Budha Gupta, J. E. A. S. XII. PI. II. figs. 55, 57. 



^r *refir fafwcTTwf*r*:srf%TrpT ^ft ^v ^th 



Dev(o) jayati vijitdvanir avanipati(h) Sri Budha Gupto. 



When once fairly deciphered, these legends will be seen to pre- 

 sent but few difficulties. The lapidary inscriptions have already 

 proved that the Gupta artists indulged in faulty Sanskrit ortho- 

 graphy as well as in grammatical errors, so I need not detain my 

 readers by any comments upon minor imperfections, while the general 

 sense of the legend is sufficiently clear. I must mention that in 

 my devanagari transcripts, I have adhered servilely to original 

 legends impressed upon the coins ; the version in the Eoman type 

 is corrected up to Sanskrit requirements. 



There is a superfluous ^T (or possibly a ?T after the 3TTT on Skanda 

 Gupta's coins, the use of which is not apparent, but which clearly 

 takes the place of the final in Kumara's legends. 



I may note that Kumara Gupta's coins display both the old form 

 of *T and the more specially Gupta outline of that character.f The 

 V is also seen in its transition state from the triple lined letter o* 



* I should mention that my references to the published engravings of the coins 

 of Skanda Gupta and Budha Gupta are based on my own facsimiles copied from 

 the coins themselves. 



f J. A. S. B. IV. PI. XLIX. figs. 10 and 12. 



