1886.] R. H. C. Tufnell —On a Collection of South Indian Coins. 159 
No. 3 is a Pandyan issue bearing on tlie reverse the legend 
‘‘ Aliava Malla ” (lover of war) apparently. Several Tanjore grants 
are said to bear tbis title of tbe Pandyan kings of probably tbe lOtb or 
12tb century. The fish on the obverse also point to the Pandyan 
dynasty. 
No. 31 may be a more recent issue of the Sub-Pandyan families. 
The dancing figure of “ Garuda,” the winged vehicle of Vishnu, is of 
common occurrence on the later copper coins found in the Madura 
district (Pandyan), usually with the fish on the reverse and occasionally 
under the figure. 
With No. 2 commences a series of five coins of the Cingalese 
Chola dynasty, all of which have been found in the South of India, 
chiefly round Madura and Tirumangalam. The first of these (figured 
in Rhys David’s article in the “ Numismata Orientalia ”) bears the 
word “Iraha,” a Prakrit form of the Sanscrit word “ Rakshasa ” 
(demon) above which is what may be the lotus, or possibly the conch 
shell of Vishnu—and it is not improbable that the Cholas of the 12th 
and 13th centuries were followers of that deity. The coin itself is by 
no means uncommon, but I have never seen a duplicate issue of its 
fellow. No. 1, in which the sun and moon (?) take the place of the 
device on the former coin, while the inscription remains the same. 
No. 25 still preserves the same obverse (though in a somewhat 
different style to that most common on the Chola issues) but on the 
reverse the word “ Iraka ” becomes “Irako,” according to the reading 
of a Pandit who has kindly examined the coin for me, the nominative 
singular taking the place of the root. Above the word is a dotted 
circle, probably intended for a flower, as in No. 27 we find an exactly 
similar circle taking the place of the lotus in the hand of the standing 
figure. 
No. 26 presents a change in the attitude of the figure on the ob¬ 
verse. Instead of standing up with pendant “ dupatta ” the cloth here 
flies out, and the left leg is passed behind the right, while under the 
left arm appears the object which we usually find either under or 
grasped in the right hand. On the reverse, the word seems to be 
“Lakmi,” the Prakrit form of the Sanscrit “Lakshmi.” The circle still 
appears above but undotted. 
No. 27 differs from all other specimens I have ever seen in having 
on the reverse a figure with no inscription. The squatting figure on 
the obverse seems to hold in his hand a dotted circle, exactly corre¬ 
sponding to the one previously mentioned ; the form of head dress is 
changed, and the shape of the head is quite different to that on the 
generality of specimens. The same dotted circle peculiar to these coins 
