ISSi.J V. A. Smith — Gold Coins of the Imperial Gupta Dynasty. 177 
vijayanitoduya ’ of Samudra’s Allahabad Pillar inscription, (2) the ^ 
under the horse is found on the footstool on the obverse of the same prince’s 
Lyrist coins, (3) the epithet ‘ pardJcrama ’ on the reverse is found on his 
Javelin and Archer coins and not on those of any other Gupta king, and 
(4) Samudra is known to have enjoyed power sufficient to warrant him 
in celebrating an Aswamedha sacrifice. 
QucBre, is the standard in front of the horse the standard of Indra ? 
SAMUDRA GUPTA. 
Tiger Type. 
{Class H. of Devised Catalogue.) 
Obv. King standing to r. wearing tight Indian waistcloth, turban, 
necklace, armlets, and large earrings, trampling on body of 
tiger, which is falling backwards, while he shoots it in the 
mouth. Bow in king’s r. hand, his 1. is raised above shoulder. 
Between k-ing’s feet a letter (?) 
Legend on r. margin ... ‘ the tiger ’ ... Thomas completes 
it with the word ‘ hero,’ but the letters are really 
very imperfect and dubious. 
Dev. Goddess to 1. standing on a dragon or marine monster which 
faces 1. grasping in her r. hand a crescent-tipped standard 
adorned with pennons, resembling that on obv. of Boy and 
Battle-axe coins, of Samudra, and in 1. hand an expanded 
lotus-flower. 
In field to r. ‘ Raja Samudra Guptah.’ Ko 
monogram. Wt. of one coin 1I6‘6. 
Deferences B. M. unique ; described in Eev. Catal.; described and figured in 
and Records, p. 21, and Autotype Plate, fig. 2. {Plate II, fig. 10.) In 
Demarlcs. Hindu mytbology tlie dragon {malara) is the vehicle both of 
Varuna, the god of the waters, and of Kama Deva, the Indian 
Cupid. Perhaps the goddess on this coin represents Rati, the wife 
of Kama Deva, or, more probably she may be intended as the consort 
of Varuna, with reference to the name of the king, Samudra, which 
means ‘ the ocean.’* Thomas notes that a similar monster is to be 
seen under the feet of a statue found at Nongarh, and made of Ma¬ 
thura sandstone. 
SAMUDRA GUPTA. 
Boy and Battle-Axe Type. 
{J. A. 8. B. XXIV, pp. 496-7, class G 2 : Dev. Catal. classes F and 2 F.) 
Obv. King standing, usually to 1., with r. hand on hip, and 1. rest¬ 
ing on battle-axe. In 1. field a boy holds in front of king a 
* Cf. the ititroduction of Demeter in the coins of Demetrius of Syria. The form 
of the creature on which the reverse goddess stands is not very distinct, and Prof. 
Gardner thinks it more like the head of an elephant than anything else. 
