Coins from Igra, District Jind,

Vivek Dangi1 and Rajpal2

1. Department of History, All India Jat Heroes’ Memorial College, , Haryana, India (Email: [email protected]) 2. Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India (Email: [email protected])

Received: 05 August 2015; Accepted: 14 September 2015; Revised: 04 November 2015 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3 (2015): 715‐723

Abstract: Numismatics is undoubtedly one of the most valuable sources of history. It confirms the information culled from other sources and by themselves provides information which is not known from other sources. About 40 Indo‐Greek rulers ruled over northern India, epigraphy refers to only a few and literature refers to half a dozen of them. The historicity of the rest of them are known only from coins, and after careful and intensive study of these coins, numismatists attempt to establish chronology of kings and throw light on various aspects of their history and culture. Thus coins throw light on various aspects of the regional as well as National history. During recent exploration in Jind, district Haryana, researchers found some coins from Igra‐1which throw light on the political, Social, Economic and cultural aspect of the region and enrich our existing knowledge.

Keywords: Igra, Cast Coins, Historical, Potsherd, Late Harappan, Indo‐Scythian,

Introduction Igra village is located in Jind district of Haryana. The village Igra is situated about 12 km west of Jind (district head quarter), on the Jind‐Hansi Road (Fig. 1). There are three ancient mounds in the revenue jurisdiction of the village.

The site of Igra‐1 (29°13ʹ30ʺN, 76°14ʹ47ʺE) is partly covered by the present habitation and partly falls in an open area. The nature of the site is habitational, and it is divided into two mounds. It is locally known as Khera. The potsherds are scattered in an area of 15 ha and the height of the mound is about 10 m high from the surrounding levels. It is oval in shape and its longer axis is from east to west. The pottery recovered during the explorations belongs to the Late Harappan (Dangi 2009:111), PGW, Kushana, Gupta and Medieval periods (Singh 1981: 82‐83).

The site Igra‐2 (29°12ʹ45.3ʺN, 76°15ʹ51.1ʺE) is situated about 1.5 km east of the present village. A bullock‐cart track leads to the site which is 0.5 km south of the Igra‐Buwana Road. It falls in the fields of ShriChhaju Ram, s/o Shri Nanak and is highly damaged. ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3: 2015

The nature of the site is habitational. It is locally known as Ranawala. The potsherds are scattered in an area of 3 ha and levelled for agricultural purposes. It is rectangular in shape and its longer axis is oriented from north to south. The site has yielded the remains of the Ghaggar‐Hakra culture, Early Harappan, Late Harappan and Historical periods.

The site Igra‐3 (29°14ʹ37.1ʺN, 76°15ʹ22.2ʺE) is situated about 2 km north of the present village. A bullock‐cart track leads to the site. It falls in the fields of Shri Hukam Singh, s/o ShriMalha Singh. The site has been highly disturbed. It is locally known as Mandor. The potsherds are scattered in an area of 1 ha and levelled for agricultural purposes. It is rectangular in shape and its longer axis is oriented from east to west. The site has yielded remains of the Late Harappan and PGW cultures (Dangi 2009:111).

During the course of explorations present authors recovered sixteen coins from the site Igra‐1.These include Uninscribed cast coins, Indo‐Scythian ,Kushana, Yaudheyas and Samantadeva (Fig. 2). Rest of the coins belongs to Medieval period.

Figure 1: General map of Haryana showing village Igra

Uninscribed Cast Coins The earliest indigenous coins after punch‐marked coins are the uninscribed cast coins. These coins were minted using cast techniques but sometimes die‐struck coins are also found. These coins are usually round and square. The round ones have elephant on

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Figure 2: Coins from Igra‐1 obverse and three arched hill on the reverse, while the square coins bears elephant, swastika topped standard taurine on the obverse and tree in railing. Bow cross and arched hill on the reverse. Cast coins are usually found in central India, U.P., Haryana,

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Punjab, and or we can say that these coins were reported from entire India expect extreme south. From the stratigraphical context cast coins usually found along with punch marked coins and Northern Black Polished Ware. Allan (1936) dated these coins 3rd‐2nd Century B.C., Cunningham (1981:60) believes that these coins started about the end of 6th Century B.C. along with punch marked coins. The uninscribed cast coins continued to be in circulation in mid‐Ganga valley upto the Sunga period or little later to that. Uninscribed cast coins were earlier reported from Jind district (Singh 1982: 230‐231). During explorations one such coin was found from Igra‐1 (Fig. 2.1).

Uninscribed Cast Coin (Fig. 2.1) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler ‐ Metal Copper Size 13.3 mm Size 2.89 mm Weight 2.5 gm Shape Circular Obverse Elephant with rider moving left Reverse Three arched hill with crescent

Indo‐Scythian Coins Indo‐Scythians (Sakas) ruled over north‐west including , Sind, Kashmir, Haryana, , and UP. The first Indo‐Scythian ruler was who established his rule over Gandhara during 1st Century B.C after destroying the Greek kingdom. Azes‐1 and were the other famous rulers of this dynasty. The Indo‐ Scythian rulers circulated coins of several varieties in copper and silver. Their coin bears Greek legend on the obverse and Kharosthi legend on the reverse. During the course of the exploration two copper coins of were found from Igra‐1, who ruled over region around 10 A.D (Figs. 2.2 & 2.3).

Indo‐Scythian Coin (Fig. 2.2) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler Rajuvula (Indo‐Scythian) Metal Copper Size 13.4 mm Size 3 mm Weight 1.90 gm Shape Circular Obverse Head of the king to the right, wearing scarf and diademed, traces of Greek inscription Reverse Athena Alkidemos standing left, holding horizontal shield on outstretched left arm, hurling thunderbolt with right hand, Kharoshthi legend around: Chatrapasaapratihatachakrasarajuvulasa

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Indo‐Scythian Coin (Fig. 2.3) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler Rajuvula (Indo‐Scythian) Metal Copper Size 13.3 mm Size 2.98 mm Weight 1.85 gm Shape Circular Obverse Head of the king to the right, wearing scarf and diademed, traces of Greek inscription Reverse Athena Alkidemos standing left, holding horizontal shield on outstretched left arm, hurling thunderbolt with right hand, Kharoshthi legend around: Chatrapasaapratihatachakrasarajuvulasa

Yaudheya Coins Yaudheyas were one of the powerful tribal republics of ancient India. coins are usually found almost all over the region of Haryana, Punjab, northern Rajasthan, , some part of , Uttrakhand and in Bhawalpur region of Pakistan. During the exploration, the author found two Yaudheyas coin from the site. These coins were in a fair state of preservation when found and have been chemical treated and conserved. One coin (Fig. 2.4) belongs to C. second‐first century B.C. and another one coin (Fig. 2.6) belongs to c. third ‐ fourth centuries A.D.

Yaudheya Coin (Fig. 2.4) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler ‐ Metal Copper Size 19.5 mm Size 3.2 mm Weight 4.5 gm Shape Circular Obverse Bull farcing to right on a yupa, Brahmi legend: YaudheyanamBahudhnake Reverse Blur

Yaudheya coins were found in a number of varieties therefore many scholars had classified them in many classes. Canningham divided these coins into three types (Cunningham 1891:76‐77), Allan (1936: 90‐94) classified these coins into six classes with sub‐types and three periods. But most of the scholars accept K.D. Bajpai (1973:90‐94) classification. He classified Yaudheya coins basically in three classes, Class I is of ‘bull‐ elephant’ bearing coins of second‐first century B.C. Class‐II is of the coins bearing ‘six headed Karttikeya’ and Class‐III is bearing the legend Yaudheyasganasyajaya. Class‐III coins apart from Yaudheyasganasyajaya have dvi and tri as addition legends. Saraswati(1979) holds the view that the Yaudheyas defeated the Kushanas thrice. After

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the first victory, they issued the coins with the legend Yaudheyasganasyajaya, while after the second victory they added the word dvi. After the third victory, they put tri along with the legend. Coins found during explorations fall in the Class‐I and Class‐III.

Yaudheya Coin (Fig. 2.6) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler ‐ Metal Copper Size 23.4 mm Size 4.5 mm Weight 10.82 gm Shape Circular Obverse Karttikeya standing facing holding a spear in his right hands and his left hand resting on his hip. A peacock stands near his left foot. Brahmi legend: Yaudheyaganasyajaya, between head of Karttikeya and spear: tri Reverse Female deity in tribhanga mudra with her right hand raised and her left hand resting on her hip. Border of dots, conch shell are placed to the left of the deity and a sri vats symbol

Kushana Coins Kushanas were a branch of the Yueh‐chi race of China, who were dislodged from their original homeland in the middle of the second century B.C. During the first century A.D. they reached India. The first ruler of Kushana dynasty in India was , his successor was Wima Kadphises. Kaniska was the successor Wima Kadphises. After Kaniska, Huviska was the ruler and later on Vasudeva‐I and Vasudeva‐II ruled over northern India. Among the imperial dynasty of ancient India Kushana were the first who issued the gold coins regularly. The earliest Kushana coins are of copper and sometime in silver issuesed by Kujula Kadphises. These coins bear the bust of Hermaeus, the last Parthian ruler. Wima Kadphises are different from

Kushana Coin (Fig. 2.5) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler Metal Copper Size 16.5 mm Size 3.5 mm Weight 4.30 gm Shape Circular Obverse King Standing, wearing a crown, diademed and a long coat, holding long spear in left hand and putting sacrificing at altar with left hand, Greek leged around: þAO ... þAη (King Kanishka) Reverse Goddess Nana standing right, nimbate, holding a bowl, traces of Greek legend probably: NANA

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Kujula Kadphises. He issued copper coins of earlier traditions but he was the first ruler who introduced gold coins in India. Wima Kadphises was succeeded by Kanishka who issued coins of copper and gold. On the coins of Kanishka, the king is shown standing, offering incense at the altar and holding spear. He added the bilingual tradtion of Greek and Kharosti and retained only Greek. On the reverse of the coins various deities are depicted. Huviska introduced new varieties of coins. On his coins along with Indian deities, Greek and Iranian deities were depicted. Coins of Vasudeva‐I and Vasudeva‐II are found in large number in the region. One copper coin of Kanishka was found from Igra‐1 (Fig. 2.5).

Sahi Coins In about the second half of the 9th Century A.D. Sahi ruled over the regions of Gandhara and Kabul. The coins of this dynasty are common in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Punjab, Haryana and throughout northern India. The rulers of this dynasty issued coins of copper and silver with their own devices and weight. Silver coins of Samantdeva and Spalpatideva were the standard currency of that period. Even these coins were issued posthumously in their names. Not only their currency was copied by

Sahi Coin (Fig. 2.7) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler Samantadeva Metal Copper Size 16.7 mm Size 2.9mm Weight 2.70 gm Shape Circular Obverse King riding on a caparisoned horse to right, holding a long lance in the right hand Reverse Recumbent humped bull shitting to the left, Nagri legend: Sri Samantadeva

Sahi Coin (Fig. 2.8) Provenience Igra‐1 Ruler Samantadeva Metal Copper Size 17.0 mm Size 2.8 mm Weight 2.75 gm Shape Circular Obverse King riding on a caparisoned horse to right, holding a long lance in the right hand Reverse Recumbent humped bull shitting to the left, Nagrilegend: Sri Samantadeva

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the succeeding dynasties but they also retained the legend i.e. Samantadeva or Spalpatideva on their coins, while on the reverse they re‐struck their own devices on legends. The most common type of coins that the rulers issued has a horseman with a big lance in the right hand on the obverse and recumbent bull to the left with saddle cloth and inscription. Coins bearing the name Samantadeva without prefix were issued by Tomara ruler Sullakahanapala (978‐1008 A.D.) and Anangapala (1049‐1097 A.D.) During explorations two Sahis coins were found from Igra‐1 (Figs. 2.7 & 2.8).

Discussion In the area around Igra a number of sites including Jind, Anta, Rasidan‐1, Hatt, Saunkhra‐1, Kharak Pandwan, Kalawan‐4 and Jaijaivanti (Singh 1981:228‐262) Padana‐ 1 (Dangi 2009:139) has yielded not only stray coins but coins hoard also. Though the coins discussed in the paper do not provide much information, this does not diminish its importance. As we know the study of coins is focused on the monetary history, apart from this their creation and their use as money. John S. Deyell (1990) analysed the coins in the South Asian context and concluded that the geographical analysis of the coins can be highlighted only if the researcher duly reports coins and hoards of base material or of lesser known kings. If the discovery of each coin is analyzed on the basis of their find spots, metal content and legends, it can help scholars throw valuable light on money supply in a given period. If discovery of coins and coin hoards of a given period are recorded then we can trace the characteristic pattern of the use of a particular type of money and its number and type can provide idea about the volume of money supply, which is a key unit of analysis for economic historians. Even the tentative conclusions drawn on the basis of incomplete reporting have considerable utility to economic historian. Money supply is one of the fundamental causative factors for economic growth. This can be measured by the study of number of coins type, die studies and number of hoards. The abundance or paucity of coins in an area can be calculated via the volume of coins in the context of time and space. Most of the scholars have not classified the evidence in a format of utility to economic studies; they are mostly deducing information about aesthetic, symbolism and royal genealogy.

The site of Igra has yielded coins from the C. second century B.C‐third century B.C. to early medieval period, which speaks about the importance of the site. The size (15 hectare) and cultural deposit of 10 meters shows that Igra‐1 was an important urban center during the historical times and played an important role in the economic history of North India. Villagers informed the researchers that they often found coins which were often sold to. Future excavations at the site can throw ample light on the importance of this site.

References Allan, John 1936. Catalogue of the Coins of Ancient India, Printed in the Great Britain at the University Press, Oxford, London. Bajpai, K.D. 1973 Journal of Numismatic Society of India Vo. XXXV, Varanasi.

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Cunningham, A. 1881.Coins of Ancient India: From Earliest times Dawn to Seventh Century A.D.B. Quaritch 15 Piccadilly, London. Dangi, Vivek 2009. ‘Recent explorations in the Chautang Basin (Jind District, Haryana)’, in T. Osada and A. Uesugi (Eds.) Occasional Paper 9: Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past. Indus Project, Kyoto. pp.73‐163. Dangi, Vivek 2010.A Study of Proto‐Historic Settlements in Upper Ghaggar Basin. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, M.D. University, Rohtak, Haryana, India. Deyell, John S. 1990.Living Without Silver: The Monetary History of Early Medieval North India, Delhi Oxford University Press. Omanand Saraswati 1979. Ancient Mints of Haryana (in Hindi) Jhajjar. Singh, Amar 1981. Archaeology of and Jind Districts (Haryana), Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India.

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