Dasavatara (Ten Incarnations) of Lord Vishnu and Coins

In Bhagwat Gita Shri Krishna declares that God himself incarnates to eradicate the evil, to put an end to the chaos that prevailed in a peaceful society. Incarnations or the Avtaras is a core concept of Hinduism and are are associated with Lord Vishnu. According to the ''Bhagwat Purana'', Vishnu had innumerable Avtaras in unlimited universes, though there are ten major incarnations, known collectively as Dasavataras. This concept is not treated as mere mythological or religious stories but is deep rooted in Indian society. The stories of Dasavataras open up a vast world of Indian belief systems, culture and philosophy as well as answers the metaphysical question of ''How it all began'' and ''How is it going to end". 

The depiction of Dasavataras on many ancient Indian coins, is further evidence of this acceptance since ancient times and keeps the philosophy alive.                        

Kingdom of Mysore, 1799-1868 AD, Narasimha (Avatara of Vishnu), gold, Fanam.

                        

Dashavatara Temple is an early 6th century temple located at Deogarh, Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh, now in ruins built in Gupta period. After extensive study by the Archaeological Survey of India, starting in 1899, it is now accepted that the ten avatars of Vishnu were carved on the temple, but all reliefs are not present. Evidence of reliefs showing Krishna, Narasimha, Vamana, Buddha, Rama and others are still present. 

 

Matsya. In Sanskrit, Matsya means a fish. During the early phase of Satya Yuga, a fish appeared in front of king Manu and warned him about a Pralay (flood) that could destroy the universe. The section 1.8.1 of the Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajur Veda) is the earliest extant text to mention Matsya and the flood myth in Hinduism. The tale also appears in sec.186 of Book 3 (the Vana Parva) of the epic Mahabharata. The fish instructed Manu to build a boat that would contain the Seven Sages (Sapt Rishis), seeds of all plants, one animal of each species. The prediction was true. After seven days huge floods came, and the boat sailed. The fish appeared again and propelled the boat and saved those on it. This was the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu.

                        

Fish faced Natsya in Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura, consecrated in 1258 AD, located 38 km east of Mysuru city. 

                         

Saurashtra Janapada, 400-300 BC, weight 0.91 gm, Dia 19 mm, Fish on Obverse,                    

                         

Pandyas of Madurau, copper coin of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya (1251-1238 AD), Ganesh Tamil Nadu, weight 4.4 gm, Obverse: Stylized standard man, Tamil letter Su to right, Reverse: Pair of fish, Tamil legend Ellantalaiyanan around.                           

Chola kings, Rajaraja I, 985-1014 AD, Fanam, weight 0.50 gm, Dia 10 mm, Tanjore mint, Obverse: Seated tiger with two fishes, Reverse: Tamil legend. 

The Matsyavatar of Vishnu is narrated as ''Flood being the end of the world'', myth which is common across most cultures. It can be compared to the Genisis narrative of Abrahamic tradition, commonly known as Noah's Ark.

Kurma. The Sanskrit word Kurma means Tortoise and Turtle. The second Avatara. This is mentioned in the Bhagvata Purana and Yajur Veda. In this form Vishnu took the form of a giant tortoise to support the mountain Mandara during the churning the ocean (Samudra Manthan) to retrieve the nectar immortality (amrita). 

                            

Saurastra Janapada, Die struck, copper, weight 5.1 gm, Dia 18mm, 75-50 BC, Obverse: human figure of lord shiva holding trident in left hand, Reverse: Gujarat double tortoise.

The Kurma Avatar holds a very deep and significant philosophy behind it. The Avatar symbolizes the importance of stability and support in achieving great tasks. The tortoise with its sturdy shell, represents the idea of a strong foundation.  

                              

Varaha. The third incarnation was the Varaha or the boar. The word Varaha is found in the Rig Veda and the epic Ramayana.   Lord Vishnu took the incarnation and rescued the Mother Earth which had submerged in the ocean and brought the earth out by lifting it on two tusks from the ocean after killing the demon, Hiranyaksha. Varaha Avatara represents the transformation of materialistic desires into spiritual desires. It signifies a positive turning point that comes in the life of everyone which helps to outgrow materialism and yearn for spiritual awakening.   

                           

The Varaha panel in Cave 5, Udayagiri Caves, is one of the most studied reliefs from the Gupta Empire 400 AD, reign of Chandragupta.
                       

 

Mihara Bhoja I, Gujara Pratiharas, 836-885 AD, Drachm, Silver, weight 4 gm, Dia 21 mm, Obverse: Varaha to right, various Vaishnavite symbols including trident to left and wheel under the foot, Reverse: Symbols and legend translating to " srimad adi/varaha",

 

Narasimha. In his fourth incarnation Vishnu appeared as Narasimha. The Asura king Hiranykashipu obtained a boon of invincibility from lord Brahma that he would die neither indoors nor outdoors, neither on earth nor on heaven, neither during day nor night, neither by fire nor by water or any weapon. He soon turned into a tyrant. When he became a nuisance, Vishnu appeared as Narasimha, half lion and half human. The lion represents courage and power, while the man represents intelligence and compassion. He arrived at dusk, in the courtyard and tore the Asurya apart with his nails, which were not termed as a weapon. In South Indian art, sculptures and paintings, Narasimha is one of the most chosen themes.

                           

Narasimha Statue, fourth century AD, Andhra Pradesh.

                                             

Mysore Krishna Raja Wodeyar, (AH 1214-1225, AD 1799-1810) gold fanam, weight 0.39 gm, Dia 5.8 mm, Obverse: Narasimha seated, Reverse: Kanarese legend Kanthirava Narsa Raja.

  

Vamana. Vishnu took the form of a dwarf Brahmin to subdue King Bali. The story goes like this, King Bali was a mighty demon who had assumed control of heaven, earth and the netherworlds that threatened the position of Indra as the king of Gods. Vishnu appeared in front of Bali when he was performing a sacrifice. Vamana went to Bali and asked him three steps of land, to which Bali laughed and said that he should have asked for many luxurious things in Dakshina. Vamana showed his true identity and grew so large, that one foot size could cover the earth and the other the whole heaven and his step claimed the netherworlds. Since there was nowhere else to step on, Bali offered his head. Vamana spared Bali's life and granted him the netherworlds. Lord Vishnu regained the heaven for Indra. Hidden behind this Avatara is the message conveying humility and unlike other forms, Vishnu overcame this problem with intelligence, not violence or weapons. 

                            

Madurai Nayaks, Venkatapathiraya II (1586-1614 AD), copper Kasu, weight 3.5 gm, Obverse: Standing Vishnu, Reverse: Telugu legend in two lines," Vem ka ta pa."

Parshuram. Lord Vishnu took birth to restore peace disturbed by injustice and tyranny of the kings. The birth name of Parshuram was Bhargava Rama. He had received an axe (Parsu) from Lord Shiva after undertaking terrible reparation. Hence, he came to be known as Parshuram. He killed Arjuna Kartavirya, the king of Haihaya kingdom and his entire clan. After the killings he travelled to the south to seek penance for his deeds and reached the western ghats. At that time land ended there and ocean began. Parshuram called upon Varuna (God of ocean) to recede. Varuna agreed to recede as far west as Parshuram's arrow would go. The arrow was shot from today's Sahyadris (Chiplun) and landed in Bannali, modern day Goa. This land comprises regions of Konkan, coastal Karnataka and Kerala, and the inhabitants owe their lineage to Parshuram. 

                        

Commemorative Stamp, Parshuram, 2023.                       

                            

Venad Cheras, 1118-1180 AD, Copper Kasu, Battle Axe type, Grantha ''Ra'' above.  

                      

Vijayanagar Empire, half Pagoda, Hari Hara II, 1377-1404 AD, gold, weight 1.7 gm, Dia 9 mm, Obverse: Shiva and Parvati seated facing, Shiva holding Parasu(axe), Reverse: Devangari legend, sri pra/ ta pa ha ri/ ha ra, lettering Sri Pratapa Harihara.

Rama. The seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu was a personification of righteousness and human values that appeared in Treta Yuga. He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, a text historically popular in the South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. He is one of the major deities of India and has been honoured on numerous coins. The whole journey of Rama's life is a lesson for mankind.                            

Siya Ram Coin, Akbar, 1604-1605 AD, Obverse: Ram carrying his bow and arrow with Sita, Reverse: Amardad Ilahi 50, meaning the 50th year of reign of Akbar.

Krishna. The eight Avatara of Lord Vishnu appeared in Dvapara Yuga as Krishna. The preacher of the world's biggest doctrine Bhagwat Gita and the Sarathi (charioteer) of the greatest archer of his age, Krishna is one of the most popular and attractive gods of the sub-continent. Many of his forms are depicted on coins.

                          

Agathocles 180 BC, Obverse: Balarama-Samkarshana with Greek legend, Reverse: Vasudeva-Krishna or Lord Krishna with Shankha and Sudarshan Chakra, Brahmi legend.

 

Buddha. The ninth Avatar appeared in Kaliyuga, the most notorious phase of the existence of the universe. When the world had lost real understanding of the scriptures and was stooped in ignorance, Buddha an enlightened man restated the importance of self-realization and self-effort in realizing oneself. The adoption of Buddha as one of the Avatars was a catalyzing factor in assimilation during the Gupta period, between 330 and 550 BC. By the 8th century AD, the Buddha was declared an Avatar of Vishnu in several Puranas.   Some Vaishnavas do not accept Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu and gave Balarama as the eight and Krishna as the ninth Avatars.

                           

Kushan, Kanishka, 127-152 AD, Dinar, gold, weight 7.9 gm, Obverse: Kanishka standing facing left, holding standard in left hand, sacrificing over altar to left, Reverse: Buddha standing facing, wearing samghati, right hand raised and tamgha to right.

 

Kalki. The tenth Avatara of Visnu is yet to appear. Kalki appears in Mahabharata, over verses 3.188.85-3.189.6. Kalki incarnation is found in Maha Puranas such as Vishnu Puran, Matsya Puran and Bhagvat Puran. The redemption which we as yet await, will be that of Kalki, who will come as a Silver Stallion, all evils will perish at the coming of this Kalki. He is said to appear at the end of Kal Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence. He ends the darkest period. Kali is not portrayed on coins, but an India Post in 2008, issued a special stamp depicting a blue skinned man sitting on a white horse and slaying evil around him.

                          

Kalki, on a white horse, portrayed on an India Poat Stamp, 2008.

         

Newspapers in India honoured with Stamps.

Early morning, a cup of tea and the newspaper, was once a peaceful morning scene in many households. The silent voice, providing a solace in the noisy world of media today, with a strong print order of over 60 million. For more than 150 years, they have remained the conscious ''mouthpiece'' of Indian society. The first newspaper of India was published on 29th January 1780 by James Augustus Hicky under the British Raj and its name was ''The Bengal Gazette''. It was also called ''Calcutta General Advertiser'', and people remember it as ''Hicky's Gazette''. This paper was printed once a week on Saturday. Printed in English-language, it was the first newspaper in Asia. 

By the late 19th century, the newspaper had become a strong medium to express a nationalist thought process.

Let us see the Newspapers published in India in English and native languages that have been honoured by creating them on stamps. These have been broadly classified as the Newspapers published in the Pre-Independence era and the post-Independence era.

The Times of India, also known as TOI, is an Indian, English language newspaper and is the largest selling English language daily in the world. Its first edition was published on 3 November 1838. It is owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, which is owned by the Sahu Jain family.                       

                          

                                           

Two postage stamps were released; the first, a Rs 1.50 stamp, was issued in 1988, and the second was released in 2013 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of its initial publication.

The first Indian newspaper in the native language is the Assam newspaper cum magazine Orunodoi. The advent of British in Assam ushered in, among things, the first printing press. It was published by the Christian Missionaries. The tagline of the newsmagazine was ''The Orunodoi, monthly paper, devoted to religion, science and general intelligence''. 

                        

To commemorate the 150th year, India Post issued a Rs 3 stamp in 1999 which depicts the front page of the newspaper.

Following the Assam newspaper, by late 19th century, political leaders and social reformers were taking active participation in journalism. One such was ''Amrita Bazar Patrika'', established in 1868. Perhaps it is one of the reasons among many others, for the government to pass the ''Vernacular Press Act'' in 1876.

                          

On the Centenary of the publishing of the newspaper, India Post issued a 15 paise commemorative stamp.

Meanwhile, in Kottayam, in Kerala, the first edition of the Malayala Manorama Newspaper was published on 22 March 1890. Kandathil Varghese Mappillai brought out the first edition. This newspaper would stay away from religion. Though the first edition was a weekly, the newspaper became bi-weekly in 1901, thrice a week in 1918, before becoming a daily newspaper in 1928.

                         

A special commemorative stamp of Re 1 was issued to commemorate the 100 years of the newspaper which features the building of Malayala Manorma Company Limited.

With the establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885the newspapers like Young India, Harijan, Kesari, Maratha etc. started being printed in various vernacular languages. One was an Odia daily newspaper, The Samaj. Published in Cuttack, Odisha, the newspaper started in 1919. Gopabandhu Das, a prominent freedom fighter and social worker started it as a weekly from Satyabadi in Puri district of Odisha. 

                         

The paper celebrated its centenary in 2019, with a commemorative stamp worth Rs 5. The stamp depicts the front page of the newspaper in the background with an effigy of its founder, Gopalbandhu Das.

The year when the freedom struggle of India reached its crescendo and found expression in the ''Quit India Movement'', Dainik Jagaran was launched. This was one of the last newspapers published during the pre-independence era, it was in Hindi language. It was launched with a vision of the revolutionary freedom fighter, Late Shri Puran Chandra Gupta, reflecting the free voice of the people. 

                            

In the year 2012, the newspaper completed its 70th year which was celebrated by India Post with a Rs 5 stamp.

After 1947, when India became an independent state, the first newspaper published after three months was Navjivan Daily. This was published by The Associated Journals Ltd on 01 November 1947.This was started with an intention to promote the principals of Mahatma Gandhi's freedom movement. The main objective of the newspaper was to speed up the creation of democratic, liberal and modern India. 

                           

In 1999, India Post issued a Rs 3 stamp with a portrait of Indulal Kanhaiyalal Yagnik. A boy and a girl are seen raising the Indian flag with the newspaper in the background. 

The last but not the least among the newspapers is the Rajasthan Patrika. It is one of the oldest Hindi newspapers of Rajasthan. It was started by Sh Kapoor Chandra Kulish in 1956. 

                         

This newspaper is honoured with a special stamp worth Rs 5, which depicts the newspaper in the background with the portrait of the founder in the foreground.

Even though the world has favoured the electronic media the newspaper is silently fulfilling its duty towards society.

 

  

India's Forgotten Air Warriors of World War I

 

Every stamp tells a story. These valuable pieces of paper unfold the past events and tell us lesser heard stories. The story that these collectable pieces of paper are telling us today is the story of a Great War, The World War I, and about a series of stamps, called ''Indian Air Warriors of World War I''. There seems to be little awareness about the role of India's air warriors in the Great War, and sadly very little is known about them. Four of these almost forgotten Indians flew as combat pilots, Lieutenant Hardit Singh Malik, Lieutenant S.C. Welinkar, 2nd Lieutenant E.S.C. Sen and Lieutenant I.L. Roy, DFC.

                        

Rs 15, Lt H.S. Malik, Indians in First World War, stamp.

 

Lt H.S. Malik. He was the first Indian to fly as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. He was born on 23rd Nov 1894 in a Sikh family of Rawalpindi. At the age of 14 years, Hardit left his childhood and went to Britain in the pursuit of higher learning. War broke out as soon as he finished his second year of college at Oxford University. He joined the Air Force and became honorary 2Lt H.S. Malik, RFC, Special Reserve on 05 Apr 1917. Not only was he the first Indian in any flying service in the world, but he was also the first non-Brit with a turban and beard to become a fighter pilot, which was against every British Army regulation of the day. 

                        

1917 photograph of 2Lt H.S. Malik

He went into action in Sep 1917, initially from St Omer airfield and then from Drogland in Belgium. In one such flight, he shot down one enemy aircraft but was attacked by four enemy aircrafts. He got shot in the leg, crashed, but was saved. After recovery he returned to France to continue operational service. Malik relinquished his RAF commission in 1919. 

                       

Casualty Card of Lt H.S. Malik.

 

He passed the Indian Civil Service exam in 1921 and joined in 1922 as assistant commissioner in Sheikhupura. Later, he served as India's High Commissioner to Canada and later as Ambassador to France after India's independence. Highly respected by British, Canadian and European comrade-in-arms. He also played first-class cricket between 1914 and 1930. His awards include Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, Order of the British Empire and the Order of the Indian Empire. He retired in 1957 when he was promoted to the rank of a group captain. He died in Delhi in 1985.

                      

Block of four stamps, Lt Indra Lal Roy, DFC, Rs 15.

Lt Indra Lal Roy, DFC.  Known as India's ''Ace'' Over Flanders, he was one of India's World War I, flying ace who served in the RFC and claimed 10 aerial victories, in a span of two weeks in July 1918. Born on 2nd Dec 1898, he grew up in Calcutta in the household of a barrister. His family was originally from the Barisal district in the present-day Bangladesh. When the war broke out, he was still in school, at the 400-year-old St. Paul's outside London. After turning 18, he joined the RFC, which was a corps of the British army. He was commissioned in 1917. 

                       

 Photograph of Flt Lt Indra Lal Roy in uniform.

                           

 Rs 3, postage stamp of Lt Indra Lal Roy, DFC.    

One of his experiences in war is breathtaking. In late 1917 while posted with 56 Sqn RFC, he was knocked unconscious, taken for dead and left in the morgue along with the dead. When he came to, he banged on the morgue door and shouted for help. After his recovery, he returned to duty and was posted to 40 Sqn. Over the next two weeks he achieved 10 victories. However, on 22 July 1918, he was attacked by four Fokker DVI. two of the attackers were shot down, but Roy was seen going down in flames over Carvin. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in Sep 1918, three weeks before his 20th birthday. 

                       

Indra Lal Roys's grave at Estevelles Communal Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.

He claimed five aircraft destroyed and five ''down out of control'' in just over 170 hours flying time.

                        

Rs 5 postage stamp of Lt S.C. Wellingkar, Indians in First World War.

Lt S.C.Wellinkgar, (Shrikrishna Chandra Wellingkar). He was born in 1894 in Bombay. A member of the Gwalior royal family household, he attended St Xavier's School in Bombay, after which he joined Jesus College, Cambridge, in Lent. In 1917, he was commissioned a temporary 2nd Lt in the RAF and was conferred the rank of flying officer in June 1917. 

                        

Photograph as a 2nd Lt.

He joined a little earlier than Lt. Roy, but they were on the same mission. He was shot down on 27 June 1918 flying his Dolphin (No D3691) and died of wounds on 30 June 1918 in a German field hospital in a town named ''Rouvroy''. He was initially buried in a cemetery under the name ''Oberleutnant S.C. Wumkar'' and that believing him to have been a German officer, the French authorities had reinterred his body in Maucourt German Cemetery. In 1920, the grave is believed to have been opened and tentatively identified the remains as belonging to an RAF flying officer, based on the airman's boots and watch the corpse was wearing. The body was reinterred in the Hangard Communal Cemetery. During his service, he was awarded the Military Cross. His death in action is commemorated at the Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, at Somme, France.

                        

Lt E.S. Chunder Sen, Indians in First World War, 2019 postage stamp.

Lt E.S. Chunder Sen (Erroll Chunder Sen). was born in Calcutta. At an early age he moved with his mother, brother and sister to England. At the age of 18 years, he was awarded a temporary honorary commission in the RFC as a 2nd Lt. After two months at Reading, followed by 25 hours of elementary flying training and 35 hours in frontline aircrafts, Sen was posted to the western front along with Lt Roy and Lt Wellingkar. While taking part in an offensive patrol, he experienced engine failure and dropped behind the rest. In an attempt to catch up with the others, he was lost in a cloud and was attacked by four enemy aircrafts. He was hit and crashed outside Menin (outside Belgium Province). He was in a prisoner-of -war camp for the remainder of the war. He was repatriated to the UK in Dec 1918.

                        

Erroll Sen seated on ground, in Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp, 1918.

Following the repatriation, Sen was promoted Lieutenant in Apr 1919 and was transferred to the unemployed list of the RAF. He returned to India and joined the Indian Imperial Police as an assistant superintendent in 1921. Lt Sen also witnessed World War II and was doing war duty. It is said that he spent the last few days in Burma and is believed to have died there. 

Sadly, very little is known about Indian Air Warriors of World War I, beyond the bare facts, in British records. They were from well-off families, attended prestigious schools, and fought gallantly with courage. 

                       

India Post released a set of Indians in First Word War, Air Warriors, set of four (miniature sheet) stamps in 2019.

                          

First Day Cover (FDC), showing an anti-aircraft gun position manned by Indian soldiers getting ready to engage an enemy aircraft. In the background is a brick/stone memorial, with names of fallen soldiers inscribed and it shows the four Air Warriors represented on stamps.

 

India's Maritime History and Coins

 

India has had a very rich maritime heritage since ancient times.  Around 3700 BC, one of the world's earliest ports was built in the city of Lothal (Gujarat, India) by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. This was the beginning of the maritime history in the Indian subcontinent. The boat fragments are found on the painted potsherd and an unfired steatite seal of a boat are excavated at Mohen-jo-daro. The Indus valley was called as Melluha and it was mentioned in Mesopotamian texts, both of the ancient civilization had trading contacts with each other. Of course, this would not have been possible without maritime trading activities. 

                         

An ancient Indian ship on lead coin of Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi, Satavahana Empire, 1st - 2nd century AD.

The earliest Indian scriptures like Rig Veda, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Atharva Veda, Samhita, etc. give references about boats and ships faring Samudra (Ocean). Also, the Buddhist Pali texts and the Jakarta references about sea voyages, shipbuilding and maritime activities exist. Arthashastra also mentions the boats. The word ''navigator'' also is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word ''Nav Garth''.

                       

Indus valley seal. Boat with direction-finding birds to find land.

During the Nanda and Maurya era, (500-200 BC), India's maritime influence expanded, spreading its culture and beliefs. Megasthenes documented the Mauryan naval administration, detailing the first ever recorded Navy's role in naval warfare and navigation.

Boat as a symbol in Indian ancient numismatics was seen for the first time on the silver Punch -Marked PMC) of the Vagna-Janapada. This was the western part of West Bengal in 200-100 BC. The coin has a sun, boat, six armed symbols and an open cross depicted on it. These coins are found in the region of the Lower Ganga/ Brahamputra where boats would have been an effective means of transportation and trade.

                        

Vanga Janapada of Bengal, 2nd century BC, Karshapana, weight 3.7 gm, Obverse: Three punches, river boat, wheel and six-armed symbol, Reverse: Conch symbol.

                         

Vanga Janapada of Bengal, 2nd century BC, Karshapana, weight 3.5 gm, Obverse: Three punches, river boat, wheel and six-armed symbol, Reverse: Conch symbol.

Kurapurika was an ancient city-state of India around 200 BC in North India. Kurapurika was a Purika of the ancient times. According to    Fleet, Urika was located to the south of the island of Mahismati (in the Khandwa district) on the Narmada. They issued inscribed and uninscribed coins. The inscribed coins bear the Brahmi legend ''Kurapurika''. The boat symbol is often seen on these coins and also the coins of Ujjain (200-100 BC).

                            

Bell Metal Coin of Kurapurika City State with boat.

Ship/Boat as an independent symbol on coins was introduced for the first time in Indian Numismatics by the Satavahanas.

Vasisthiputra Pulumavi and Gautamiputra Yajna Sri Satakarni issued coins depicting ships on them. On the coins of Vasisthiputra Pulumavi, we observe ship with masts. These ship motif coins have been found from the shores of Madras and Cuddalore. While on the coins of Gautamiputra Yajna Sri Satakarni, a ship with two masts and a fish and conch are also seen.

                            

Satavahana dynasty, Gautamiputra Yajna Sri Satkarni (167-196 AD), Lead, weight 8.9 gm, Obverse: A ship with two masts, double strings for mast polls and furling flags for moving direction indication, a fish and a conch shell at bottom, Brahmi legend ''(Shri) Samisa Sri Yana Satakanisa, Reverse: Ujjaini symbol with a dot in each orb and a crescent attached.

These coins depict ships having one or two masts. They were sea surfing ships of large size and high tonnage. It is possible to discern certain characteristics of the boats used during that period.

Shalankayana, a vassal power of Pallavas , was an ancient ruling dynasty in the region of Andhra (300 AD to 440 AD). One of the coins depicts a lion on the obverse and ship with two masts on the reverse. The obverse lion is similar to the Satavahana ruler coins. This combination of a lion and a ship with two masts is seen for the first-time on this coin series in the subcontinent too. The sea power of the Shalankayana helped them to establish the overseas contacts and spread Buddhism to Myanmar and Thailand.

                          

Pallavas of Kanchi, uninscribed alloyed copper, weight 2.4 gm, Obverse: bull standing facing right, a crescent and Shrivatsa above, Reverse: traces of a two-masted ship. 

By the 4th century AD, the Pallavas became a dominant power in the south and established a strong naval power on the Coromandel Coast. This is seen by their coin issued by them. The initial coins depicted a single mast ship and later kings issued coins showing double masts.

                         

Pallava coin depicting ship with masts, Obverse: Bull facing right, Reverse: ship with masts.

The depiction of a ship on coins from a single mast to double masts not only show the transformation in the shipbuilding technique but also the improved economic conditions with the sea trade.

                          

Relief depicting an ancient ship likely to have been used by Indians sailing to Java, Indonesia.

These coins are found as far as Khuan Luck Pot in Thailand signifying the trade contacts with these countries. 

                       

Painted depiction of a three-masted sailship, 5th century from Ajanta Caves.

                          

In the medieval period, we don't come across any boat or ship on coins. Maybe the ships were so common that the rulers didn't find it important to portray them on coins. However, we do see them in medieval art. A ship carving is seen on the Shiva temple of 1100 AD at Tirumangalam (Tamil Nadu), depicting upturned stern and stem with high waves. Some other representations of boats in art forms are seen at Orrisa, Puri, Goa, Konark, Dilawara temples (Mt Abu, Rajasthan), Gujarat etc.

There are many other dynasties and rulers who had a strong hold on navy but are not known to have depicted ships on their coins. Chola, Cheras, Pandyas and Marathas are few renowned sea traders and naval forces.

                             

The Chola Empire (3rd to 13th century), initiated their grand naval conquests during the reign of two of its most illustrious monarchs, Raja Raja Chola (985-1014 AD) and his son Rajendra Chola (1012-1044 AD).

                        

Chola territories during Rajendra Chola I, 1030 AD,

Under Rajendra Chola they expanded the empire with the use of their strong navy and subdued many kingdoms of South-East Asia and occupied Myanmar,  Malaya, Sumatra etc and sent ambassadors to countries as far off as China.