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XVII. The Coinage of Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

The coins which are dealt with in the present paper fall under three divisions. First, the coins of the Early Licchavi Sūryavaṁśī dynasty, whose capital was at Mānagṛha, the present Kāṭhmāṇḍū, and those of the Ṭhākurī dynasty who were ruling at the same time over the western portion of Nepal, with their palace at Kailāśa-kūṬabhavana, situated in another part of the same city. Second, the coins of the three Newār Malla dynasties, who reigned contemporaneously over the three kingdoms of Bhātgāon, KāṬhmāṇḍū, and Pātan, or Lalitāpur.

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Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1908

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References

page 669 note 1 Fleet, : “Early Chronology of Nepal,” in the Indian Antiquary, vol. xiv, p. 350;Google Scholar and The Early Gupta Inscriptions,” Corpus Inscriptionum Iudicarum, vol. iii, appendix, p. 189.Google Scholar

page 669 note 2 On some Nepalese Coins in the Library of the German Oriental Society”: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 1882, vol. xxxvi, p. 651.Google Scholar

page 669 note 3 SirCunningham, A.: “Coins of Ancient India,” 1891, pl. xiii.Google Scholar

page 670 note 1 Proceedings Asiatic Society of Bengal for May, 1887.

page 670 note 2 Marsden, : “Numismata Orientalia” (1825), pl. xlix; viz., Pl. II, Fig. 4 = Marsden Mcxxii; Pl. II, Fig. 7 = Mcxxiii; PI. III, Fig. 8 = MCXX; Pl. IV, Fig. 2 = MCX, Fig. 3 = Mcxi, Fig. 4 = Mcxii, Fig. 7 = Mcxiii, and Fig. 8 = MCxv.Google Scholar

page 670 note 3 Smith, Vincent A., “Catalogue of Coins in the Indian Museum, Calcutta” (1906), vol. i, pl. xxviii;Google ScholarMarsden, , op. cit., pl. i.Google Scholar

page 671 note 1 Fleet, , “Early Chronology of Nepal”: Indian Antiquary, vol. xiv, p. 350.Google Scholar

page 672 note 1 Pātan is only two miles south-east of KāṬhmāṇḍū, and Bhātgāon nine miles to the east of it and eight miles from Pātan.

page 672 note 2 Fleet, , “The Early Gupta Inscriptions”: Corpus Inmriptionum Indicarum, vol. iii, Appendix, p. 189.Google Scholar

page 672 note 3 Fleet, , “Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings and their Successors”: Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, vol. iii, Appendix, p. 189.Google Scholar

page 673 note 1 Wright, : “History of Nepal,” p. 108.Google Scholar

page 673 note 2 Wright, , op. cit., p. 114.Google Scholar

page 673 note 3 Fleet, : Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, vol. iii, p. 178.Google Scholar

page 674 note 1 Wright, : “History of Nepal,” p. 313.Google Scholar

page 675 note 1 Lévi, Sylvain: “Le Népal”, pp. 113116;Google ScholarLeroux, , Paris, 1903.Google Scholar

page 675 note 2 Fleet, , op. cit., p. 190.Google Scholar

page 675 note 3 SirCunningham, A.: “Coins of Ancient India” (1891), p. 112 et seq., and pl. xiii.Google Scholar

page 675 note 4 Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Leipzig, 1882, vol. xxxvi, p. 651.Google Scholar

page 675 note 5 P.A.S.B. for May, 1887, and March, 1888.

page 675 note 6 Indian Coins,” by Rapson, E. J.: Grundriss der Indo-Arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde, vol. ii, p. 32, and pl. v, fig. 10.Google Scholar

page 676 note 1 Table for reference to early Nepal coins previously described:—

page 676 note 2 The Indian paṇa, ‘handful,’ derived from pāṇi, ‘the hand,’ “was a handful of cowrie shells usually reckoned at 80. This term paṇ is still used in Bengal, where a paṇ of cowrie shells consists of 20 gaṇḍas, or ‘20 fours’ of cowries. By repeated trials I have found that 80 cowries form a very fair average handful. But the paṇ was also a copper coin of 80 rati seeds in weight (144 grains) and 80 cowries in value” (Cunningham, , C.A.I., p. 1).Google Scholar

page 677 note 1 Rapson, E. J., op. cit., p. 32.Google Scholar

page 677 note 2 Catalogue of Coins in Indian Museum, Calcutta,” 1906, vol. i, p. 179, pl. xxi, figs. 11 and 12.Google Scholar

page 677 note 3 C.C.I.M.C., vol. i, p. 82, serial 47, and pl. xiii, fig. 5.Google Scholar

page 677 note 4 Ibid., p. 68, serial 5, and pl. xi, fig. 6.

page 677 note 5 Ibid., p. 67, serial 17, and pl. xi, fig. 4.

page 678 note 1 C.C.I.M.C., vol. i, p. 150, serial 14, and pl. xix, fig. 15.Google Scholar

page 678 note 2 Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. xxxvi, p. 651.Google Scholar

page 679 note 1 P.A.S.B. for March, 1888.

page 679 note 2 Le Népal,” vol. ii, p. 107.Google Scholar

page 679 note 3 Mānaṅka: (monnaie) à la marque de Māna:Le Népal, vol. ii, p. 106.Google Scholar

page 680 note 1 Wright, , p. 82.Google Scholar

page 682 note 1 C.A.I., p. 114.Google Scholar

page 682 note 2 Of these, a coin of Mānāṅka (Pl. I, Fig. 1) and the three coins of Aṁśu-varman (Pl. I, Figs. 5–7) were made over to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and are now in the Indian Museum at Calcutta. There was only one specimen of Aṁśu-varman's coin (Pl. I, Fig. 6) amongst the lot. Three specimens of Mānāṅka and five of Aṁśu-varman, which were then retained by Mr. V. Smith, are now in the Bibliothèque Nationals, Paris (Smith, V., C.C.I.M.C., vol. i, p. 283).Google Scholar

page 682 note 3 C.A.I., p. 115.Google Scholar

page 683 note 1 “Coins of Ancient India,” p. 2.Google Scholar

page 683 note 2 Kirkpatrick, , op. cit., p. 217.Google Scholar

page 684 note 1 Wright, : “History of Nepal” (1877), p. 203.Google Scholar

page 684 note 2 Ibid., p. 207.

page 684 note 3 Lévi, : “Le Népal,” vol. ii, p. 246.Google Scholar

page 686 note 1 Walsh, E. H. C., “The Coinage of Tibet”: Memoirs A.S.B., vol. ii, No. 2, p. 11.Google Scholar

page 687 note 1 “Catalogue of Indian Coins in the British Museum,” by Poole, Stanley Lane, 1883, p. 14.Google Scholar

page 688 note 1 Catalogue of Indian Coins in the British Museum: “Kings of Bengal,” p. 56, pl. vii, fig. 153.Google Scholar

page 688 note 2 Ibid., p. 58, pl. vii, fig. 155.

page 688 note 3 Mahendra Malla, 1566 A.D.

page 689 note 1 An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal, being the substance of observations made during a mission to that country in the year 1793,” by ColKirkpatrick, , London, William Miller, 1811, pp. 217, 218.Google Scholar

page 689 note 2 Lévi, : “Le Népal,” vol. ii, p. 247.Google Scholar

page 689 note 3 Missio Apostolica Thibetana Seraphica. Das is neue durch Päbstlichen Gewalt indem Grossen Thibetanische Reich. Von denem P.P. Capucineren aufgerichtete Mission und über Dolche von R. P. Francisco Horatio della Penna, etc.München, 1740.Google Scholar

page 690 note 1 The coin is described as follows: “Pl. i, fig. 4, 0.5 in.,

., 28 gr. Rude copy of silver drachma. Diademed head of king to 1. with moustaches. Native legend of five characters behind the head, as in No. 3. Rev.: Horse's head to 1. with Greek letter K. N. B.—These coins are very rare, but there are numbers of very rude copies in two different sizes.”—Numismatic Chronicle, ser. III, vol. ix (1889), pl. xiii, fig. 4.Google Scholar

page 692 note 1 Op. cit., pp. 339–40.Google Scholar

page 692 note 2 Op. cit., p. 211.Google Scholar

page 692 note 3 A Nepalese official.

page 692 note 4 Op. cit., pp. 211–12.Google Scholar

page 695 note 1 A Journey of Literary and Archæological Research in Northern India,” by Bendall, Cecil, Cambridge, 1886.Google Scholar

page 695 note 2 History of Nepal and surrounding Kingdoms,” by Bendall, Cecil; J.A.S.B., vol. lxxii, pt. 1, p. 1.Google Scholar

page 696 note 1 Wright, , p. 224.Google Scholar

page 697 note 1 Inscription No. 22. Indian Antiquary, vol. ix, p. 192.Google Scholar

page 698 note 1 Wright, , p. 248.Google Scholar

page 698 note 2 Wright, , p. 250.Google Scholar

page 699 note 1 Wright, , pp. 250, 251.Google Scholar

page 699 note 2 The AṣṬa Maṅgala are (1) Matsya, the two golden fish; (2) Catra, the umbrella of sovereignty; (3) Śāṅkha, the hollowed conch shell for blowing as a trumpet; (4) Śrīvatsa, a lucky diagram, also known as “Buddha's entrails”; (5) Dvaja, the banner of victory; (6) Kalaśa, vase of holy water; (7) Padma, the lotus; and (8) Cakra, the wheel of the law.

page 702 note 1 de La Couperie, Terrien, “Silver Coinage of Tibet”: Numismatic Chronicle, 3rd series, vol. i, p. 340.Google Scholar

page 702 note 2 ProfessorLévi, gives an illustration of this temple: “Le Népal,” vol. i, p. 231.Google Scholar

page 706 note 1 Wright's History, p. 220.Google Scholar

page 708 note 1 Wright, , p. 248.Google Scholar

page 708 note 2 Rājya Prakāśa Malla was the younger brother of Jaya Prakāśa Malla of KāṬhmāṇḍū, by whom he was expelled from the country, as the sepoys wanted to make him king instead of Jaya Prakāśa. As Jaya Viṣṇu Malla had no son he appointed Rājya Prakāśa as his successor, which was accepted by the people (Wright, , p. 249).Google Scholar

page 709 note 1 He is the 36th Raja in the Genealogy (Wright's, “History of Nepal,” p. 276).Google Scholar

page 709 note 2 Not the Noakot near KāṬhmāṇḍū, but another far to the west.

page 709 note 3 Viz. Noakot in Nepal (Wright, , 197).Google Scholar

page 710 note 1 Noakot in Nepal.

page 710 note 2 Wright, , pp. 224, 225.Google Scholar

page 710 note 3 Levi, , “Le Népal,” vol. ii, p. 271.Google Scholar

page 711 note 1 Wright, , p. 232.Google Scholar

page 711 note 2 The brief sketch of the history of the Gorkhā dynasty which follows is taken from Professor Lévi's “Népal,” which is fuller and more complete than that given in Wright's History.

page 715 note 1 Wright's History, p. 276.Google Scholar