An offprint from

Pratna
Samiksha
New Series Vol. I ZOIO
Centre for Archaeological
Studies
& Training
Eastern India
t.
COINS
A Hoard of Coins of the Candra Dynasty of Arakan
NOMAN NASIR
. NICHOLAS RHODES
Independent Researchers
Arsrnecr: The coinages of the Candra dynasty of Arakan are important in South East Asian context. The
present article includes the studies on twelve rare coins of that dynasty, from the collection of the first
author. A comparative study has been made with some known collection.
KEvvonos: Candra coins, Devacandra, tripartite symbols, Virachandra.
The coinage of the Candra dynasty of Arakan
is a relatively unexplored area in the numismat-
ics of South Asia. Some historians and numis-
matists, such as Phayre (1882),
Johnston
(L947),
Wicks (L992), Mitchiner (2004), Gutman
(L978),San Tha Aung (1982), Cribb
(1,986),and
Rhodes et al.
(1989,2006), have included coins
in their books and articles, but these publications
are based on relatively few specimens. Michael
Mitchiner in his various publications, culminat-
ing in Ancient Trade and Early Coinage
(Mitchiner 2004; 1258-70) published the larg-
est corpus of Candra coins, including pieces
published by earlier authors and with a particu-
larly good selection of fractional pieces. The
coinage comes in a number of different denomi-
nations, namely, 64 -r ati, 24 -r ati, L 6 -r ati, 8 -r ati,
and 4-rati. The \-rati ar,d 4-rati coins have no
king's name, and may be contemporary with the
coins of slighdy later date, with the name of the
state of Harikela. Fractions have appeared in
relatively large numbers but full denomination
Conl 1. Early Anonymous
Pratna Samiksha, New Series, vol. 1,2010 (Kolkata: Centre for
Archaeological Studies & Training, Ea'stern India), pp. 155-51,
coins seem to be very scarce. Recently, a small
hoard of at least eighteen full denomination
coins appeared, containing specimens of at least
five early Candra rulers. The find-spot of these
coins cannot be confirmed precisely, but it was
certainly in the Comilla region, in the south-
eastern part of Bangladesh, a region formerly
known as Samatata. Previously some Candra
coins have been reported to have been found in
Bangladesh (Rhodes 2006:76-83) but unforttr-
nately none of them had the
find-spot
properly
recorded. This particular hoard is very impor-
tant as it provides evidence of a trade link be-
tween Arakan and South-east Bengal, a trade
route that must have extended into the Gangetic
plain and beyond. It is worth recording the
hoard iq full, so that future numismatists and
historians can use the data in their studies.
Twelve of the coins are illustrated below, includ-
ing all the types that are known to have been
discovered.
L56
N. NASIR
Obv. Conch
(sankh) shell with foliage, sur-
rounded by two dotted borders which are di-
vided by a circle. A number of leaves appear
in the right and left side of the shell. No leg-
end is visible.
Rev. The usual tripartite symbol surrounded
by two dotted borders and a circle in between
with moon above left and sun above right. A
CorN 2. Early Anonymous?
Obv. As above, except that there are traces
of a legend; although this is illegible, it may
read Devachandra as on no. 3 below.
ColN 3. Devacandra
Obv. Same as above but the legend Deva-
candra crudely engraved below in Brahmi
characters
(Mitchiner 2004, no. 5313).
N. RHODES
number of curved leaves appear at the right
and left sides and below the tripartite sym-
bol.
Veight 7.5 g Diameter 29 mm
This coin is similar to the British Museum col-
lection specimen has been published (Phayre
1,882:5309).
Rev. As no. L above, partially double struck,
but probably not struck with the same die.
Weight7.7
g Diameter 29.5 mm
Rev. Same as above but moon on the right
side and no dots can be seen below tripartite
symbol. Yleight7.6 g Diameter 32.5 mm
A Hoard of Coins of the
A frn, inscribed and un-inscribed
Candra coins
wid the Conch symbol are known from differ-
ent s(xuices. Michael Mitchiner in his book men-
tions a few pieces of which only one was full
dcnomination coin
(64-rati) (Phyre pl. II, 10).
Candra Dynasty of Arakan
157
Most of those pieces are now preserved in Brit-
ish Museum collection. Apart from these, we
have been informed of another 64-rati coin kept
in a private collection
in Thailand
(personal
communication:
Vasiliis Michaelovs).
Cotr{ 4. Devacandra
sun right.
\Teight 7.4 g Diameter 30 mm
A full denomination
Devacandra coin with
right-facing bull has been previously
published
(Rhodes 2006:76-7) but this is the first left-fac-
ing bull to appear. The right-facing bull has leg-
en-d aborre, *h.t."t this piece has the legend
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing
left, surrounded
by rwo dotted borders divided by a circle'
Legend Devacandra below.
Rerr. Tripartite symbol with moon left and
Devacandra below, and the Brahmi script is
rather different in form. The tripartite symbol
is also different, with the two upper curves of the
left and right arms meeting the central
pole hori-
zontally without forming any bulge at the top'
The lower
parts, sloping downwards
from the
top towards and the centre pole, creates a tri-
,rrgl.. Two small horizontal lines are visible in
the two sides of the centre
pole,
just
over the
upper curves which can be the stack or leaves.
This coin is similar to the BM specimen of
Devacandra
published
(Phayre p. 29 and
pl.II,
Mitchiner 2004,no. 5314) but is of full denomi-
nation of 64'rati, whereas the BM specimen is
48-rati.
CoDi 5. Devacandra?
Obv. As above. No clear legend visible but
seems to have been 'va' above the bull.
Rev. Tripartite symbol nicely struck with
moon left and sun right.
Weight 5.5 g Diameter 29 mm
158
CoIN 6. Yajnacandra
N. NASIR N. RHODES
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing right, with gar-
land around neck surrounded by two dotted
borders, divided by a circle. Legend Yaina-
candra in Brahmi letters above the bull.
CoIN 7. Yajnacandra
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing right, but no
garland around neck, surrounded by two
dotted borders divided by a circle. King's
name in Brahmi into two lines, Yajna above
and candra below the bull.
Rev. Tripartite symbol with moon left and
sun right.
tUfeight
5.3 g (partially broken)
Diameter 28.5 mm
Conr 8. Bhumicandra
Rev.
Rev. Tripartite symbol with moon right and
sun left, represented by a dot.
Weight 7.0 g Diameter 30.5 mm
Two coins of Yainacandra were published by
Mitchiner, one of 64-ratis and one of Z4-ratis.
Both differ from the pieces published here, in
having the bull-facing left
(Mitchiner 2004, no.
531,6-17). One further specimen of this type,
from the same hoard, has been noticed in
Bangladesh.
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing left, with gar-
land around neck surrounded by two dotted
borders divided by a circle. Legend Bhumi-
.^n&a
in Brahmi character appears above
6 bull.
Cooi 9- Bhumicandra
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing left, with gar:
land around neck surrounded by two dotted
borders, divided by a circle. Bhumicandra in
Brahmi appears above the bull, in two lines.
Cos 10. Bhumicandra
Obv.
Oby- Same as above, possibly the same die.
Rer-. Usual Tripartite with moon symbol left
and sun s1'mbol right.
Yeight 7.6 g Diameter 29.5 mm
Cor-r-. 11. Bhudcandra
Obv.
A Hoard of Coins of the Candra Dyrasty of Arakan ts9
Rev. Usual Tripartite symbol with moon
right and sun left.
'Sfeight
6.4 g Diameter 28.5 mm
A similar coin has also been published (Mitchi-
ner 2004,5320) quoting San Tha Aung.
Rev. Usual Tripartite symbol with moon left
and sun right.
'Weight7.7
g Diameter 30.5 mm
The obverse die appears to be same with coin
no. 10 but the reverse die is different.
Rev.
160
\Teight 7.4 g
CoIN 12. Niticandra
Diameter 28.5 mm
N. NASIR N.
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing right, with gar-
land around neck surrounded by two dotted
borders, divided by a circle. Legend Bhuti-
candra above the bull in Brahmi characters.
Rev. Usual Tripartite symbol with moon left
and sun symbol right.
RHODES
No full coin of Bhuticandra has previously
been published, although a 16-rati coin was pub-
lished by
Johnson,
which was later identified as
Niticandra, and a 24-rati coin was published
(Mitchiner 2004, 5321,). Interestingly, five fur-
ther specimens of this type from the same hoard,
have been noticed in Bangladesh.
where the use of some archaicisms must be ex-
pected. Niticandra came to the throne in c. cr
520 and ruled for 55 years, and Devacandra
died in c. c8 476, whereas Mitchiner suggests a
dating 2l years earlier
(Mitchiner
2004: t259).
Cribb has suggested a very different date, per-
haps 200 years later (Cribb
L986:111-271. On
the other hand, recent research (unpublished
correspondence with Susmita Basu-Majumdar)
has suggested that Niticandra came to the throne
in c. ce 585, but based on the flame 'Varachan-
dra', which appears on certain coins of Sama-
tata, being intended to refer to the Arakan king
Virachandra. Assuming this latest date is cor-
rect, it would imply that the hoard was depos-
ited in the last decade of the sixth century cE,
with implications that a maritime trade route
from South-east Asia, along the Arakan coast to
Samatata, and probably onwards to the Gange-
tic basin, was operating by this time. Such a
conclusion would be consistent with the signifi-
cant number of gold coins of Samatata that have
been discovered in the Comilla area) the area
where this silver hoard might have been discov-
Obv.
Obv. Recumbent bull-facing left, with gar-
land around neck surrounded by a dotted
border and an outside circle. Legend Niti-
candra appears above the bull in Brahmi
characters. The flan is relatively small.
Rev. Usual Tripartite symbol with moon
right and sun left. Partially double struck.
Nfeight 6.4 g Diameter 26.5 mm
Two similar pieces, one apparently found in
Vaisali, were published (Mitchiner 2004: 5322,
5323) and another, possibly found in Bangla-
desh, was published (Rhodes 2006, no. 2). Nu-
merous small denomination coins
(of 24 andL6-
ratis) werc published by Mitchiner.
The present hoard does not provide any clues
regarding the matter of the dating of the Candra
Kings of Arakan. According to Sircar
(Sircar
1958: 103-9, pl. 2).Sircar based his dating
purely on the letter forms used on the Mrohaong
inscription in Vaisali, which, he suggested, im-
ply a date for this important pillar inscription
c. cE 729. Such precision seems inappropriate,
particularly when looking at letter forms in a
locale as remote from central India as Arakan,
A Hoard of Coins of tbe Candra Dynasty of Arakan
161
ered.
Joe
Cribb has also pointed out rhe similar-
ity in the design of these Candra silver coins,
with certain copper coins struck in Nepal in c.
cr. 645 (Cribb
1986:11.-27).
Nepalese coin wirh legend Paiupati,
struck c. co 640
\Thereas
Cribb suggested rhat it was the
Nepalese coins that influenced the design of the
Candra coins, our suggestion is that the influence
was the other way round, and the design of the
Candra coins, with bull and tripartite symbol,
surrounded with large pellets, was copied by the
Nepalese. The implication of this is thar, at leasr
during the first part of the seventh century, the
trade route continued from Pataliputra northwards
through Nepal, Tibet, and perhaps onwards ro
Sogdiana and the west. The most likely item to be
traded along such a route would have been
Chinese silks. In this conrext it is worth noring that
the Nepalese first struck (copper)
coins in c. cp.575
(Rhodes
1989:28030) perhaps for the increased
economic activity due to this trade. This hoard,
therefore, provides valuable corroborarive
evidence of the existence, and period of activity,
of this important 'southern
silk route,.
RprpnsNcps
Cribb,
J.
E. (1985).
'Dating South East Asia,s
Earliest Coins', G. Bhattacharyya (ed.)
Deyadharma, pp. 71.1-27, Delhi: Sri Satguru
Publications.
Gutman, P. (L978).'The
Ancient Coinage of South
East Asia',
lournal
of the Siam Society 66:8-21,
pt. 1.
Johnston,
E.H. (1947).
'Some Sanskrit Inscriptions
from Arakan', Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies 11,357ff.
\lirchiner,
M. (2004).
Ancient Trade and Early
Coinage 2: 1258-70, London: Hawkins
Publications.
Phal-re, A. P. (1S32).
Coins of Arakan,
pegu
and
Bunna 2, pt.'1., London: Numismata Orientalia.
Rhodes, N. G. (2006).
'A Group of Coins of the
Candra Dynasty
of Arakan',
Journal
of the
Asiatic Society 48:76-83, no. 3.
Rhodes, N. G., Gabrisch, K., and Valdettaro, C.
(1989).
The Coinage of Nepal,
from
the earliest
times until 1"911 to, p.28-30, London: Royal
Numismatic Society.
San Tha Aung (1982).
Arakanese Coins, translared
from the Burmese by Michael Robinson and
Aye Set, Manchester.
Sircar, D. C. (1958). 'Inscriptions
of Chandras of
Arakan', Epigraphia Indica 32: 103-9.
Wicks, R. S. (1992)
. Money, Markets and Trade
in Early Southeast Asia, The Deuelopment
of
Indigenous Monetary Systems to eo L400,
pp. 90-2, Cornell University.