Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. (Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo by L. Venkatesh) WHAT makes numismatics a fascinating area of study is that it can lead you into all sorts of places where you would never normally go and on the journey you can learn about people whose cultures are very different from your own. An Indian temple is just such a place, but if you want to collect and study Indian temple tokens you will need to know something about the history of India and the religions of India. So let s get started! The first civilization on the subcontinent developed in around 2500 BC in the valley of the Indus River, which is now in Pakistan. In about 1500 BC a new people, the Aryans, moved in from the north-west and gradually spread over the whole of northern India forming small independent kingdoms. One of the kings, Candragupta Maurya, conquered the other kingdoms and created an empire in northern India Figure 1 Reverse of a bronze temple token bearing the name of the East India Company. Diameter 30 mms. Figure 2 Bronze token showing Shiva sitting on a lion s skin. In his left upper hand he holds a small drum in the shape of an hourglass. When he beats the drum he dances and becomes Nataraja, the lord of the cosmic dance of creation and destruction. Diameter 30 mms. known as the Mauryan Empire. The greatest Mauryan king was Asoka (c. 265 to 238 BC). He was a Buddhist and the edicts of his benign rule were engraved on rocks and pillars, and the script used for these edicts (the Mauryan script) evolved into the Nagari script which was used throughout India for centuries until it in turn evolved into the modern Hindi script. But it is the Devanagari (sacred Nagari) script that commonly appears on Hindu temple tokens. Another script that appears on the tokens is the Gurmukhi script. It was devised by the Sikhs in the 15 th century for their sacred literature. In the 2 nd century BC the Mauryan Empire began to break up and in the 4 th century AD a new dynasty, the Guptas, began to rule over northern India. It was a golden age of Indian culture: art and poetry flourished. But at the end of the 5 th century the Gupta Empire was destroyed by the Huns, a tribal people from central Asia, and subsequently small kingdoms formed. In the 11 th century Muslim invaders from central Asia founded the Sultanate of Delhi, which dominated northern India for two centuries. In the south, however, the native kingdoms continued to flourish. In 1398 the Mongol ruler, Tamerlane, invaded the Delhi Sultanate splitting it into a number of kingdoms, and this facilitated an invasion by the Moguls, also from central Asia. They were led by Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane. They founded an empire that extended over almost all of India except the southernmost part. They were Muslims, but Babur s grandson, Akbar (1556-1605), allowed the people to worship as they Figure 3 Bronze token showing Krishna playing a flute with his consort, Radha. The bull in the background refers to his being a cow-herd. Diameter 51 mms.
Figure 4 Picture of Krishna and Radha as in Figure 3. pleased. Aurangzeb (1658-1707), however, was intolerant of other religions and destroyed many Hindu temples in northern India. In 1739 the Persian shah defeated the Mogul armies, and the resultant political chaos paved the way for the expansion of British power in India. A British trading company, the East India Company, played a major role in this expansion. Religious tokens had been used in India for centuries, but when British power replaced that of the Moguls they were issued in large numbers with most being manufactured in Calcutta. Some temple tokens were made with designs based on the copper coins issued by the East India Company in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. Subsequently casts of these tokens were produced and the original dies used for many years. This explains why tokens made in the 20 th century have the name of the East India Company on the reverse with spurious dates and denominations even though they did not circulate as coins. (Figure 1) Concerning the religions of India, the Indus Valley civilization was concerned with fertility and had a Mother Goddess and sacred trees and animals. When the Aryans came they brought with them gods who were chiefly connected with the sky and were mostly male, but the earlier beliefs remained influential. The Aryans had a sacred text, the Rig Veda, which was in the Sanskrit language. It consisted of a collection of hymns composed between 1500 and 900 BC. There were appendices to the Rig Veda called the Brahmanas, and mystical appendices to the Brahmanas called Upanishads, which were mostly composed about 600 BC although some are of more recent date. As this Vedic religion evolved into Hinduism many of the gods lost their greatness while others rose in popularity, notably Vishnu and Shiva. Shiva (Figure 2) might originally have been a god of the Indus Valley civilization who was identified with the Vedic storm god, Rudra. The Hinduism of today is largely the result of influence from the non-aryan south of India. In the medieval period, which included the Gupta golden age, preachers and minstrels wandered all over India propagating a devotional religion based on popular culture. While the Vedic literature became the preserve of the priests, the secular stories, which included the two great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, were available to everybody, and with religious interpolations over the centuries they became the literary basis of modern Hinduism. Vishnu was assimilated with one of the heroes of the Mahabharata called Krishna. This flute-playing pastoral character (Figures 3 and 4) was recognized as an incarnation of Vishnu. Similarly, Rama, the prince of Ayodhya and the hero of the Ramayana (Figures 5 and 6) was considered to be another incarnation of Vishnu. Rama is usually shown holding a large bow. This magical bow was given to him when he visited the kingdom of Viheda, where the king, Janaka, said that he would give his beautiful daughter, Sita, to whomever could bend the bow. Rama bent it and later used it to kill Ravana, the king of the demons. Hanuman (Figure 7) is a monkey god who is the servant of Rama. He is important in the villages of India where he is worshipped as a benevolent guardian spirit. (Figure 8) Ganesha has an elephant s head and a fat belly. (Figures 9 and 10) He is a son of Shiva and probably derives from a primitive non-aryan elephant god. He is the god of success and is worshipped at the beginning of all undertakings to remove any obstacles. He rides on a mouse perhaps representing the timidity that Figure 5 Bronze token of Rama standing with his wife, Sita. His brother, Lakshmana, stands on his right and the monkey god, Hanuman, kneels at his feet. Diameter 51 mms.
MAKE YOUR FIRST CALL TO THESE SUPPORTING ADVERTISERS (AND PLEASE TELL THEM... YOU SAW IT IN CAB ) ANDA..............39, 73 Austrian Mint............9 Chris Rudd.............28 Coin Trends............57 Coinworks.............13 Classy Collectables.......18 Downies.............7, 76 Dix Noonan Webb........15 Drake Sterling Numismatics.28 Edlins of Canberra & Yass..19 IAG....................4 I.S. Wright..............29 Klaus Ford..........42-43 M.E.F. Books............26 Noble Numismatics........2 Numisbid..............18 Phoenix WA Auctions.....27 Romanorum............31 Royal Australian Mint......3 Roxburys Auction House 23,75 Stack s & Bowers Galleries.37 Steele Waterman........74 Treasures of Oz.........28 vpcoins...............31 TO BE UPDATED Figure 6 Picture of Rama as in Figure 5 but on silver foil. It is 5 by 7 inches. a person might have at the beginning of a new venture. Vishnu is considered to be wholly benevolent, and his wife, Lakshmi (Fortune) is the goddess of good luck. She is also called Shri. (Figures 11 and 12) But Shiva has a ferocious side. Surprisingly this is associated with the female aspect of his character. While he is transcendent and inactive, his female aspect is immanent and active in the world. This element in his character comes in the form of various Mother Goddesses: Durga, who is warlike and has many arms, is popular in Bengal, while Kali, who is black and ugly, is popular in the south. Kali is particularly fierce. She is a destroyer of demons and a powerful creative force. (Figures 13 and 14) Most Hindus are either Vishnavites (devotees of Vishnu) or Shaivites (devotees of Shiva). In Professor Basham s book, The Wonder that was India, he explains that they consider either Vishnu or Shiva to be the high god, or the only god, while the other gods are merely secondary expressions of the divine, like the saints and angels in Christianity. He considers that the more devout Hindus, even when illiterate and ignorant, have always been fundamentally monotheist. But Hinduism as a whole is a very tolerant religion, and since Gupta times there have been attempts to harmonize Vaishnavism and Shaivism. A trinitarian doctrine was devised whereby Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, but Professor Basham says that this Hindu Trinity never really caught on. According to V.P. Kanitkar and Owen Cole, the authors of Hinduism An Introduction, Hindus worship One God, Brahman, which is a spirit with no form or attributes. To make
Figure 7 Bronze token of Hanuman holding a mace in his right hand and a mountain on his left hand. Certain herbs that grew on a particular mountain were needed to heal Lakshmana, but as Hanuman did not know which were the herbs he brought the whole mountain. Diameter 51 mms. Brahman meaningful, Hindus use consecrated images, or murtis, in worship. These act as aids to worship rather than objects of worship. Temple tokens can be gold, silver or base metal. It seems that over the centuries they were used in various ways at the multitude of temples and holy places in India. They might have been offerings to the gods, and hoards of gold tokens and coins have been discovered at some temples. They might have been kept by the devotees as holy objects or just as good-luck charms. At many temples they would have been a source of income for the temple. Today tokens Figure 9 Silver token of Ganesha. Notice the mouse in the lower right field. Diameter 39 mms. Postal Bid Sale We offer regular sales of 5,000+ lots, including World Coins - Most Countries A to Z (2,000+ lots) in all metals including Gold. Australia - Pre Decimal, Gold, Banknotes, Decimal, Tradesmen s Tokens (800+ lots) Medallions - Share Script (Gold Mining) World Banknotes - Ancients - Roman Coins. Great Britain - Hammered, Milled & Modern Coins, Large Selection of Tokens & Medallions A wide range of lots to suit almost any collecting interest and budget - Lots from $5 to $5,000. Please request our FREE Catalogue. PO Box 1616, Ballarat Mail Centre Victoria 3354 Australia Phone: (03) 5330 1486 Email: coins@netconnect.com.au Visit our ONLINE BIDSITE: www.coinmall.com/cointrends Yes, I d like your latest catalogue Name:............................. Address:..................................................................................................................P/Code.......... Figure 8 Hanuman temple in Tamil Nadu. (Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo by John Hill)
Figure 11 Silver token of Lakshmi. She stands on a lotus flower and from her right lower hand dispenses wealth in the form of coins. The design refers to her rising from the waters and being showered with coins by elephants. Diameter 39 mms. Figure 10 Ganesha festival at Hyderabad. (Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Vijay Bandari) Numismatic Books & Catalogues 100 s of Australian and World Numismatic books and catalogues available on all subjects. We also have good stocks of: Bread, Milk, Ice, Ferry and Value-Stated Tokens Commemorative Medalets Petrol Coupons, World Banknotes Postal Notes, Postcards Transportation Tickets (Tram, Train, Bus & Ferry) WANTS LISTS WELCOME M.E.F. BOOKS PO Box 523 NARRABEEN NSW 2101 Phone (02) 9913 3036 Figure 13 Bronze token of Kali standing on her husband Shiva. After vanquishing giants she danced for joy so furiously that the earth trembled. Shiva asked her to stop but she did not notice him until he lay down among the slain. Diameter 51 mms. Figure 12 Picture of Lakshmi as in Figure 11. are often sold in shops and stalls near the temples. A lot of the recent tokens have been manufactured in Mumbai and sold during religious festivals. Silver tokens are often given as gifts at the festival of Diwali in November. A common token has a durbar scene on one side and Rama standing with his brother, Lakshmana, on the other. A durbar is an Indian royal court, and the scene shows Rama and his wife, Sita, enthroned at Ayodhya after Rama regained the kingdom. Lakshmana holds an umbrella over the royal couple while two of Rama s brothers are on the right. Hanuman kneels below the throne. (Figures 15 and 16) On the tokens the scene varies according to the shape of the throne and the umbrella. In A Guide to the Temple Tokens of India, written in 1970 by Irwin Brotman, 18 types of
Figure 15 Silver token showing Rama and Sita enthroned. Diameter 29 mms. Figure 14 Picture of Kali standing on her husband, Shiva, as in Figure 13 Figure 16 Durbar scene as on the token in Figure 15. (Image courtesy of The Absolute Indian Store) Figure 17 Silver token showing a mosque with the Arabic words Madinat Sharif (Noble City) below. The city might be Medina where Muhammad is buried. Diameter 28 mms. throne and 12 types of umbrella are illustrated. Michael Mitchiner s book, Indian Tokens: Popular Religious & Secular Art from the ancient period to the present day, is more recent (1998), much larger and more authoritative. Besides Hinduism there are, of course, several other religions in India, and relevant tokens are available. There are even Muslim tokens but because human images are forbidden in Islam the tokens usually show a mosque on one side and Arabic inscriptions on the other. (Figure 17) Sikh tokens usually bear the image of the founder, Guru Nanak. (Figure 18) Although the subject of Indian religious tokens is large and complex, it provides a portal into a fascinating world of faith and spirituality. Note: All the tokens illustrated in this article are from the author s collection. WHEN YOU MAKE A PURCHASE FROM ONE OF OUR ADVERTISERS, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TELL THEM YOU Saw it in CAB Magazine Figure 18 Sikh token showing the founder, Guru Nanak, sitting on a mat under a tree. A disciple plays a lute while another holds a fly-whisk or fan. In the foreground are his sandals and a water pot (attributes of his asceticism). Diameter 30 mms.