The Damaru is a double sided drum that was created by Shiva in order to make the cosmic sounds to create and regulate the universe. This is important to both Hindu and Buddhist faiths and was once a simple recognizable by all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DamaruIn the time of Alexander the Great the Mauryan dynasty ruled most of India and subjugated many of the indigenous tribes, kingdoms and cultures. When the Mauryan Empire collapsed in the second century BC, all those different people struck, cast or punched their own coinages.
Sometime during this period a tribe known as the Kaushambi cast coins in the shape of the Damaru. Everyone would have known what this was had it landed in their hand. Larger coins some as large as 5 grams have a standing deity and various Hindu and Buddhist symbol. This one appears to have no detail or inscriptions and seems to be made as such.
Today it is impossible to assign these coins to a particular ruler, so this is the best I got.
India, Ganges Valley
Kaushambi Indigenous Tribal Coinage
Anonymous (2nd century BC)
AE 1/2 Karshapana (?)
14 mm x 5 mm x 0.94 grams
For a survey see Savita Sharma, ND vol.V, pt.II, pp.1-3, 'Damaru-shaped coins from Kausambi'
Posted 07/06/2015 11:52 pm
