Kahavanu is a medieval currency from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. This anonymous gold coinage appears to have been initiated shortly before

Rajaraja Chola Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

invaded

Lanka Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...

in 990 AD, and struck through the period when the Cholas dominated the island (1017-1070), and continued by closely similar coins struck for

Vijayabahu Vijayabahu I (born ''Prince Keerthi'') (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu the Great, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principal ...

(1055-1110) after he re-established Sinhala independence in 1070. Like other Lankan coins from around the 11th Century, no date is indicated. It is not certain whether the Kahavanu was introduced at

Ruhuna The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Ti ...

, the region in the south of the island to which the Sinhala court had been obliged to move as a result of Rajaraja's conquests. The Kahavanu was a medieval

gold coin.

Brief specification

General description of the Lanka type gold Kahavanu

The obverse is a standing figure, head to the right, crowned in a

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the I ...

(garment), indicated by the curved line on either side of, and sometimes by one or more between the legs, and standing on a lotus plant stalk with varying finials. The left arm is bent and holds a flower or other object before the face; the right arm is extended with hand over a symbol consisting of a straight shaft with short cross pieces, ending in four prongs, which are narrow and curve upward and downward. The elbow is over a similar symbol but with a plain shank and upside down. To the right is a varying number of annulets or balls. There is a beaded circle along the

periphery Periphery or peripheral may refer to: Music *Periphery (band), American progressive metal band * ''Periphery'' (album), released in 2010 by Periphery * "Periphery", a song from Fiona Apple's album '' The Idler Wheel...'' Gaming and entertainm ...

of the coin. The reverse is a figure, head right, crowned, squatting upon an

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

(bed-like throne), represented by an oblong frame divided lengthwise by a line and crosswise by a varying number of lines; dhoti represented by one or more lines between the legs, the two ends at the waist appearing at either side of the body. The right arm is

pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...

over the right knee, which is drawn up; the left arm is bent and holds an object as in the obverse. Infield to right, there is a

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

legend in three lines: ''Sri Lanka Vibu''. Vibhu is a title of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. There is a beaded circle along the periphery of the coin. The three main types and subtypes as defined in Codrington are adopted in general. Types I and II are rarer and characterized by elaborate formations of the

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

, the fineness of the lettering, and the more sinuous lines of the body. In Type III with coarser figures the Sri resembles that of the Chola King Rajaraja; the letters of the legend are thicker and letters on the right slightly higher than those on the left.

Fraudulent copies

In 1907

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

puts a footnote to the word "genuine": ''How rare genuine specimens are I am inclined to think very few people thoroughly recognize. Gold "Lankesvaras" and "Vijaya Bahus" are turned out wholesale in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

now, and are so skillfully done that most of them are duly absorbed day to day into collections. The improved manufacture of late is marked"'' John Still, (1907) Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Ceylon Branch, Vol 19 #58 161-216. See page 164 footnote.

References

External links

Gold Type 1A Kahavanu - Sun and Moon
{{Anuradhapura period topics Medieval currencies Currencies of Sri Lanka