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308
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
Obv. Vishnu, standing under an arch. श्रीर्वेक 'Sri-Vemka. टेश्वरा têśvarâya namaḥ.
य नमः
'Adoration to the blessed Venkatêsvara.'
Rev.
Venkatesvarale is the deity of Venkatâdri or Tirumalai, the sacred hill of Tirupati in the North Arcot District. As Chandragiri, the last capital of the third Vijayanagara dynasty, is situated near Tirupati, and as the copper-plate grants of the third dynasty (ante, Vol. XIII. pp. 128 and 156) open with the invocation Sri-Venkatesaya namaḥ, it is very probable that the coin belongs to one of these princes, or even specially to one of the Venkatas among them, who might have selected the legend, because it reminded of his own name.17 Wilson's No. 97, Moor's Nos. 12 and 14, Bidie's No. 16, and Elliot's No. 176, a half pagoda, seem to be a later imitation of this coin; the legend has degenerated into a scrawl.
Rev.
. جلال الدین and اکبر
No. 37. MSTH. Copper.
(Elliot, No. 177.)
Obv. Vishnu, standing; on his right, a fish. ವೆಂಕ 82
Rev.
Vemkatapa.
Venkatappa was the name of the sixth Nayaka of Ikkêri; see Mr. Sewell's Lists of Antiquities, Vol. II. p. 177. As, however, this coin is frequently met with in the Madura bâzâr, and as the fish is the emblem of the Pandya country, I believe that it belongs to one of the Madura Nayakas, who issued it in the name of his nominal sovereign Venkata, the pageant king of Vijayanagara.19
Obv.
No. 36. S. Copper.
Obv. Same as No. 35. बैंक [Ve]mka
टप
tapa
राय
raya.
Rev.
No. 38. MH. Copper.
Tiru-Ve
mga [la].
S
ತಿರುವೆ
Ayo
The holy (mountain of) Venkata.'
MuduKrishna.19
This is another coin of the Nâyakas of Madura. To Mr. T. Varada Rao, Head Assistant Collector of Tinnevelly, I am indebted for the loan of an inscription on seven copper-plates, which records that the village of Kûniyûr (in the Ambasamudram Taluk of the Tinnevelly District) was granted in Saka 1556 (expired), the cyclic year Bhava (A. D. 1634-35), by Vira
[SEPTEMBER. 1891
5 ಮುದು * ಕ್ರಿ
300
16 The vowel of the first syllable of the word Venkata is long in Tamil, but shortened in Kanarese.
17 Thus some coins of Akbar bear the inscription &
deal, which alludes to his names
18 Mr. Buick (see note 4, above) figures a similar copper coin:- Obv. Krishna, playing the flute and attended by two cows. Rev. Same as No. 87.
19. Read Muddu-Krishna.
