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The Magadha janapada was located roughly in the area of the modern state of Bihar, with its capital originally at Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) and then at Pataliputra
(modern Patna). It was to become the largest of the original 16 janapadas, eventually spawning India's first empire, the Mauryan empire.
Prior to the Mauryas, the accepted chronology of Magadha's kings is as follows:
Haryanaka dynasty
Bimbisara (545-493 BCE)
Ajatashatru (493-461 BCE)
Udayabhadra (461-445 BCE)
Aniriddha & Munda (445-437 BCE)
Nagadaska (437-413 BCE)
Shishunaga dynasty
Shishunaga (413-395 BCE)
Kalashoka (395-367 BCE)
Sons of Kalashoka (367-345 BCE)
Nanda dynasty
Mahapadma Nanda (345- ? BCE)
Sons of Mahapadma Nanda ( ? - 323 BCE)
Magadha's earliest coins were dumpy silver 35-mashaka pieces of roughly 7.6 gm. that featured a single "6-arm symbol" punch. They seem to have been soon
superceded by 25-mashaka pieces of roughly 5.5 gm. on thinner, more spread flans, but with the same 6-arm symbol punch. The next stage retained the same flan type
and the same 6-arm punch in the center, but three additional punches were added around the central punch. These are the first coins shown in the table below. Perhaps this
group was issued by the Haryankas. This period included the time during which the Buddha came to Magadha, where he attained enlightenment in the Magadhan city of Gaya,
and where he preached for most of the remainder of his lifetime. The Magadhan king Bimbisara offered his throne to the Buddha, but was turned down.
Around 420 BCE, perhaps with the ascension of Shishunaga, the 25-mashaka denomination was abandoned and replaced by a karshapana standard of roughly 3.5 gm. At
first, the karshpanas continued to feature four punches, but quite soon this was changed to a five punch design. Two of the punches were consistently a solar disc and a
variety of the 6-arm symbol. The three remaining punches varied. Over time, the size of the flans shrank and the coins became thicker, probably to make it more difficult for
merchants to add "banker's marks" that tended to obliterate the original designs of the coins. At some stage, the Mauryans came to power, and they continued the 5-punch
karshapana series.
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Early Pre-karshapana series, "Series 0" |
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Silver 25-mashakas
c. 5th century BCE
Weight: 5.43 gm., Dim: 22 x 23 mm.
Central 6-arm punch, surrounded by three other punches /
blank
Ref: MATEC 2722-30.
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Silver 25-mashakas
c. 5th century BCE
Weight: 5.30 gm., Dim: 22 x 21 mm.
Central 6-arm punch, surrounded by three other punches /
blank
Ref: MATEC 2731-55.
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Silver 25-mashakas
c. 5th century BCE
Weight: 5.35 gm., Dim: 24 x 23 mm.
Central 6-arm punch, surrounded by three other punches /
blank
Ref: MATEC 2774.
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Silver 25-mashakas
c. 5th century BCE
Weight: 5.38 gm., Dim: 25 x 29 mm.
Central 6-arm punch, surrounded by three other punches /
blank
Ref: MATEC --- (unpublished).
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Silver 25-mashakas
c. 5th century BCE
Weight: 4.73 gm., Dim: 27 x 23 mm.
Central 6-arm punch, surrounded by three other punches /
blank
Ref: MATEC 2780-82.
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Silver 20-mashakas
c. 5th century BCE
Weight: 4.73 gm., Dim: 27 x 23 mm.
Central 6-arm punch, surrounded by three other punches /
blank
Ref: MATEC 2780-82.
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Karshapana series, "Series I-IV" |
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.25 gm., Dim: 20 x 27 mm.
Four punches: sun, 6-arm, and two others, plus banker's marks /
Blank
Ref: GH --- (unlisted).
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This coin appears to have only four official punches: the sun, 6-arm symbol, elephant right, and chakra symbol. The sun has oblique
rays, which is seen only on very early types, and the form of the elephant is also an early type. The chakra symbol, with the two "windows" below, containing pellets, is not listed
in Gupta and Hardaker's symbol list. This coin may therefore be one of the earliest of the karshapana series, where there were only four official punches. |
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.08 gm., Dim: 26 x 24 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus banker's marks /
Banker's marks
Ref: GH 36.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.45 gm., Dim: 25 x 23 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus banker's marks /
Banker's mark
Ref: GH 48.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.44 gm., Dim: 21 x 21 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others /
Blank
Ref: GH 56.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.37 gm., Dim: 21 x 22 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus extra sun symbol /
Blank
Ref: GH 159.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.22 gm., Dim: 18 x 22 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others /
Blank
Ref: GH 186.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.13 gm., Dim: 19 x 27 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus banker's marks /
Banker's marks
Ref: GH 200.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.27 gm., Dim: 23 x 20 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others /
Blank
Ref: GH 201.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.39 gm., Dim: 20 x 27 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others /
Blank
Ref: GH 222.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.37 gm., Dim: 21 x 22 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus a banker's mark /
Blank
Ref: GH 249.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.27 gm., Dim: 15 x 27 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus banker's marks /
Blank
Ref: GH 279.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.39 gm., Dim: 21 x 23 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others /
Blank
Ref: GH 279 var.
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An unpublished variety of GH 279. The fifth symbol is one that has not been noted in Gupta and Hardaker's list of symbols.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.15 gm., Dim: 13 x 22 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus banker's marks /
Blank
Ref: GH 320.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.09 gm., Dim: 15 x 24 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others, plus banker's marks /
Blank
Ref: GH 359.
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Silver karshapana
c. 5th-4th century BCE
Weight: 3.07 gm., Dim: 14 x 21 mm.
Five punches: sun, 6-arm, and three others /
Banker's marks
Ref: GH 463.
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