Numismatic History of Himachal Pradesh and The Catalogue of Coins in Himachal State Museum, Shimla and Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba

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About the Book Coins, besides being of interest to the collector are of immense cognizance to the historian too because they depict the political, administrative, social, economic, religious and cultural life of the populace of that period. This aspect has been studied by Dr P.L. Gupta with special reference to Himachal Pradesh. A treatise on numismatic history, the book draws evidence from coins in the Himachal State Museum, Shimla and Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba to recount the history of Himachal Pradesh. The figures and inscriptions on these coins have been painstakingly deciphered to chronologies the period of suzerainty of the various monarches. Involving a labour of five years, Gupta has compiled a catalogue which is a veritable treasure and simply cannot be passed up by the devoted numismatist.

About the Author Dr. Parmeshwari Lal Gupta is known world-wide for his vast knowledge of Indian numismatics. He is the Honorary Member of the International "Numismatic" Commission, the only one from Asia. He is not only the Honorary Fellow and Medallist of the Numismatic Society of India, but also holds the rare distinction of being Honorary Fellow and Medallist both of the Royal Numismatic Society of Britain-a much coveted international distinction. He is also the Sir Jadunath Sarkar Gold Medalist of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.

Besides being an internationally renowned numismatist, Dr Gupta is also well known as historian and archaeologist. He is the author of a number of books in English and Hindi. Of them, the most outstanding are Coins, The Silver Punch-marked Coins of the Magadh-Mauryan Karshapana Series, The Imperial Gupta (Gupta Samrajya in Hindi), Bhartiya Vastu Kala and Prachin Bharat Ke Pramukh Abhilekh.

Dr. Gupta was born in 1914 at Azamgarh, U.P.; obtained the Ph.D. Degree from the Banaras Hindu University in 1960; worked at Bharat Kala Bhavan (The Museum of Art and Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University), the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay and retired as Curator, Patna Museum, Patna in 1972. He is now the Director of the Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies, Anjaneri (Nasik, Maharashtra).

Foreword Archaeological remains provide the most reliable evidence for knowing the history and the level of cultural and economic attainment of people of a region. It is accepted that writing including inscriptions even though contem- porary, has to be used carefully after checking it with archaeological evidence for reconstruction of history, because writings are invariably subjective and even hyperbolic. Study of ancient coins as archaeological evidence is of great value providing authentic information on political history. The coins are connec ted with the political, administrative, social, economic, religious and cultural life of the people. Great importance is attached to early coins and numis- matics, as the science of coins is recognized as a reliable source of ancient history. The scope of numismatic study is very wide. Our museums--Himachal State Museum, Shimla and Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba have in recent years built up a good collection of coins discovered in Himachal Pradesh. Some of these coins have been found in hoards. These have been preserved carefully and proper records in respect of hoards have been maintained in both the museums. These collections were, however, not known to the scholars and have not been used to find out the historical facts which their study could reveal. Dr Parmeshwari Lal Gupta, one of the authorities on numismatics in the country agreed to our request to prepare the Catalogue of these coins and to write the Numismatic History of Himachal Pradesh. He worked on this project for about five summers and the work done reflects the erudition, since- rity and patience of the scholar. In the Introduction he has given information with brief comments on the hoards and types of coins, which though associated with this State, are not in the collection of our museums. It has made the book more informative and meaningful.

Many hoards of coins are discovered by chance every year in the State but are not reported. It is hoped the publication of this volume will arouse genuine interest of the people of the State in ancient coins and they will show eagerness to save the hoards of coins discovered in the State and their preservation in the museums. I am sure the book will be well received by the scholars interested in the study of history of this region.

Printing work was assigned to M/s B.R. Publishing Corporation who has evinced interest in this region in their publication work and possesses necessary experience in this field.

Preface In 1976 the Advienry Committee of Himachal State Museum, Shimla suggested to the Government of Himachal Pradesh the necessity and the desirability el compilation of Catalogue of coins in the Himachal State Museum, Shimla and the Bhur Singh Museum, Chambs. To carry out this suggestion, Dr V.C. Ohri, the then Curator of the Himachal State Museum, Shimis, invited me to undertake this work. Accepting his invitation, I visited both the Museums In 1977 for the primary assessment of the work and its nature. Later, during the summers of the years 1978-1982, I stayed at Shimla, where the coins of both the Museums were made available to me for examination and study. I then prepared the Catalogue which forms Part II of this work. Here, at the beginning an abstract is given of the coin collections of both the Museums The coins are described in detail, dividing them into sections according to their nature. The collection comprises of the coins from the Early Mauryan Punch-marked coins down to the Chaklis of Chambo, that were current till the thirties of the present century. The pattern, which is prevalent in catalo quing the Museum Coins, is followed in the Catalogue. Coins that deserve attention, are illustrated. There is little for me to say about this part.

In the course of preparation of the Catalogue, it was realized that it needs an exhaustive introduction, exposing the potentialities of the coins of the Himachal Pradesh as the source for its history. Consequently, to make it more useful. I thought of writing the Numismatic History of Himachal Pradesh itself, instead of any formal introduction. This forms Part 1 of this work. The work was completed and sent to Dr V.C. Ohri in 1983 to take up its publication. But it took quite some time to finalize arrangements for its publication. In the meantime some new material had come to my knowledge and my suggestion was agreed to and the whole history portion was revised. Here, an outline history of Himachal Pradesh is presented mainly on the basis of the numismatic materials. I have used, besides the coin collections of the two Museums, such materials also that were available elsewhere. They are supplemented with other evidence, where the numismatic evidence is lacking. History based on other sources is added to provide a consistency. Here are a few points that merit the attention of the scholars, writing history of this region.

1. It is pointed out here that Jalandhara was the ancient name of Himachal Pradesh and Kangra was known by this name for a long time. This was necessary as our scholars often err in properly interpreting this geographical term. They generally take it to be Jullundhar, the modern district in the plains in Punjab.

2. An assessment is made here of all that was so far said about the early Tribal States that existed in the region of Himachal Pradesh in pre-Chris- tian and early Christian era. Besides throwing some fresh light on them, of the existence of a few other Tribal States here, is also indicated. Outlining the political history of these Tribal States, considerable light on their religious beliefs and their administrative set-up is also thrown on the basis of coins.

**Contents and Sample Pages**