Editing Chandragupta I (section)

== Coinage ==
[[File:Chandragupta I or Samudragupta, obverse and reverse types.jpg|thumb|{{center|Obverse and reverse of the commemorative Chandragupta and Kumaradevi type.<br>'''Obverse:'''<br> Kumaradeva and Chandragupta standing, legend to the left ''Śrī Kumāradevā'', to the right [[File:Gupta allahabad c.svg|10px]]<sub>[[File:Gupta allahabad ndr.jpg|14px]]</sub>/[[File:Gupta allahabad gu.jpg|14px]]<sub>[[File:Gupta allahabad pt.jpg|12px]]</sub> ''Cha-ndra/gu-pta'' vertically.<br>'''Reverse:'''<br>Goddess seated on lion, with the legend [[File:Gupta_ashoka_l.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka cch.jpg|16px]][[File:Gupta_ashoka_v.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_ashoka_y.svg|14px]]<big><big>𑁊</big></big> ''Li-ccha-va-yah''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=John |title=Catalogue of the coins of the Gupta dynasties |date=1914 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.47214/page/n150 8] |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.47214}}</ref>}}]]
Gold coins bearing portraits of Chandragupta and Kumaradevi have been discovered at [[Mathura]], [[Ayodhya]], [[Lucknow]], [[Sitapur]], [[Tanda, Ambedkar Nagar|Tanda]], [[Ghazipur]], and [[Varanasi]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]]; [[Bayana]] in [[Rajasthan]]; and [[Hajipur]] in [[Bihar]]. The obverse of these coins depicts portraits of Chandragupta and Kumaradevi, with their names in the [[Gupta script]]. The reverse shows a goddess seated on a lion, with the legend "''Li-ccha-va-yah''" ([[File:Gupta_ashoka_l.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta ashoka cch.jpg|16px]][[File:Gupta_ashoka_v.svg|12px]][[File:Gupta_ashoka_y.svg|14px]]<big><big>𑁊</big></big>, "the Lichchhavis").{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|1981|p=11}}{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=90}}

Various scholars, including numismatist [[John Allan (numismatist)|John Allan]], have considered that the gold coins bearing the portraits of Chandragupta and Kumaradevi were issued by [[Samudragupta]] to commemorate his parents,<ref name="RM">{{cite book |last1=Mookerji |first1=Radhakumud |title=The Gupta Empire |date=1997 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=9788120804401 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYXDB2gIYbwC&pg=PA30 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Higham |first1=Charles |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations |date=2014 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438109961 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1c1UIEVH9gC&pg=PA82 |language=en}}</ref> while others have attributed the issue of these coins to Chandragupta himself,{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|1981|p=11}}{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=91-92}} or even suggested that these coins were issued by the Lichchhavis.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=94}}

[[V. S. Pathak]] theorized that the coins show the royal couple in the ''vaivahika'' (nuptial) pose, but there is no concrete evidence that the coins depict the royal wedding.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=94–95}} [[S.V. Sohoni]] theorized that the coins depicted Chandragupta taking leave of Kumaradevi while going on a military campaign, but this is doubtful given the lack of a phrase indicative of military prowess (unlike the coins of their son Samudragupta).{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=94}} The coins probably simply depict Chandragupta and Kumaradevi as joint rulers.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=95}}

The identity of the female figure appearing on the reverse of these coins is uncertain.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|p=48}} It is unlikely that she was a Gupta queen, as the depiction of a female figure seated on a lion is characteristic of a goddess in historical art of India. Some historians, such as [[A. S. Altekar]], have identified the goddess as [[Durga]].{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|pp=48–49}} However, although Durga is often represented as seated on a lion, this attribute is not unique to her: [[Lakshmi]] has also been depicted as seated on a lion. For example, [[Hemadri]]'s works mention ''Simha-vahini'' ("having lion as her [[vahana]]") Lakshmi, and images from [[Khajuraho]] depict ''Simha-vahini'' [[Gajalakshmi]].{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|p=49}} Some scholars, such as [[John Allan (numismatist)|John Allan]], have identified the goddess on the coins as Lakshmi, who is the goddess of fortune and the wife of [[Vishnu]]. She may have been featured on the coins as a symbol of the Guptas' royal prosperity, or as a mark of their [[Vaishnavite]] affiliation, but this cannot be said with certainty.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|pp=48–49}} The goddess may also have been a tutelary goddess of the Lichchhavis, whose name appears below her image, but this cannot be said with certainty either.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|p=49}}{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=93}}