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Numismatics (Hinduism)

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Introduction

During Deepawali “the festival of lights,” the followers of Hinduism purchase gold and silver coins from goldsmiths on which Lord Ram, his wife Sita, and younger brother Laxman and his disciple devotee Hanuman are engraved on one side and goddess Laxmi on other. Also, gold and silver coins of Hindu gods and goddesses are gifted during marriages. These coins are token coins, and they do not have any currency values. However, they rely on the intrinsic value of the metal they are made of. In November 2013, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) minted a coin on which goddess Durga riding a lion was engraved. The ancient Hindu kings used to mint coins where gods and goddesses were engraved. This entry will discuss the numismatics with reference to Hinduism.

Discussion

India has developed some of the world’s first and finest coins, and Hindu scholars believe that earliest minted coins were as old as 600 BCE, and they were called Karshapana. Historical linguists believe that the...

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References

  1. Coomaraswamy AK (1929) Early Indian iconography, Philadelphia: Eastern Art, Art-I, II No. 3, p 183

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  2. Smith VA (1889) The Coinage of the Early or Imperial Gupta Dynasty of Northern India. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 21(1):1–158

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities & Social Sciences – Languages & Literature, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, India

    Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi

Authors
  1. Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi
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Correspondence to Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, TX, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, CA, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Dwivedi, A.V. (2019). Numismatics (Hinduism). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_519-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_519-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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