Catalog
1 Tanka - Bappa Rawal Guhilot Nandi
| Issuer | Princely state of Mewar |
|---|---|
| Year | 737-753 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Nandi the sacred bull depicted in seated position facing left, with Apasmara-purusha (the demon of ignorance) prostrate beneath; a Shivalinga and trident (trishula) depicted in the field before Nandi. Devnagari legend 'Shri Vopparaja' (an epithet of Bappa Rawal) inscribed above, serving as the royal dynastic identification of the Guhilot ruler. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Devanagari |
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| Additional information |
Bappa Rawal, the semi-legendary founder of the Guhilot dynasty of Mewar, is credited with wresting Chittor from the Mori Rajputs sometime in the 8th century — the precise date remains contested. His reign coincided with the early Arab incursions into northwestern India, and medieval chronicles credit him with military resistance against Umayyad forces pushing through Sindh. Whether those accounts are accurate history or dynastic myth-making is genuinely unclear.
The Nandi bull type connects this issue to earlier Gupta and post-Gupta coinage traditions rather than reflecting any independent Mewar iconographic program — Bappa Rawal was inheriting a visual vocabulary, not inventing one.