41/2 Masaka - Madana Varman Chandellas of Jejakabhukti

Madanavarman's reign over the Chandella kingdom coincided with sustained pressure from the Paramaras to the west and the rising Kalachuris, yet the dynasty maintained enough fiscal confidence to strike gold — albeit at a declining purity that speaks to strained royal treasuries. The debasement visible in this type is not incidental; it tracks a broader north Indian pattern in which twelfth-century regional powers progressively diluted their gold coinage as agrarian revenues faltered and military expenditure mounted.

The fractional denomination — 4½ Masaka — is unusual and reflects the Chandella system of reckoning weight against the older suvarna standard rather than any straightforward halving or quartering logic familiar from contemporary issues.