Drachm - Bhattaraka

The Maitraka dynasty emerged from the administrative collapse that followed the Gupta empire's fragmentation under repeated Huna incursions. Bhattaraka, the founder, held the title of senapati — a military governor — under the late Guptas before establishing effective independence at Valabhi in Saurashtra, a port city that would grow into one of the subcontinent's most significant Buddhist scholarly centers within two generations of his rule.

Maitraka coinage of this early period closely mimics debased late Gupta silver types, a deliberate choice signaling political continuity rather than rupture. The weight standard had already drifted well below classical Gupta norms by Bhattaraka's time.