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Gadhaiya Paisa - Somalekha Devi Chauhans of Ajmer
| Issuer | Chauhans of Ajmer |
|---|---|
| Year | 1110-1125 |
| Type | Commemorative circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a bold Nagari inscription filling the entire field, arranged in two lines across the flan. The legend reads Sri Somal Devi, identifying the issuing queen or deity associated with the Chauhan ruler. The lettering is deeply engraved in a bold, angular Nagari script of the early medieval north Indian tradition, with the characters occupying the full width of the coin surface. The flan edges are irregular, consistent with hand-cut hammered production, and no border or decorative framing elements are present. |
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| Reverse lettering | श्री सोमल देवी (Translation: Sri Soma / la Devi.) |
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| Additional information |
The Gadhaiya Paisa tradition descends from Gurjara-Pratihara imitations of the Sasanian drachm, so degraded through generations of copying that the original fire-altar and attendant figures became abstract geometric marks barely recognizable as derived from Persian prototypes. By the time the Chauhans of Ajmer were issuing coins under the Somalekha Devi attribution, the type had been in continuous stylistic decline for over three centuries.
The Chauhans were among the last major Rajput dynasties to strike this coinage before Prithviraj III's defeat at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 effectively ended independent Chauhan monetary production.