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Kahavanu - Raja Raja
| Issuer | Chola dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 985-1014 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Standing royal figure depicted in stylized form, rendered in the bold, deeply incuse relief characteristic of Chola hammered gold coinage. The figure is shown facing, with arms extended, set within a highly decorative field filled with scrolling foliate and abstract motifs typical of the Chola artistic tradition. Grantha script legend reading 'Sri Raja Raja' appears in the field, identifying the issuing ruler. The overall design is executed in a schematic, highly conventionalized style consistent with South Indian medieval gold coinage of the late 10th to early 11th century. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Standing figure, likely a royal or divine effigy, rendered in the characteristic abstract and schematic style of Chola gold kahavanu coinage. The figure is depicted facing, surrounded by circular pellets and scrolling ornamental devices that fill the irregular hammered field. Additional decorative elements including stylized animal or floral motifs occupy the periphery of the flan. The reverse composition mirrors the bold, deeply struck relief of the obverse, consistent with the hammered technique employed throughout the Chola gold series. |
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| Additional information |
Raja Raja I used this gold issue to project Chola authority across the Indian Ocean trade network at a moment when the dynasty was aggressively expanding into Sri Lanka and the Malabar coast. The kahavanu denomination was already well established in Sri Lankan currency before the Cholas adopted and adapted it — a deliberate choice that eased commercial exchange in newly conquered territories without disrupting existing merchant conventions.
His naval campaigns of the 990s, which dismantled the Chera fleet and seized the Maldives, were financed in part through exactly this kind of monetary standardization.