Silver Tara Veera Ballala III 1291-1343

Vira Ballala III ruled the Hoysala Empire for over five decades, an extraordinary tenure that ended when he was captured and executed by the Sultan of Madurai, Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Damghani, in 1343. His reign coincided with relentless Sultanate pressure from the north, and the Hoysala kingdom functioned for much of this period as a last refuge for the remnants of southern Hindu political authority. These tiny silver tara fractions were the working currency of that resistance — struck in quantities sufficient for commerce but light enough that surviving examples are frequently found bent or creased from use in cloth or hide pouches.