Laxmi & Saraswati

[N. Ganesan]

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The reverse show goddess, nimbate, standing, slightly bent on
`makara', the crocodile, holding behind her a lotus with long stalk,
in her left hand. She is shown feeding a peacock with fruit. She is
 wearing a sari, bodice, earrings, necklace, armlets etc.
The Legends written in Brahmi reads `Kumarguptodhiraja'.
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 When I wrote my responses in last december, I did not know
Goddess is standing on makara. If so, most likely she is
River Ganga.

There is a small problem in identifying "a goddess feeding peacock"
as KaumArI, since deities feeding their vAhanas are generally
not represented in Indian art. Gods either mount their vahanas or
they stand side by side. As I wrote earlier, the Goddess
(now, Ganga) feeds/protects Kumaragupta (his country).
May be the bounties bestowed by the perennial mighty Ganga on the
flood plains of K.'s kingdom is the coin's theme.

Regards,
N. Ganesan


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