An expert from the Bangladesh National Museum have deciphered the inscriptions on 17 coins dated back to the times of the Gupta dynasty, in the hope of unearthing more information about the era as well as ancient Bengal.
The discovery was disclosed at a seminar arranged at the auditorium of the museum yesterday, where the expert, Dr Shariful Islam, presented a paper on his new findings.
These coins have been collected at different times since the museum was founded in 1913. They are a part of the museum’s collection of around 5,000 ancient coins. These are all kept in its reserve collection and have not been on display for public, Dr Islam said during his presentation.
Speakers at the seminar said that this discovery opens a new window for researchers and historians to know more about the Gupta Dynasty.
Sharif is an assistant keeper at the museum and the only expert there who can read the ancient Brahmi script, the writing system used during the Gupta period. The coins could not be deciphered before as there were no specialists.
Speaking at the seminar, Faizul Latif Chowdhury, director general of the museum, said there were ancient coins with inscriptions in other ancient languages, but lack of specialists in this area hindered the deciphering of such coins.
The coins in question bear images of the monarchs who issued these coins, their favourite deities, epithets that may have significant value for said monarchs, and versified Sanskrit legends. All the coins date back to the fourth and fifth centuries AD.
A number of these coins were discovered in West Bengal. Only a few Gupta coins were discovered in Bangladesh. Among them, two were found at Mohammadpur in Magura district in 1853, and the other two were found at Mainamati in Comilla district in 1957.
Inscription on one of the coins indicates that the entire Vanga Kingdom – or Greater Bengal – was most likely a part of the Gupta Empire during the reign of Chandragupta I, considered to be the founder of the Gupta Dynasty, or his son and successor Samudragupta.
The coin also indicates that Samudragupta advanced further during his reign and conquered the whole of Vanga, up to Dhaka.
The discovery of a Gupta coin at Kotalipara upazila in Gopalganj clearly indicates the rise of Varakamandala as a political and trade centre during the Gupta period, Dr Sharif said, adding that the discovery of Gupta coins at Mohammadpur in Magura further indicates that it was quite close to Kotalipara.
The impact of the Gupta rule in Bengal was very profound and far-reaching. In the subsequent periods, the administration of Bengal was developed following the local administration and land system established by the Guptas.
Dr Sharif said the new discovery might reconstruct the ancient history of Bengal.
However, Abdul Momin Chowdhury, history professor at Dhaka University who was also present at the seminar, said it would not be prudent to take decisions about the past based on the deciphered information obtained from a few gold coins.