Obverse: Bust of Menander Wearing a Military
Helmet Facing Right
Reverse: Pallas Athena Standing to the Left
Menander is the only Yavana (person of Greek
origin in Indian language) king who has become
celebrated in ancient Indian literature. He is
known as `Milinda' who had his capital at Sakala
(modern Sialkot in Pakistan, Euthymedia in
Greek). He is one of the main characters in a Pali
(ancient language of India) treatise called the
Milindpanha (Questions of Milinda). This book
describes fundamental principles of Buddhist
philosophy, narrated in form of a dialogue
between King Milinda and Buddhist scholar
Nagasena. Thus Menander, who converted to
Buddhism, is well known for Indian historians as
a philosopher with superior knowledge in various
schools of thought and not as a mighty
conqueror. He was born at Charikar, a country
between Kabul and Panjshir rivers, a connecting
link between Bactria and India. Menander has
earned tremendous fame as a great ruler not
only in India but also in Greek world.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have
the coin traversed on its journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of
who touched the coin before us, or where the
coin will venture to after us. More than money,
coins are a symbol of the state that struck them,
of a specific time and place, whether
contemporary currencies or artifacts of long
forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and
intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies. The
extraordinary numismatic record of Menander
shows greater variety and wider distribution than
those of any other Indo-Greek ruler. This is a
bilingual coin with interrupted legends. On the
obverse, the legends are in Greek, translated as,
“King Soter Menander.” On the reverse, the
legend is in ancient Indian language Prakrit,
written in Kharoshthi script, reads Maharajasa
tratasa Menandras, translated as “-of the king,
savior, Menander.” This coin is a memorial an
ancient King and his kingdom passed from the
hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to generation that still appears as
vibrant today as the day it was struck.
- (C.7123)
|
