Note 8 — INDEX

The presence of the two letters क च that is ka cha on the obverse under the arm of the royal figure, has led the late Mr. Thomas, General Cunningham, and Mr. Smith to suppose that the coins belonged to Ghaṭotkacha, the last two letters of the name being the same. This identification seems improbable. Ghaṭotkacha was never powerful enough to have a currency of his own. Sarvarájochchhettá the attribute on the reverse is one of Samudragupta’s epithets, while the figure of the king on the obverse grasping the standard with the disc, illustrating the attribute of universal sovereignty, can refer to none other than Samudragupta the first very powerful king of the dynasty. Perhaps the Kacha or Kácha on these coins is a pet or child name of Samudragupta. Mr. Rapson (Numismatic Chron. 3rd Ser. XI. 48ff) has recently suggested that the Kácha coins belong to an elder brother and predecessor of Samudragupta. But it seems unlikely that a ruler who could justly claim the title Destroyer-of-all-kings should be passed over in silence in the genealogy. Further, as is remarked above, the title Sarvarájochchhettá belongs in the inscriptions to Samudragupta alone: and the fact that in his lifetime Samudragupta’s father chose him as successor is against his exclusion from the throne even for a time. ↑