2-726-159 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Coin of Chandragupta II , c. 400. The rulers of the Gupta dynasty unified northern India under native rule for the first time since the Maurya empire (323-185 bc). The Guptas named themselves after Chandragupta, the founder of the Maurya dynasty. This coin of Chandragupta II, who ruled from around ad 380 to 415, depicts a divine archer holding a bow and arrow. On the reverse is the Indian goddess of good fortune, Shri, seated on a lotus.