In about 450 AD, Harivarman Ganga founded the kingdom in Kolar, the dynasty henceforth known as the Gangas. Harivarman Ganga was formally crowned by Simhavarman Pallava. Eventually Gangas extended their territory towards the Cauvery basin to the west and Bangalore to the east and made Talakad as their capital. The Kolar, Talakad and Manne were the three principal towns of Gangas and the region they ruled were pronounced as Gangavadi.In about 500 AD, they fully occupied the upper Cauvery basin by throwing out the Kadambas, and hence Kadambas had to move their capital from Halebidu to Banavasi. Later Gangas built a massive monument near Brahmagiri called Shravana Belagola where the worlds tallest monolithic Jain statue "Gomateshwara" stands today. At the close of 10th century, the Chola ruler Raja Raja Chola captured Talakad and the city was named Raja Raja pura.
In Skanda purana, the origin of the capital town Talakad is related to two Kirata brothers Tala and Kad from whom the city name was derived. Somadutta a sage of Kashi, who prayed to Lord Shiva for salvation was directed to go to Siddaranya Kshetra (other name for Talkad). On his way, the wild elephants killed him and his disciples. As they were on elephants during their last moment, they reincarnated as elephants in the next birth. These elephants inhabited the Siddaranya kshetra and flung the lotus petals every day from the nearby pond (towards the Shalmali tree) on the Linga (Lord Siva). The brothers Tala and Kad who were curious at this sight, struck an axe on the Shalmali tree which started bleeding with the blood. Shocked by seeing the blood Tala and Kad prayed Lord Siva who directed the brothers to dress the tree through Ashariravani and the blood disappeared after they did so. Thus the obedient Tala Kad instantly became the Ganas of Siva.
The people called this place by the name of these brothers Tala Kad, and the emblem ELEPHANT, and the floral petals were impressed by the Gangas in their coinage. Though there are hundreds of fabric and style, they all show elephant on the obverse and floral scroll work on the reverse. In some of the coins, the legend Bhad(r)a in Kannada appears above the richly caparisoned elephant facing right, and in some, the royal umbrella above the elephant, or the conch shell in this position. The creeper/grass and caparisoned elephant could be seen on the obverse in varieties. The only dynasty which left imprints of the history of their capital and the mythology linking the place on the coinage could be attributed to Gangas. The denominations are the same usual pagoda weighing 52 grains. the fanam wighed one tenth of the pagoda and very rarely half pagoda. Quarter fanams are rare though were probably abundant during the transaction.
LAST UPDATED 1st Nov 2001
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