Evidence of survival of Buddhism in Western India until the fifteenth century: revisiting excavated numismatic evidence from mid-nineteenth century Kanheri (original) (raw)

In 1853 E.W. West found five copper coins with Arabic legends in the ancient cave complex of Kanheri Caves in Western India. The area was sprinkled with other artefacts which had clear Buddhist iconography. Though ignorant of Arabic script, West faithfully published detailed drawings of the five copper coins. He deposited them at the Bombay Branch of Royal Asiatic Society (BBRAS) (currently the Asiatic Society of Mumbai). The coins were published by O. Codrington in an article on Indian Sultanate coins. The importance of finding fifteenthcentury Sultanate coins in a ritualistic context of a Buddhist monastery, however, was lost on these early researchers. By revisiting West's findings, the present article highlights the significance of these finds of Sultanate-era coins in extending the lifespan of Buddhist practices in the Indian continent to the second half of the fifteenth century.