India RR late silver damma of Asad/Srimad Varaha, later 800s, Samid Amirs of Multan (F/T #M69)

Nagari legend Sri mad / Varaha, mark in the lower field // Three dots, stylized Brahmi "Sri" above, Brahmi letters Ta and Pa in fields, below Lillah Asad in arabic. 10mm, 0.45 grams. Fishman/Todd "The Silver Damma" M69.

Rare ruler - very rare late issue with a mark on the obverse, rated RR in Fishman/Todd.

"Varaha", mentioned on the reverse, is the boar avatar of Vishnu. The appearance of the boar avatar of Lord Vishnu on the coins of Assad is perhaps even more puzzling than the appearance of Mithra on the coins of Muhammad III.  Why this particular avatar of Vishnu, haram in Islam, would be selected for this honour is hard to rationalize. It is likely that Srimad Varāha was the biruda of Assad, which he adopted for himself in imitation of Mihira Bhoja I (836-85 CE), who might have been dead at this point. This suggestion is supported by the fact that, while the Srimad-varāha biruda of Assad is similar to the Srimad-adivarāha biruda of Mihira Bhoja, it is actually not identical. The title might not have carried actual religious meaning to Assad, instead being used much like the titles “Augustus”, “Caesar” or “second Alexander”: in this context the meaning of Srimad Varāha title would have been that Assad defeated the enemies of his land and rescued it, just as Vishnu, as Varāha, rescued earth personified by the goddess Bhudevi.

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