Yali Lion 20 Cash Mysore India Princely State Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry (Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar III) (Vyala) (Sardula) (Trilingual)

Yali Lion 20 Cash Mysore India Princely State Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Craft Making (Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar III) (Vyala) (Sardula) (Trilingual Coin) (Game Fanatic)

Obverse
Center: Yali Lion (mythical leogryph) with right paw upraised.
Top: Kannada legend above - ಶ್ರೀ ಚಾಮುಂಡಿ (Sri Chamundi) with sun and moon between ಶ್ರೀ (Sri). This refers to Mysore’s very highly revered Chamundeshwari Temple.
Bottom: Date below the lion.
The whole enclosed in lined circle and ring of dots.

Reverse:
Multiple languages are present, a very unusual situation.
1) ಕೃಷ್ಣ (Krishna) in the Kannada language (this refers to the ruler, Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar III).
2) ضرب بمیسور. (Struck in Mysore) on the field, in the Persian language, at the coin's center.
3) ಮಯಿಲಿ ಕಾಸು ೨೦ (Mayili Kasu 20) in the Kannada language.
4) In the outer margin, enclosed in a lined circle: "MEILEE XX CASH". The first word MEILEE here is a transliteration of the Kannada word "Mayili" into "English" letters. Then, there are Roman Numerals XX for the number "twenty". Then, the English word "CASH" is used.

(N.B. Although the coin states that it was struck at Mysore, the mint had already been transferred to Bangalore in 1833.)

Features
Issuer Princely state of Mysore (Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar III - 1810-1868 CE)
Type Standard circulation coin
Years 1833-1843
Value 20 Cash (1/48)
Currency Rupee (1793-1848)
Composition Copper
Weight 8.88 g
Diameter 20 mm
Thickness 3.88 mm
Shape Round
Demonetized Yes
Number N# 44910
References C# 193.2

Wikipedia:
Yali is a mythical creature seen in many South Indian temples ... often sculpted onto the pillars. It may be portrayed as part lion, part elephant and part horse, and in similar shapes. Also, it has been sometimes described as a leogryph (part lion and part griffin), with some bird-like features.

Descriptions of and references to yalis are very old, but they became prominent in south Indian sculpture in the 16th century. Yalis were believed to be more powerful than the lion, the tiger or the elephant.

In its iconography and image the yali has a catlike graceful body, but the head of a lion with tusks of an elephant (gaja) and tail of a serpent. Sometimes they have been shown standing on the back of a makara, another mythical creature and considered to be the Vahana of Budha (Mercury). ... Images or icons have been found on the entrance walls of the temples, and the graceful mythical lion is believed to protect and guard the temples and ways leading to the temple. They usually have the stylized body of a lion and the head of some other beast, most often an elephant (gaja-vyala). Other common examples are: the lion-headed (simha-vyala), horse- (ashva-vyala), human- (nir-vyala) and the dog-headed (shvana-vyala) ones.

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Vyala, also called sardula, popular motif in Indian art, consisting of a composite leonine creature with the head of a tiger, elephant, bird, or other animal, frequently shown in combat with humans or pouncing upon an elephant. Essentially a solar symbol, it represents—like the eagle seizing the serpent—the triumph of the spirit over matter.
Occurring in a relatively naturalistic form in the earliest monuments, notably the great stupa at Sanchi (c. 50 BC) and in the Kushan sculpture of Mathura (1st–3rd century AD), the vyala assumed a definite stylized form about the 5th century. From the 8th century onward, it was constantly employed in architectural decoration, being repeated, for example, on the walls of temples.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/art/vyala

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Wikipedia:
The Chamundeshwari Temple is a Hindu temple located on the top of Chamundi Hills about 13 km from the palace city of Mysuru in the state of Karnataka in India. The temple was named after Chamundeshwari or, the fierce form of Shakti, a tutelary deity held in reverence for centuries by the Maharaja of Mysuru.

Chamundeshwari is called by the people of Karnataka as Naada Devi (ನಾಡ ದೇವಿ), which means state Goddess. It is situated at the elevation of around 3300 ft from the mean sea level.

It is believed that Goddess Durga slayed the demon king Mahishasura on the top of this hill which was ruled by him. The place was later known as Mahishooru (Place of Mahisha). The British changed it to Mysore and later Kannadized into Mysuru.
The Chamundeshwari Temple is considered as a Shakti Peetha and one among the 18 Shakti Peethas. It is known as Krouncha Pitha as the region was known in Puranic times as Krouncha Puri. It is said that the hair of Sati fell here.

The original shrine is thought to have been built in the 12th century by the Rulers of the Hoysala Dynasty while its tower was probably built by the Rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 17th century. In 1659, a staircase of one thousand steps was built leading up to the 3000-foot summit of the hill.
The temple is famous for the celebrations of festivals like Ashada Shukravara (ಆಶಾಡಾ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ), Navaratri and Ammanavara Vardhanthi (ಅಮ್ಮನವರ ವರ್ಧಂತಿ). In the month of Ashadha, Fridays are considered particularly auspicious. Lakhs of devotees throng the temple during this occasion. Another festival celebrated during this month is Chamundi Jayanti. This day is celebrated on the anniversary of the consecration of the Utsava Moorti of the goddess by the Maharaja of Mysore. On this occasion, the goddess's idol is taken around the temple in a golden palanquin
The most important festival that is celebrated here is Navaratri. Mysuru Dasara is celebrated as the state festival of Karnataka, called Nada habba (ನಾಡಾ ಹಬ್ಬಾ) in Kannada. During Navaratri, the idol is decorated in 9 different ways to depict the nine different aspects of the goddess known as Navadurgas. On the 7th day of Navaratri that is dedicated to the goddess Kalaratri, valuable jewels donated by Maharajas are brought from the District Treasury of Mysuru and are given to the temple to decorate the idol.

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Wikipedia:
Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III (Sriman Rajadhiraja Raja Parameshvara Praudha-pratapa Apratima-vira Narapati Birud-antembara-ganda Maharaja Sir Krishnaraja Wadiyar III Bahadur; Kannada: ಮುಮ್ಮಡಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಜ ಒಡೆಯರ್; 14 July 1794 – 27 March 1868) was the twenty -second maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. Also known as Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the maharaja belonged to the Wadiyar dynasty and ruled the kingdom for nearly seventy years, from 30 June 1799 to 27 March 1868. He is known for his contribution and patronage to different arts and music during his reign. He was succeeded by his adopted son, Chamarajendra Wadiyar X.
Krishnaraja Wadiyar III was responsible for the cultural growth of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was himself a writer, having written Kannada books like Sritattvanidhi and Sougandhikaparinaya. He also has a number of writers in his court who together contributed to the development of modern Kannada prose, which had a style different from the Champu style of prose which was followed till then. … The king was well versed in many languages, including Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil, English, Telugu, and Urdu. He even played the musical instrument, veena. He was an expert player of board games and is credited to have revived the Ganjifa game. He was also a collector and an inventor of board games.

Krishnaraja Wadiyar III was a ruler who gave a lot of importance to the development of art during his period. He patronised many scholars in his court and he himself was a great Kannada and Sanskrit Scholar, and has composed more than 50 works.

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Games Afoot
BY LAURA DURNFORD

One of the most avid games inventors and enthusiasts of all was a 19th-century rajah from Mysore, India. Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar III collected beautiful game sets, paraphernalia and artworks, and also hybridised traditional games and devised new games of his own. For the first time ever, many of his objects are on display, forming part of an exhibition on 'Asian Games: The Art of Contest' at the Asia Society and Museum in New York.

Irving Finkel of the British Museum is one of the curators and says that the Rajah's works were often based on quite complicated mathematics. For example, engraved brass plates reveal how he plotted a solution to the very difficult problem of how to move a chess knight in such a way that it would land once on each and every square. And he not only succeeded, but "the line which traced the route would be an outline of the images of the gods", says Dr Finkel.

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20070510034728/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/cultureandhistory/041215doc