Doctor’s coin has earliest Ganesha image
A few days to go for Ganesh Chaturthi and this Indian doctor is a proud owner of the oldest Ganesha idol on the planet. “I am really happy that my love for antiques was blessed this way,” says Dr Prakash Kothari, who is a Padma Shri awardee.
Founder, professor and Head of the Department of Sexual Medicine at Seth G.S. Medical College and KEM Hospital in Mumbai, Mr Kothari stumbled upon the idol while walking through the ‘chor bazaar’ in Mumbai. “I liked the terracotta seal with a bull which caught my fancy. Surprisingly, neither the seller nor I knew what was behind the seal.
“It was only years later while I was taking a stroll in my office that I looked at it closely. I was surprised to see that the reddish-brown terracotta seal had a carved, two-handed Ganesha with a halo surrounding his head on one side and an image of Nandi and a Brahmi inscription that read Jagesvara on the other," says Dr Kothari.
The terracotta seal is 20 mm in diameter and 5 mm in thickness and weighs around 2.89 grams.
A delighted Dr Kothari sent the seal for examination to various experts in ancient history and epigraphy.
Dr Shrinivas Ritti, professor, Ancient History and Epigraphy at Karnataka University, Dharwad, says the seal belongs to 4th-5th century AD. “Dr T.R. Ravishankar, Director, Epigraphy, Archaeological Survey of India, Mysuru, dates it to 2nd century AD. I also sent it to another expert, Prashant P. Kulkarni, president of the Indian Coin Society, who has attested that it dates back to the 3rd-4th century,” says Dr Kothari.
Dr O.P.L. Srinivastava, registering officer, Antiquities and Art Treasures, Department of Culture, Allahabad, told him that it could even be older. “He believes it may have been made in the 1st century,” he says. This makes the idol the oldest in existence. The first one was discovered in China in 531 AD. If all these experts are to be believed, Dr Kothari’s collection is even older than the Chinese idol. Dr Kothari, who was awarded the ‘Padma Shri’ in January 2002 for his contribution to the field of sexual medicine, says, “I have 250 different pieces of Lord Ganesha and all are rare. But this one is closest to my heart.”