CIT Winter Launch: Ravana, the Hindu ‘Big Bad’, is the fourth in their dimensional deities series of gilded coins

The fourth of CIT’s dimensional deities coins is now upon us and in a break from past tradition, goes with one of the baddies in ancient lore. Ravana is an important presence in the rather large Hindu pantheon and makes a great choice for this series because of his extravagant appearance.

Possessed of ten heads and twenty arms, you would expect the boundaries of minting to have forced a compromise or two, but not at all. It’s an intricate piece, complete with all the heads and arms he needs to get up to plenty of mischief, and with an impressive level of depth and detail. Fully shaped, although with a flat obverse, this series has always been a fine showcase for Smartminting, and clearly contiunues to be so.

It’s three ounces of silver, gilded to a silk finish all over, which suits Indian culture, where gold is much loved. Standing around 60 mm in height, it joins the similarly sized Ganesh, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Madonna of Bruges in this series. While the Buddha coin was issued for Mongolia, this one joins the others in wearing the banner of the Cook Islands.

We believe these are the only CIT issued coins that carry an engraved serial number, and they come packaged in a box with a Certificate of Authenticity. The mintage is capped at 501 pieces and it’s available to pre-order now. A striking piece and our favourite in the series to date.

RAVANA

Ravana is a king of Lanka and the chief antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana and its adaptations. In the Ramayana, Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and Rakshasi Kaikeshi. He abducted Rama’s wife Sita and took her to his kingdom of Lanka, where he held her as a prisoner in Ashok Vatika, and also expressed a desire to marry her. Later, Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanars, attacked Ravana in Lanka. They killed Ravana and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita.

Ravana is widely considered to be a symbol of evil. In Sri Lankan mythology, however, he is considered as a great ruler. Ravana also had many qualities that made him a learned scholar. He was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas. Ravana is considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva. Images of Ravana are seen associated with Shiva at some places. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana text Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, in Buddhist Ramayanas and Jatakas, as well as in Jain Ramayanas. In some scriptures, he is depicted as one of Vishnu’s cursed doorkeepers. (Source: Wikipedia)