Tribal-Post Mauryan, Sibi Janapada (200 BC), Copper Unit,

Description

Tribal-Post Mauryan, Sibi Janapada (200 BC), Copper Unit,
Obv: Swastika & traces of tree in the center.
Rev: Traces of six-arched hill with crescent (chaitya) .
(Handa # Pl. XXXII- 5), Extremely Rare.
Note: Referred to in the Rigveda and the Aitareya Brahmana as the Shivas, the Sibis are amongst the earliest known tribes of ancient India. They are one of the many tribes described in these ancient texts as having been defeated by the Trtsu-Bharata (Puru) king Sudas in the famous Battle of the Ten Kings, or the Dasrajya Yuddha, which is recorded to have taken place somewhere near the rivers Vipas (Beas) and Purushni (Ravi). They feature prominently in the Mahabharata, with their king Usinara having attended the swayamvara of Draupadi and later fighting alongside the Pandavas in Kurukshetra where he was killed by Dronacharya. They also appear in the writings of Patanjali and Katyayana, and their cities, Arithapura and Jetuttara, can be found in Buddhist texts such Mahamayuri and the Jatakas. In the 10th century AD, Jetuttara is referred to by Al-Beruni as Jattaraur in Mariwar, which is present-day Mewar, and it is here, at Nagari and Chittorgarh, that the coins of this illustrious tribe have been found.