Sher Shah Suri

Sher Shah Suri (1486 – 1545) (Pashto / Urdu: شیر شاہ سوری) also known as Sher Khan or Tiger King was the founder of the Suri Dynasty in the middle of the 16th century in South Asia. He established his empire after conquering a huge swathe of territory that is now most of Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. Sher Shah (1917 - 1945) was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ... Image File history File links Shershah. ... Image File history File links Shershah. ... Events Tízoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan dies. ... Events February 27 - Battle of Ancrum Moor - Scots victory over superior English forces December 13 - Official opening of the Council of Trent (closed 1563) Battle of Kawagoe - between two branches of Uesugi families and the late Hojo clan in Japan. ... Pashto (‎, IPA: , also rendered as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto ‎, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, Pathani or Pushtoo and also known as Afghan language[4][5]) is an Iranian language spoken by Pashtuns living in Afghanistan and Pakistan[6]. // Geographic distribution of Pashto (purple) and other Iranian languages Pashto is spoken by about 30... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Sher Shah Suris Empire The Suri dynasty was made-up of turkic Oghuz Turks, who ruled northern India between 1540 and 1555/1556. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ...

Early life

Sher Shah Suri was born in Sasaram, Bihar .^[1] He was an ethnic Pashtun from the Kakar tribe which came from Quetta. He descended from an Afghan adventurer recruited by Sultan Bahlol Lodhi during his long contest with the Sharqi Sultans. The Kakar tribe at the time inhabited the northeastern plains of Balochistan and stretched into southern Punjab, near the city of Multan. Kakar and Suri affiliated sub-tribes are also found on the outskirts Peshewar, in Kandahar and as far as Sialkot. , Sasaram (sometimes also spelled as Sahsaram) is the administrative headquarters of Rohtas district in the Indian state of Bihar. ... For other uses, see Bihar (disambiguation). ... Language(s) Pashto (plus second languages from countries of residence) Religion(s) Islam (predominantly Sunni) Pashtuns (Pashto/Urdu/Persian: or پختون , also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns), also called Pathans (Urdu: پٹھان, Hindi: पठान ) or ethnic Afghans (Pashto: افغان )[9][10] are an Eastern Iranian ethno-linguistic group with populations primarily in eastern and... Kakar or Kaker is a Pashtun tribe located in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ...   (Urdu: کوئٹہ) also spelled Kwatah city is a variation of kwatkot, a Pashto word meaning “fort,”. It is the largest city and provincial capital and district of Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. ... Ethnic groups of Afghanistan (1980 map)  42% Pashtun  27% Tajik  9% Hazara  9% Uzbek         3% Turkmen  2% Baloch        Languages of Afghanistan (1980 map)  50% Dari dialect of Persian  35% Pashto  8% Uzbek  3% Turkmen  2% Baloch        The Demographics of Afghanistan are ethnically and linguistically mixed. ... The Lodi Dynasty ( 1451 to 1526), was the last phase of the Delhi Sultanate. ... Balochistan or Baluchistan may refer to: Balochistan (region) is the name of a large region covering southwest Pakistan and southeast Iran Balochistan (Iran) is part of the Iranian Sistan and Baluchistan Province Balochistan (Pakistan) is the name of a province of Pakistan. ... Multan shown on a 1669 world map   (Urdu: ملتان) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. ...   (Pashto: پښور; Urdu: پشاور) is the provincial capital of Pakistans North-West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. ... This article is about the city in Afghanistan. ...

Sher Shah Suri's given title was Farid Kakar. His father was the Jagirdar (landlord) of an estate located in Sasaram, Bihar which had been conquered by various rulers previously. Ill treated by his stepmother, Sher Shah left home at the age of 15 and went to Jaunpur to "seek his fortunes", and once there, he committed himself to serious study. He acquired a good command over the Persian language and Arabic language and was known for his ability in effective administration.^[2]. Kakar or Kaker is a Pashtun tribe located in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ... Jaunpur is a city in Jaunpur District in Uttar Pradesh state of India. ...

Political career

Because of his administrative abilities and vision, he was soon appointed by his father to manage the family Jagir. But again because of his stepmother, he left his father's Jagir and went to Bihar where he later joined the service of Mughal emperor Babur. A Jagir is a small territory granted by a ruler to an army chieftain (called a sardar in Marathi language) in recognition of his military service. ... For other uses, see Bihar (disambiguation). ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad, commonly known as Bābur (February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530) (Chaghatay/Persian: ; also spelled ), was a Muslim Emperor from Central Asia who founded the Mughal dynasty of India. ...

In 1522, he served Bahar Khan, then governor of Bihar. His master was impressed by his service and devotion. Bahar Khan conferred on him the title of Sher Khan for having shown gallantry in killing a tiger single-handed. Later, Sher Khan was appointed Wakil (Governor) and also a tutor of Bahar Khan's son Jalal Khan. For other uses, see Tiger (disambiguation). ...

Jealous of Sher Khan's success, his enemies poisoned his master's mind and he was thus deprived of his father's jagir. He joined the Babur camp where he served from April 1527 to June 1528. But soon, he left Babur and returned to Bihar and took over his old job as a guardian of Jalal Khan. Jalal Khan being a minor, Sher Khan became the virtual ruler of Bihar.

Rise of Sher Khan

Sher Shah's empire

In 1531, Sher Khan asserted his independence from Humayun, Babur's successor. The unexpected rise of Sher Khan made the Lohani Afghans and Jalal Khan impatient. They even entered into an alliance with Muhammad Shah, the king of Bengal. Sher Khan defeated the Bengal king on the Kiul River in 1534. Later, he invaded Bengal and Muhammad Shah handed over him a large sum and territory to make amends. He then became the independent ruler of Bihar and Bengal. Image File history File links Sher_Shah's_empire. ... Image File history File links Sher_Shah's_empire. ... For other uses, see Bengal (disambiguation). ...

In October 1537, Sher Khan again invaded Bengal and besieged the city of Gaur. Humayun, realising the strength of the Afghan overlord, marched to oppose Sher Khan in December 1537, and besieged Chunar. However, the army of Sher Khan baffled all the attempts of the assailants for six months, which gave enough time to Sher Khan for the reduction of Gaur, which was achieved by April 1538. In 1539, as Humayun marched towards Bengal, Sher Khan cleverly occupied the Mughal territories in Bihar and Jaunpur. In 1539, Sher Khan was able to defeat Humayun in the Battle of Chausa. Again in 1540, he defeated Humayun in the Battle of Kannauj, and went on to capture Delhi and Agra at the age of 54. , Gaur, or Gour, as it is spelt mostly in modern times, or Laknauti is a ruined city, in the Malda district of West Bengal, India, on the west bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers downstream from Rajmahal. ... Chunar, located in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state, India, is an ancient town. ... Jaunpur is a city in Jaunpur District in Uttar Pradesh state of India. ... , For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Agra (disambiguation). ...

Sher Khan built the Rohtas Fort in 1541-43 to crush the Gakhars, who were loyal to Humayun, to whom the fort was finally surrendered by a treacherous commander 10 years after Sher Khan's death. Rohtas Fort (Urdu: قلعہ روہتاس Qila Rohtas) is a garrison fort built by the Great Afghan King Sher Shah Suri. ... The location of Hazara relative to surrounding areas Gakhar (also Gakkhar or Ghakhar or Ghakkar) (Urdu: ) are an ancient aristocratic and warlike clan now located in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Jhelum, Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan (Tibet), Chitral, and Khanpur (NWFP) regions in modern day Pakistan. ... Nasiruddin Humayun (March 6, 1508 – February 22, 1556), second Mughal Emperor, ruled in India from 1530–1540 and 1555–1556. ...

Meanwhile, in Marwar the Rathores were becoming very powerful. The Rathore king Rao Maldeo had extended his territory to within a couple of hundred kilometres of Delhi. In 1544 Sher Khan attacked Maldeo. Maldeo came with a force of 40 thousand against Sher Khan's 60 thousand. In the evening Sher Khan sent forged letters to Maldeo's camp. These letters seemed to indicate that some generals from Maldeo's army were buying arms from Sher Khan's army. This caused great consternation in Maldeo's camp who thought that some of his generals had crossed over to Sher Khan, and he left with 20,000 men. Later events proved that there was no crossing over by Maldeo's generals. When the Rathore generals Kumpa (his progeny are Kumpawat Rathores) and Jaita (his progeny are Jaitawat Rathores) found out what happened they did not lose their cool, and decided they would not leave the field even though they just had 20 thousand men and had to face Sher Khan's 60 thousand Pashtuns. In the ensuing battle of Sammel Sher Khan emerged victorious, but several of his generals lost their lives and his army suffered heavy losses. After this he commented that "for a few grains of bajra (a grain crop that grows in Marwar) he had almost lost the entire kingdom of India". Marwar (मारवाड़) is a region of southwestern Rajasthan state in western India. ... The Mehrangarh fort, Jodhpur The Rathore or Rathor or Rathur or Rathod (Hindi: राठौड, IAST: or , Urdu: راٹھور) is a Rajput tribe of India. ... Rao Maldeo Rathore was a suryavanshi Rajput of the Rathore clan (kula). ... Kumpawat is a shakha of suryavanshi rajput kula rathore. ... Jaitawat is a shakha of suryavanshi rajput kula rathore. ... Nutrition information for one cup of cooked millet Millet is the collective name of a group of genera of the grass family(Gramineae/Paniceae) widely grown around the world for food or animal feed. ...

Expansion and victories

The mausoleum of Sher Shah Suri in Sasaram, Bihar

Sher Khan continued to expand his empire, subjugating Bengal, Malwa, Raisen, Sindh and Multan. In the Battle of Raisen, Sher Khan attacked the fort of the Rajput ruler Puran Mal. After it became apparent that defending the fort would be too tough, Puran Mal agreed to surrender the fort on the condition that his troops, their wives and children, be allowed to leave unmolested. Sher Khan agreed. But as Puran Mal and his family were leaving the fort they were attacked by Sher Khan's Pashtuns. Image File history File links Sasaram. ... Image File history File links Sasaram. ... Malwa (Malvi:माळवा) is a region in western India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin in the western part of Madhya Pradesh state and the south-eastern part of Rajasthan. ... Raisen is a town in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. ... Sindh (SindhÄ«: سنڌ, UrdÅ«: سندھ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. ... Multan shown on a 1669 world map   (Urdu: ملتان) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. ... Rajput constitute one of the major Hindu Kshatriya groups from India. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, or ethnic Afghan; in referring to the period of the British Raj or earlier, sometimes Pathan) are an ethnic/religious group of people, living primarily in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India who follow Pashtunwali, their indigenous religion. ...

In a very short time, Sher Khan had extended his kingdom from the Indus in the west to Bengal in the east. He then besieged the strong fort of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand, where he later died in an accidental explosion of gunpowder in May 1545. ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... Kalinjar is a fortress-city in the Bundelkhand region of central India. ... Bundelkhand is a geographic region of central India. ... A modern black powder substitute for muzzleloading rifles in FFG size Gunpowder (also called black powder) is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre or saltpeter) that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as...

Sher Shah Suri was succeeded by his son, Jalal Khan who took the title of Islam Shah Suri. Islam Shah Suri was the second ruler of Sur dynasty. ...

He adopted the self-appointed title of Shah during his rivalry with Humayun in anticipation of power, so his name was again changed from Sher Khan to Sher Shah. In his reign, Sher Shah conquered a large portion of India. Nasiruddin Humayun (March 6, 1508 – February 22, 1556), second Mughal Emperor, ruled in India from 1530–1540 and 1555–1556. ...

Government and administration

Though Sher Shah ruled for only 5 years yet he introduced important administrative reforms, which produced an excellent revenue system. His reforms were accepted by later Mughal and British colonial administrations. His administration was efficient, but somewhat tight. The empire was divided into 47 provinces called Sarkars, and each was subdivided into several smaller districts called Parganas. Each Pargana had its own group of officers called Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaram and a second group called Munsif-i-Munsifan. Every pargana had one military officer, one treasurer, one judicial judge and two accountants, who maintained accounts in both Persian and in Hindi. Sher Shah transferred these officers around every two or three years to prevent any undue influence of officers in one place. He paid attention to improvement of trade, abolishing all taxes which hindered progress of free trade. He built large network of roads. One road ran from Attock to Dacca, second ran from Agra to Burhanpur, third from Agra to Chittor and fourth between Lahore and Multan. Present Grand Trunk Road in Pakistan was built by Sher Shah Suri. In order to stay in power, Sher Shah created an efficient network of spies. He was also strict on crime. He even punished his relatives if they were found guilty by the courts. The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Sarkar could mean: Government in Urdu/Persian/Hindi. ... A pargana is a former administrative unit of the Indian Subcontinent, used primarily, but not exclusively, by the Muslim kingdoms. ... Akbars Fort at Attock Attock (Urdu: اٹک) is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and also a border district on the river Indus. ... Sadarghat, one of the main ports of Dhaka Dhaka (previously Dacca; Bangla: ঢাকা), population 9,000,022 (2001), is the capital of Bangladesh. ... Burhanpur is a town in Madhya Pradesh state, India. ... Chittorgarh (also Chittor, Chittaur, or Chittaurgarh) is an ancient city in Rajasthan state of western India. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ... Multan shown on a 1669 world map   (Urdu: ملتان) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. ... The Grand Trunk Road (abbreviated to GT Road in common usage) is one of South Asias oldest and longest major roads. ...

Reforms

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Sher Shah Suri was a visionary ruler and introduced many military and civil reforms. One of his important innovations was the introduction of the Rupayya or rupee coin in place of “Tanka” and “Jeetal” that were introduced by Turks.; the same name is still used for official coinage in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mauritius, Maldives, Seychelles among other countries. He was the first in South Asia to introduce custom duties, which are still followed up to this day. He undertook extensive repairs of major roads and for travellers' comfort constructed resthouses and places for drinking-water along the road. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... It has been suggested that History of the rupee be merged into this article or section. ... Customs duty is a tariff or tax on the import or export of goods. ...

Sher Shah Suri was, thus, indeed a great ruler. His administrative policies and other policies were so efficient that Akbar, the greatest of the Mughals, followed almost all of them. So, Sher Shah is rightly regarded as the 'forerunner of Akbar'. His genius and chivalry was recognised by his former foe Humayun, who upon hearing of Sher Shah's passing, referred to him as "Ustad-i-Badshahan" (Master of Kings).^[3] This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Nasiruddin Humayun (March 6, 1508 – February 22, 1556), second Mughal Emperor, ruled in India from 1530–1540 and 1555–1556. ...

As far as his revenue and agricultural reforms, he was the first one among the kings of Delhi to start land measurement, categorize cultivated land according to its product, and implement a new revenue system. He made a farmer friendly policy of agricultural loans called “Taqavi system”. He also used his experience of managing his own Jageer at Sasaram. He introduced system of “Sarkars”, “Parganas” and villages in place of provinces. “Shiqdars” governed Sarkars whereas Parganas were under minor Shiqdars called “Shiqdaran”. There were “Munsifan” in Sarkars and Munsifs in Parganas to run judicial functions. Munsifan also resolved disputes between Sarkar and Pargana. There was a “Qanoongo” in each Sarkar who was the supervisor of records of property. “Fautedar” kept records both in Persian and Hindi.

Sher Shah used spying as a tool to be aware of woes of people, and established an efficient postal system in which horses carried mail to inns that were at equal distances of 12 miles from each other. These inns served also as post offices and spying centres and it was the duty of respective villages to bear expenses of their inns.

He was the first one to keep the military away from political and social issues in the empire. He made cantonment areas and deployed there a large army under a commander called “Faujdar”. He crushed the frontier Pashtun tribes, Balochs, Rajputs, Gakkhars and Khokhars while chasing Mughals out of India in his brief rule of five years. He also joined, Multan, Bengal, Burhanpur and Jotepur with Agra through the famous Grand Trunk road. Sher Shah followed the branding and “Huliya” systems of Alauddin Khilji to avoid forgery done by Nobles. He also established a standing army with regular salaries, instead of dividing war booty. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

One of the most appreciated steps taken by Sher Shah was building inns, mosques and roads, planting trees, digging wells, spending money on “Ulema” and “Madarsas” and helped the poor and needy. He established free kitchens at various places in his empire and spent 500 Ashrafis on them daily. These steps place him equal to Feroz Shah Tughlaq considered as a kind-hearted ruler by the historians like Ziaud Din Barni and Shams Afif in Tareekh-e-Feroz Shahi. Firuz Shah was a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty (1351 - 1388). ...

Sher Shah Suri appears before us as a nation builder who allowed not only Muslims but also Buddhists and Hindus to enjoy all opportunities. He tried to establish a national government, which shows that he followed the policy of Alauddin Khilji who, for the first time, employed Hindus as soldiers as well as revenue collectors. Sher Shah united Afghans living in India and revived them as a power in the subcontinent. However, this unity and strength ended with the end of his life when he laid siege to Kalinjar in 1545. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Sher Shah was a military genius because he knew the war strategies of Afghans and Mughals and used his own delaying tactics of long negotiations and misleading the enemy. He defeated Humayun by using the same tactics in both wars of Chausa and Kannauj in 1539 and 1540 respectively. Sher Shah’s theory of kingship and his rules of war depict him as a shrewd ruler. According to him, justice was not only to be dispensed to believers but also infidels. Sher Shah once punished his own son on his bad conduct.

Sher Shah had a refined taste in architecture. He built mosques and inns around India, and cities sprang up along the highways he built. A mosque in Delhi and his own mausoleum are sound proof of his refined taste. Another is the construction of the fort of Rohtas-e-Nau on the Jhelum.

Sher Shah was a great critic of “Mughal administration” and used this term wherever he found administrative flaws. He seized power when he was 54 but even at this old age, he was active and hard worker. According to Razzaq Mushtaqi and Abbass Sherwani, both contemporary historians, Sher Shah used to get up early for “Fajr” prayers and inspected branding of horses, helped the poor and needy and then held court. He himself used to say: “Alas! When I seized the power it was twilight of my life.”

The hardships faced by Sher Shah were no less than that of Humayun. Like Humayun, he faced opposition from stepbrothers, had many rivals whom he overcame, and had no money in the treasury at the beginning of his rule. Even then, he gave a completely new structure of government along with a revenue system for a permanent source of income.

Important dates

• 1486, Sher Khan born
• 1522, Sher Khan took the service of Bahar Khan
• 1527 - 1528, Sher Khan served the Babur camp
• 1534, Sher Khan defeated the Bengal king on the Kiul river
• October 1537, Sher Khan invaded Bengal and besieged the city of Gaur
• 1539, Sher Khan defeated Humayun at Chausa
• 1540, Sher Khan defeated Humayun at Kannauj
• May 1545, Death of Sher Khan

References

Bibliography

• Dr. Hussain Khan, Sher Shah Suri-1539-1545 published by Ferozsons, Lahore, Pakistan.
• The Mertiyo Rathors of Merto, Rajasthan (2 vols.)

Select Translations Bearing on the History of a Rajput Family, 1462-1660 Translator Saran, Richard D. Annotations by Saran, Richard D. Hardcover Edition: Series#:51; Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia (Hardcover) 772 pages Publisher: University of Michigan Press ISBN / EAN: 0891480854

• http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=6646&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

"Later, ancient Bactria, in northern Afghanistan, was joined to India by a 4,200-kilometer road built by Indian’s Maurya dynasty, and was linked to Central Asia and the Middle East by the imperial highways of the Persians."

• Clive Ponting: World History, A New Perspective, Published by Pimlico 2001, ISBN 0-7126-6572-2, Printed and Bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham PLC.

"When Chang Ch'ien arrived in Ferghana he was surprised to find that a vast array of Chinese goods were on sale, especially silk which was only manufactured in China. These goods had travelled by the route opened in 4th century BCE from China via Schezwan and Yunnan to Burma and eastern India. From there they had been traded along the India Grand Road (built under the Mauryan Empire) up the Ganges valley to the grand trading city of Taxila and then into central Asia." [Page 250]

• INDIA & Southeast Asia to 1875: Sanderson Beck, Paperback: 775 pages, Publisher: World Peace Communications (December 7, 2004) ISBN 0-9762210-0-4

"Humayun escaped and went to Lahore while Sher Khan went back to Gaur to destroy the remnant of the Mughal army and imprison a rebelling governor. Sher Khan became Sher Shah and organized his empire while Humayun, unable to get help from his brothers, fled all the way to the Safavid court in Iran. After subjugating Malwa in 1542, Sher Shah invaded central India. While capturing a fort in Kalinjar, Sher Shah was killed by a gunpowder explosion in 1545."

Fergana is a city in the Fergana Valley, capital of the Fargona Viloyati of Uzbekistan. ... is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Additional reading

• Tarikh-e-Afghani
• Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi
• Tarikh-i Shahi
• Tarikh-i Khan Jahani wa Makhzan-i Afghani
• Edward Thomas (1871) The Chronicles of the Pathan Kings of Delhi
• Kalkar Nijan, Sher Shah And His Times
• Sir Olaf Caroe, The Pathans
• Syed Bahadur Shah Zafar Kakakhel, Pashtoon
• Article of Ahmad Yar Khan Kakar about Kakar tribe and Sher shah Suri in Wikipedia.org

The Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (or history of Sher Shah) is an historic document detailing the rule of emperor Sher Shah Suri. ... Nimat Allah al-Harawi[1] (fl. ... Do you mean: Edward Thomas, the English poet, killed at Arras in 1917 Corporal Edward Thomas, who fired the first British shots in World War I This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe KCSI, KCIE (1892-1981) was a British administrator in India. ...

External links

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Sher Shah Suri

• Sher Shah Suri
• Sher Shah Suri and early Mughal period
• Sher Shah brief biography as ruler
• Columbia Encyclopedia - Sher Khan
• Shersha's rupee