Maharaja Agrasen

September 24, 1976

A commemorative postage stamp on Maharaja Agrasen, an Indian king of Agroha :

Issued by India

Issued on Sep 24, 1976

Issued for : The Posts and Telegraphs Department is happy to bring out a special postage stamp in honour of Maharaja Agrasen.

Description of Design : The design of the stamp depicts the bust of Maharaja Agrasen. The obverse and reverse sides of a coin and a brick wall found during excavations at Agroha are also shown in the design.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Burnt Sienna

Denomination : 25 Paise

Overall Size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.

Printing Size : 3.56 X 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Watermark : Unwatermarked paper

Number Printed : 80,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Designed and Printed at : India Security Press

About :

According to tradition there existed in days of yore a flourishing janapada named Agra (Agreya) whose capital was known as Agrodaka. A series of mounds found towards the north-west of Agroha village in Hissar district (Haryana) represent the site where the ancient city of Agrodaka was situated.
Like many other janapadas of ancient India, Agreya was also a city-state. Tradition ascribes the foundation of the state to one Raja Agra, later named as Agrasen. According to tradition Maharaja Agrasen lived around the period of Mahabharata. Evidence relating to this state and its rule has come to light through literature, legends and archaeological finds such as coins.
Maharaja Agrasen believed in equality of men and equal opportunity to all. He developed a particular kind of socialistic society in the state in which every newcomer or a person, who became insolvent due to any reason, was given a coin and one brick by every inhabitant of Agreya Janapada. This enabled him to build his own house and start some industry or trade. This practice was based on the principle of mutual help and was the cause of all-round progress of Agreya.