Vinayaditya, who was a feudatory of Western Chalukyas, was the first to shrug off weakening Chalukyan power and brought Hoysala kingdom to prominence. Vinayaditya called himself Malaparolugonda (Lord of the Hills, from the original homeland in the western mountains of south India). First gold coins of Hoysala dynasty were probably minted by him. There are at least four types coins he minted, all with different obverse, but share the reverse Kanarese legend, Sri Malaparoluganda.
The first coin has double-headed bird, a famous GandaBherunda depicted on top of the mythical lion, Sardula (shown above, the top coin). The sun is shown on right while moon is on left. A lamp is shown in front of Sardula, a reminiscent of Eastern Chalukyas showing lamp before Varaha! Both Sardula and GandaBherunda are mythical creatures. GandaBherunda is a double-headed eagle with peacock tail, having the strength to fly with four elephants! This is considered as a form of NaraSimha, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, described in more details below in Vijayanagara section. Sardula is a Lion like creature, the deity Chamundi (Shakti or Durga in her fierce form) is supposed to be riding Sardula, however, she is not shown on Vinayaditya’s coins (but see on Vishnuvardhan’s coins, shown below).
The second type have Torana or ornamental gateway above Sardula (shown above, the second coin). Sun and moon are seen too. Instead of Torana, Ambari and Umbrella above Sardula are also known.