Economics (4): Measures, Weights and Coinage

The term ‘measures’ plays an important role in trade. All the aspects of measures dealt with in trade and commerce are enlisted in Amarakośa such as–numerals^[1], measures of length, weight, volume and currency are presented below:

(a) Three kinds of measures:

Māna (II. 9. 85; p. 219) –Measure: Amarakośa mentions yautava, druvaya and pāyya as kinds of measures. Kṣīrasvāmin explains that tulā etc., was measure of weight (unmāna), while aṅgulyādi was lineal measure (pramāṇa) and prastha and others are measure of volume (sarvatomāna or parimāṇa).

He justifies his explanation citing from an unknown source:

tatra tulādyunmānaṃ āṅgulyādi pramāṇaṃ prasthadi parimāṇaṃ yadāhuḥ—
ūrdhvaṃ mānaṃ khilonmānaṃ parimāṇaṃ tu sarvataḥ |
āyāmastu pramāṇaṃ syātsaṃkhyā bhinnā tu sarvataḥ |

Kṣīrasvāmin remarks in the context that Gauḍa was mistaken in identifying pautava with tulā and the rest; druvaya with prastha and others; and pāyya with hasta and so on–

pautavaṃ tulādi druvayaṃ prasthadi pāyyaṃ hastādīti gauḍo bhrāntaḥ |

Arthaśāstra denotes the superintendent of weights and measures as pautavādhyakṣa from which one can infer that pautava was the term for measure of currency which is also yautava as in Amarakośa

Thus it is inferred that yautava is measure of currency, druvaya-cubic and gravitational measure and pāyya–lineal measure.

(b) Measures of length:

Amarakośa mentions the measures of length in the Bhūmi varga and Kṣīrasvāmin gives some important notes on them.

Name of measure	Its ratio as in Amarakośa	Additional notes of Kṣīrasvāmin	Kṣīrasvāmin's comments
Gavyūti (II. 1. 19; p. 73)	2 krośas	—
Nalvaḥ (II. 1. 19; p. 73)	400 kiṣkus	100 hastas; hasta = kiṣku	kiṣkurhastasteṣāṃ catuḥśatī nalvamiti mālā | kātyastu nalvaṃ hastaśatamāha
Yojanam (III. 5. 30; p. 353)		4 krośas	yojanaṃ catuḥkrośī |

(c) Measures of weight mentioned in Amarakośa (II. 9. 86-7; p. 219):

Upakrama (II. 7. 13; p. 165)–Deliberate commencement: Amarakośa defines Upakrama as deliberate commencement.

Illustrating the word Kṣīrasvāmin records the view of Kātya that the measures of weights were deliberately commenced from the Nanda period–

upajñāya—
ārambhaṇamupakramaḥ yatkātyaḥ yasmātpravṛtta ārambhaḥ sa upakramaḥ nandasyopakramaḥ-nandopakramāṇi mānāni |

The details of measures of weight given by Amarakośa and Kṣīrasvāmin are presented in the table with comparison from two other mathematical texts–Sadratnāmalā and Bhākṣāli.

Kṣīrasvāmin's comments are as follows–

tathā dvekṛṣṇale rūpyamāṣa ityapi darśanāt |
āsmin kāle ādya ityeke yadāhuḥ māṣakaṃ sapta kṛṣṇalāḥ |
ākṣe ṣoḍaṣamāṣake māne dvau vartete yatsmṛtiḥ—
pañca kṛṣṇalako māṣaste suvarṇastu ṣoḍaṣa |
kurudeśe prasiddho visto hemapalaṃ yanmālā—
palena hi suvarṇasya kuruvistaḥ |

Name of measure	Amarakośa	Kṣīrasvāmin	Sadratnāmalā	Bhākṣāli
guñja	5 ādyamāṣaka	Guñja = raktika	2 yavas
Akṣa or karṣa	16 guñja		16 māṣas
pala	4 karṣa		4 karṣa
suvarṇa bista	1 gold akṣa
kurubista	1 gold pala
Tulā	100 palas		100 palas
Bhāra[2]	20 tulās	2000 palas		2000 palas
Ācita	10 bhāras	20000 palas, śākaṭa = bhāra and ācita (āta eva śākaṭākhyopyāci ta iti punarācitaśabdena dyotayate)
1 māṣaka		10 grains / 7 kṛṣṇalas / 5 kṛṣṇalaka	5 guñjas
Kākinī (III. 5. 9; p. 346)		¼ māṣaka or ¼ paṇa; kākiṇī nāma māṣakacaturthabhāgaḥ paṇacaturthabhāga ityeke |
rūpyamāṣa		2 kṛṣṇala
suvarṇa		16 māṣas

(d) Measures of Money:

Amarakośa mentions only kārṣika and paṇa kinds of coinage. Kṣīrasvāmin defines them as followskārṣāpaṇa and kārṣika are silver karṣas while the copper karṣa is paṇa. and approximately they are equal to 80 śvetakas–karṣasaṃbandhinā paṇyate vyavahriyate'nena rūpyarūpakeṇa kārṣāpaṇaḥ | karṣaḥ pramāṇamasya kārṣikaḥ | tāmramayaṃ karṣapramāṇaṃ tu rūpyaṃ paṇaḥ | tanmūlyaṃ copacārādaśītiḥśvetakāḥ |

(e) Measures of capacities/volume (II. 9. 88-9; p. 220):

Amarakośa mentions only the names of the measures of capacities such as–āḍhaka, droṇa, khārī, vāha, nikuñca, kuḍaba and prastha. Kṣīrasvāmin gives their ratios and remarks that this ratio is for measuring dry substances while the same measure are doubled for liquids.

also he adds that these measures also vary from place to place–

parimāṇa viśeṣā ete yadāhuḥ-
palaṃ praku ñcakaṃ muṣṭiḥ kuḍavastaccatuṣṭayam |
catvāraḥ kuḍavāḥ prasthaścatuḥprasthamathāḍhakam |
āṣṭāḍhako bhaved droṇo dvidroṇaḥ śūrpa ucyate |
sārdhaśūrpo bhavetkhārī dviśūrpā goṇyudāhṛtā |
tāmevabhāraṃ jānīyādvāhobhāra catuṣṭayam |
śuṣkameyetvidaṃ mānaṃ dviguṇaṃ taddraveṣu tu |
tatra deśabhedātsaṃkhyānyathātvaṃ tathā kvaciccaturāḍhako bhaved droṇaḥ ṣoḍaśa droṇā khārī viṃśatidroṇaḥ kumbhaḥ daśakumbho vāhaḥ |

The ratio of measure of volume is compared with other texts as presented below:

Name of measure	Kṣīrasvāmin	Mallinātha	Kauṭilya	Caraka	Bhākshāli[3]
1 pala	Prakuñcaka muṣṭi (a handful)	Nikuñca = 1 / 4 māna
1 kuḍaba	4 palas	4 palas
1 prastha	4 kuḍabas	4 mānas (kuḍabas)	4 kuḍabas		4 kuḍabas
1 āḍhaka	4 prasthas	4 prasthas	4 prasthas		16 kuḍabas of liquid or 4 prasthas of liquid or grain
1 droṇa	8 āḍhakas / 4 āḍhakas	4 āḍhakas	4 āḍhakas		4 āḍhakas of grain
1 śūrpa	2 droṇas			2 droṇas
1 khārī	1½ śūrpa / 16 droṇas	½ droṇa / 2 goṇī / 2 vāha / 8 śūrpas	16 droṇas	4 droṇas	720 prasṛtis of grain
1 kumbha	20 droṇas		20 droṇas
1 goṇī or bhāra	2 śūrpas	2 kumbha	2000 palas	1 khārī
1 vāha	4 bhāras / 10 kumbha	½ āḍhaka / 2 śūrpas / 4 śūrpas	10 kumbha

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Numerals–saṅkhyā is dicussed under section on “Education” in Chapter IV.

[2]:

The weight bearable by a man.

[3]:

Bhākshāli manuscript considers these as measures of weight, p. 121.