7. Trade and Trade-centres (in ancient India)

Traders' Ethics : More money was probably made in business proper. A trader's mentality is naturally not only to preserve the money he has, but to add more to it³. For this, he not only cheated the gentry from whom he purchased the commodities 4 but also his customers with false measures (kudatulamana) 5. There were only a few like Carudatta who were guided by morality 6. A shrewd trader always preferred a bird in hand than two in the bush (labho samdiddho samtam kaham pariccaissam) 7. 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 145. 2. Ibid., 86. 3. Ibid., 14. 4. See the story of gamdhiyaputtas%3B Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 57. 5. Ibid., 333-340 6. Carudatta was not ready to kill a goat for the sake of trade; Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 149. 7. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 15.

Nature of Trade : 404 at Trade was of three types: Business carried on in a single place with a shop%; moving from place to place in a caravan (satthavaha), and thirdly, sea-trade (samjattaga). An instance has been referred to in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, of a trader who starts his career by selling fruits and amasses huge wealth ultimately in sea-trade¹. A trader (satthavaha) is stated to have made a profit of one lakh (sayasahassaguno labho) while only sitting in his shop ². Carudatta relates that the sea-trade was so shop². much profitable that it was always easy to get hundred percent profit (ajjiyao attha kodio, bhamdalaggao tao jalapahagaao dugunao havamti) 3. From the example of Carusami it can be known how huge profits could be made. Carudatta invested one lakh (sayasahassa) initially. At the end of his voyage he earned something like sixteen crores 4. There is, therefore, nothing astonishing in pious traders making a donation of three crores for jinapuja 5. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa 1. ibid., 116. 3. Ibid., 146. 5. Ibid., 112. 2. Ibid., 197. 4. Ibid.

405 two fold: The reason for such huge profit might have been firstly, the difficulty and danger involved in communications on land and in sea-voyages; and, secondly, the commodities of trade must have been articles of luxury which could fetch fabulous amounts. Trade and Trade-centres : The traders moved from one nagara to anotherl or from one country to another (desamtaram) 2. Such a business tour referred to as disajatta once in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa³, - was to important villages and towns which were famous as industrial centres (kammamta-vavara-gama) 4 or for the agricultural produce and hence important from the point of trade (disasamvahagamo...kakuhabhuo janavayassa ya visit the vavahara iham vavaharijjau)5. The pattanas were still important from the point of view of a caravan trader (satthavaha) 6. Bhaddilapura has been described in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa as a place where merchandise from pattanas situated in various directions (nanadisagayapattana) and mountaneous regions (girisambhavam) was brought, and hence 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 282. 2. Ibid., 233" 3. Ibid., 11. 4. Ibid., 145. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid., 8.

it was flooded with both customers and sellers¹. traders carried on business on the boundaries of The countries (paccamte) 2, probably because commodities from both the countries could be purchased or sold. 406 Trade-routes : The important emporia and the routes connecting them as given in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, are as follows. There was a highway from Kosambi to Ujjeni The students of Bavari 3 • have been described to travel from the Godavari to Kosambi. In their long journey, while proceeding for Koshambi from Ujjayini, the students accepted a route which went through Vidisa,i.e. modern Bhilsa 4. The same might have been intended in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa The other trade-route described is that referred to in the story of Carudatta, the trader of Campa. From his village in the kingdom of Amga he proceeded to Ukkala from where he was to go to Tamalitti. The route has been referred to in his book, by Motichandra, as a road from Disasamvaha to Orissa and further to Tamalitti 5, but has not been shown in the map. The third 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 210. 2. Ibid., 257. 3. Ibid., 42. 4. See Motichandra, Sarthavaha, p. 24. 5. Sarthavaha, p. 131.

407 was from Rayapura to the land Ayapaha near mt. Veyaddha, via the lands inhabited by Hunas, Khasas and Cinas and Samkupaha, across rivers Vijaya and Usuvega and Tamkanadesa¹. Motichandra identifies Veyaddha with mt. Tashkuragna in Central Asia, and rives Vijaya and Usuvega with Syr Daria and Oxus respectively². The highway from Barbaricon to Kashgar shown in the map at the end of Sarthavaha is probably described in the adventures of trader Carudatta in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa The fourth route referred to in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa is that joining, Ujjeni and Girinagara in Surattha Visaya³. Foreign Trade : The countries outside India which were connected with Indian ports in the times of the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa are Cinatthana, Suvannabhumi, Kamalapura, Javanadiva and Simhala in the SE, and Babbara and Javana in the west' west 4. The island of Lamka was also visited by Indian traders for the sake of jewels 5. The Indian ports referred to by the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa are Tamalitti and Piyamgupattana?. 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 145-46. 3. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 50. 5. Ibid., 111. 7. Ibid., 146. 2. Sarthavaha, p. 132-33. 4. Ibid., 62, 146. 6. Ibid., 62.

408 Trade routes and sources of precious stones : From the extract on jewels in the Vasudevahindi by Dharmadasa, it can be imagined that the main trade centres in India were connected directly or indirectly with the various sources of pearls and precious stones. These were Kosala, Kalinga, Sabharattha, Sopparaya, Pomda, Matangavisaya, Panduvadavisaya, Javanavisaya, Siripavvada, Javana river, Mt. Mahimda and others¹. In fact, according to Motichandra, some of the places given in ancient books on jewels as the sources of precious, were not famous because these had mines of precious stones, but because business in jewels was carried on there 2. Means of transport : The means of transport brought into use by traders. was generally a cart (sagada) ³. In montaneous regions it was animals like the goat 4. The merchant-ships which traversed a long distance have been referred to as janavatta 6 vahana or pota a 7. 1. Vasudevahindi by Dharmadasa, II.149b-153b. 2. Sarthavaha, P.215. 3. ghayasagada, Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 13; vinasagada, ibid., 126; kappasasagada, ibid., 145; also Sagadiya vaniyaya, ibid., 333. 4. Ibid., 145-46 5. Ibid., 62. 6. Ibid., 62, 112. 7. Ibid., 146,253.

409 The traders who carried on their business by land-routes were called sagadiya vaniyayas 2 1 and satthavahas while the sea-traders were referred to 3 as samjattaya-vaniyagas³. Material Equipment of a caravan : While planning for a long journey the leader of a sattha had to so equip himself as to be able to encounter the various difficulties in travels. 4 Experienced satthavahas who led the sattha were helped by guides (puramgama) 5. 15. The caravan was guarded by the ativahigas The caravan included donkeys, mules and camels?, which carried the necessary equipment, such as tents (padamamdava) vases of rice, vetches and ghee; mortar (ukhali) and pots of oil⁹. 8 These were required as on several occasions the merchants had to cook their own food. While travelling, a merchant always had a pot of water (koraga) and eatables (paheya) with him 10. 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa,333. 3. Ibid., 62. 5. Ibid., 148-49. 7. Ibid., 154. 9. Ibid., 44. 2. Ibid., 61, 145,46. 4. Ibid., 43, 61. 6. Ibid., 8. Ibid., 10. Ibid., 148.

410 Difficulties in travel Apart from the difficulties of shelter, thirst and hunger, to overcome which the merchant applied himself very well, the caravan had to face discomforts in the form of heat and cold, flies, mosquitoes¹, and attacks by highwaymen² and wild animals in the forest ³. Though the sea-traders had not to suffer from these difficulties, it must have involved, for obvious reasons, dangers which made it full of difficulties (paccavayabahula) 4 Commodities and shops : In the description of cities given in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, it becomes evident that a city had in its layout a place for the bazaar or a section wherein there was a row of shop-keepers. Such a shopping centre has been referred to as apanavihi. Existence of such apanavihis in the case of Piyamgupattana and Bhaddilapura 5 has been noted in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa Shops were located sometimes on the 'King's way' itself, as can be seen from the reference pertaining to city of Rayagiha 7. Traders in wine 8, 6 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 333-34 3. Ibid., 282. 2. Ibid., 8, 145. 4. ibid., 253. 6. Ibid., 210. 5. ibid., 145. 7. ibid., 197. 8. rosavaniya, ibid., 368.

411 2 and meat, fish ², cotton and yarn³, lyres 4, ghee 5, scents 6 have been referred to. Of these, butchers and fishermen had their settlements outside the city 7. The lyre-sellers 8 moved like hawkers from door to door. The various commodities displayed in the market of Ilavaddhana were cosmetics including saffron and arsenic (manosila), ornaments of silver, gold, coral, precious stones and shell, various varieties of cloth like silk, linen and blankets, and scents and fragrant powder (gamdhamga) 9. Caravan merchandise : The caravan traders took with them merchandise of four types, viz. ganima, which could be counted; dharima, which could be weighed%;B meya, which could be measured and 10 pareccha which could be evaluated because of its qualities, can be as for instance a jewel. The particulars of these had from the story of Carudatta trader. He took cotton and 11 yarn from Campa and Ukkala to Tamalitti which must have Vhcp) 1. ibid., 261. 2. Ibid., 75. 3. Ibid., 145. 5. Ibid., 13. 4. Ibid., 126. 6. Ibid., 50. 7. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 74-75. 8. Ibid., 100. 9. Ibid., 218. 10. Ibid., 282. 11. Ibid., 145.

412 been a good emporium for these. In the same story, he has been said to have started from Rayapura to the land of Hunas, Khasas and Cinas to reach ultimately the 'island of jewels'. Carudatta this time took with him commodities like curtains (padisirao), cosmetics, (mamdanaga), dye of lac (alattaga), red cloth (rattellaga, potta) and bracelets¹. From the description given later on, it is made clear that these commodities were taken by the adverturous traders not as items yielding profit but for bartering them with goods for their subsistence in the hilly regions with difficult access. -2 as Jewels were brought from the island of Lamka is shown in the story of the two traders in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa The story of the priest Karalapinga shows that the rich had a craze for fabulous animals and birds from foreign countries³. COINAGE AND EXCHANGE : 6 The coins pana 4, kahavana 5 and dinara have been referred to in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, while the padamka has been referred 7 to in the Vasudevahindi by Dharmadasa 1. Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa, 148. 2. Ibid., 111. 3. Ibid., 296. 5. Ibid., 269. 7. Vasudevahindi by Dharmadasa, 11.68b, 215b. 4. Ibid., 15. 6. Ibid., 43, 289.

413 Counterfiet coins (kuda-) were also circulated sometimes by cheats. An example of a fake-ascetic doing so has been referred to in the Vasudevahindi by Sanghadasa¹.