Karshapana
Karshapana (
Etymology
The punch-marked coins were called "Kārṣāpaṇa" because they weighed one kārsha each.[3]
History
The period of the origin of the punch-marked coins is not yet known, but their origin was indigenous.[citation needed]
Literary References
The word, Kārṣāpaṇa, first appears in the
- Na kahapana vassena titti kamesu vijjati appassada dukha kama iti vinnaya pandito.
- "Not by a shower of coins can sensual desires be satiated; sensual desires give little pleasure and are fraught with evil consequences (dukkha)."
and Persian texts of that period.[citation needed]
Patanjali's mid 2nd century BCE commentary, Mahabhashya, on vārttikas of Kātyāyana, on Pāṇini's, c. 400 BCE, Aṣṭādhyāyī,[5] likely composed at Salatura, in the Achaemenid satrapy of Gandāra, uses the word, "Kārṣāpaṇa", to mean a coin –
- कार्षापणशो ददाति
- "He gives by the Kārṣāpaṇa coin" or
- कार्षापणम् ददाति
- "He gives a Kārṣāpaṇa",
while explaining the use of the suffix – शस् taken up by Pāṇini in Sutra V.iv.43, in this case, कार्षापण + शः to indicate distributivity.[6]
The Shatapatha Brahmana speaks about Kārṣāpaṇas weighing 100 ratis which kind were found buried at Taxila by John Marshall in 1912.
Finds
The Golakpur (Patna) find pertains to the period of Ajatashatru.[7]
The
The, c.380 BCE, Chaman Hazuri hoard (Kabul) includes two varieties of punch-marked Indian coins along with numerous Greek coins of 5th and early 4th centuries BCE,[9] thereby indicating that those kind of Kārṣāpaṇas were contemporaneous to the Greek coins and in circulation as legal tender.[10]
Mauryan Period
During the
Even during the
The internal chronology of Kārṣāpaṇa and the marks of distinction between the coins issued by the Janapadas and the Magadhan issues is not known, the Arthashastra of Kautilya speaks about the role of the Lakshanadhyaksha ('the Superintendent of Mint') who knew about the symbols and the Rupadarshaka ('Examiner of Coins'), but has remained silent with regard to the construction, order, meaning and background of the punched symbols on these coins hence their exact identification and dating has not been possible.[16]
The term Kārṣāpaṇa referred to gold, silver and copper coins weighing 80 ratis or 146.5 grains; these coins, the earliest square in shape, followed the ancient Indian system of described in
The local silver punch-marked coins, included in the Bhabhuā and Golakpur finds, were issued by the Janapadas and were in circulation during the rule of the Brihadratha dynasty which was succeeded by the
References
- ^ Parmeshwari Lal Gupta. Coins. National Book Trust. pp. 7–11. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
- ISBN 90-04-09264-1
- ^ A.V.Narsimha Murthy (1975). The Coins of Karnataka. Geetha Book House. p. 19.
- ^ "The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories". www.tipitaka.net. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ISBN 978-0-87169-863-6.
- ISBN 9788120804111.
- ISBN 8186204091.
- ^ Parmeshwari Lal Gupta. Coins. National Book Trust. pp. 17–20, 239–240. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
- ^ Bopearachchi & Cribb, Coins illustrating the History of the Crossroads of Asia 1992, pp. 57–59: "The most important and informative of these hoards is the Chaman Hazouri hoard from Kabul discovered in 1933, which contained royal Achaemenid sigloi from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire, together with a large number of Greek coins dating from the fifth and early fourth century BC, including a local imitation of an Athenian tetradrachm, all apparently taken from circulation in the region."
- ISBN 9789380607283.
- ISBN 9788120804050.
- ISBN 9780520059917.
- ISBN 9788120606067.
- ISBN 9780520245532.
karshapana.
- ISBN 9780706986136.
- ISBN 9788120830400. Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ISBN 9788170172987. Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ISBN 9788120605497. Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-9518399-1-1