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3 Coinage M 254 Innumerable are our references to the various coins that have been mentioned in the various stories of the merchants and the kings. The coins that have often been mentioned are Pana, Suvarna, Svarna, Masa and Dinar. Pana and Ardha-Pana tapillos denomination Pana is often mentioned. Its sub-ultiple viz. the ardha-pana is also mentioned. It was a silver as well as a copper coin. A copper pana was equal to 80 ratis or 16 masas. Panini mentions pana. na. 347 349 348 During the Jataka times it was called Karshapana. According to 350 Agarwal it was a silver punch marked coin. pana-was in vogue in the days of Somadeva. hnung This coinIt is said that a merchant of Supratisthita sold this accumulated pieces of fire-wood for 100 panas. It is mentioned that 352 2000 panas were paid by a merchant to a singer. A doctor 353 charged a fee of ten panas to a Brahmin. A fool is said rammin. to have recovered an 'ardha-pana' from the yearly salary 354 of his servant. The daily earnings of a Pandit are 347. Rapson E.J. 'Catalogue of Indian Coins', Introduction (cl xxix) 348. Agarwal V.S. op.cit.p.265. 349. NbSd. p.265. 350. Ibid. p.264. 351. Ibid. 1.6.46. 352. Ibid. 10.7.158. 353. Ibid. 10.8.232. 354. Ibid. 10.5.274-277.

255 355 In the market of a certain said to be an ardha-pana. town many panas were spent by a man to bring journey 356 provisions (patheyam) and eight cakes (apupikas) were 357 bought for a pana in a market. Suvarna (Svarna) 358 It appears This gold coin is often mentioned. to be a standard medium of exchange. Yet we do not get any idea about its weegt and value in the Kathasaritsagara It is mentioned in the Satapatha Brahamana, by Manu and by 359 Kautilya. According to Agarwal suvarna was a coin with 360 鉁� a weight of one Karsha. According to the tradition it may be a coin or denomination of weight equal to 80 Gunjas or 146 grains. Suvarnas of the Indian standard of 80 ratis were only issued only long afterwards by Skandagupta for the first time. Before him this word 361 was applied to the gold coins of the Kushanas. The word svarna is also used in place of Suvarna in Kathasaritsagara Probably its meaning is the same as that of a suvarna. Svarna and Suvarna thus both indicate a gold currency 355. Nirnaya Sagar 10.5.273, 275, 276. 356. Ibid. 10.5.276. 357. Ibid. 10.6.204. 358. Ibid. 4.1.87, 2.4.9, 4.2.72, 7.1.25, 9.4.89-91, 10.1.83, 7.1.25, 7.1.33, 18.2.190, 9.3.83, 1.4.93, 1.3.22, 2.4.9, 9.3.83,84. 359. S.Br. xii 7.2.13, xiii 2.3.2, and Bhandarkar, Carmichael Lectures, p.212, 90. 360. Agarwal V.S. op.cit., p.261. 361. Chakraborty S.K. Ancient Indian Numismatics,p.100.

256 that was in vogue in those days. Their meaning appears to be coined-gold. A gambler gave such a gold coin to an asectic. A minister is also said to have bribed his 362 king by giving him 1000 gold-pieces. At another place it is mentioned that King Vinitamati of Ahichchatra gave ten crores of svarna coins to Brahmanas to get 363 rid of a sin. One crore of suvarna was paid by Vyadi 364 to Varsha as his tution fees. Dimar This is the most popular coin in use during the days of Somadeva. 365 from Kathasaritsagara This is often mentioned in many stories Dinar originally a Roman silver coin was 366 first minted in the late third century B.C. Afterwards gold dinars were also minted. These dinars were imported in large numbers when a brisk trade was going on between Rome and India. The Kushanas were probably the first dynasty to mint the gold dinars in India since we find 367 gold dinars of Kanishka. The Guptas imitated the Kushanas in the issue of their gold coins- the dinars 362. Panzer, The ocean of stories, Vol. V. p.187. 363. Nirnaya Sagar 12.5.11 l. 364. Ibid. 1.4.93. 365. Ibid. 12.26.34, 10.1.10, 12.5.106, 10.10.117, 12.11.11, 4.5.3, 1.6.34, 6.7.136, 9.5.3, 9.4.191, 4.7.9, 9.3.92. 366. Evermans Encyclopedia, Vol.4, p.343. 367. Chakraborty S.K. op.cit., p.30.

257 and suvarnas. The Gupta dinar was 124 grains in weight. The Gupta dinar was first stuck by Chandragupta I when 368 he became conversant with the above Roman coin (denarious). It afterwards came to be applied to the contemporary gold coins different from the Kushana and early Gupta coins in weight. Panchatantra mentions them. Harsha used dinar as his coin. Rajatarangini speaks of dinars 369 of gold, silver and copper. It appears that it was thus extensively in use throughout North-India. This dinar was also used as currency by the kings and the merchants in over-sees trade and commerce. Even Indian merchants engaged in trade and commerce in the middle-Eastern and Far-Eastern countries used this coin as their medium of exchange. Thus this coin appears to be an inter national currency accepted by the mercantile community that traded with India. Kings such as Prasannagit, Naravahanadatta, Udayana, Prithvipati, Sudraka, Udayatunga Lakshadatta, and merchants such as Visakhila, Bhogavarman, Ratnavarman, Ratnavarma, and others are mentioned as using the dinar currency regularly. At times these 370 'dinars' are called gold-dinaras (hema-dinars). 368. Nirnaya Sagar p.343. 369. Bhandarkar, op. cit., p.204. 370. Nirnaya Sagar 6.7.136, 10.4.212,13,15,16, 12.26.34.

258 253 Masa 371 This coin has been rarely mentioned in Kathasaritsagara 372 It was a coin of lower denominations during the times of Patanjali. It was also in use during the Gupta Age. This is really a weight of gold but was probably used as 374 a coin as well. Kapardaka (cowry shells) The cowries have been only once mentioned and were used probably as a medium of exchange. It was in 62% use as a currency in India especially in the villeges 375 during the Gupta Age. 376 used to make a rupee. It is said that 4096 cowries 224 256 Barter Barter on ratio was in vogue in ancient India. It was called 'parivartan during the Kushana period and Sale continued to be in vogue during the succeeding centuries. Even in bazzar this type of transaction was done. of meat through barter was made. Cat's meat was exchanged 371. Nirnaya Sagar 12.8.73-74. 372. Puri B.N. op.cit., p.131. 373. Salatore R.N. op.cit., p.381. also see Jain J.C. op.cit., p.120. 374. Mehta R.N. op.cit., p.234, According to Rapson a silver masa coin was equal to two ratis while that of copper was equal to five ratis in weight, op. cit., Introduction, p.(elxxix). 375. Saletore R.N. op.cit., p.381. 376. Panzer, 'Ocean of Stories!, vol.9, p.17. 377. Puri B.N., India under the Kushanas, p.115.

259 378 for two hundful of grams. Gold was exchanged for a 379 citron and again a citron was exchanged for a garment. And also grounded grams were exchanged for two pieces 380 of wood.