Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics (Carmichael Lectures, 1921) c7.31.2

c7.31.2

The Śrauta-sūtra of Kātyāyana, in the chapter entitled the Rājasūya-nirūpaṇam, refers to the Śatamāna coin in three consecutive Sūtras.³ But this Śrauta-sūtra probably is of the same period as the Jātakas, and it may consequently be argued that it does not take us anterior to the time we have reached on the strength of these Buddhist Birth Stories. We must, therefore, go to Vedic compositions which are prior in date to this Sūtra. The class of writings, which are of an immediately prior period to the Śrauta-Sūtras are, of course, the Upanishads. The only coin name that we meet with in these works is Nishka which occurs thrice in the Chhāṃdogya.⁴ But if we correctly interpret the passages of this Upanishad, the word nishka in them must be taken to signify "a necklace" and not "a coin." We know that even in classical Sanskrit literature this word had both these senses. And as in the Chhāndogya Upanishad the term nishka has been used in the sense of a "necklace" only, it cannot serve our object. But if the Upanishads are not thus of any use to us, the Brāhmaṇas which are predecessors to the Upanishads can be profitably brought into requisition in this connection. Of this class of composition the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa is perhaps the best known to us, as both a well-edited text and a critical translation are available. We will therefore confine our main attention to this Brāhmaṇa.