Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics (Carmichael Lectures, 1921) c8.29

c8.29

Cunningham has calculated that the average weight of Ratis is 1·83 grains. Kārshāpaṇa is thus 146·4 grains in weight. In this connection it is necessary to take the sub-divisions of the Kārshāpaṇa into consideration. For our object here is to see whether we can identify Kārshāpaṇa with any coins recovered from old sites by finding out whether the latter conform to one Karsha in weight. And this object can be best realised by seeing that not only Kārshāpaṇa but also its smaller tokens can be satisfactorily identified. A specification of these token coins occurs in two Jātakas,¹ in one passage from the Vinaya-Piṭaka,² and in Kauṭilya’s *Artha-śāstra*.³ An exhaustive list of the sub-divisions of the Kārshāpaṇa money, prepared from these sources, would comprise the following: Kārshāpaṇa, Half-Kārshāpaṇa, One-fourth Kārshāpaṇa, One-eighth-Kārshāpaṇa, Four-Māshaka, Three-Māshaka, Two-Māshaka, One-Māshaka, Half-Māshaka, One-Kākiṇī, and Half-Kākiṇī. Whether these smaller tokens were all of them and at any time prevalent is very doubtful. The most constant factors from amongst these seem to be Half-Kārshāpaṇa, One-fourth-Kārshāpaṇa, One-Māshaka, Half-Māshaka, One Kākiṇī and Half-Kākiṇī. These together with some of the intermediate sub-divisions appear to have formed the token money of the standard Kārshāpaṇa of any particular district or of any particular period. If, therefore, Kārshāpaṇa was one Karsha in weight and is equal to 146·4 grains according to Cunningham’s calculations, in attempting to detect Kārshāpaṇa amongst the numerous types of ancient coinage in India we ought to find out not only whether there are any which conform to this weight but also those of smaller sizes which would correspond to one-half, one-fourth and so on of this weight so as to give us the smaller tokens of the Kārshāpaṇa as well.