Indian Epigraphy c16.s6.46

c16.s6.46

According to a persistent tradition followed by the Bengal authorities on *Smṛti*, such as Kullūka-bhaṭṭa (15th century), Raghunandana (16th century) and Pañcānana Tarkaratna, 8 *muṣṭis* or handfuls = 1 *kuñci*; 8 *kuñcis* or 64 handfuls = 1 *puṣkala*; 4 *puṣkalas* or 256 handfuls = 1 *ādhaka*; 4 *ādhakas* or 1024 handfuls = 1 *droṇa*. That this refers to the measuring of paddy is clear from the fact that the verse in question is quoted by Kullūka to explain the expression *dhānya-droṇa* in the *Manusmṛti*, VII. 126. According to Pañcānana Tarkaratna, who translated the *Manusaṃhitā* into Bengali, and the Bengali compilers of the *Śabdakalpadruma*, 1 *ādhaka* = 16 or 20 modern Bengal seers,² and 1 *droṇa* = 1 maund 14 seers, or 2 maunds. According to the lexicographer Medinīkara, 8 *droṇas* (8192 handfuls) = 1 *kulya*. A *kulya* of paddy seeds would thus be equal to 12 maunds 32 seers, or 16 maunds. These are the traditional weights of the *kulya*, *droṇa* and *āḍhaka* as recognized by the Bengali authors, especially writers on Smṛti who apparently relied on the authority handed down from old through a succession of teachers. The traditional weight can moreover be tested by a measurement of 8192 handful of paddy for a *kulya*. It should also be noticed that the scheme of 1 *kulya* = 8 *droṇa* = 32 *āḍhaka* perfectly tallies with the other scheme of 1 *Kulyavāpa* = 8 *Droṇavāpa* = 32 *Āḍhavāpas*. It therefore appears that one *Kulyavāpa* of land originally required seeds or seedlings of 12 maunds 32 seers, or 16 maunds, of paddy.