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India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c15: Key to Plate Showing Punch-Marked Coins

India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī c15

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Key to Plate Showing Punch-Marked Coins

c15.1

FIGS. 1-5. *Śatamāna* coin (pp. 261-2). Bent-bar silver punch-marked coins from Takshaśilā. Wt. 175 to 178 grs. or 100 *rattis*. Pāṇini V.1.27.

c15.2

FIG. 6. *Triṁśatka* coin (p. 271); Pāṇini V.1.24. Silver punch-marked from Lucknow, with 14 symbols, obverse (big) and reverse (small) punched on one side only. Wt. 105.7 grs.=57.7 *rattis*, i.e. 60 *ratti* or 30 *māsha* standard, as the name implies. Coinage of the ancient Kosala Janapada, as also No. 7.

c15.3

FIG. 7. *Triṁśatka* coin, as No. 6. From Partabgarh. Wt. 104.4 grs. with 1 obverse and 5 reverse symbols punched on the same side.

c15.4

FIG. 8. *Viṁśatika* coin (pp. 268-70); Pāṇini V.1.27; 32. From Madhuri, Shahabad Dt., coinage of Magadha Janapada current in the time of King Bimbisāra (6th cent. B.C.). Wt. 40 *rattis* (*Visatamāso Kahāpaṇo*). Two prominent symbols on one side only.

c15.5

FIG. 9. *Viṁśatika* coin. From Bhabhua, Bihar. Wt. 40.2 *rattis*. Obverse symbols, Sun, Six-armed symbol with 3 ovals and 3 arrow-heads, Bull and Lion; more evolved than No. 8, and hence of the time of Pāṇini (5th cent. B.C.).

c15.6

FIG. 10. *Viṁśatika* coin of alloyed silver. From Madhuri. Wt. 68.4 grs. =38 *rattis*. Four obverse symbols, two bigger, two smaller, two of them being identical; transitional stage between Nos. 8 and 9. *Tri-Viṁśatika* (120 *rattis*), *Dvi-Viṁśatika* (80 *rattis*) and *Adhyardha-Viṁśatika* (60 *rattis*) (*Kāśikā* on V.1.32) and also *Ardha-Viṁśatika* seem to have been actual coins (*J.N.S.I.*, Vol. XV, Pt. p. 38).

c15.7

FIG. 11. Silver punch-marked coin from Patna, identified as *Pāda-Śatamāna* or one quarter of *Śatamāna*. Wt. 45 grs.=25 *rattis*. Size .8"×.8".

c15.8

FIG. 12. Silver punch-marked coin from Partabgarh, identified as *Ardha-Śatamāna* or one-half *Śatamāna*. Wt. 44.98 *rattis*=80.95 grs. Two obverse symbols and one small symbol punched on one side only.

c15.9

FIGS. 13-20. Silver punch-marked coins or *Kārshapaṇas* (pp. 263-5) of the wt. standard of 32 *rattis*; actual wt. is more often a little less owing to wear and tear. They bear on the obverse a regular group of five symbols (*rūpa*, V.2.120) of which two are constant, viz., Sun and Six-armed symbol, which is often designated by numismatists as a *Shaḍara Chakra*. This symbol holds the key to the age of the coin by the varying form of its spokes, consisting on some of three ovals and three taurines (No. 15), on others of three ovals and three arrow-heads (Nos. 13, 14, 18), and on some of three taurines and three arrow-heads (Nos. 19, 20). The first variety (Early) may be assigned to the fifth, the second (Intermediate) to the fourth, and the last (Late) to the third century B.C. (Maurya Period). The coin shown as Fig. 17 is specially noteworthy, as on it the Sun and Six-armed symbols have been replaced by a group of three human figures. This specimen comes from Charsadda in the Peshawar district (ancient Pushkalāvatī, capital of Apara-Gandhāra).

c15.10

FIG. 21. A punch-marked *Kārshāpaṇa* coin of copper with traces of thin silver plating on it, having a regular group of five symbols and a wt. standard of 32 *rattis*. These specimens seem to represent the debased coinage of the Mauryan administration introduced to replenish the exchequer or meet some unusual drain on the currency.

c15.11

FIG. 22. A Half-*Kārshāpaṇa*, 16 rattis (actual 14.6 *rattis*) in wt., called *Ardha* and *Bhāga* in the *Ashṭādhyāyī* (V.1.48-49; p. 266) and *Ardha* by Kauṭilya and Kātyayana (VI.1.25).

c15.12

FIG. 23. *Raupya Māsha* (p. 267), minute silver punch-marked coin of 2 *ratti* wt.=3.5 grs. From Takshaśilā. Stamped with a single symbol on one side. The *Kāśikā* also refers to *Adhyardha-Māshaka* (1½ Māshaka coin of 3 *rattis*), *Dvi-Māshaka* (2-Māshaka coin of 4 *rattis*) and *Tri-Māshaka* (3-Māshaka coin of 6 *rattis*) (*Kāśikā*, V.1.34; *J.N.S.I.*, Vol. XV, Pt. 1, p. 39).

c15.13

[Figure: Punch-marked Coins Illustrating Chapter IV, Section 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23]

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