India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c9.s5.17

c9.s5.17

(11) *Bhāra*. It is referred to in *sūtra* VI. 2. 38, in connection with the derivation of *mahā-bhāra*. The exact significance is uncertain, but like other words of that *sūtra* it was a *samjñā* word with a definite meaning, and not a common noun. According to the table given in the *Amarakośa* (II.9. 87) 1 *bhāra* = 8,000 *karshas* or nearly 2½ maunds. This is supported by Kauṭilya defining *bhāra* as equal to 20 *tulās* (*viṁśati-tauliko bhāraḥ*, II. 19); a *tulā* being equal to 100 *palas*, a *bhāra* would be = 2,000 *palas* or 2½ maunds. It appears that the quantity weighed at one time by a hand-balance was one *tulā* or 5 seers. *Bhāra* appears to be a head-load carried by a human being, and *mahā-bhāra* would indicate a quantity much in excess of this, most likely a cart-load.