Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c8.40

c8.40

6. Weights and numbers.—There was no uniformity in the standards of weight. The dealers of precious metals, the corn merchants, the dealers of scent, all had their own standards of weight, which even differed from one locality to another. To take an instance, the Seer according to Abu’l Fazl before the time of Akbar was sometimes 18 Dams in weight, at others 22, again 28 and when Abu’l Fazl recorded it, it was 30 Dams.¹ Under these anarchical conditions, when a uniform and equalized measure of weight or measurement was introduced by a wise ruler, the reform was considered worthy of being sung by the bards and poets.² The official weights under the Sultans of Delhi have been fixed at an average of 28.78 lbs. avoirdupois to a maund (Man) or a little over a quarter of a hundredweight or less than half a bushel of wheat.³ The Seers and Chittaks may be calculated accordingly. This calculation, however, is based on the account of the Masalik-ul-absar and on the estimates of the French edition of Ibn Batuta. We do not know for certain how far it applies to the earlier and the later period. If we take the entry of Abu’l Fazl as the standard for the reign of Akbar, his maund (taking a maund equal to 40 seers) would come to 388,725 grains in weight or 55 lbs. avoirdupois for practical purposes, or 56 lbs. or just half a cwt. for rough comparisons. So that 40 of Akbar’s maunds would make a ton as against 27 of the maunds now in ordinary use.⁴