Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.s7.1

c9.s7.1

What commodities were exported or imported or what exchanged inland we do not exactly know. With regard to inland trade we hear a number of commodities that were exchanged. We are told that the sea-faring merchants of Campā referred to above, loaded their carts with four kinds of goods, viz., that which could be counted (gaṇima) as betel-nuts etc., balanced (dharima) as sugar etc., measured (meya) as ghee, rice, etc. and scrutinized (paricchejja) as cloth, jewel, etc. and making provision of various articles such as rice, flour (samiya), oil, ghee, molasses (gula), curds (gorasa), drinking water, water vessels, medicines, drugs, straw, wood, wearing apparel, and weapons etc. for their journey, they left for Mithilā by river.²⁸ As already mentioned, gold and ivory were carried from Uttarāpatha to Dakṣiṇāpatha for sale. Cloth seems to be an important exchangeable commodity. Mathurā and Vidiśā are mentioned as manufacturing centres of cloths.²⁹ The country of Gauḍa was famous for silken garment.³⁰ We are told that the cloth coming from east to the country of Lāta was sold at a higher price.³¹ Then Tāmalitti,³² Malaya,³³ Kāka,³⁴ Tosali,³⁵ Sindhu,³⁶ Dakṣiṇāpatha,³⁷ and China³⁸ were famous for various kinds of textiles. Nepāla was noted for fluffy blankets³⁹; the woolen blankets were sold at a high price in Mahārāṣṭra.⁴⁰