History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.285.4

v4.c62.285.4

9 may be consulted for efforts to reconcile the various statements about Suvarṇa, Niṣka &c. For an informing paper on the most ancient *Denarii*, vide Proceedings of the British Academy vol. XVIII pp. 211-266 where it is established that the earliest *denarius* period begins about 187 B. C. Therefore Jolly's assumption (in Recht und Sitte p. 23 followed by Winternitz in 'History of Indian Literature ' vol. II. p. 216. n. 4 that all Indian works in which the word dīnāra occurs cannot have been composed before 2nd century A. D. is unwarranted. Prof. Keith ( JRAS for 1915 p. 504 ) does not accept Jolly's assumption. The dīnāra was variously defined. According to Viṣṇugupta quoted in Hemādri's Vratakhaṇḍa, a rūpaka is 1/70th of suvarṇa and a dīnāra was equal to 28 rūpakas, while acc. to Nār. and Kāt. सुवर्ण and दीनार were synonyms. The Dharmadvaitanirṇaya says that a kārṣāpaṇa (of silver it seems ) was equal to eight or ten *dhabbukas*. One of the verses of the Jñāneśvarī (composed in 1290 A. D.) that speaks of gold as पंधरें ( 15 times in price of the same weight of silver ) may be cited here 'पैं भांगार जरी पंधरें । तरी राजबळींथी अक्षरें । लाहे (v. l. साहे) तैंचि सरे । जियापरी ।' chap. 17 verse 322 (Bhide's and Madgavkar's editions).