History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.290

v4.c62.290

A few words may be said about words like suvarṇa, śatamāna, niṣka &c. The word kṛṣṇala occurs in the Tai. S II. 3. 2 1. Hiraṇyakāra (goldsmith) is found in Vāj. S. 30. 17. In Ṛg. I. 126. 2 gifts of a hundred niṣkas and horses are mentioned and in Ṛg. IV. 37. 4 the Ṛbhus are addressed as wearing 'good niṣkas'. In Atharva V. 14. 3 'niṣka' occurs and in the Ait. Br. (39. 8) damsels who are *niṣkakaṇṭhyaḥ* (whose necks are adorned with necklaces of niṣkas) are among the gifts. So 'niṣka' was probably a gold piece used as a coin or an ornament or a thin plate of gold like a modern *putli*, several of which are even now worn by women in the form of a necklace. In Ṛg. II. 33. 10 Rudra is said to wear 'viśvarūpa-niṣka' which is probably an allusion to golden pieces stamped with various figures. In Ṛg. VI. 47. 23 the sage says that he received ten 'hiraṇyapiṇḍas' (golden pieces) from Divodāsa. In Ṛg. VIII. 78. 2 a prayer is offered to Indra for the bestowal of golden '*mana*', which may be the precursor of 'Śatamāna'. This last occurs in the Tai. S. VI. 6. 10. 2. Pāṇ. (V. 1. 27, 29, 30) respectively mentions śatamāna (what is bought for a śatamāna is called śātamāna), kārṣāpaṇa, niṣka and V. 1. 34 refers to paṇa, pāda and māṣa. Patañjali (Mahābhāṣya vol. III. p. 369 on Pāṇ. VIII. 1. 12) gives the instance 'from this kārṣāpaṇa give one māṣa to each of these two persons who are here'. The sūtra of Pāṇini V. 2. 120 (rūpād--āhatapraśastayor-yap) conveys that p. 82) we learn that in the early centuries of the Christian era 35 kārṣāpaṇas were equal to one suvarṇa.