History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.329

v4.c62.329

¹⁸⁵ The weights specified are: 10 seeds of māṣa or 5 guñjās = 1 suvarṇa-māṣaka, 16 suvarṇa-māṣakas = one suvarṇa or karṣa, 4 karṣas = one pala, 88 white mustard seeds = one rūpyamāṣaka, 16 rūpyamāṣakas or 20 śaibya seeds = one dharaṇa. The Kāśikā on Pāṇ. II. 4.21 furnishes the interesting item of information that weights and measures (probably in vogue in its day) were first introduced by the Nandas (nandopakramāṇi mānāni). The chief measures of distance given in II. 20 are: 8 atoms = one particle of dust thrown up by a chariot wheel, 8 particles = likṣā, 8 likṣās = a medium-sized yūkā (louse), 8 yūkās = yava (barley corn) of medium size, 8 yavas = one aṅgula, 12 aṅgulas = vitasti, 2 vitastis = aratni or one prājāpatya hand, 2 vitastis plus 4 aṅgulas (called dhanurgraha) = one hasta used in measuring pastures and cubic measures, 4 aratnis = daṇḍa or dhanus or nālikā-pauruṣa, 10 daṇḍas = rajju, 3 rajjus = nivartana, 1000 dhanus (or 2000 acc. to another reading) = goruta, 4 gorutas = one yojana. A *nivartana* was probably so called because it represented a day's ploughing by a team of eight or six oxen (from the root *vṛt* with *ni*), meaning the area from which they stopped after a day's work. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 859 note 2021 for *nivartana* and *gocarma*. The extent of the nivartana differed acc. to different authorities. The Matsya said it was 30 daṇḍas square, each daṇḍa being of the length of seven hastas, while Śātātapa held the daṇḍa to be of 10 hastas. The Līlāvatī (I. 7) held that a nivartana was 20 vaṁśas square, each vaṁśa being of 10 hastas. According to the lexicon Vaijayantī, in Kosala the yojana was of four gavyūtis, while (*Continued from the last page*)