Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c40.s3.2

v2.c40.s3.2

The earliest historical record of the Indian coins is found in Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī. We have noticed that the Vedic literatures mentioned the golden niṣka, sometimes as an ornament and sometimes as a medium of exchange. We postulate that the word niṣka was etymologically related to the word niṣaya mentioned by Pāṇini to indicate binding, meaning financial bond or commitment. Pāṇini referred to several derivative terms based on niṣka: dviniṣka (two niṣka or units of money), bahunaiṣkikam (worth many niṣkas — Pāṇ., 5.1.30), uttamanaiṣkikam (worth the highest niṣka or denomination of money — Pāṇ., 5.1.20). Gold was known as jātarūpa, ‘beautiful when it appears’. Pāṇini forwarded a linguistic hypothesis (we are not sure of its validity) that all words for gold indicating weight or measure (of money) end with an e.g. suvarṇa, svarṇa, hiranya, etc.