Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c43.s3.t13.72

v2.c43.s3.t13.72

A fairly long tariff of prices for the pearls was provided in the ancient Sanskrit texts such as AM 129-164; Bṛ. Saṃ., 81.9-19 and RP, 77-94, GP, 1.69.25-34, etc. The tariff was usually divided into two parts: (1) one single pearl of different units of weight, and (2) various numbers of pearls weighing a dharaṇa. Varāhamihira noted that when the weight of a pearl increased from one to two and four māṣakas (one māṣaka equals approximately one gram), the price in kārṣāpaṇa jumped from 135 to 800 and 5300, i.e., 6 and 39 times respectively. The extended table indicated that price (P) increased non-linearly with the weight (w) of the pearl; P is proportional to wⁿ where n is in between two to three. Varāhamihira gave the prices in both kārṣāpaṇa and rūpaka which could have been two names of the same coin. Buddhabhaṭṭa gave the prices in rūpaka alone (RP, 77-85).