264 



On Ancient Indian Weights 



[No. 3, 



middle-sized barley-corn (yava), three such barley-corns to one 

 JcrisJmala [raktika], five krislmalas of gold are one mdsha, and six- 

 teen such mdshas one suvarna. 135. Four suvarnas make &pala, 

 ten palas a dharana, but two krislmalas weighed together are consi- 

 dered as one silver mashaka. 136. Sixteen of those mashakas are a 

 silver dharana, or purdna, but a copper kdrsha is known to be a pana 

 or kdrshdpana. 137. Ten dharanas of silver are known by the name 

 of a satamdna, and the weight of four suvarnas has also the appellation 

 of a nishka. "^ 



Ancient Indian System of Weights (from Manu, cap. viii. § 134). 

 Silver. 



2 ratis 

 32 „ 



= 1 masha. 



= 16 „ = 



{ 



1 dharana, 

 or purana* 







320 „ 



— 160 



Gold. 



:> — 





10 



1 satamana. 





5 ratis 



— 1 masha. 











80 „ 

 320 „ 



= 16 

 t~ 64 



3i :==z 





1 suvarna, 

 4 „ = 



( 1 pala, or 



^ nishka. 





3200 „ 



= 640 



39 == 





40 „ 



= io » = 



1 dharana 



COPPER.39 



Karshapana. 

 As there are some obscurities in the detail of the weights given in 

 Manu, I have referred to the next succeeding authority on Hindu 

 law, the Dharma-Sastra of Yajnavalkya, whose date is variously attri- 

 buted from a period shortly before Vikramaditya, or B.C. 57 to 50 a.d. 40 

 His tables are nearly identical with those already quoted, 41 one un- 



38. "Hindu Law, or the Ordinances of Mann," by G. C. Hanghton, London, 

 ,1825, and works of Sir W. Jones, London, 1799, vol. iii. Hanghton' s transla- 

 tion has been modified as above by my friend, Mr. J. Mnir. 



39. Mr. Mnir has communicated to me the following note on the copper weight. 

 u KuMka Bhatta (the Sanskrit Commentator on Mann) explains that lexicogra- 

 phers declare a Kdrshika or Kdrsha to be the fonrth of a pala." Bnt 5 Krislma- 

 las or RaktiTcas being eqnal to a Mdsha and 16 mashas — 1 snvarna, and 4 

 snvarnas = 1 pala ; a pala will equal 5 % 16 % 4 = 320 krislmalas, and a karsha 

 being \ of a pala, will equal 3 f ° = 80 krislmalas. 



40. Lassen, " Ind. Alt.," ii. 374, 470, 510. Dr. Roer, " Yajnavalkya," Calcutta, 

 1859, p. 11 ; M. Muller, " Sanskrit Lit.," 330 ; Stentzler (2nd Cent. a.d.) 



41. Sec. 632. Five krisnala berries = 1 masha, 16 mashas == 1 suvarna. Sec. 

 363. A pala is 4 or 5 suvarnas. Two krislmalas are a silver masha; 16 of the 

 latter a dharana. Sec. 364. A satamana and a pala are each equal to 10 dha- 

 ranas ; a nishka is 4 suvarnas." # # Note. In the corresponding slohasoi 

 Manu, 10 palas are said to be equivalent to 1 dharana. We can only reconcile 

 this by supposing Manu to refer to a gold pala, and Yajnavalkya to a silver pa- 

 la. The Sanskrit commentator adds, under Copper, 4 karshas = pala, 1 pana 

 = karsha, i. e» i pala. 



