Shakya Janapada, 550-500 BC, Double
Karshapana, 7.08g, Rajgor 522-531
Obv: Single central pentagonal symbol plus banker's marks around
Rev: blank; bankers mark
Perhaps some of the earliest known coins
from India, these crude punch-marked coins were first found in the town of
Narhan in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. The Shakya janapada (also called Vajji or
Lichchavi janapada) was located on the Indo-Nepal border north of the modern
town of Gorakhpur. Its capital was Kapilavastu. The birthplace of the Buddha,
Lumbini, was ten miles east of Kapilavastu. The Buddha's father, Suddhodhana,
as per Rajgor, was the elected president of the Shakyas. Some of these coins
may well have been minted during the time of the Buddha's life. Buddha was also
known as "Sakyamuni" ie Sage of the Shakyas.
The coins were probably made
from thick sheets of silver, which were then cut down to size to attain the
proper weight. Then a central punch was applied, rendering the coin somewhat
scyphate in shape. Many of the coins bear a central pentagonal symbol, while
others carry other geometric symbols. Some of the coins also carry additional
punches around the central symbol. In all probability, these were banker's
marks (notice the delightful 'circle with dotted border' mark at 12 'o' clock)
According to Rajgor, the
Shakya coinage adhered to a shatamana standard of 100 rattis. The shatamana was
divided into 8 shana. The coin above would then be 5-shana (5/8 shatamana)
piece of 62.5 rattis (7.29 gm.) McIntyre asserts they are double karshapanas of
64 rattis (7.46 gm.); however, he reports a weight range of 6.96 gm. to 7.22
gm., which would place all of his coins neatly within the 5-shana weight. On
the other hand, the Karshapana might have weighed 3.43 gm, in which case the
double karshapana would be 6.86 gm ... much closer to the weight of these
coins.
The erstwhile punch mark coins
of Shakya Janapada of late are re-attributed to Ayodhya Janapada.
Blog Post Author: Mitresh Singh
