6.5 Economic Growth

Economy, Emergence of Coins during Mahajana

Embedded from 6.3 Rise of Urban Centres › Coins and Trade

• Various kinds of traders: shopkeepers (apanika), retailers (KrayaVikrayika) and money investors (Setthi-Gahapati)
• Coins came into use in this period for the first time in ancient India, were punchmarked coins.
• Coins promoted organised commerce, they bear various kinds of symbols on one side and were issued by merchants led to the rise of money lending class.
• The coin of highest value was the silver satamana. This was followed by the Karsapana. The copper masas and kakani were coins of smaller denomination

• Gautama Dharmasutra refers to increased corporatisation. Terms in Buddhist texts viz Vinaya Pitaka such as shreni, nigama, puga, vrata etc show the emergence of guilds.
• Pali texts contain the first reference to coins words such as Kahapana, Nikkha, kamsa, pada, masaka and Kakanika.
• Punch marked coins most of them silver were discovered → qualitative change in economic transactions and long term implication for trade.
• Gahapati and Setthi emerged as new social elites during this period.

Buddhist Texts Mention Various Occupations during the time

• Various other professions were vehicle maker, ivory worker, metal smith, gold smith, silk weaver etc

PYQs

1. Write a short essay on: "Social and economic conditions of North India during the PreMauryan period (600-325 B.C.)." [1996, 20m]

• Social Life NIS but imp
• Economy
  • Rise of Urban Centres
  • Trade Routes
  • Economic Growth
  • Introduction of Coinage

1. How far is it correct to say that changes in the post-Vedic economy gave birth to new religious movements in India? [2015, 15m]

• Economy
  • Rise of Urban Centres
  • Trade Routes
  • Economic Growth
  • Introduction of Coinage
• Rise of new religious ideas -