Kārshāpaṇa
Kārshāpaṇa, “a coin of one karsha”
Grammar: masculine or neuter noun, from karsha, a weight; also called kārshika.
Meaning: a coin of the weight of one karsha. The Agni Purāṇa names a karsha of copper so, and its kośa gives the word as the silver coin.
In the scriptures: in the teaching on daṇḍa-praṇayana (the administering of punishment), given to Paraśurāma, the weights are told first: three yavas (barley-grains) make one kṛshṇala; five kṛshṇalas one māsha; sixty kṛshṇalas half a karsha; sixteen māshas one suvarṇa; four suvarṇas one nishka; and ten nishkas one dharaṇa. These are the measures for weighing copper, silver and gold. Then: “The learned have named one karsha of copper kārshika or kārshāpaṇa.” Among the fines of the same chapter, one who, when it is not a time of distress, throws excrement, urine and impure things on the road is fined one kārshāpaṇa and is made to lift and clean them himself (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 227).
In the kośa, the word-lists at the close of the Purāṇa, kārshāpaṇa and kārshika are given together as the silver coin, followed by paṇa, the copper coin (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 366).
Related terms: Karsha · Paṇa · Māsha · Suvarṇa · Nishka · Daṇḍa
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 227, 366