Suvarṇa

Suvarṇa · su-varṇa, “of good colour, gold”

Grammar: neuter noun (masculine as the name of the weight); a compound of su (good) and varṇa (colour): “of good colour”, gold.

Meaning: (1) gold; (2) a weight of gold: sixteen māshas, four of which make a pala; also a coin or fine of that weight.

In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa uses the word in these places.

  • The weight: in the table of weights given with the mahādānas, five guruvinda seeds make one māsha, sixteen māshas one suvarṇa, four suvarṇas one pala, a hundred palas one tulā, and twenty tulās one bhāra (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 210). Pushkara, teaching Paraśurāma the administering of punishment, gives the measures for weighing copper, silver and gold: three yavas make one kṛshṇala, five kṛshṇalas one māsha, sixteen māshas one suvarṇa, four suvarṇas one nishka, and ten nishkas one dharaṇa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 227). In the kośa, five guñjās make one māsha, sixteen māshas one aksha, also called karsha, and four karshas one pala; one aksha of gold is called suvarṇa or bista, and one pala of gold is kurubista (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 366).
  • In fines: one who promises to give and does not give is fined one suvarṇa; a cowherd who takes food and wages from the owner and does not return or tend the owner’s cow is fined a hundred suvarṇas; and one who plucks the fruits of others’ trees is fined one suvarṇa (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 227). If a she-buffalo damages a crop the fine is eight māshas, if a cow four māshas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 257).
  • In pūjā and dāna: in the homa for the nine grahas, the mūrtis of Budha and Bṛhaspati are made of gold, and gold is among the dakshiṇā given for the grahas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 164). In the graha-yajña, the yajamāna gives gold with the mantra: “The golden seed of Sūrya, who is in the womb of Hiraṇyagarbha, gives endless puṇya; therefore give me śānti” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 167). Among the sixteen mahādānas are the tulāpurusha, the weighing of oneself against gold, the kāmadhenu of gold, the horse of gold, the chariots with horses and with elephants of gold, and the svarṇa-meru, the mountain of gold, of a thousand palas at best (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 210). At the end of the śānti for cows, gold and vessels of bronze are given to the brāhmaṇas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 292).
  • The theft of gold: Pushkara names suvarṇa-caurya, the stealing of gold, among the mahāpātakas (great pāpas), with brahmahatyā, surāpāna and union with the guru’s wife; stealing a deposit, men, horses, silver, land or gems is equal to it (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 168). A brāhmaṇa who has stolen gold goes to the king and says: “I have done this offence; give me punishment”; the king strikes him once with a club, and by dying so, or by tapas, his pāpa is removed (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 169).
  • In vyavahāra: Agnideva, teaching Vasishṭha, names the eight aṅgas (limbs) of a court: the king’s officer, the sabhāsads, the śāstra, the accountant, the scribe, gold, fire and water. Cloth, grain and gold lent may grow to four, three and two times, and not more (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 253). Where only slight doubt arises, the oath is sworn on truth, vehicles, weapons, cows, seeds, gold, the devatās, the guru’s feet and one’s ishṭāpūrta (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 255). Gold put into fire does not decrease, while silver loses two palas in a hundred, tin and lead eight, copper five and iron ten (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 257).

In the Bhavishya Purāṇa: gold is the best of substances, fulfils all desires and is the son of Agni. By weighing oneself against gold and giving it, pāpas go and a divine body is gained. The brāhmaṇas place pure gold on the other pan, somewhat more than his weight, until the gold pan touches the ground. Half goes first to the guru and the other half to the ṛtvijas, and with their leave he gives to other brāhmaṇas, especially the poor and orphaned. Weighed gold kept in the house brings fear and increases grief and disease; given quickly, it brings good (Uttara Parva, Chapter 175). Gold is the eldest son of Agni, the best and purest of metals, also named hiraṇya. It entered the womb of the waters and arose on earth, and one who gives gold to a brāhmaṇa with bhakti becomes equal to Śrī Kṛshṇa (Chapter 176). The golden Kalpavṛksha of the gift in Chapters 178–179 is made of more than twenty palas of gold, by one’s means.

Related terms: Māsha · Pala · Nishka · Kṛshṇala · Hiraṇya · Mahādāna

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 164, 167, 168, 169, 210, 227, 253, 255, 257, 292, 366
  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 175–176, 178–179