Panini, Sanskrit
grammarian (c500 BCE) in his treatise
Astdhyayi wrote about coins and various
fractions suggesting that the concept of
coins existed prior to 500 BCE. He mentioned
Satamanas (sata= 100, manas = units) and
Karshapana ( subfraction). Each unit was
called "Ratti" weighing 0.11 grams. Ratti
was average weight of a Gunja seed (a bright
red seed with a black tip - see the picture
below).
What is Gunja
Seed?
A
high-climbing, twining, or trailing woody
vine with alternately compound leaves,
indigenous to India. Leaves alternate, 5-13
cm long, even-pinnately compound with 5-15
pairs of leaflets, these oval to oblong, to
1.8 cm long, with margins entire.
The flowers,
shaped like pea flowers, are small, pale,
violet to pink and arranged in clusters.
Fruit a short, oblong pod, splitting before
falling to reveal 3-8 shiny hard seeds, 6-7
mm long, scarlet with black bases. The seeds
of abrus precatorius are much valued in
native jewelry for their bright coloration.
The third of the bean with the hilum
(attachment scar) is black, while the rest
is bright red, suggesting a ladybug.
Jewelry-making
with jequirity seeds is dangerous, and there
have been cases of death by a finger-prick
while boring the seeds for beadwork. The
seeds were traditionally used to weigh
jewelry in India. The measure ratti
रत्ती is equal to the weight of one seed.
Gunja
Seed:
Common name:
Coral bead vine, Rosary pea, गुंची
Gunchi (Hindi), गुंजा Gunjaa
(Sanskrit), गुलगुंजी Gulugunji
(Kannada), गुंच Gunch (Bengali), Ratti
रत्ती (Gujarati), குந்து மணி kundu
maNi (Tamil), गुंज Gunja (Marathi)
Botanical name:
Abrus
precatorius Family:
Fabaceae
(pea family) |
From another
Indian scripture,
Old Indian
Measures <=> Metric Measures
|
1 masha |
= |
8 ratti |
= |
1 gram |
= |
5
Carats |
|
1 tola |
= |
12 masha |
= |
12 grams |
|
|
|
1 chatak |
= |
5 tola |
= |
60 grams |
|
|
|
1 pav |
= |
4 chatak |
= |
250
grams |
|
|
|
1 ser |
= |
4 pav |
= |
1
kilogram |
|
|
Trust the above assists you
to know better!
.
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