UPSC Prelims 2026 Q3: Pali Texts and Punch-Marked Coins — Explained
Consider the following statements:
I. Pali texts contain the first definite references to coins, e.g., kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, and kakanika.
II. The literary evidence from Pali texts is corroborated by archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins from many sites, most of them made of silver.
The above statements have been associated with which of the following?
1. Emergence of urban life
2. Transition to money economy
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Statement-wise explanation
- I: correct — The Pali Buddhist canon (the Tipitaka and the Jataka stories), which reflects the age of the Buddha (c. 6th–5th century BCE), gives the first clear literary references to coined money. The coins named are the kahapana (karshapana), the nikkha, the kamsa and the kakanika. The kahapana was the standard coin. The nikkha began as a gold ornament (the Vedic nishka) and later became a high-value unit. The kakanika was a coin of very small value. Earlier Vedic texts name units of value such as nishka, but they do not clearly describe coins.
- II: correct — Archaeologists have found punch-marked coins at many early historic sites in the Ganga valley and beyond, often in hoards. Most of them are silver pieces stamped with one to five symbols. This physical evidence confirms what the Pali texts describe, so the literary and archaeological records support each other.
- 1: correct — Coins appear together with the Second Urbanisation of the Ganga plains: towns such as Rajagriha, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Champa and Varanasi, Northern Black Polished Ware pottery, and organised groups of artisans and merchants. Coins were made for, and spread through, urban trade, and towns depended on a market economy. So historians use the coin evidence as a marker of the emergence of urban life.
- 2: correct — Named coins in texts, and silver coins of standard weight in the ground, show exchange moving from barter and payment in kind to payment in money. Money made long-distance trade, taxation and wage payments easier, and the Pali texts mention loans and interest in coin. This is the most direct meaning of the coin evidence.
How to eliminate
The statements are about coins, so 'Transition to money economy' is clearly linked. That rules out the options that leave out 2, and only '2 only' and 'Both 1 and 2' remain. To choose between them, remember that coins in the age of the Buddha belong to the 'Second Urbanisation' package: iron tools, surplus from farming, towns, trade, guilds, coins and NBPW pottery. Coins and cities are taught together in the same textbook paragraph, and coinage supported urban trade. 'Neither' is impossible, because coins cannot be separated from the money economy. The fact to remember: punch-marked silver coins and the Pali references to coins mark both the money economy and the rise of towns in the 6th–5th century BCE.
Know more
Coins and the Second Urbanisation (c. 600–300 BCE)
The first cities in India were Harappan (the First Urbanisation). After they declined, there were no true cities for about a thousand years. From around the 6th century BCE, iron tools, wet-rice farming and surplus grain in the middle Ganga plains supported new towns. Many of these were capitals of the mahajanapadas. Money was part of this change.
Evidence for early coinage
| Source | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Pali canon (Tipitaka, Jatakas) | Coins named: kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, kakanika; loans, interest, wages and prices quoted in money |
| Punch-marked coins | Mostly silver (some copper); symbols such as the sun, animals, trees and hills punched on; no ruler's name or inscription |
| Hoards and excavations | Found at many sites across north India and the Deccan |
| Arthashastra (Mauryan) | Silver pana coins issued by the state; officials paid salaries in money |
Key points
- Punch-marked coins were first issued by the mahajanapadas, possibly also by merchant guilds. The Mauryas later issued them on a large scale.
- The karshapana/pana was the standard unit.
- These coins have no legends. Indo-Greek coins (2nd century BCE) were the first to carry rulers' names and portraits. The Kushanas issued the first large-scale gold coins, and the Guptas the largest number of gold coins.
- Coins helped trade along the Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha routes. They also helped tax collection, which strengthened kingdoms such as Magadha.
Exam angle: UPSC often links one kind of evidence (coins, pottery, inscriptions) to the larger change it shows. NBPW pottery, iron and punch-marked coins all point to the Second Urbanisation.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Punch-marked coin: Statement II rests on punch-marked coins, mostly silver and stamped with symbols, found at many sites to confirm the Pali texts.
- Karshapana: The kahapana named in Statement I is the karshapana, the standard coin of the Buddha's age and the main unit of payment.
- Second Urbanisation: Option 1 asks whether coin evidence marks the Second Urbanisation, the rise of Ganga-plain towns like Rajagriha, Shravasti and Kaushambi.
- Tipitaka: The Tipitaka is the Pali Buddhist canon that Statement I credits with the first definite literary references to named coins.
- Jatakas: The Jataka stories are Pali texts whose accounts of trade, loans and coins supply the literary evidence that Statement I describes.
- Pali classical language: Statement I depends on Pali, the language of early Buddhist texts reflecting the Buddha's age, being where the first definite coin references appear.