Indian Antiquary Vol 16

Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 62

50
THE INDIAN ANTIQUART.
(FEBRUABY, 1887.
The measures of distance which occur in similar voyage in company with seven handred the descriptions of these routes are isibus," other merchants" belonging to a village near and yojanas."
Bharukachchha. The two Burmese brothers" The trade and commerce along these jointly hired the five hundred carts into which land and sea-routes appear to have been usually in they transferred their merchandise on their dethe hands of vompanies of merchants," barkation, which the description implies to of whom one was the recognised head;"* each have been their common property. In another partner contributing a portion of the capital to legend mention is made of a company of merfit out & ship." But few instances occur of chants of Sråvasti, or a body of merchants of individual traders." The city of Suppâraka was Madhyadéka," who visited Ceylon with cominhabited by many merchants:" and so also was mon interests in view, and who jointly bore the renowned Bharakachchha (Broach), and reciprocal messages between Buddha and the its suburban villages. Most of the versions of princess Ratnávali. Simhala also, the hero of the elopement of Vijaya's grandmother are another legend," was the chief of a large comconnected with the movements of merchants. pany of merchants, who embarked on a similar In one of them" her lover is a merchant tra- joint mercantile venture velling from Bengal to Laļa : in another," he Of the more minute details of the transacis the chief of a caravan: and in a third," she tions of these early traders, it is not to be exjoins a party of travelling merchants without pected that the incidental references to these reference to any individual member of their matters in these wholly religious legends company. Punna (Purņa or Mahậpuņna)," & should afford much information. They used conspicuous early convert of Buddha, was a the drona" as their standard measure of merchant of the Sun&paranta region of the capacity. We have just seen that they emwestern coast, trading on a large scale with
ployed carts by land," and ships by sea, for Northern Kosala" in partnership with his the transportation of their goods. The people younger brothers and when he embraced the of Ceylon exhibited signals upon high flagascetic life upon his conversion, his brother staffs when ships approached their shores." Chula-Puņņa" continued to carry on the family Some transactions were in the form of barter: or guild occupation both by sea and by land. but it may be concluded that money was the One occasion is mentioned on which Chula- common medium of trade from the circumPaņga undertook a distant sea-voyage in com- stances that the existence of money" at that pany with three hundred associate-merchants, * time in these parts is otherwise referred to. whose common action in the incidents of the Thus, the nobles of the king of Kosala paida voyage point to a community of interests in the lakh to each of the kings Assaka and Mülaka transaction. These common interests survived for the site of Båvari's monastery and its the termination of the voyage ; for these mer. dependent village :' and Bavari's Brahmañ chants, at the suggestion of Punna, jointly enemy demanded of him five hundred pieces devoted & portion of the valuable timber of of money on penalty of his threatened curse."" their homeward cargo to the erection of a So also the South Indian artizan, who convihára for Buddha in the neighbourhood of structed a catapult for the destruction of their home. These mercantile associations Buddha, was rewarded by Dévadatta with a were survivals from former times; for Buddha pearl necklace worth a hundred thousand pieces himself, in an earlier incarnation, undertook a of gold. Similarly, the reward offered by the 11 Man. Bud. 14, 18.
38 Man. Bud. 57, 260. » Uph. II. 165: Turn. 3, 44: Rom. Hist. Bud. 370. - Man. Bud. 57, 200, 260: Sacr. Bks. XIX. 244. ante, XIII. p. 35, 37, 46: Rom. Hist. Bud. 332 : * Man. Bud. 13.
» Bigandet, 101. Rock. 59...
40 Roek. 59.
1 Tib. Grams. 164 1. Rom. Bist. Bud. 332, 834: ante, XIII. 46: Si-yu-ki, 11 Si-vw-ki, II. 241.
- Kock. 60. II. 241. 5 Bigandet, 415. 96 Uph. I. 69.
- Man. Bud. 259 : Bigandet, 101. » Man. Bud. 13, 209.
1 Man. Bud. 13.
- 5 Si-yu-ki, II. 240. * Uph. I. 69.
5 Turn. 48
" Rom. Hist. Bud. 392. 31 Uph. II. 164 : ante, XIII. 87. 9 Uph. III. 112. " See Rom. Hist. Bud. 276, 388. » Kan. Bud. 56, 259.
3 Man. Bud. 259.
Man, Bud. 934. as Uph. III. p. 112: Man. Bud. 56. Perhaps Punna, " Man. Bud. 334: Bacr. Bks, X. (pt. 2), 184. and his brother are the Davakin and Nikin of the Chinese 30 Rock. U2. See Man. Bud. 320, where the machine" version of the sandal-wood vihdra legend in Sacr. Bks. may be regarded as the connecting link of the two verXIX. 244.
sions of this legend. See abso Sacr. Bk. XIX. 246.