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A CRITICAL NOTE ON THE WORD KÄGINI *
P. M. Upadhye The Prākrit language is very rich in affording the ample material on Deśya words. The Paumacariya of Vimalasurl is a Prākrit work on the Jaina Rāmāyaṇa and we come across so many words which deserve our attention. In the Paumacariya the Prākrit word Kāgini occurs at two pla ces viz at 4-76 and 118-107. The meaning of the same word differs at these two places. The word kāgiņī at 4-76 means kāglņi-rata which is one of the 14 jewels of a sovereign king and which has six facets eight angles and 12 sides; the word kāgiņī at 118-107 means a cowrie. Both these meanings are recorded in the P. S. M, but nu reference is made there in to the P. C. where the word occurs. The P. S. M. also does not record this word as a Deśya-word and the Dešinamamala of Hemacandra men. tions the word kāini as a Deśya word meanlng Gunja-fruit. It says कणेइढिआ काहेणू काइणी त्रय एते गुजार्थाः। However the Desinamamala does not refer to this word meaning a jewel.
The word kākiņi is used in the sense of a very small coin2. The शब्दकल्पद्रुम and वाचस्पत्यम् record the word काकिणी In the sense of the fourth part of a 'pana'. The शब्दकल्पद्रुम explains it as पणचतुर्थाशः and वाचस्पत्यम् says काकणीमूलं गुंजामूलं etc. The अर्धमागधीकोश by जैनमुनि रत्नचंद्रमहाराज also explains the word in sense of a cowrie, The Arthasastra of Kautilya uses this word fra ople in the sense of a small weight and the word occurs in the context of mixing a copper metal with the gold wherein it is stated that one käkini copper can be mixed in gold etc. One Gunja measure is about 2 3/16 grains and therefore kākint in the sense of a Gunja berry fruit can be easily understood as a negligible coin or even as the smallest coin. It is quite well known that a cowrie was used as a coin in ancient India. In any case it means a very small measure of a coin, say for example a cowrie,
act in Marathi or € in Sanskrit. The Paumacariya uses rightly the word at 118-107 in the line à fra Tur Toga z froît GT....... In the sense of a cowrie, The line means 'casting away the jewel, the foolish take hold of a cowrie', How true it is ! However when the word kagini is used in
* This article has been read in Prākrit and Jainism Section of The All India Oriental Conference held at Dharwar in Nov. 76 1. Debi 2-21. 2. See Monier Williams' Sanskrit English Dictionary, Apte's Sanskrit Dictionary, 3. STTIES - 2-13-6 ed. Prof R. P. Kangle.
