निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :
I. पाली ग्रंथों में, कहापण, निक्खा, कन्स और काकणिका जैसे सिक्कों के प्रथम स्पष्ट संदर्भ समाविष्ट हैं।
II. पाली ग्रंथों से प्राप्त साहित्यिक साक्ष्य की पुष्टि, अनेक स्थलों से प्राप्त आहत सिक्कों (punch-marked coins) के पुरातात्विक प्रमाण द्वारा होती है, इन सिक्कों में से अधिकांश चाँदी से बने हैं।
उपर्युक्त कथन निम्नलिखित में से किनसे संबद्ध हैं ?
- 1.शहरी जीवन के उद्भव से
- 2.मुद्रा अर्थव्यवस्था की ओर संक्रमण से
नीचे दिए गए कूट का प्रयोग कर उत्तर चुनिए :
Read this question in English
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
Select the answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only · (b) 2 only · (c) Both 1 and 2 · (d) Neither 1 nor 2
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (c) 1 और 2 दोनों
Coins in the Pali (Buddhist) texts and the silver punch-marked coins found at many sites both belong to the age of the mahajanapadas (c. sixth century BCE). That age saw the Second Urbanisation of the Ganga valley, and coins came into use because trade was growing, so the evidence speaks to both urban life and a shift to money.
- ✓ 1. Punch-marked coins appear alongside the rise of towns and cities in the Ganga valley (c. 600–500 BCE); coinage was a product of the growing urban trade of this period.
- ✓ 2. Named coins such as the kahapana and actual silver punch-marked coins show exchange moving from barter towards payment in money.
Remember · Sixth century BCE: mahajanapadas, Second Urbanisation in the Ganga valley and the first Indian coins, silver punch-marked coins (kahapana in Pali texts).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “c.600-500 BCE Paddy transplantation; urbanisation in the Ganga valley; mahajanapadas; punch-marked coins”
- NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 4 “Another innovation was the first use of coins in India, made necessary by growing trade.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “Punch-marked coins made of silver and copper (c. sixth century BCE onwards) were amongst the earliest to be minted and used.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·