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:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
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). ·