1/4 Karshapana

The karshapana system predates the Mauryan dynasty itself, inherited from earlier janapada coinage traditions and then standardized under imperial administration — likely through the Arthashastra's meticulous treasury regulations, which specified acceptable weight tolerances for panas used in tax collection and trade. Mauryan punch-marked silver was produced not from a single centralized mint but through regional treasury operations, which accounts for the considerable variation in punch execution seen across surviving specimens.