Elephants as commodities of Trade

Coming to the issue of elephants as commodities of trade and fixing the price of elephants it is obvious that their process varied from region to region depending on their availability and several other factors. Prices were fixed on the basis of the age of the elephant and also its variety and quality.

Mātaṅgalīlā (Chapter 7) mentions that men cannot say “so large a price is enough for them”.

“When one price is approved by both buyer and seller it was considered as the best price.^[1] What is disapproved by one of the parties, as a middling price; what is disapproved by the both, as a bad price” (v. 1).^[2]

Initially depending on the availability i.e. supply and demand a certain price was fixed for buying and selling elephants. Then maintaining that as a marker market price of an elephant was fixed for a specific region. Even if the prices varied there were certain indicators for price variations in the same market. The quality indicators are mentioned in the texts as follows: One shall take at full price a noble elephant that is endowed with all the desirable qualities; at half price, one that has one eye, foot or tusk missing, or that is deaf or diseased; at three quarters of the full price the wise man shall take one that has half an ear or the tail or the like cut off; one that has lost both tusks or the like, even though otherwise a fine elephant, he shall take for a quarter of the price. But one shall know that an elephant whose tusk is elevated more than the right is low in value. One shall know that cows are not to be purchased for an eight less, or for three-quarters of the price of bulls.^[3]

In this case it would be interesting to compare this data mentioned in the Mātaṅgalīlā with similar data in the Gajaśāstra of Pālakāpya (Appendix: Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v.1-14)^[4]. The latter describes the qualities of an elephant those to be judged at the time of fixing their price. It speaks that an elephant endowed with good marks seems to be desirous ornament for the king^[5]. Special types of elephants such as Manda or Mandabhadra or Bhadramanda or Mṛga-bodied elephants with pure signs, swift, with a good gait, devoid of major vices, with auspicious trunk, tusks, eyes and head, bumps, good colour, good nails, should be bought for the entire price (charged). But Gajaśāstra prohibits the selling of pregnant female elephant or a female elephant with calf (Appendix: Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 4-6)^[6]. One should buy for half the price an elephant with one broken tusk or a broken limb, in order to send on errands^[7].The elephant blind in one eye or with split trunk or tail one should buy for half the price in order to carry loads.^[8] The elephant with a torn ear, both tusks broken or two legs broken should be bought for less than half the price^[9].The elephant with both back legs broken should be bought for part of the price, and the elephant with major vices for one fourth of the price.^[10] The elephants with deformed limbs, crooked and very crooked ones should be brought to the country of the enemy king and left there to cause destruction.^[11] These elephants should be bought at half the price and sent to the enemy country. They must not be tethered even for a day in the elephant-stall^[12].The elephant of a pale colour, hunchbacked, paiśāca, with a hairy head or hairy body should be bought at half the price.^[13] They should be sent at once to destroy the enemy’s country. An elephant with all good signs but without a leg is called half an elephant. This sort must be avoided by the king.^[14]

Varāhamihira mentions four kinds of elephants in Bṛhatsaṃhitā (Chapter LXVI), such as–1) an elephant with tusks coloured like honey, a well-proportioned body, uniform limbs, a backbone shaped like a bow and hips like those of a boar, and which is neither too stout nor lean and is fit for work is called Bhadra^[15]; it is 7,9 and 10 cubits in height, length and girth respectively; the colour of Bhadra and its ichor is green; 2) Manda has a loose breast and folds on the waist, long belly, thick skin and neck, long abdomen and the root of the tail, and the look of a lion; it is 6, 8 and 9 cubits in height, length and girth. Manda and its ichor are yellow; 3) Mṛga is characterised by short lips, tail and sex-organ, slender feet, neck, teeth and ears, and large eyes; its height, length and periphery measure 5, 6 and 8 cubits. Mṛga and its ichor are black; and 4) an elephant with mixed characteristics is termed Saṅkīrṇa (LXVI. 1-5). The four categories are also named by Kauṭilya and Someśvara.

Varāhamihira also refers to four other kinds of elephants which were forbidden for domestication, viz.

1. Kubja,
2. Vāmanaka,
3. Matkuṇa and
4. Ṣaṇḍha (LXVI.10).

Varāhamihira refers to elephants hailing from swampy and mountainous regions (Chapter XCIII. 1).

The elephant traders were probably among one of the richest. It is interesting to know that in Mauryan period, in the time of danger to state, the king imposed additional taxes most of which were borne by merchants. Elephants being one of the chief commodities of trade in the Mauryan reign. Arthaśāstra (Book V, Chapter II, v.17) mentions that merchants selling elephants and horses also had to pay a tax of five hundred paṇas each.^[16]

Early medieval epigraphs also throw light on the buying and selling taxes levied on elephants. Bilhari stone inscription of Yuvarājadeva II indicates towards the tax on sale of elephant. It states an elephant (offered for sale) should be taxed four pauras–“Datte karī catuṣṭayamaṃga..”, and the horse two pauras.^[17] Sometimes inscriptions also tell us about toll free elephant trade. In a late copperplate charter of the time of Kākatīya Pratāparudra of Śaka year 1244, i.e. 1322 CE, with a list of duty free goods given in this charter, which includes elephants, horses, carts, pepper, rice, arecanuts, cotton, salt, silk, sandal, musk, precious stones etc. It also gives us an idea about the merchandise in which these guilds were trading.^[18]

From early times elephants were used for army and for transportation of heavy goods. Trade in elephants was most common and profitable, but Jain literature also mentions some foul play as all merchants were not honest. After bringing precious goods from foreign countries many merchants desired not to pay the king’s due. The Rāyapaseṇiyasūtra mentions that a merchant carrying some precious stones, chank-shell and ivory, leaving the king’s highway, took to difficult tracks in order to escape the customs houses. If such fellows were detected then they were imposed heavy punishments.^[19]

Elephants being commodities of trade are often mentioned in the context of itinerant merchants also taking along elephants among other animals and goods for trade besides the people who accompanied them in the caravan. In this context a reference in the āraṇyaka Parvan of Mahābhārata (Chapters 61-62) provides interesting data on a Mahāsārtha or a great caravan, crowded with elephants, horses and chariots–“hastyāśvaratha samkulam” and the number of oxen, donkeys, camels and men on foot was so overwhelming that the caravan looked like “a moving ocean of men”–“janārṇava”. Members of this huge caravan (Sārthamaṇḍala) were known as sārthikas. Sārthavāha or the head of caravan led this journey. The caravan included young, old, children and women too. It also states that this caravan went through a danger by elephants when they took rest in evening at their camp situated in the way leading to a water pool. In the mid-night a herd of wild elephants came to drink water and crushed the sleeping members of the caravan. Some of them died and rest took to their heels. There was utter confusion all round. Those who managed to escape from this calamity continued their journey.^[20] This caravan not only involved merchants (vaṇijaḥ) but also the Brāhamaṇas who were well versed in Vedas.

Moti Chandra refers to such references to caravans in which elephants were also a part of the caravans from Jain literature. He mentions that it contained anuraṅga (a sort of vehicle), litters (yāna), horses, buffaloes, elephants and oxen which could be used by the helpless, sick and wounded persons, old men and children as well as pedestrians.^[21]

A South Indian inscription (Ak.22) contains an interesting account of some merchants of Brāhmaṇa descent, one of whom imported horses, elephants and pearls in ships by sea and sold them to king and another who transported goods from the East to the West and from the North to the South and vice-versa.^[22] Thus we can see Brāhmaṇas also participated in elephant trade and they made their way through sea-route. Sea-voyage was forbidden in normative texts, yet in practical life we find such references as there was a difference between the ideal and the practiced.^[23]

Elephants were coveted commodities and often the royal courts were assessed in their affluence and pomp and show on the basis of the number of elephants they owned. Several ancient texts are replete with such references. Here we would like to cite only one. In Bāṇabhaṭṭa’s Harṣacarita the author gives a brilliant description about the entrance to the royal camp of Harṣavardhana (606-642 CE), the King of Kanauj, “dark with congregation of elephants; some for tying up with silk ropes (presumably for use in the royal court); some for carrying trumpets; some freshly captured; some received as revenue; some received as gratis; some as gifts to be sent with ambassadors”.^[24]

Regions famous for elephants:

According to Mahābhārata Bengal and Odisha were famous for fine cotton and elephants.^[25] Black elephants of Kaliṅga region were very much famous in ancient past and have been referred to by the Chinese traveller Xuan Zang.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Franklin Edgerton. tr. The Elephant-Lore of the Hindus, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1985 (Reprint), p. 73.

[2]:

T. Ganapati Śāstri. ed. The Mātaṅgalīlā of Nīlakaṇṭha, Trivandrum, Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, No. X, 1910, p.18. “etāvanmūlyameṣāmalamiti gadiṃtu no samarthā manuṣyā Kreturvikreturekaṃ yadiha bahumataṃ tadvidurmukhyamūlamI Ekasthāsammataṃ madhyamamanabhimataṃ cobhayornindyamasmāt Tadjñaiḥ sarvaṃ viditvā bahubhiravahitairmūlyamūjhyaṃ gajānam II”.

[3]:

Franklin Edgerton. tr. The Elephant-Lore of the Hindus, p. 73.

[4]:

Shri Mantramurti K.S. Subrahmanyaśāstri, ed. & tr. (in Tamil) with a summary in English by Shri S.Gopalan, Gaja-śāstram of Pālakāpya muni with extracts from other works and Coloured Illustrations, pp. 161-162.

[5]:

“sarvalakṣaṇasaṃpanna eko vā sāmasamhavaḥ /
kṛtsnāmapi mahīṃ datvā grāhyo rājñā bubhūṣatā //”–Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v.3), p.161.

[6]:

Ibid., p. 161.

[7]:

“bhagnaikadanta gṛhṇīyādbhagnaikāṅgaṃ ca vāraṇam /
ardhenāṃśena mūlyasya prerakapreṣaṇāya tu //” - Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 7), p. 161.

[8]:

“naṣṭaikanayanaṃ nāgaṃ bhinnahastāgravāladhim /
bharaṇāya tu bhārāṇāṃ gṛhṇīyādardhmūlyataḥ //” - Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 8), p. 162.

[9]:

“chhinnāgrakarṇaṃ gṛhṇīyānnāgaṃ mūlyārdhabhāgataḥ /
bhagnadantadvayaṃ bhagnagātradvandvamathāpi vā //” - Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 9), p.162.

[10]:

“bhagnāparadvayaṃ nāgaṃ gṛhṇīyātpādāmūlyataḥ /
caturbhāgena mūlyasya mahādoṣāñcitaṃ gajam //” - Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 10), p. 162.

[11]:

“tyajedādāya nāśāya deśe vairimahībhujām /
vikṛtāṅgamarāḷaṃ cāpyatyarāḷādikaṃ gajam //” - Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 11), p. 162.

[12]:

“ardhamūlyena saṃgṛhya tvarideśaṃ ca praśayet /
śālāyāṃ naiva badhnīyādekāhamapi //” - Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 12), p. 162.

[13]:

“Chhāyāhīnaṃ ca kubjaṃ ca paiśācaṃ romakūrcakam I Kacāvṛtaśarīraṃ ca gṛhṇīyādardhamūlyataḥ II”, Shri Mantramurti K.S. Subrahmanyaśāstri, ed. & tr. (in Tamil) with a summary in English by Shri S.Gopalan, Gajaśāstra [Gaja-śāstram] of Pālakāpya muni with extracts from other works and Coloured Illustrations, (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 13), p. 162.

[14]:

“Ariṇāṃ deśanāśāya tvaritaṃ preṣayeñca tān I Sarvalakṣaṇayuktopi pādahīno mataṅgajaḥ I Ardhanāga iti proktaḥ varjanīyo mahībhujā II”, Ibid., (Appendix, Atha Gajamūlyanirṇayaḥ, v. 14), p. 162.

[15]:

Bhadra is also named in Chapter LXXX.20.

[16]:

Moti Chandra. Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, p.87.

[17]:

CII, IV, pp. 215&223.

[18]:

EI, XLII, pp. 166-68.

[19]:

Moti Chandra. Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, p.168.

[20]:

Ibid., p. ix (Introduction by V.S. Agrawala).

[21]:

Moti Chandra. Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, p.162.

[22]:

EC, Vol.V, pt. I, p. XX.

[23]:

Moti Chandra. Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, p.60.

[24]:

Ajay Desai. Indian Elephant: Endangered in the Land of Lord Ganesha, Vigyan Prasar, 2002.

[25]:

Moti Chandra. Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, p.68.