CC Antya 9.119
Bengali
‘প্রভু যেন নাহি জানেন, — রাজা আমার লাগিয়া ।
দুইলক্ষ কাহন কৌড়ি দিলেক ছাড়িয়া ॥ ১১৯ ॥
দুইলক্ষ কাহন কৌড়ি দিলেক ছাড়িয়া ॥ ১১৯ ॥
Verse text
‘prabhu yena nāhi jānena, — rājā āmāra lāgiyā
dui-lakṣa kāhana kauḍi dileka chāḍiyā
dui-lakṣa kāhana kauḍi dileka chāḍiyā
Synonyms
Translation
“The King said, ‘Speak to the Lord in such a way that He will not think, “For My sake the King has forfeited 200,000 kāhanas of kauḍis.”
Purport
The kauḍi is like an American cent or Japanese yen. In the old medium of exchange, the first unit of currency was a small conchshell called a kauḍi. Four kauḍis made one gaṇḍā, twenty gaṇḍās made one paṇa, and sixteen paṇas made one kāhana. Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka owed the government 200,000 kāhanas. The King absolved him of this debt, reappointed him to his post and doubled his salary.