A Critical Note on the Word Kagini
Summary
P. M. Upadhye's article, "A Critical Note on the Word Kagini," examines the Prakrit word kagini as it appears in the Paumacariya of Vimalasuri, a Jain retelling of the Ramayana. The main argument is that kagini is a Desya word that acquired two distinct meanings in Jain literature: a cowrie or a very small coin, and a jewel belonging to a sovereign king. The author notes that while the P. S. M. records both meanings, it does not cite the Paumacariya and fails to classify kagini as a Desya word, unlike Hemacandra's Desinamamala, which lists kaginj as a Desya word meaning Gunja-fruit but omits the jewel sense. To explain the dual meanings, Upadhye draws on several sources. He references the Srngabhedasutra and the Arthasastra of Kautilya, which use the word in the sense of a small weight or coin, such as a cowrie. He also cites Monier-Williams' Sanskrit English Dictionary and Apte's Sanskrit Dictionary. The Paumacariya itself uses kagini to mean a cowrie in one passage and a sovereign's jewel in another, where King Bharata uses it to mark visitors. The author further supports the jewel meaning through references to the Padmapurana and the Avasyaka Sutra, which describe the kagini as one of the fourteen jewels of a cakravartin, possessing six facets, eight angles, and twelve sides, and capable of producing light in dark caves. Upadhye concludes that while Sanskrit and Prakrit dictionaries accept kagini as a cowrie or coin, the Jain tradition uniquely elevated it to a sovereign's jewel. He suggests this semantic shift occurred because a cowrie was considered an excellent, lustrous object with medicinal and magical properties, making it worthy of a king's possession. The article demonstrates how a Desya word like kagini was incorporated into classical languages, enriching them.
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Conclusion
This critical note establishes that the Prakrit word *kagini*, occurring in the *Paumacariya*, possesses two distinct meanings: a jewel of a sovereign king and a cowrie. While Sanskrit and Prakrit dictionaries record the term as a small coin or cowrie, Jain literature uniquely applies it to one of the fourteen jewels of a *cakravartin* king, attributing to it magical and medicinal properties. The study traces the word’s incorporation into Sanskrit and its evolution within Jain texts, where it denotes a specific royal jewel capable of emitting light. The author concludes that the dual semantic nature of *kagini*—from a negligible cowrie to a luminous jewel—reflects a peculiar feature of Jain literature, demonstrating how a *Desya* word was absorbed into classical languages, thereby enriching them with nuanced cultural and symbolic significance.