https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=RattiRatti - Revision history2026-09-07T10:17:42ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ratti&diff=256322&oldid=prev2409:4063:4D8A:2E8C:E1BC:8004:471:EA28 at 04:04, 19 July 20212021-07-19T04:04:49Z<p></p>
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{{Infobox unit|symbol=|standard=[[Indus Valley Civilization]], [[Mahajanapadas]], [[Arthashastra]], [[Mughal empire]]|quantity=[[mass]]|units1=[[SI units]]|inunits1={{val|0.1822|ul=g}}|units2=[[Metric system]]|inunits2=0.91 [[Carat (mass)|ct]]|units3=|inunits3=|image=Abrus precatorius seeds.jpg|caption=Gunja seeds (''[[Abrus precatorius]]''), used for measuring weights in India.}}'''Ratti''' ([[Sanskrit]]: {{transl|sa|raktika}}) is a traditional [[Indian weights and measures|Indian unit of measurement]] for mass. Based on the nominal weight of a [[Abrus precatorius|Gunja seed]] (''Abrus precatorius''), it measured approximately 1.8 or 1.75 [[grain (unit)|grain]]s{{sfn|Mukherjee, Money and Social Changes in India|2012|pp=412–413}}{{sfn|Cunningham, Coins of Ancient India|1891|pp=22–23}} or [[Gram|0.1215 g]] as modern standardized weight.{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}} It is still used by the jewellers in the Indian Subcontinent.<br />
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== History ==<br />
[[File:Harappan (Indus Valley) Balance & Weights.jpg|thumb|Indus weights were based on binary multiples of Masha which was equal to 8 Ratti|alt=]]{{Multiple image<br />
| align = right<br />
| direction = <br />
| total_width = 400<br />
| image1 = AR “Bent Bar” Satamanas. All coins Taxila. Circa 500-300 BC.jpg<br />
| alt1 = <br />
| caption1 = Gandharan Satamana of 100 Rattis (11-12 g)<br />
| image2 = Mauryan Empire. Circa late 4th-2nd century BC.jpg<br />
| caption2 = Mauryan Karshapana of 32 Rattis (3.5 g)<br />
| header = Ratti weights of Ancient Indian coins<br />
}}<br />
Ratti based measurement is the oldest measurement system in the [[Indian subcontinent]], it was highly favoured because of the uniformity of its weights. The smallest weight in the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley civilization]] was equal to 8 rattis, (historically called Masha).<ref>{{Cite book|last=McIntosh|first=Jane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&q=ratti+indus+valley+civilization&pg=PA346|title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-907-2|language=en}}</ref> The Indus weights were the multiples of Masha and the 16th factor was the most common weight of 128 Ratti or 13.7 g.<br />
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A unit called ''Śatamāna'', literally a 'hundred standard', representing 100 ''krishnalas'' is mentioned in [[Satapatha Brahmana]]. A later commentary on ''Katyayana Srautasutra'' explains that a ''Śatamāna'' could also be 100 rattis. A Satamana ({{transl|sa|Śatamāna}}, literally "hundred measures") was used as a standard weight of silver coins of [[Gandhara]] between 600–200 BCE.,{{sfn|Mukherjee, Money and Social Changes in India|2012|p=412}} rest of the Indian currency weights like [[Karshapana]]s were also based on the weight of ratti. Gold coins excavated from southeast Asia have been analysed as following the ratti based weight system as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Borell|first=Brigitte|title=Gold Coins from Khlong Thom|url=https://www.academia.edu/40029209|journal=Journal of the Siam Society |volume=105|language=en|pages=157}}</ref><br />
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During the period of [[Chanakya|Kautilya]], the 32 ratti standard was called as Purana or Dharana which was in vogue before the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan empire]], but Kautilya provides a new standard of 80 ratti called Svarna, which was widely adopted from that time onwards. The ball weights from jeweller's hoard discovered from [[Taxila]] conform to the 32 ratti standard also called Purana by Kautilya, while the Mathura weights (Dated from 1st century BC-2nd century AD) with Brahmi numeral 100 (100 svarna or 100 karsha) conforms with the new svarna standard.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allchin|first=F. R.|date=1964|title=An Inscribed Weight from Mathurā|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=7|issue=2|pages=201–205|doi=10.2307/3596241|jstor=3596241|issn=0022-4995}}</ref><br />
[[File:Great Mogul Diamond copy.jpg|thumb|189x189px|<nowiki>''The Great Mogul Diamond''</nowiki> described by Tavernier weighed 319.5 Ratti]]<br />
Mughal empire employed Ratti as a unit of measure for the weight of precious stones such as diamonds. Around 1665 the Shah’s son, [[Aurangzeb]], showed a [[diamond]] to the famous jeweler and world traveler [[Jean Baptiste Tavernier]]. At that time Tavernier wrote in his Six Voyages:<br />
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{{Quote|text="The first piece that Akel Khan (Chief Keeper of the King's jewels) placed in my hands was the great diamond, which is rose cut, round and very high on one side. On the lower edge there is a slight crack, and a little flaw in it. Its water is fine, and weighs 319-1/2 Ratis, which makes 280 of our carats, the Rati being ⅞th of a carat."|author=|title=|source=}}<br />
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== Unit conversion ==<br />
Following info provides the unit conversion from ratti to other units in traditional Indian system of measurements<br />
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=== Mass conversion ===<br />
*1 [[Tola (unit)|Tola]] = 12 [[masha (unit)|Masha]] or 11.664&nbsp;g<br />
*1 Tank = 4 Mashas or 3.888&nbsp;g<br />
*1 [[masha (unit)|Masha]] = 8 Ratti or 0.972&nbsp;g<br />
*1 Ratti = 8 Rice<br />
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=== Currency conversion ===<br />
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* 1 Satamana = 100 Rattis / 11 g of pure silver<br />
* 1 Karshapana = 32 Rattis/ 3.3 g of pure silver<br />
* ½ Karshapana = 16 Rattis<br />
* ¼ Karshapana (masha) = 8 Rattis<br />
* 1/8 Karshapana = 4 Rattis<br />
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=== Jeweller's conversion ===<br />
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* 4 Dhans = 1 Rati<br />
* 6 Rattis = 1 Anna<br />
* 8 Rattis = 1 Masha<br />
* 12 Mashas = 1 Tola or Bhari<br />
* 16 Annas = 1 Tola<br />
*1 Ratti (sunari) goldsmith = 121.5&nbsp;mg<br />
*1 Pakki Ratti (for astrological gemstones ) = 1.5 x Sunari Ratti = 1.5 x 121.5&nbsp;mg = 182.25&nbsp;mg = 0.91 Carat<br />
*1 Ratti = 0.91 carat<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Rasa shastra]] ([[Ayurveda]])<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
* {{citation |last=Cunningham |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Cunningham |title=Coins of Ancient India: From the Earliest Times Down to the Seventh Century A. D. |url=https://archive.org/details/coinsancientind00cunngoog/page/n11 |year=1891 |publisher=B. Quaritch |location=London |ref={{sfnref|Cunningham, Coins of Ancient India|1891}}}}<br />
* {{citation |first=B. N. |last=Mukherjee |author-link=B. N. Mukherjee |chapter=Money and Social Changes in India (up to c. AD 1200) |editor=Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri |title=Recording the Progress of Indian History: Symposia Papers of the Indian History Congress, 1992-2010 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4SzQL1uds4C&pg=PA412 |year=2012 |publisher=Primus Books |isbn=978-93-80607-28-3 |pages=411– |ref={{sfnref|Mukherjee, Money and Social Changes in India|2012}}}}<br />
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[[Category:Units of mass]]<br />
[[Category:Customary units in India]]<br />
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