Karshapana - Saurashtra Janapada

The Saurashtra janapada, occupying the peninsula now known as Kathiawar in Gujarat, sat at the intersection of overland trade routes moving toward the northwestern passes and maritime traffic through the Gulf of Khambhat. By the second century BC, the region was navigating pressure from both the post-Mauryan fragmentation to the north and the expanding reach of Indo-Greek commercial networks to the west. These fractional silver pieces — among the lightest in the punch-marked tradition — likely circulated in the local bazaar economy rather than long-distance trade, where heavier standardized coinages dominated.