Page:The history of caste in India.pdf/59

 to be considered, and the relation of the heresy to the social changes was being made known, and principles were being laid down to deal with this creed.

If the political history of the five centuries under consideration is defective, the economic history of the period is still more so. In order to throw some light on this period, we should pay some attention to the economic achievements of India in the period that preceded.

Apart from agriculture, the people were following various other occupations. We hear of about eighteen guilds of different trades. Each guild (pūga or scniya) was presided over by an alderman or a president (a jethhaka or a pamukha). These guilds not only attended to business disputes but also attended to disputes between members of the guild and their wives. There was a president-general (Mahäsetthi) who decided disputes between guilds. The guilds or private individuals issued coinage, as well as credit instruments. There were no banking facilities and the custom of hoarding was common. The trade was done by caravans. There