Successful merchants were designated as masattuvan in Tamil and setthis and satthavahas in which language?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Prakrit
Trade routes of the time ran overland into Central Asia and overseas to Africa, West Asia and Southeast Asia, and many merchants grew rich on this trade. Successful merchants were called masattuvan in Tamil, and setthis and satthavahas in Prakrit. The earliest inscriptions of the subcontinent were in Prakrit too.
NCERT (2025-26): “6.3 Trade in the subcontinent and beyond … Those who traversed these routes included peddlers who probably travelled on foot and merchants who travelled with caravans of bullock carts and pack-animals. Also, there were seafarers, whose ventures were risky but highly profitable. Successful merchants, designated as masattuvan in Tamil and setthis and satthavahas in Prakrit, could become enormously rich.…” |