Pecuniary - Of or relating to money: a pecuniary loss; pecuniary motives. Requiring payment of money: a pecuniary offense. |
The word is actually derived from the Sanskrit word pasu and the Latin word Pecu meaning cattle.
The possession of cattle in those days denoted wealth and a man was considered rich or poor according to the large or small number of cattle that he owned. In the Ramayana king Janaka's wealth was described by reference to the large number of herds that he owned. It appears that the cow was gradually raised to the status of divinity. Kautilya's Arthasastra has a special chapter (Ch.XXIX) dealing with the "superintendent of cows" and the duties of the owner of cows are also referred to in Ch.XI of Hindu Law in its sources by Ganga Nath Jha. – The Supreme Court of India in State of Gujarat v Mirzapur Moti Kureshi Kassab Jamat & Ors.