Which of the following phrases defines the nature of the ‘Hundi’ generally referred to in the sources of the post-Harsha period?

The correct answer is C) A bill of exchange. In this context, a hundi was a credit instrument, essentially a bill of exchange or promissory note, used by merchants and indigenous bankers to transfer money between places without moving coins over long distances. Texts of this period such as the Smritis, including Yajnavalkya and Narada, discuss such instruments, and they show how credit and commerce were organised outside the state.

Why the others fail:

• A describes a royal advisory or command. Royal orders of this era came as ajnas, farmans or land-grant charters, not hundis.
• B confuses the word with a day-book or diary, which is a bookkeeping record, not a financial instrument.
• D describes a feudal order to subordinates. Such orders took the form of administrative edicts, not a negotiable credit document.

The core concept is the monetised, credit-based economy of early medieval India. This links directly to the Mains debate on whether trade declined and the economy became feudal after Harsha, a question where evidence from hundis and merchant guilds is central.

Trap: Aspirants often remember the modern temple donation box, which is also called a hundi, and pick the option that sounds like a receptacle or an order. The historical term refers to a credit instrument.