The huṇḍī or Indic mercantile instrument integrated networks of merchants and bankers across Persianate bazaars from South Asia to Central Asia, Iran and East Africa. Merchants performed long-distance financial transactions by means of this instrument, catering to both private individuals and the state. While much has been written about the commercial use of huṇḍīs, this paper turns to the working of huṇḍīs at the interface of mercantile and state institutions, looking in particular at the Jaipur state’s collection of nirakh huṇḍāwan registers—which tracked the rate of discounting of huṇḍīs on a daily basis. Produced at the mercantile centre of Sanganer, and open to inspection by the Jaipur state, these registers lie at the intersection of commerce and governance, and of corporation and state. They reveal an ‘economically curious’ state, which accessed and used data collected and maintained by mercantile entities to make significant economic decisions.

huṇḍī或印度商业工具整合了从南亚到中亚、伊朗和东非的波斯集市上的商人和银行家网络。商人通过这种工具进行远距离金融交易，同时满足私人和国家的需求。虽然关于 huṇḍī 的商业用途已经写了很多，本文转向 huṇḍī 在商业和国家机构的界面上的工作，特别关注斋浦尔州收集的 nirakh huṇḍāwan登记册——每天跟踪 huṇḍī 的折扣率。这些登记册在 Sanganer 的商业中心生产，并接受斋浦尔州的检查，位于商业与治理、公司与国家的交汇处。它们揭示了一种“经济好奇”状态，该状态访问和使用商业实体收集和维护的数据来做出重大经济决策。