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

Answer: C. HUNDI in post-Harsha period sources refers to a BILL OF EXCHANGE. The HUNDI was an INDIGENOUS INDIAN INSTRUMENT of credit, remittance, and exchange that functioned much like a modern bill of exchange or promissory note. It was widely used by merchants, bankers (sahukars, shroffs, sarafs), and traders across the subcontinent from the early medieval period through to the 20th century. Hundis became especially prominent under the Sultanate, Mughal, and later mercantile economies. KEY FEATURES OF HUNDI: 1. It was a WRITTEN INSTRUMENT directing a person at one location to pay a specified sum to a named beneficiary at another location. 2. It facilitated LONG-DISTANCE TRADE by avoiding the physical movement of cash, which was risky and impractical. 3. It allowed CREDIT CREATION: hundis circulated among merchants and could be endorsed and discounted. 4. Different types developed: Darshani Hundi (payable at sight), Muddati Hundi (payable after a stipulated period), Shahjog Hundi (payable to a respectable person on identification), Jokhmi Hundi (contingent on safe arrival of goods). The hundi system was the BACKBONE OF INDIAN COMMERCIAL CAPITAL. Banking houses such as the Jagat Seths of Bengal, the Marwari firms of Rajasthan, and the Chettiars of South India ran extensive hundi networks across the subcontinent and into the Indian Ocean trade with West Asia, South-East Asia and Africa. Hundis were upheld as enforceable commercial instruments in customary law. Why other options are WRONG: (A) A royal advisory to subordinates is a FARMAN or HUKM, not a hundi. (B) A daily diary or account book is a BAHI or ROZNAMA, not a hundi. (D) An order from a feudal lord is variously called SANAD, PARWANA, or DASTAK, not a hundi. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part II 'Through the Eyes of Travellers'; Irfan Habib 'The Cambridge Economic History of India'; M.A. Subrahmanyam on Indian commercial networks.