exaggerated perceptions....

शतनिष्को धनाढ्यश्च शतग्रामेण भूपतिः।

शताश्वः क्षत्रियो राजा शतश्लोकेन पण्डितः॥

śataniṣko dhanāḍhyaśca śatagrāmeṇa bhūpatiḥ|

śatāśvaḥ kṣatriyo rājā śataślokena panḍitaḥ||

A person who is having just  hundred Nishkas is often considered as very wealthy.. 
One who is having control of one hundred villages is understood as a great landlord.. 
A kshatriya having hundred horses ready for war is termed as a king.. 
and a person who can quote one hundred slokas could pose himself as a scholar

Nishka.. is a globule of gold .. often tied to the horn of a cow when the cow is given as Daanam or gift  in sacrifices and ceremonies. 
It was also considered a legal tender as coin as early as in Mahabharata times.. 
Anyway the value of one hundred nishkas may not add up to much.. but for an ordinary human being, the owner of even hundred nishkas is very rich..

Likewise a person having some agricultural lands in some villages is considered a big landlord, a zamindar, even as the world is so wide.

A person of the warrior clan who can muster the help of even hundred horse-soldiers would be looked upon as a king..

And worst of all, a fellow like me who may be able to quote, or even cut and paste a few slokas, could easily be mistaken to be a scholar..

The world is so short-sighted.. It is carried away easily..