Manava Dharmashastra 5.10

5.10

aviśeṣeṇa sarvaśukteṣu pratiṣiddheṣu keṣucidayamapavādaḥ | śuktānyucyante yāni prāptasārasyāni kālātyayena dravyāntarasaṃsargeṇa vā''mlatāmāpadyante | yathā''srātakādīni madhurāṇi cirakālamatirasatvācchuktāni bhavanti | niṣpīḍito madhurarasaḥ kālato'mlatāmetītyādinā evaṃvidhāni | yāni tu svabhāvato'mlāni dāḍimāmalakajambīrādīni tāni naiva 'śuktāni' | yāni ca prāptakālotpattyādīni | na hyayamamlaparyāyaḥ śuktaśabdaḥ| tatra kevalāni pākataḥ śuktāni pratiṣidhyante | dravyāntaraiśca puṣpamūlakādibhiryojitānyatra jñāyante | tathā ca gautamaḥ ( dha0 17 sū0 14) "śuktaṃ kevalamadadhi"| abhiṣūyante | abhiṣava udakena saṃsṛjya parivāsanam | "yadyevaṃ kāla eva tarhyamlatāhetuḥ” | satyam | etānyapi dravyāṇi | tṛtīyā ca karaṇe sahayoge vā | puṣpādibhirudakena saha abhiṣūyante sandhīyante | kecittvāhuḥ-yatra puṣpamūlānyamlatāṃ janayanti | yāni dāḍimāmalakādīni śuktāni tāni bhakṣyāṇi, yāni drākṣādibhirmadhurairabhiṣūyante sandhīyante tāni na bhakṣyante | abhiṣavo hyucyate śuktatājananam | yāni puṣpādibhiḥ śuktīkriyante | na ca drākṣādīni śuktatāpādakāni | kiṃ tarhi kevala eva kālaḥ | etantu na samyak | aśabdārthatvāt | na hi 'somamabhiṣuṇotīti' śuktaṃ karotīti pratipattiḥ | kiṃ tarhi ya eva prāgvyākhyāto'rthaḥ |

“In that case the sourness would be due to the length of time (so that all these would be included among‘Soured Substances’).”

True; these also are ‘soured substances’; and the Instrumental ending may signify either instrumentality or association. The meaning thus is—‘what are distilled—e.g. made out of—flowers etc. along with water’.

Some people offer the fallowing explanation:—“The roots of trees are directly productive of sourness. Such ‘sour substances’ as the Pomegranate, the Āmalaka and the rest are ‘fit to be eaten’, while those that are distilled from grapes and other sweet things are not eaten. ‘Distillation’ means producing acidity; hence ‘distilled from flowers’ means soured by flowers and such things. Grapes and such other things however are not themselves productive of acidity; in their case it is time alone that is the acidulating agent.”

This however i not right; simply because such is not the meaning of the term (‘distillation’). When one says ‘he is distilling Soma’—this is not understood to mean that he is making it sour; what is understood is as we have explained above.

‘Distilled’.—Distillation consists in allowing the thing to remain soaked in water over-night.