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India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c8.s6: Section 6. Food and Drinks

India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī c8.s6

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Section 6. Food and Drinks

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(*Anna-Pāna*)

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The *Ashṭādhyāyī* contains material for an important chapter on the history of food and drinks in ancient India. Food is called *anna*, and the eater of food *annāda* (III.2.68). The word *bhakta* which also occurs in the *Jātakas* (*yāgu-bhattādīni*, *Takkala Jāt.* IV.43) and the *Arthaśāstra* (Text II.24) primarily denoted *anna*, as in *sūtra* VI.2.71 (*Bhak-tākhyās-tad-artheshu*) where names of edible articles are implied. A servant or wage-earner whose daily remuneration was given to him in the form of food was called *bhākta* or *bhāktika*, a practice which seems to have been more true in the case of agricultural labour. The *Arthaśāstra* says that food and wages (*bhakta-vetana*) were paid to the artisans, but food only to agricultural labour (*Arth.* Text II.24). Patañjali is even more specific: 'The meaning of the root *kṛishi* is not restricted merely to the actual operation of ploughing, but it also implies all accessory efforts by way of providing food (to labour), seed and bullocks, etc. which together contribute to the complete fulfilment of the sense of the verb' (*Bhāshya*, II. 33, *Yadasau bhakta-bīja-balīvardaiḥ pratividhānaṁ karoti sa kṛishy-arthaḥ*). The other sense of *bhakta*, viz. boiled rice is seen in *sūtra* IV.4.100, which prescribes a suffix to denote a thing that is good for *bhakta* (*Bhaktāṇ-ṇaḥ*). *Kāśikā's* examples *bhāktaḥ śāliḥ* and *bhāktas-taṇḍulaḥ* show that *bhakta* here stands only for boiled rice, a meaning which it still retains in Hindi *bhāt*.

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CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS—(*i*) *Bhojya*—In a simple-looking *sūtra*, round which controversy has raged, Pāṇini explains the meaning of *bhojya*:

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*Bhojyaṁ bhakshye*, VII.3.69.

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It means that the word *bhojya* is irregularly derived in the sense of *bhakshya*. To this Kātyāyana raises an objection that *bhakshya* is not to be taken as a synonym of *bhojya*, since *bhojya* includes all articles of diet, both solid and liquid, while *bhakshya* denotes only solid food. Kātyāyana suggests that the proper word to express the sense of *bhojya* is *abhyavahārya*, 'worthy of being taken in.' Patañjali disagrees with Kātyāyana and defends Pāṇini by saying that in such older examples as *ab-bhaksha* and *vāyu-bhaksha* (one who takes in water or air) even non-solid substances occur as the object of *bhakshaṇa*, and hence Pāṇini's idiom in equating *bhojya* with *bhakshya* is unobjectionable. All subsequent commentators have accepted Patañjali's liberal interpretation of *bhakshya* in this *sūtra*, viz. that it stands both for solid (*khara-viśada*) and liquid (*drava*) foods (cf. *Kāśikā*, *Iha bhakshyam-abhyavahāramātram*). Dr. Goldstücker, however, raised his voice of dissent against Patañjali and maintained that 'in Pāṇini's time, which preceded the classical epoch, *bhakshya* must have been used as a convertible term for *bhojya*; while at Kātyāyana's period, this rendering became incorrect, and the *sūtra* needed correction' (*Pāṇini and his Place in Sanskrit Lit.* p. 97). Dr. Goldstücker's statement, however, does not hold good even for the whole of the *Ashṭādhyāyī*, since in Pāṇini's own *sūtra* II.1.35 (*Bhakshyeṇa miśrīkaraṇam*) as read with IV.2.16, (*Saṁskṛitaṁ bhakshāḥ*) *bhakshya* denotes solid food only and not liquids, as is evident from the illustration in the *Bhāshya*, i.e. *guḍena saṁsṛishṭā guḍa-saṁsṛishṭā, guḍa-saṁsṛishṭā dhānā guḍadhānāḥ* (I.387), which is accepted by all subsequent commentators. (Cf. *Kāśikā*, IV.1.16; *Khara-viśadam abhyavahāryaṁ bhaksham ity uchyate*; also II.1.35). Here *bhakshya* cannot be said to be strictly synonymous with *bhojya*, if, as rightly argued, *bhojya* included both liquid and solid diets. The correct view, we submit, is that *bhakshya* has a two-fold sense in the *Ashṭādhyāyī*, a more general sense in *sūtra* VII.3. 69 and a restricted one elsewhere. As for the contention of Dr.

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Goldstücker (*ibid*, p. 97) that in the classical language *bhakshya* is different from *bhojya* and applies to solid food only, we submit the following three examples from Kauṭilya, where exactly as in Pāṇini both meanings prevail side by side:

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(a) *Māṁsa-surā-bhakshya-bhojana*. (*Arth.* Text. p. 214), i.e. eating of meat and other solid foods and drinking of liquors;
(b) *Sūdo bhakshakāro vā bhaksha-bhojanam yācheta* (p. 239), i.e. the cook or one who prepares food may ask for some *bhaksha* and *bhojana*;
(c) *Bhakshyeshu smarati* (p. 252), i.e. the king at meals remembers (his courtier).

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In the above examples (*a*) and (*b*) distinguish between the meanings of *bhakshya* and *bhojya*, while (*c*) uses *bhakshya* as synonymous with food in general. It is this latter sense that holds good in Pāṇini's *sūtra* VII.3.69.

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(ii) *Bhakshya* and *Miśrī-karaṇa*. For the rest of the *Ashṭādhyāyī* Pāṇini has distinguished *bhakshya* (II.1.35) from *anna* (food in general, II.1.34), and it is, therefore, right to take it as denoting *khādya* (eatable or solid) articles only. Pāṇini's own examples of *bhakshyas* as given in *sūtra* VI.1.128 are (1) *palala* (meat), (2) *sūpa* (pulses) and (3) *śāka* (vegetables), which are compounded with words denoting relish-giving articles of diet like *ghṛita*, *guḍa*, etc. According to *Kāśikā's* gloss on VI.2.154 (*Miśraṁ chānupasargam asandhau*) *guḍa*, *tila* and *ghṛita* are examples of *miśra* articles. It follows that for improving the taste it was permissible to have any suitable combination with the principal *bhakshya* food. The process of *miśrīkaraṇa*, mixing therewith, is the same as *saṁsṛishṭa* (IV.4.22). The *sūtra Saṁsṛishṭe* provides that the suffix *ṭhak* is added to a word when the sense is 'mixed therewith.' According to Pāṇini *chūrṇa* (IV.2.23) *lavaṇa* (IV.2.24) and *mudga* (IV.2.25) are ingredients which are used in 'mixing therewith.' Kātyāyana, perhaps too subtly, thinks that there is something wrong in salt being considered as an article for ‘mixing,’ since it is not an eatable by itself but an adjunct of food (*guṇa*) being one of the six *rasas*. (Cf. Kātyāyana on IV.4.24; II.330). But Pāṇini understands salt not merely as a *rasa*, but to be a *paṇya* or material commodity (*cf.* *lāvaṇika*, a dealer in salt, IV.4.52), and therefore a mixable article with food.

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(iii) *Vyañjana and Upasikta*. Whereas *miśra* articles are mixed at the option of the eater, the use of *vyañjanas* is obligatory to make the food tasteful. Pāṇini takes *vyañjana* in the sense of *upasechana*, (i.e. ingredients of seasoning to improve the taste, IV.4.26, *Vyañjanair-upasikte*), as example of which Patañjali mentions *dadhi* (curds) (*Annena vyañjanam*, II.¹.34) and the *Kāśikā* on Pāṇini II.4.12 mentions both curds and butter (*dadhi-ghṛitam*). The nature of any dish determines whether a particular article bears to it the relation of a *vyañjana* or *miśrīkaraṇa*, i.e. an indispensable or optional ingredient of mixing. For example, the *Kāśikā* takes *ghṛita* as an article both for mixing and for seasoning the food (*Kāśikā* on VI.2.128 and 154).

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¹ *Cereals.* (i) *Śāli* (V.2.2), a kind of rice growing

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(iv) *Saṁskṛita*. This term (IV.2.16 and IV.4.3) denotes such food as is ready for eating direct from its place of preparation, e.g. groats ground in a hand-mill. Patañjali further points out that barley which is being pounded in the mortar is not in an eatable stage until it is boiled (*Bhāshya*, IV.3.25; II.307). Pāṇini mentions *dadhi* (IV.2.18), *udaśvit* (butter-milk, IV.2.19) and milk (*kshīra*, IV.2.20) as examples of *saṁskṛita* food. The *Kāśikā* instances *apūpa* or sweet bread baked in an oven as coming under this class (*bhrāshṭrā apūpāḥ*, IV.2.16).

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*DIFFERENT FOODS*—A list of the principal food products and their preparations mentioned in the *Ashṭādhyāyī* is given below:—

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*I. Grains.*

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in winter which is replanted and called *jaḍahan*.

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(ii) *Mahāvrīhi* (VI.2.38). One of the best known varieties of rice mentioned by Charaka in his list of principal kinds of rice (*Charaka Saṁhitā*, Nidāna-sthāna, IV.6). Suśruta mentions *mahāśāli* (Sūtra-sthāna, 46.7), which was perhaps a kindred variety of *mahāvrīhi*. Patañjali praises the *śāli* rice grown in Magadha (I.19). This variety seems to have survived for more than a thousand years. According to Yuan Chwang: 'There is an unusual sort of rice grown here (Magadha), the grains of which are large and scented and of an exquisite taste. It is specially remarkable for its shining colour. It is commonly called "the rice for the use of the great."' (Beal, *Siyuki*, II.82). This appears to be the rice called *Mahāśali* and *Sugandhikā* (Julien). Hwui Li, the biographer of the Chinese pilgrim states that the *Mahāśāli* rice was grown only in Magadha and that Yuan Chwang, during his stay at Nālandā, was entertained with this special kind of rice (H. D. Sankalia, *Nalanda*, pp. 192-93). Pāṇini's acquaintance with the *mahāvrīhi* rice of Magadha must be due to his intimate knowledge of eastern India.

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(iii) *Hāyana* (III.1.48) a kind of *vrīhi* (the rainy crop which is not transplanted); included by Charaka amongst the nine varieties of well-known rice.¹ 'In the *Kāṭhaka Saṁhitā* and the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* the term appears as a designation of a species of red rice' (*Vedic Index*, Vol. II.502).

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¹ *Hāyanaka-yavaka-chīnak-oddālaka-naishadhetkaṭa-mukundaka-maha-vrīhi-pramodaka-sugandhikānāṁ navānām*. Also Sūtra-sthāna, XXVII.12, where the name is *hāyana* as in Pāṇini, not *hāyanaka*.

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(iv) *Yavaka* (V.2.3). Both Pāṇini and Charaka mention *yavaka* as the name of a variety of rice. Pāṇini refers to it also in the *Gaṇa-pāṭha* (*yava vrīhishu*, V.4.3, from which we get *yavaka*). The same *gaṇa* also contains *jīrṇa śālishu*, from which we get *jīrṇaka* as a kind of rice, probably the same as *jūrṇa* of Charaka (Sūtra-sthāna, XXVII.18).

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(*v*) *Shashṭikā* (V.1.90), so called because it took sixty days to ripen (*shashṭi-rātreṇa pachyante*); it was considered as one of the best varieties according to medical authorities (*Charaka*, Sūtra-sthāna, XXVII.13).

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(*vi*) *Nīvāra* (III.3.48), a wild inferior variety.

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Pāṇini refers to the bank (*kūla*) of a river called Devikā (VII.3.1), on which was grown, according to Patañjali, a special kind of rice called *dāvikākūla śāli* (III.316). The river Devikā is identified with Deg flowing through Jammu and Sialkot, still famous for its excellent rice.

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2. *Pulses*. *Mudga* (IV.⁴.25); *Māsha* (V.1.7; V.2.4); *Kulattha* (IV.4.4), *Dolichos uniflorus*, mentioned as an article to be eaten with food (*saṁskāraka dravya*). Charaka enumerates *kulattha* amongst pulses (*śamī-dhānya*, Sūtrasthāna, XXVII.26).

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3. *Other Grains*. *Yava* (barley, V.2.3); *Yavānī* (a kind of inferior barley, IV.1.49); *Aṇu* (V.2.4) a small grain (*Panicum miliaceum*) which is the principal food of the poorer people in the Sindh-Sagar doāb and other parts of the Punjab; *Gavedhukā*⁴ (IV.3.136), *Coix barbata*, boiled with rice or barley in preparing gruel; and *Tila* (V.1.4; II.7).

II. Cooked Foods (Kṛitānna)

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(1) *Odana* (IV.⁴.67), boiled rice, also called *bhakta* (IV.4.100), must have been a favourite diet, since as many as six varieties of rice are mentioned in the *Ashṭādhyāyī*, of which some varieties were considered specially good for preparing *bhakta* (IV.4.100). *Odana* was either boiled alone in water, called *udakaudana* and *udaudana* (VI.3.60), or prepared in combination with meat (*māṁsaudana*, IV.4.67). Vegetables and soups (*śāka*, *sūpa*, VI.2.128) were other ingredients eaten with boiled rice. Charaka giving a list of thirty-five kinds of rice prescribes the use of *ghṛita*, *taila*, *phala*, *māsha*, *tila* along with *odana* (Sūtrasthāna, XXVII.257). In India *odana* is most commonly eaten with *sūpa* of various pulses. According to the *Mahāummage Jātaka*¹ the food of a labourer consisted of *bhatta* from barley eaten with *sūpa*. According to Patañjali *odana* made a decent dish to feast Brāhmaṇas (II.3.65; I.467) and friends (I.1.72; I.182). He repeats several times the phrase, *Vindhyo vardhitakam* (I.4.24; I.327), comparing humorously the heap of rice served on a plate with Mount Vindhya. (*Bhāshya*, I.220, *Ekaścha taṇḍulaḥ kshut pratighāte' samarthas-tat-samudāyaś-cha vardhitakaṁ samartham*). *Vindhya vardhitaka* is a common sight in the eastern districts of the U. P. where rice is the staple food.

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⁴ Kātyāyana considers the reading of *Gavedhukā* in the Bilvādi gaṇa (IV.3.136) as authentic (*Bhāshya*, II.323). The same *gaṇa* also contains *godhūma* and *masūra*.

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¹ Cf. *Mahāummaga Jātaka*, Vol. VI. p. 372; *muṭṭhiṁ muṭṭthiṁ katvā appasūpaṁ yava-bhattaṁ bhuñjamānaṁ*. Cf. also *Jāt.* Vol. I., p. 486 describing *bhatta* of inferior rice for poor men (*taṇḍulamaṇassa bhattaṁ*).

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(2) *Yavāgū* (IV.2.136). Barley gruel was a papular food like *odana*, as can be gathered from its repeated mention in the illustrations to *sūtras*. The *Jātakas* mention *yāgu* as a popular food. Patañjali considered *yavāgū* to be a liquid diet (*Bhāshya* on VII.3.69). Pāṇini specially mentions the *yavāgū* eaten in the Sālva country (*Sālvika Yavāgū*) which like the breed of Sālva bulls enjoyed wide reputation (IV.2.136, *Go-yavāgvoś-cha*). The ancient Sālva *janapada* consisting of a confederacy of six member states most probably coincided with the vast territory stretching from Alwar to Bikaner in Rajasthan. People in these parts are still quite fond of eating gruel, which is of two kinds, *viz.* (1) thin *lapsī*, that is sweet in taste and eaten by the rich, and (2) thick *rābarī* that is saltish and prepared by the poor. Pāṇini also mentions *ushṇikā* in *sūtra* V.2.71 as a *saṁjñā* word, which according to the *Kāśikā* was the name of a *yavāgū* of very thin consistency (*alpānnā yavāgūr-ushṇik-ety uchyate*). In *sūtra* II.2.34 Pāṇini describes *nakhaṁ-pachā*, 'nail scotching.' The *Kāśikā* connects *nakhaṃpachā* with *yavāgū*. We know from other sources that *yavāgū* was of two kinds, *peyā* and *vilepī*. The *peyā* or thin variety was drunk like *saktu* dissolved in water, while *vilepī* or paste-like *yavāgū* was licked with fingers of the hand. The *ushṇikā* in *sūtra* V.2.71 must be the *peyā* variety, whereas the *nakhaṃ-pachā yavāgū* was called *vilepī* which scotched the finger ends when licked hot.

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(3) *Yāvaka* (V.4.29). According to Patañjali *yāvaka* was made by pounding barley with pestle and mortar to remove the chaff, and then boiling its pearl grain in water or in milk with sugar added to it.¹ Charaka calls *yāvaka* a steamed food (*svinna bhakshya*, Sūtra-sthāna, XXVII.259). The *Arthaśāstra* lays down that prepared *yāvaka* must weigh twice the original quantity of barley cooked (*Arth.* Text. II.15).

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(4) *Pishṭaka* (IV.3.147). *Pishṭa* (IV.3.146) denoted the ground paste of any grain. Articles prepared by mixing *pishṭa* were generally called *pishṭamayam*. *Pishṭaka* on the other hand was a special preparation, probably the cakes made of powdered rice. Suśruta counts *pishṭaka* among cooked delicacies (*kṛitānna varga*) (G. P. Majumdar, Food, *Indian Culture*, I.413).

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(5) *Saṃyāva* (III.3.23). Kullūka explains *saṃyāva* as a sweet preparation made with *ghṛita*, milk, *guḍa*, and wheat-flour (*Manu*, V.7), almost the same as modern *chūrmā*. Suśruta also includes it among confectionaries (G. P. Majumdar, *ibid*, p. 413).

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(6) *Apūpa* (V.¹.4). Sweet cakes made of wheat flour and *ghṛita*, a dainty confectionary prepared even now. The *Kāśikā* mentions oven-baked *apūpas* (IV.2.16). The *Chāndra Vṛitti* and the *Kāśikā* read *abhyūsha* (variant form *abhyosha*)

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¹ *Bhāshya*, II.307; *Idam tu na sidhyati aulūkhalo yāvaka iti.* . . .*Na cha yāvaka ulūkhalād evāpakṛishya abhyavahriyate' vaśyaṁ randhanādīni pratīkshyāṇi.*

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in the *apūpādi gaṇa*.¹ It must have been an ancient food since the *Kāmasūtra* also mentions *abhyūsha-khādikā* as a sport in which boys and girls took part by eating the *abhyūsha* (parched grain) (*Kāma-sūtra*, ch. IV).

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(7) *Saktu* (VI.3.59). Pāṇini mentions *saktu* (modern *sattu*) mixed with water as *udaka-saktu* or *udasaktu*, but Patañjali mentions *dadhi-saktu*, i.e. groats eaten with *dadhi* as the seasoning ingredient (I.¹.57; I.149). *Bhrāshṭra* or the place for frying is also mentioned (VI.².82).

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¹ Also *pṛithuka*, boiled rice, crushed and dried (*chiruve*); cf. *Kāśikā*, *guḍa-pṛithukāḥ*, II.1.35; *Amara*, *Apakvaṁ paulir-abhyūshaḥ*, i.e. half-ripe corn fried in fire.

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Another article of diet when mixed with water was called *udamantha* or *udaka-mantha* (VI.3.60). *Mantha* was a kind of groats made from fried rice (*Kātyāyana Śrauta*, V.8.12) and generally mixed with milk (*manthaḥ kshīra-saṁyuto dhānā-saktuḥ*). The special word *udamantha* referred to such *sattu* when taken only with water. This food is now called *bhujiyā ke sattu*. (For *mantha*, see also *Sat. Br.*, II.5.².6).

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(8) *Kulmāsha* (V.².83). Pāṇini mentions *kulmāsha* as a food which was ceremoniously eaten on a particular day in the year (*Tad-asminn-annaṁ prāye saṁjñāyāṁ*, V.2.82). The particular Full-Moon day on account of its association with *kulmāsha* was known as *Kaulmāshī Paurṇamāsī*.

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What was the nature of the *kulmāsha* food? In the *Nirukta*² *kulmāsha* is an inferior food, which is confirmed by the *Chhāndogya Upanishad* where the people of Ibhyagrāma (richmen’s village) in Kurukshetra begin eating *kulmāsha* after the crops were damaged by hail-storm (I.10.2). The *Kummāsa-piṇḍa Jātaka* (No. 415) refers to it as the coarse food of the poor (*dalidda*) workman which he could carry in the form of a ball or lump, and to which on account of his poverty he could not even add a little fat and jaggery (*atelam*, *alonikam*).¹ *Kulmāsha*² thus appears to have been a coarse thick gruel prepared by stewing beans, maize, or any inferior grain in a covered vessel with a little water (*appodaka*) and also adding *guḍa* and oil to it. *Yāvaka* was different from *kulmāsha* in that it was first pounded in a mortar (made *aulūkhala*, *Bhāshya*, II.307) and then boiled like the latter. Charaka considers *kulmāsha* as a steamed food (*svinna-bhakshya*), heavy to digest and dry in effect (Sūtra-sthāna, XXVII.259). The *Kaulmāshī* day of Pāṇini most probably coincided with the Full-Moon day of Chaitra, and the *Vaṭakinī* of Kātyāyana with the Full-Moon day of *Kārttika*, when *kulmāsha* and *vaṭaka* cakes of *māsha* paste form the ceremonial food respectively. The Hindi equivalent of *kulmāsha* is *ghughrī*. (Cf. *Bhojana-kutūhala*, P. K. Gode, A. B. O. R. I., XXII.256).

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² *Kulmāshan chidādara ity-avakutsite*, Nir. I.4 Dr. Sarup renders it as sour gruel (Cf. *Amara*, *kulmāsha=yavaka*; later Koshas add *kāñjika yavaka*. Also *Vedic Index* where the meaning of sour gruel is accepted.

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¹ *Jāt.* III.406; on p. 408 *sukkhāya alonikāya cha. . . kummāsapiṇḍiyā*. The commentary explains *sukkhāya* as *nisnehāya*, and *alonikāya* as *phāṇita-virahitāya*, adding that *alonikā* meant *nipphāṇitattā*, absence of jaggery.

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(9) *Palala* (VI.².128). A sweetmeat made of pounded sesamum and sugar or *guḍa*, as illustrated by *Kāśikā*, *guḍena miśraṁ palalaṁ guḍa-palalam* (VI.2.128), and *tila-palalam* (VI.2.135). Its modern equivalent is *tila-kuṭa*.

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² *Kāśikā* (also *Chandra*) includes *kulmāsha* in the *guḍādi* group (IV.4.103) and illustrates it as *kaulmāshika mudga*, i.e. *mudga*, suitable for making *kulmāsha*. Chakrapāṇi on *Charaka*, Sūtra-sthāna, XXVII.260, explains *kulmāsha* as *yavapishtaṁ ushṇodaka-siktaṁ īshatsvinnaṁ apūpī-kṛitam kulmāsham āhuḥ*.

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(10) *Chūrṇa* (IV.4.23). It means wheat flour fried on a pan and mixed with *ghi* and sugar. In this form it was put inside cakes or *apūpas*, which in Pāṇini's time were called *chūrṇinaḥ apūpāḥ* (*Kāśikā*, corresponding to modern *gūñjhā* or *guñjhiyā*). The *chūrṇa* preparation is still known as *chūn* in eastern districts like Banaras and *kasār* in western districts like Meerut.

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*III. Sweets.*

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Pāṇini mentions the following sweets:—

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*(i)* *Madhu*, honey from which is derived the general term *madhura* (V.2.107) denoting all confectionaries. Honey prepared by the common bee is referred to as *kshaudra* (IV.3.118) treated as a *saṁjñā* word.

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*(ii)* *Guḍa* (IV.4.103), molasses, a universal product of sugarcane juice. Pāṇini’s phrase ‘excellent for making *guḍa*’ (*guḍe sādhu*) refers to some special variety of sugarcane yielding better quality of *guḍa*. Even now this consideration prevails with experienced farmers in selecting sugarcane seed for the next crop. Pāṇini refers to vast cane plantations or forests of sugarcane as *ikshu-vaṇa* (VIII.4.5).

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*(iii)* *Phāṇita*, implied as a counter-example in *sūtra* VII.2.18 which mentions *phāṇṭa*. *Phāṇita* denotes inspissated juice of sugarcane boiled down to thick consistency, a preparation now called *rāb*, from which after crystallisation sugar is prepared.

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*(iv)* *Śarkarā*, granulated sugar prepared from sugarcane.

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*IV. Milk Products.*

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Milk products are called *gavya* and *payasya* (IV.3.160) of which curds, milk and butter-milk (IV.2.18; *dadhi-payasī* II.4.14) are mentioned as important food articles. *Phāṇṭa* as given in *sūtra* VII.2.18 has the sense of ‘made without effort’ (*anāyāsa*). The *Kāśikā* understands it as a hot decoction, but the epithet *anāyāsa* points to its old meaning of butter produced from the cream of the day’s milk (*ayātayāma*, *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, III.1.8), as opposed to *navanīta* churned from curds of the previous day’s milk, for which a new classical word, *haiyaṁgavīna* (V.2.23) had come into use in Pāṇini’s time.

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Pāṇini has an interesting *sūtra*, *Pānaṁ deśe* (VIII.4.9), which apart from its grammatical interest (*i.e.* cerebralisation) acquaints us with the fact that different countries were named after their popular drinks. Of the four illustrations on this *sūtra* the first cited by the *Kāśikā* and repeated in the *Chāndra-vṛitti* (VI.4.109) refers to the people of Uśīnara country as being fond of drinking milk (*Kshīra-pāṇā Uśīnarāḥ*). The information seems to be grounded in fact. Uśīnara or the ancient Śibi *janapada* had its capital at Shorkot near the bank of the lower Chenab, and roughly corresponded with parts of Jhang, Multan and Montgomery districts famous for their breed of cows. The geographical term *Pāna-Sindhu* (*Kāśikā*, VII.3.9) should be identified with the south-half portion of Sindhu *janapada* (Sind-Sagar Doab) which was an extension of Uśīnara for its prosperity in cattle wealth and of which the inhabitants were fond of dairy products in their dietary. Charaka informs us that the people of Sindhu (*Saindhavāḥ*) were fond of milk (Chikitsā-sthāna, 30-31). *Saktu-Sindhu* denoted the northern portion of Sindhu *janapada* where the people eat groats to this day. Eastern India was fond of wines (*surā-pāṇāḥ Prāchyāḥ*) Bālhīka of *sauvīra* (a kind of sour drink); Gandhāra of *kashāya* wine.

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The *Mahābhārata* mentions *mathita* (whey) as a favourite drink of the people in the Vāhīka country, and Patañjali refers to *māthitika* shopkeepers selling *mathita* (III.328, *mathitaṁ paṇyam asya māthitikaḥ*).

V. Vegetables and Fruits

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Among auxiliary articles of food Pāṇini refers to *śāka* (leafy vegetables), *bhājī* (cooked vegetables, IV.1.42; also called *śrāṇā* in *sūtra* IV.4.67), *sūpa* (juice of boiled pulses, VI.2.128), prepared from pulses like *mudga* and *māsha*. Mention is also made of the practice of munching with food such digestive roots as radish and ginger, called *upadaṁśa* (III.4.47).

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Among fruits *āmra* (mango, VIII.4.5) and *jambū* (rose-apple, IV.3.165) are mentioned. Generally the name of the tree denoted also the name of the fruit (IV.3.163, *Phale-luk*).

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*COOKING*—Cooking is called *pakti* (III.3.95). Frying-pans were used for cooking (*ukhā*, *ukhya*, IV.2.17). The process of roasting on spikes is referred to as *śūlā-karoti* (V.4.65) and articles so roasted were known as *śūlya* (IV.2.17). The commentators understand this process to apply only to meat preparations. Pāṇini explicitly refers to *māṁsa* in *sūtra* IV.4.67. Kauṭilya also mentions shops of cooked meat (*pakva-māṁsika*, II.36) and *śūlya* articles of food.

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The cooks in the time of Pāṇini derived their names from two factors, firstly from their specialised skill in preparing particular dishes, and secondly from the quantity which they were capable of handling. The first point is perhaps referred to in VI.2.129, in which the names of various classes of cooks are presumed, as *deva-sūda* and *bhājī-sūda*, i.e. cooks attached to temples and those expert in the cooking of vegetables.¹ Even at present the *bhājī-sūda* is a specialist whose services are in demand at the time of big feasts for making vegetables.

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The practice of designating cooks on the basis of their capacity to cook a particular measure or quantity of food is referred to in *sūtra* V.¹.52. This may have been a criterion to determine their wages and fitness for employment in domestic and festive cooking. Pāṇini speaks of cooks handling different quantities of food-stuffs, equal to an *āḍhaka*, *āchita* or *pātra* measure (V.1.53). Kātyāyana in a special *vārttika* refers to the cooking of a *droṇa*-measure, from which a female cook competent to handle this quantity was known as *drauṇī* or *drauṇikī* (V.1.52; II.352). There were also female cooks handling larger quantities like two *āḍhakas*, and named *dvyāḍhakī*, *dvyāḍakikī*, *dvyāḍhakinā* (V.1.55; II.352). The popularity of these epithets is seen from another rule in which Pāṇini gives as many as four variant froms for designating one who could cook a couple of *kulija* measures, *e.g.* *dvikulijikī* *dvikulijīnā*, *dvikulijā*, *dvaikulijikī* (V.¹.55).

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¹ Cf. *Artha.* Text, V.1, referring to *sūda* and *bhakshakāra* as sauce-maker and sweetmeat-maker respectively. The *Kāśikā* understands *Devasūda* and *Bhājīsūda* as place-names.

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The same principle held good in the case of utensils which were named from the quantity that they could contain (*saṁ-bhavati*, V.¹.52) as *prāsthika*, *kauḍavika*, *khārīka*, or the quantity that could be cooked in them (*Parimāṇe pachaḥ*, III.2.33). This naming of cooking vessels according to their capacity was of practical use at the time of borrowing utensils for big feasts.

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CUSTOM OF FEEDING DOMESTIC SERVANTS. Pāṇini refers to the custom of giving food to a domestic servant as part of his wages fixed by custom (*niyukta*, IV.4.66). This practice was so widely prevalent that special terms were used to indicate it, *e.g.* a servant who got cooked rice as his food every day was called *odanika* or *bhāktika* (*odanikī* for a female servant). According to Pāṇini the customary payments of food to domestic servants were of an obligatory nature:

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*Tad asmai dīyate niyuktam* (IV.4.66)

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"The affix *ṭhak* is added after the name of food which is to be given as a customary payment.'

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The word *niyukta* comes from *niyoga*, which Patañjali explains as a legal obligation like a debt.¹ For example, if one had engaged a servant for a *paṇa* per day, the *paṇa* was a *niyukta* charge, the payment of which at the end of the day was obligatory. We have to think of those circumstances in which an article of food became due in a like manner. We read in the *Arthaśāstra* of *bhakta-karmakaras*, i.e. servants engaged on the stipulation of being given daily food. In actual rural economy there has always existed the custom of giving a portion of the mid-day meal to certain domestic servants and menials, like the scavenger and the water-carrier, etc. Their daily wages in respect of the services rendered to the various families consist only of food articles which they are required to collect in the course of the day from the houses served by them. The village Brāhmaṇa also by virtue of his privileged position as Purohita gets a portion, which is no doubt referred to in the illustration *agrabhojanika* (*agre bhojanam asmai niyuktaṁ dīyate*) cited by the *Kāśikā*. In this case the members of the household cannot partake of their food unless the *agrabhojana* has been set apart. It is to be noted that this supply of food (*niyukta bhaksha*) is part of the stipulated wages for which the servant is employed. According to Pāṇini the food thus supplied might be of different kinds, viz. cooked vegatables (*śrāṇā*), rice cooked with meat (*māṁsa* and *odana*, IV.4.67), or full meal, (*bhakta*, IV.4.68). One getting cooked vegetables would be called *śrāṇika*, or *śrāṇikī* in the case of a female; similarly *māṁsika* (getting meat as food), *odanika* (geting boiled rice) and *bhāktika*. The *bhāktika* was the same as *bhakta-karmakara* of Kauṭilya, receiving a full meal every day. This practice worked out in a manner that the servant could make a complete meal with the different articles received from different houses. The same person would be a *śrāṇika* in respect of one family, *odanika* in respect of a second, and *āpūpika* in respect of a third. For example, a female water-drawer (*udahārī*) agreed to take vegetables from one house, soup from another, meat and rice from a third and so on, and thus she earned her full meal. If she served a confectioner (*āpūpika*) she would naturally receive an *apūpa* a day as her payment for work, and with reference to that particular house she would be called *āpūpikī*, i.e. a female receiving an *apūpa* every day.

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¹ *Yad-yasya niyogataḥ kāryam-ṛṇaṁ tasya tad-bhavati*. (*Bhāshya*, I.391; in the course of explanation of the *vārttika* on *sūtra*, II.1.43).

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Such an arrangement alone would be responsible for the origin of different designations of servants based on the names of different articles of food as *niyukta* share. This is a living institution in North Indian villages upto this time where cash payment is practically unknown for domestic and menial services rendered.

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*INVITATIONS*—Pāṇini refers to two kinds of invitations to dinner, *viz. nimantraṇa* and *āmantraṇa* (III.3.161). Patañjali explains the former as an invitation to take food at sacrifices (*havya*) and *śrāddha* (*kavya*), the acceptance of which was obligatory. *Āmantraṇa*, however, was an invitation to a feast extended to friends and relations and therefore less formal (*āmantraṇaṁ kāmāchāraḥ*, II.165).

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*PLATE-LEAVINGS*—Pāṇini refers to special terms applied to food-leavings when served in different kinds of utensils. (*Tatrodhṛitam amatrebhyaḥ*, IV.2.14). The domestic servants enjoy customary rights to receive particular leavings and hence the necessity of special words in the language. The *Kāśikā* records three such leavings of rice-food, viz. *śarāva*, *māllaka* and *kārpara*. The first referred to the leavings from the plates in which rice was actually served for eating, and this must have been the share of the scavenger, as it is up to this day. The second, viz. *māllaka*, was the leavings in the pot (*mallaka*) from which it was served, and this must have been the share of the family barber (*nāpita*). The third or *kārpara odana* was that which was left behind in the cooking pot and as such must have been the customary share of the cooks. The *Kāśikā* explains *uddhṛita* as *bhuktochchhishta*, and the *Nānārthārṇava Kosha* as *bhuktojjhita* (Vol. II, p. 42). The word *ujjhita* is the Prakrit form of Skt. *uddhṛita*.

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As to food-habits, Pāṇini refers to them as fasting (*vrata*, III.1.21), gluttony (*audarika*, V.2.67, *ghasmara*, *admara*, III.2.160), and moderation (*subhita*, II.2.11).

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DRINKS. Pāṇini mentions the following terms in connection with drinks:

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(1) *Śuṇḍika*—Drinking booth (IV.3.76),
*Śauṇḍika*—Vintner (IV.3.76).
(2) *Āsuti*—Distillery (V.2.112).
*Āsutīvala*—Distiller (V.2.112).

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(3) *Madya* (intoxicating liquor, III.¹.100);
(4) *Surā* (wine in general, II.4.25).
(5) *Maireya* and (6) *Kāpiśāyana*, names of special wines.

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These are new classical words unknown to older Vedic literature.

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MAIREYA—Maireya was a popular drink. The word is unknown in the *Brāhmaṇa* and *Āraṇyaka* literature, which suggests its origin in the post-Vedic period. The Buddha found its use so common as to lay down a prohibition against it. Pāṇini’s *sūtra* is *Aṅgāni maireye* (VI.2.70).

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‘The first syllable of the word preceding *maireya*, gets the acute accent, when that word denotes an ingredient of *maireya*.’ It implies that the word *maireya* enters into a compound with words denoting its ingredients.

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Leaving the particular grammatical point aside, we infer from the *sūtra* that Pāṇini had a knowledge of the ingredients (*aṅgāni*) of *maireya* liquor. It is not possible to understand the rule properly without a knowledge of these ingredients.

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The *Arthaśāstra* of Kauṭilya enumerates six varieties of liquors, *viz*. *medaka*, *prasannā*, *āsava*, *arishṭa*, *maireya* and *madhu* (*Arthaśāstra*, Text, II.25). It also gives the full recipe of *maireya*:

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“Prepare a decoction of *meshaśṛiṅgī* bark, mix it with jaggery (*guḍa*) and add the powder of long pepper (*pippalī*) and black pepper (*maricha*); to it the powder of *triphalā* may be added optionally,—this is the recipe of *maireya*.”¹

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¹ ‘मेषशृङ्गीत्वक्काथाभिषुतो गुड़प्रतीवापः पिप्पली-मरिच सम्भारस्त्रिफलायुक्तो वा मैरेयः । (*Arh.*, II.25)

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In the above recipe *meshaśṛiṅgī*, *pippalī*, *maricha* and *triphalā* belong to one group, and *guḍa* to another. Further light on this division is thrown by the two illustrations given on Pāṇini’s *sūtra*, by the *Kāśikā*:

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गुड़मैरेयः । मधुमैरेयः ।
मद्यविशेषो मैरेयस्तस्य गुड़विकारस्य गुड़ोऽङ्गं भवति, मधुनो मधु ।

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Both these examples refer only to the sweetening ingredients of *maireya*, viz. *guḍa* and *madhu*. Obviously according to Pāṇini's intention as implied in the *sūtra*, the word *aṅgāni* refers only to the sweetening ingredients and not to the *aushadhi* contents like *meshaśṛiṅgī*, etc. It may be inferred with reason that the *aushadhi* contents of *maireya* remained constant, where-as the sweetening ingredients varied between *guḍa*, *madhu*, *śarkarā*, etc. The naming of *maireya* would thus depend not on the constant ingredients, but on the sweetening contents which varied. For example, the customer ordering his *maireya* drink from the master of the booth would not say *meshaśṛiṅgī-maireya* or *triphalā-maireya*, but would express his desire for a variety in taste by ordering for *guḍa-maireya*, *madhu-maireya*, *śarkarā-maireya*, *phāṇita-maireya*, *ikshurasa-maireya*, etc.

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The above varieties of sweetening ingredients (*madhura-varga*) mixed with the decoction of *meshaśṛiṅgī* and other specified herbs, must have produced a correspondingly superior or inferior quality of drink. Charaka tells us that *maireya* was primarily a *madhura* wine, a drink of sweet taste. The choice of an inferior condiment like *guḍa* and *phāṇita*, or of a superior one like refined sugar made all the difference in the quality, taste and price of the *maireya* drink. The aristocratic customer in the tavern would order a superior grade of wine, and in the case of *maireya* this emphasis would fall naturally on the first part of the compound, *i.e.* on the word denoting the sweetening ingredient which therefore got an acute accent on it.

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The *Arthaśāstra* mentions *guḍa* as a mixture of *maireya* in the recipe quoted above. It agrees with the example *guḍa-maireya* of the *Kāśikā*. The other example *madhu-maireya* i.e. *maireya* prepared by mixing honey, lacks confirmation from the above statement in the *Arthaśāstra*. The question arises as to whether we are on good authority for assuming that other sweetening ingredients besides *guḍa* were also added to *maireya*.

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The answer to this is in the affirmative. In the chapter relating to the duties of the Superintendent of the Royal Storehouse, Kauṭilya gives directions for the storage of liquids tasting astringent: 'Mixture made by combining any one of the substances, such as the juice of sugar-cane, jaggery, honey, raw granulated sugar, the essence of the fruits of *jambū* and jack tree,—with the decoction of *meshaśṛiṅgī* (a kind of plant) and of long pepper should be stocked. To this the addition of the following is optional, *viz.* *chirbhiṭa*, cucumber, sugar-cane, mango fruit and the fruit of myrobalan. This mixture should be either one month or six months, or a year old. This constitutes the *śukta-varga*.'¹

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¹ ^1 इक्षुरस-गुड-मधु-फाणित-जाम्बव-पनसानामन्धतमो मेषशृंगी- पिप्पली क्वाथाभिषुतो मासिकः षाण्मासिकः सांवत्सरीको वा चिद्भिटोर्वारुकेक्षुका मफलामलकावस्रुतः शुद्धो वा शुक्तवर्गः। (*Arth.* Text, II.15, p. 94).

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In this context Kauṭilya does not actually use the name *maireya* for the liquid to be stocked in the royal storehouse, but the recipe leaves no doubt that high class *maireya* is intended. The *oshadhi* contents are the same, *viz.* the docoction of *meshaśṛiṅgī* and *pippalī* (*maricha* is left out as of minor importance); in the optional group in place of *triphalā* alone, we have greater variety in *āmalaka*, *āmra-phala*, *urvāruka*, *ikshu-kāṇḍa*, etc. In the enumeration of the sweet contents, in place of *guḍa* we have six varieties, of which *madhu* is also one. We can now understand the example *madhu-maireya* given in the *Kāśikā* on Pāṇini, VI.2.70. Honey like *guḍa* was also an ingredient from which the particular variety of *maireya* derived its name. We may imagine that both *guḍa-maireya* and *madhu-maireya* were ancient illustrations to Pāṇini's rule. The plural number of the Pāṇinian word *aṅgāni* also stands justified by its reference to as many as seven varieties of sweetening ingredients mixed with *maireya*, *viz.* molasses (*guḍa*), honey (*madhu*), sugar (*śarkarā*), sugarcane juice (*ikshu-rasa*), inspissated juice (*phāṇita*), sugar of jack-fruit (*panasa*) and of rose-apple (*jāmbava*).

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KĀPIŚĀYANA—*Kāpiśāyana* is referred to in *sūtra* IV.².29:

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*Kāpiśyāḥ shphak.*

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The grape exported from Kāpiśī was known as *Kāpiśāyanī drākshā* and its wine *Kāpiśāyanam madhu*. Kāpiśī¹ is even today the home of the grape. In ancient days an excellent quality of raisin wine was manufactured at Kāpiśī and widely exported.² Kauṭilya supplies the clue to the name Kāpiśāyana: 'The juice of grapes is termed *madhu*. Its own native place is the commentary on such of its various forms as *Kāpiśāyana* and *Hārahūraka*.' (*Arth*. Trans. p. 145; Text. II.25). Obviously there were two varieties of the grape wine, the *Kāpiśāyana* produced in the region round Kāpiśī in north Afghanistan, and *Hārahūraka* in the south in the valley of the Harahvaiti or Arghandāb.³ The black raisins are still called *harahūrā*, and it is possible that the *Kāpiśāyana* or northern variety of wine was made from green and the *Hārahūraka* or Kandhār wine from black grapes.

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¹ ^1 *Kāpiśī* is ancient Begram on the confluence of the Ghorband and Panjshir rivers. An inscription in Kharoshṭhī characters recently found there settles the ancient site of the place. (Dr. Sten Konow, Kharoshṭhī Ins. on a Begram Bas-relief, *Ep. Ind.*, XXII, pp. 1-11).

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² ^2 Bindusāra sent for raisin wines from king Antiochos in the third century B.C.

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³ ^3 *Harhvaiti* (*Avestan*), *Harahuvati* (O. Persian)=Skt. Sarasvatī; also called Haraquaiti (*cf. CH.I.* p. 326). It is the modern Arghandāb. (*Vedic Index*, II.434, footnote to Sarasvati).

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Kauṭilya's sentence, *tasya svadeśo vyākhyānam Kāpiśāyanam*, supplies the needed commentary on Pāṇini's *Kāpiśāyana* which must have been the name of the reputed wines from that region. That Kāpiśī was an emporium for this class of drinks is also proved by the recent archaeological discoveries at this site of numerous glass flasks, fish-shaped wine jars and drinking cups which were used in the wine trade many centuries after Pāṇini. (Cf. J. Hackin, *Recherches Archéologiques á Begram*, 1939, pp. 9-10, plates XVII-XIX).

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*KASHĀYAS*—Pāṇini also refers to names of *kashāyas*, or decoctions (VI.2.10, *Adhvaryu-kashāyayor jātau*) of which the *Kāśikā* gives several examples. The *dauvārika-kashāya*, must have been an intoxicating drink of mild effect specially prepared for the *dauvārika* or doorkeeper (Pāṇini, VII.3.4; also *Arth*. Text. V.3), whose duties required him to indulge only in the mildest kinds of drinks.

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Besides the above names, the *Gaṇa-pāṭha* of V.4.3 (supported both by the *Kāśikā* and *Chāndra Vṛitti*) includes *kālikā* and *avadātikā* as names of special wines. *Kālikā* must be the same as *kālikā surā* in Kauṭilya (*Arth*. Text. II.25) and *avadātikā* might be only another name for *śvetasurā* of the *Arthaśāstra* (p. 121), also called *prasannā* (cf. *Kāśikā* on V.4.14). Kātyāyana refers to *śīdhu* in a *vārttika* on II.2.8.

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*DISTILLATION*—In the distillery (*āsuti*, V.2.112), the ingredients were first prepared into a ferment (*kiṇva*); and when their fermentation was complete, they were termed *āsāvya* (III.1.126), literally ‘that of which the distillation has become imminent’ (*āvaśyaka*). The sediment or refuge (*kalka*) left after distillation was termed *vinīya* (III.1.117), a technical word in the vintner’s vocabulary, literally ‘which is fit for removal.’ According to Kauṭilya, women and children could be employed for removing the *surā-kiṇva*, or fermented dregs (*Arth*. Text, II.25, p. 121).

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Another expression originating in the vocabulary of the drinking booth was *kaṇe-hatya* (*pibati*) regularised in *sūtra* I.4.66, which corresponds to the English idiom ‘drinking or draining to the lees.’

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