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India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c8.s6.t1: II. Cooked Foods (Kṛitānna)

India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī c8.s6.t1

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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*).

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