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India as Known to Panini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi c9.s1: 1. Agriculture

India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī c9.s1

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1. Agriculture

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*KṚISHI* (*AGRICULTURE*)—Pāṇini mentions agriculture as *kṛishi*, derived from the root *kṛish*, to plough, although the term was not restricted to mere ploughing. Kātyāyana and Patañjali have an interesting discussion that *kṛishi* denotes not merely ploughing, but includes collectively all other operations of agriculture, such as the supply of seeds, implements, animals, and human labour.¹

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Pāṇini refers to cultivators tilling the soil, to officers measuring the fields (*kshetrakara*), to agricultural implements as *hala* and *hali*, and to the various processes of agriculture, ploughing (*halayati*, III.¹.21; III.1.117; III.2.183; V.4.58; V.4.121; IV.4.81; IV.4.97), sowing (*vāpa*, IV.3.44; V.1.45), weeding (*mūlābarhaṇa*, IV.4.88), harvesting (*lavana*, VI.

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¹ *Nānākriyāḥ kṛisher-arthāḥ, nāvaśyaṁ kṛishir-vilekhane eva vartate, kiṁ tarhi? Pratividhāne'pi vartate yad asau bhakta-bījabalīvardaiḥ pratividhānaṁ karoti sa kṛishy-arthaḥ* (*Bhāshya*, III.1.26; II.33).

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1.140), threshing (*khala*, IV.2.50, 51) and winnowing (*nishpāva*, III.3.28).

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*CULTIVATORS*—Pāṇini calls the husbandmen *kṛishīvala* (*Rajaḥ kṛishyāsuti-parishado valach*, V.2.112), a new word which had replaced the older Vedic term *kṛishṭi*, denoting people in general, as the most numerous class amongst them was the agriculturists (*Vedic Index*, I.183). *Kīnāśa*, another Vedic term (*Ṛigveda* IV.57.8; *Vedic Index*, I.159) for the tiller of the soil, is only referred to in a later *Uṇādi-sūtra* (*kliśerīch-chopadhāyāḥ kan lopaś-cha lo nām cha*, V.56).

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In the post-Brāhmaṇical period the older word *kṛishṭi* must have been replaced by the more expressive *kṛishīvala*, 'one following agriculture as his profession,' formed by adding to *kṛishi* the new suffix *vala*.

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*LAND AND FIELDS*—A village included cultivated and uncultivated land. The land which was not under the plough included *ūshara* (wasteland, V.2.107), *gochara*, pastures (III. 3.119), including cattle-ranches (*vraja*, III.3.119), and cattle-pens (*goshṭha*, V.2.18).

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The cultivated land was divided into separate holdings known as *kshetra* (*Dhānyānāṁ bhavane kshetre khañ*, V.2.1). The distribution of plots implied some kind of cadastral survey of which Pāṇini gives indication when he refers to the measuring of fields in terms of the *kāṇḍa* measure. Almost synonymous with *kshetra* was *kedāra* (IV.2.40) which word is unknown in the earlier Brahmanical literature. But the *Arthaśāstra* understands *kedāra* in the sense of a wet-field, and possibly it was distinguished from *kshetra* in this special sense. A collection of adjoining wet fields was known as *kaidārya* or *kaidāraka*. Other areas used as barn (*khala*, IV.2.50) were close to one another in a group called *khalinī* (IV.2.51) or *khalyā* (IV.2.50). The general word for arable land was *karsha* (IV.4.97), but the area actually brought under the plough was called *halya* (IV.4.97) and *sītya* (IV.4.91). *Halya* was the unit of land cultivated with one plough, as may be inferred from the examples *dvi-halya* and *tri-halya* cited in the *Kāśikā* (IV.4.97). Patañjali distinguishes a bigger unit of land measure called *parama-halyā*, in excess of the normal unit *halyā*, and similarly *parama-sītya* of *sītya* (*Bhāshya*, I.1.72; I.186).

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The word *sītā* (IV.4.91) is as old as the *Ṛigveda* (IV. 57.6-7, and is used in the later Saṁhitās also, where it variously represents the personified deity of agriculture and also furrow. Gradually the former sense fell into disuse. In the *Arthaśāstra* *sītā* retains its older meaning of the goddess of agriculture only in one place and there also it appears to be in an old quotation: *Sītā me ṛidhyatāṁ devī bījeshu cha dhaneshu cha* (*Arth.* Text, II.24). Its more common sense in Kauṭilya is agricultural produce, specially from the crown lands. 'Whatever in the shape of agricultural produce is brought in by the Superintendent of Agriculture (of crown lands) is termed *sītā*' (*Arth.* II.15, p. 93; also p. 60).

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In the *Ashṭādhyāyī* *sītā* has no such technical meaning. It means furrow described by a plough, and *sītya* denotes a field brought under the plough (*sītayā samitaṁ saṅgataṁ, kshetraṁ sītyam*, IV.4.91).

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In the chapter *Sāsya devatā* (IV.2.24-33) Pāṇini mentions the Vedic deities of agriculture, *Śuna* and *Sīra* (IV.2.32). According to Yāska these represented Vāyu and Āditya, but according to others 'the share and the plough,' (*Vedic Index*, II.386). Oblations to these agricultural deities were known in the time of Pāṇini.

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MEASUREMENT AND SURVEY—The distribution of plots among individual peasants must have depended on some kind of land survey which took note of the area and boundaries of fields. Pāṇini gives an indication of this when he prescribes the rule for expressing the area of a field in terms of a measure known as *kāṇḍa*. The *sūtra Kāṇḍāntāt kshetre* (IV.1.23) states that the word *kāṇḍa* preceded by a numeral takes the feminine affix *ṭāp*, if the derivative word relates to a field. The word denoting the area of a cultivated field (*kshetra-bhakti*) must have been the object of the present *sūtra*. The *Kāśikā* cites *dvi-kāṇḍa* to denote a field measuring two *kāṇḍas*. Similarly, *tri-kāṇḍa* etc. with other numerals. *Kāṇḍa* is later interpreted as 16 cubits (*shoḍaś-āratny-āyāmo daṇḍaḥ kāṇḍam*; *Bālamanoramā*). Thus 1 sq. *kāṇḍa*=24×24 sq. ft. *KSHETRAKARA* (III.2.21), 'maker of a field'—This term denoted an officer who divided the cultivable area into plots by survey and measurement. (Megasthenes also refers to officers whose duty was to measure lands for purposes of the assessment of revenue (Frag. 34). They might be the *Rajjugrāhakas* of the Jātakas who measured the land with a rope. He had the rank of an *amātya*, surveyed the fields and measured them with a rope tied to pegs, of which one end was held by him and the other by the owner of the field (*Kurudhamna Jāt.*, III.276). The *halya* measure of land is explained by Pāṇini as *halasya karshaḥ*, *i.e.* the area cultivated by one plough (IV. 4.97). Multiples of the *halya* land measure were expressed as *dvi-halya*, *tri-halya*.) Manu refers to a measure of land called *kula* equivalent to two plough-lands (*Manu*, VII.119, *Kullūka*), same as *dohalikā* of land-grants.

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*CLASSIFICATION OF FIELDS*—Pāṇini classifies fields, firstly on the basis of the crop grown (V.2.1-4), and secondly in terms of the quantities of seed required for their sowing (V.1.45-46).

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As examples of fields named after the crops grown (*Dhānyānāṁ bhavane kshetre khañ*, V.2.1), we have: *vraiheya* for *vrīhi*, *śāleya* for *śāli* (V.2.2). Other similar names were *yavya* for barley, *yavakya* for a kind of rice, *shashṭikya* for the *shashṭikā* rice so called from its ripening in two months, *tilya* or *tailīna* for sesamum, *māshya* or *māshīṇa* for beans, *umya* or *aumīna* for linseed, *bhaṅgya* or *bhāṅgīna* for hemp, and *aṇavya* or *āṇavīna* field for the *aṇu* crop (*Panicum Miliaceum*, now called *chīnā*, V.2.3-4).

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The size of a field is also indicated by the quantity of seed required for its sowing (*Tasya vāpaḥ*, V.1.45), *e.g.* a field sown with a *prastha* measure of seed was called *prāsthika*; similarly *drauṇika* and *khārika*. Pāṇini refers to *pātrika* as a field requiring a *pātra* measure of seed (V.¹.46, *pātrasya vāpaḥ*).

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The fields were also called after the crops for which they were suitable (*Tasmai hitam*, V.¹.5), *e.g.* fields for barley called *yavya*, for beans *māshya*, and for sesamum *tilya* (V.1.7).

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AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS—The plough is named (*sīra-nāma*, VI.2.187) in several sūtras as *hala* (III.2.183; IV.3.124; IV.4.81; VI.3.83). *Lāṅgala*, a plough in the *Ṛigveda* and later (*Vedic Index*, II.231), was one of the synonyms of *sīra* referred to in *sūtra*, VI.2.187.¹ A large plough was called *hali* (III.1.117), which was also known as *jitya*, perhaps from its utility to break even the hardest ground and to reclaim waste land. (III.1.117). The two words *hali* and *jitya* are still preserved in the Avadhī dialect where reciprocal assistance in tillage is called *harī* or *jīta* (Patrick Carnegie, *Kachahri Technicalities*, Allahabad (1877), p. 14). This implied the lending of one's plough and bullocks to one's neighbour.

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Pāṇini mentions three classes of farmers: (1) not possessing a plough of their own (*ahali*, also called *apahala*, *apasīra*, or *apalāṅgala*, VI.2.187); (2) having a good plough (*suhalaḥ*, *suhaliḥ*); and (3) with a bad plough (*durhali* or *durhala*, V.4.121).

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Kātyāyana considers the plough as a mark of prosperity in the benedictory formula '*Svasti bhavate sahabalāya* or *sahalāya*', 'May you have good luck with your plough!'

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The plough was made up of three parts: (1) the long wooden pole (*īshā*), (2) the central bent portion called *potra* (III.2.183), and (3) the plough-share or *kuśī* fitted in the *potra* and made of iron (*ayovikāra*, IV.¹.42). In Vedic literature the share was called *phāla* (*Vedic Index*, II.58; *Ṛig.* IV.57-58). The plough was drawn by bullocks (IV.4.81) called *hālika* or *sairika*, as distinguished from others for drawing carts and chariots (IV.4.76; IV.4.80). They were fastened to the yoke (*yuga*) by a rope called *yotra* or *yoktra* (III.2.182), or leathern thongs called *naddhrī* (III.2.182). In the *Khaṇḍikādi*¹ group we have *yuga* and *varatrā*, which refer to the yoke and the thick long rope used for lifting water from a well, still called *barat* in western and *barrā* in eastern Hīndi. The whip was called *vyaja* (III.³.119) and *totra* (III.2.182); the spade *khanitra* (III.2.184) and *ākhana* or *ākhāna* (III.3.125); the hoe for uprooting weeds and stumps *stambaghna* (III.3.83). The ripe grain was cut with a sickle for which besides the old Vedic word *dātra* (III.2.182) a new word *lavitra* (III.2.184) had come into use. Yāska (*Nir.* II.2.) says that the sickle was called *dātra* in the North, and *dāti*² in the East. Patañjali repeats this information.

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¹ Kātyāyana is more explicit and mentions *lāṅgala* in a *vārttika* on III. 2.9 (Bhāshya, II.99, *lāṅgala-graha*).

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² *Dātir lavanārthe Prāchyeshu*, *dātram Udīchyeshu* (*Nir.* II.2; *Bhāshya*, I.9).

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AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS—The operations of agriculture are neatly summed up in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (I.6.¹.³), as ploughing, sowing, reaping and threshing (*kṛishantaḥ*, *vapantaḥ*, *lunantaḥ*, *mṛiṇantaḥ*). In the *Ashṭādhyāyī* all these are distinctly mentioned.

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(i) *Ploughing* (*karsha*). The ploughed land was called *halya* (IV.4.97). Ploughing is referred to by the new term *halayati*, 'he holds the plough' (III.¹.21).³ We learn from Patañjali that agricultural labour was employed for ploughing. It enabled the owner of the land to sit in a corner and supervise the ploughing done by five hired labourers (*ekānte tūshṇīm-āsīna uchyate pañchabhir-halaiḥ kṛishatīti, tatra bhavitvyaṁ pañchabhir-halaiḥ karshayatīti*, *Bhāshya*, II.33). The labourers received *bhakta* or food in lieu of wages. This food was supplied at the time required.

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¹ The *Khaṇḍikādi* group (IV.2.45) is one of those *gaṇas* which had been subjected to a searching analysis by Patañjali (II.280) and all subsequent commentators, and hence its text may be considered reliable.

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³ *Muṇḍa.......hala-kala-kṛita-tūstebhyaḥ ṇich*, III.1.21. According to Kātyāyana *hala* is the substitute for the original *hali* (See *Bhāshya*, II.28).

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The Greeks in India were struck with the amazing fertility of the soil (Meg. Frag. I) and the skill of the agriculturists (Arr. *Anab.* V.6). Pāṇini knows of deep ploughing. It was effected by driving the plough twice (*dvitīyā-karoti*), or thrice (*tṛitīyā-karoti*, V.4.58). The *Arthaśāstra* also (II.24, p. 116) refers to ploughing three times (*trīn karshakān*) in heavy rains. Pāṇini also refers to ploughings done more than three times (*Saṁkhyāyāś-cha guṇāntāyāḥ*, V.4.59). To make cultivation more fruitful and intensive it was the custom to plough the same field over again from one end to the other in a reverse direction (*śambā-karoti*, V.4.58; *anulomakṛishṭaṁ kshetraṁ punaḥ pratilomaṁ kṛishat-īty-arthaḥ*). The Greeks testify to the careful ploughing habits of the people in this country (Meg. Frag. I).

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(ii) *Sowing* (*vāpa*). After the soil was prepared by ploughing, it was fit to be sown (*vāpya*, III.1.126). In some cases ploughing was done in a field with seed already scattered in it, *e.g.* *bījākaroti* (V.4.58), which the *Kāśikā* explains as *saha bījena vilekhanaṁ karoti*.

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The sowing of mixed crops was also known, specially during the rainy season. Patañjali states that sesamum was sown with beans, but in such combining beans predominated as the main crop and sesamum was subsidiary, so that the ploughing was done according to the requirements of the main crop. The seeds of the minor crop were scattered at sowing (*Bhāshya* on VIII.4.13). The trend of Patañjali's discussion is that the mixing of *tila* with *māsha* is not obligatory for good germination, for if it were so, then both the crops would have to be considered as principal crops. Only when one is the principal (*pradhāna*) as *māsha*, and the other secondary as *tila* (in this case), can the sentence *tilaiḥ saha māshān vapati* be an appropriate example of *sūtra* II.3.19, *Sahayukte apradhāne* (*Bhāshya* on II.3.19).

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Farming is an operation vitally connected with Mother Earth and the farmers naturally attached great religious significance to the actual sowing of seed, for which purpose they selected auspicious days. Pāṇini tells us that one of the auspicious days for sowing was the full-moon day of the month of Agrahāyaṇa (*Āśvayujī Paurṇamāsī*, IV.3.45). The *Śarat-pūrṇimā* is the brightest and clearest moonlit night in the whole year and is still considered auspicious for operations connected with agriculture and plantation.

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(iii) *Reaping* (*lavana*, VI.1.140). The ripe grain¹ was cut by a sickle (*dātra* or *lavitra*, III.2.182; 184). The operation of mowing was called *abhilāva* (III.3.28, *Nirabhyoḥ pūlvoḥ*). In the present day dialects it is called simply *lāva*; at the time of *lāva* there is much buzzing activity in the fields and extra labour is engaged. The mowers were known as *lavakāḥ* (III.1.149). Pāṇini also refers to a special method of harvesting (VI.1.140, *Kiratau lavane*) expressed by the verb *upaskirati*, which refers to reaping, not from one end of the field to the other, but in an unsystematic manner. We learn from the *Kāśikā* that such a practice prevailed in the countries of Madra and Kashmir (*Upaskāraṁ Madrakā lunanti; upaskāraṁ Kāśmīrakā lunanti*). Some cereals such as *māsha* and *mudga* cannot be harvested without uprooting the whole plant and were called *mūlyāḥ* (IV.4.88, *Mūlamasy-ābarhi*). The stumps were weeded by a special kind of hoe called *stambaghna* (III.3.83).

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(iv) *Threshing* (*nishpāva*, III.3.28). The reaped crop was stacked on a threshing floor (*khala*). A plot was set apart for purposes of threshing, and was called *khalya*, ‘good as a threshing floor’ (V.¹.7). A group of adjoining threshing floors was called *khalyā*, (IV.2.50) or *khalinī* (IV.2.51).

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¹ The grain which had so much ripened as to require immediate reaping would be called *lāvya* (Cf. *Kāśikā* on III.1.125).

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Kauṭilya prescribes clustered siting of threshing floors for the purpose of safety: 'The threshing floors of different fields shall be situated close to each other.' (*Arth.* II.24).

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Winnowing was done by scattering corn (*utkāra* or *nikāra* from *kṛī dhānye*, III.3.30) with a winnowing fan (*śūrpa*, V.¹.26) in the direction of the wind, and separating grain from chaff (*nishpāva*, III.3.28).

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The stages as they followed in order of time in the process of harvesting are indicated by appropriate terms as given below:¹

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¹ The ten words in this list form part of the *Tishṭhadgu* group (II.1.17): Kātyāyana's *vārttika* on it, *khaleyavādīni prathamāntāni anyapadārthe*, and Patañjali's comments on the same (*Bhāshya*, I.381) show that the words were read by Pāṇini himself.

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1. *lūyamāna-yavam*, when barley was being harvested (as explained by Vardhamāna in the *Gaṇaratnamahodadhi*);
2. *lūna-yavam*, when the harvesting was completed;
3. *pūyamāna-yavam*, when barley was being winnowed;
4. *pūta-yavam*, when the winnowing was completed;
5. *khale-yavam*, when barley grain was heaped on the threshing floor;
6. *khale-busam*, when the straw was separated from the grain and heaped on the floor;
7. *Saṁbhriyamāṇa-yavam*, when barley was being collected;
8. *saṁbhṛita-yavam*, when it was garnered;
9. *saṁbhriyamāṇa-busaṁ*, when the straw was being collected;
10. *saṁbhṛita-busaṁ*, when the straw was gathered in.

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Kauṭilya also directs that grains and other crops shall be collected as often as they are harvested. No wise man shall leave anything in the fields, not even straw (*Arth.* II.24). That the above terms refer to the barley crop is suggestive of the place of their origin being the Punjab where barley was one of the staple crops.

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Pāṇini knows of crop-loans and instances *yava-busaka* (IV.3.48), *i.e.* the loan to be repaid when the straw of barley would be available. Patañjali refers to bumper harvests of barley and rice (*Eko vrīhiḥ sampannaḥ subhikshaṁ karoti; eko yavaḥ sampannaḥ subhikshaṁ karoti*, *Bhāshya*, I.230). He also points out that barley was the staple crop of Uśīnara and Madra (Udīchya or Punjab), as rice was of Magadha (*Uśīnarāvan-Madreshu yavāḥ*, *Bhāshya*, I.147; *tān eva śālīn bhuñjmahe ye Magadheshu*, I.19). Barley was so important a crop that its cultivation was guarded by special officers mentioned by Pāṇini as *yavapāla* (*Go-tanti-yavaṁ pāle*, VI.².78).¹

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RAINFALL—Pāṇini refers to the rainy season as *prāvṛish* (IV.3.26; VI.3.14) and *varshā* (IV.3.18), the former was the first part of the season (Hopkins, Epic Chronology, *J.A.O.S.*, 1903, p. 26). These two parts were known as *pūrva-varshā* and *apara-varshā* (*Avayavād-ṛitoḥ*, VII.3.11). He also refers to *varsha-pramāṇa* (III.4.32), measurement of rain-fall, of which *goshpada* is mentioned as the measure of lowest rain-fall (VI.¹.145). Kauṭilya speaks of the quantity of rain (*varsha-pramāṇa*) in Jāṅgala and other parts of the country. Failure of rain or drought (*varsha-pratibandha*) is referred to as *avagraha*² (III.3.51). Pāṇini mentions two crops in the year as *vāsantaka* (vernal) and *āśvayujaka* (autumnal) (IV.3.45; 46). Megasthenes also noticed that India had a double rain-fall and a double crop every year.

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¹ Patañjali refers to danger to barley crop from herds of deer : *Na cha mṛigāḥ santīti yavā nopyante* (*Bhāshya*, I.100). This proverb with that of the *Sthālī* and *Bhikshus* is quoted in the *Kāmasūtra* under the name of Vātsyāyana.

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² Besides *avagraha* known to Pāṇini, Patañjali mentions other pests to crops from swarms of mice, locusts and hawks (*ākhūttha*, *śalabbottha*, *śyenottha*, III.2.4; II.98).

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IRRIGATION—Pāṇini refers to many important rivers as the Sindhu, Suvāstu (IV.2.77), Varṇu (IV.2.103), Sarayū (VI.4.174), Vipāś (IV.2.74), Chandrabhāgā (IV.1.45), which served as sources of irrigation. He also refers to Devikā (VII.3.1) the banks of which were specially suitable for growing paddy crops as pointed out by Patañjali (*Dāvikā-kūlāḥ śālayaḥ*, *Bhāshya*, III.316). Pāṇini also refers to the melting of snow in the hills as *himaśratha* (VI.4.29) and glaciers as *himānī* (IV.1.49). Irrigation with water from the wells was also known, as indicated by the word *udañchana* (III.3.123), the large leathern bucket used for lifting water, and also *yuga-varatrā*, 'the yoke and the rope by which the bullocks were driven for raising the water (*Gaṇa-pāṭha* to IV.2.45).

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Patañjali speaks of canals for irrigating paddy fields (*śālyarthaṁ kulyāḥ praṇīyante*, *Bhāshya*, I.1.24; I.82).

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CROPS—Crops were of two varieties, (1) *kṛishṭa-pachya* (III.1.114), grown by cultivation, and (2) *a-kṛishṭa-pachya*, naturally growing in the jungles as the *nīvāra* rice. They are further classified according to the time of sowing (IV.3.44; 46) and the ripening of crops sown (*pachyamāna*, IV.3.43).

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According to the time of sowing (*upte cha*, IV.3.44) there were three crops, (1) sown on the full-moon day of the month Āśvayuja or Āśvina (Sept.-Oct.), called *āśvayyujaka* (*Āśva-yujyā vuñ*, IV.3.45); (2) sown in summer, called *graishma* or *graishmaka*; and (3) sown in spring and named *vāsanta* or *vāsantaka* (*Grīshma-vasantād-anyatarasyām*, IV.3.46).

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The *āśvayujaka* crops are chiefly barely and wheat which ripen in spring. The crops sown in spring ripen in the rains, and those sown in summer ripen in autumn or the month of Mārgaśīrsha.

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Kauṭilya also refers to the succession of crops from season to season, e.g. *vārshika sasya* (rainy crops) followed by *haimana mushṭi* (autumnal harvest) in Mārgaśīrsha (November-December); *haimana sasya* (autumnal crop) followed by *vāsantika mushṭi* (spring harvest) in Chaitra (March-April);

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and finally *vāsantika sasya* (spring crop) followed by *vārshika mushṭi* (rains harvest) in Jyeshṭha (May-June). *Sasya* (crop) is the same as *vāpa* (sowing) and *mushṭi* (harvest) as *pachyamāna* (ripening) of Pāṇini. The evidence from these two sources may be thus tabulated:

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| 1. Name of crop (*sasya*) in Kauṭilya according to sowing season (*vāpa-kāla*) | 2. Name of produce (*mushṭi*) in Kauṭilya according to ripening or harvesting season (*pachyamāna*) | 3. Time | 4. Corresponding names in Pāṇini for the crops according to the time of sowing (*upte cha*) |
| 1. *Vārshika* | *Haimana* | *Mārgaśīrsha* | 1. *Graishma* and *Graishmaka* (IV.3.46) |
| 2. *Haimana* | *Vāsantika* | *Chaitra* | 2. *Āśvayujaka* (IV.3.45). |
| 3. *Vāsantika* | *Vārshika* | *Jyeshṭha* and *Mūla* | 3. *Vāsanta* and *vāsantaka* (IV.3.46). |

c9.s1.52

Columns 1 and 4 are similar with the exception of Pāṇini's summer crop (*graishma*) for which there is rainy crop (*vārshika*) in Kauṭilya. Although the *Arthaśāstra* also knows of *graishmika* crops (*Arth.* II.24, p. 117),¹ their raising entailed much hard labour for the agriculturists. Hence Kauṭilya directs that only the king who is in financial trouble and who has exhausted other means of replenishing his exchequer, should prevail upon the peasantry through his collector-general to raise summer crops (*Arth.* V.2, Tr. p. 271).

c9.s1.53

¹ *Karmodaka-pramāṇena kedāraṁ haimanaṁ graishmikaṁ vā sasyaṁ sthāpayet, Arth.*, II.24.

Agricultural Produce

c9.s1.t1.1

1. *Cereals (Dhānya) and Pulses.* Pāṇini mentions the following food grains and pulses:

c9.s1.t1.2

*Vrīhi.* Special fields for growing *vrīhi* and *śāli* are mentioned (*Vrīhi-śālyor-ḍhak*, V.2.2). The sacrificial cake made from rice is called *vrīhimaya* (IV.3.146). One who possessed a stock of rice was known as *vrīhimān*, *vrīhika* or *vrīhī*, all being epithets of a rich man. *Bahu-vrīhi*, the name of a compound (II.².23) is synonymous with *vrīhimān*, *i.e.*, one who has a plentiful stock of *vrīhi*. According to the *Taitt. Saṁhitā* (VII.2.10.2) *vrīhi* was an autumnal crop (*Vedic Index*, V.I.182).

c9.s1.t1.3

The following varieties of rice are mentioned:

c9.s1.t1.4

(i) *Śāli* (V.².2). It was different from *Vrīhi* as stated by Kauṭilya also. *Vrīhi* corresponds to Hindi *dhān*, and *śāli* to *jaḍahan*. *Śāli* crop was harvested in the cold season, and *vrīhi* in the rainy season. *Vrīhi* is a much older word used in the *Vājasaneyī Saṁhitā* (XVIII.12) and the *Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upanishad* (VI.3.13) as the first of the cultivated grains (*grāmya-dhānyas*). Patañjali refers to red rice (*lohita-śāli*, I.403) and irrigation channels for watering the *śāli* crop.

c9.s1.t1.5

(ii) *Mahāvrīhi* (VI.².38), a well-known variety of rice in the time of Pāṇini, also mentioned in the *Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa*, III.1.5.2.

c9.s1.t1.6

² *Yava* (Barley). Fields for growing barley were called *yavya* (V.1.7). Pāṇini refers to *yavānī* (IV.1.49), a kind of crude and coarse barley according to Kātyāyana. *Yavaka* (V.2.3) may be another variety of barley grown in

c9.s1.t1.7

(iii) *Hāyana* (III.1.148), a kind of *vrīhi* grown by transplanting, popularly called *jaḍahan*.

c9.s1.t1.8

(iv) *Shashṭikā*, ripening in sixty days (*Shashṭikāḥ shashṭirātreṇa pachyante*, V.1.90). According to Kātyayana it was a specific term for rice irrespective of its etymology. Other crops taking sixty days to ripen would not be called by this term. (*Shashṭike saṁjñāgrahaṇam*; also *Bhāshya* on it II.360). *Sānṭhī* (Hindi name of *Shashṭika* rice) was best suited to grow in the Punjab, since it does with but little water. It is a coarse rice, the grains of which aggultinate when boiled (Watt's *Dictionary of Economic Products*, Vol. V, pp. 620-21).

c9.s1.t1.9

(v) *Nīvāra*, (*Nau vṛi dhānye* III. 3. 48), wild or uncultivated variety of rice included under *a-kṛishṭa-pachya* class.

c9.s1.t1.10

special fields (*yavakya kshetra*, V.2.3).

c9.s1.t1.11

Barley was sown in the beginning of winter, probably on the *Āśvayujī Pūrṇimā* (IV.3.45), considered auspicious for sowing. A ceremonial sowing of barley is still practised in Hindu homes on the first bright day of the month of *Āśvayuja*, and its young sprouts (*yavāṅkura*) are worshipped on the tenth day of the same month. Barley ripens as a vernal crop, and the season of its harvesting is referred to by Pāṇini by about half a dozen names, such as *yava-busa* (IV.3.48), *khale-yava*, *lūna-yava*, *pūta-yava*, *pūyamāna-yava*, *saṁbhṛita-yava* and *saṁbhriyamāṇa-yava* (II.1.17).

c9.s1.t1.12

3. *Mudga* (Phaseolus Mungo) (IV.4.25).

c9.s1.t1.13

4. *Māsha* (Phaseolus Radiatus) (V.1.7, V.2.4).

c9.s1.t1.14

These two names occur also in the list of the *Vājasaneyī Saṁhitā* (XVIII.13). Fields for growing *māsha* were called *māshya* and *māshīṇa*, from which the crop is still called *māsīnā*. As examples of crops harvested by uprooting, the *Kāśikā* quotes *māsha* and *mudga* on *sūtra* IV.4.88. (*mūlyāḥ māshāḥ*, *mūlyāḥ mudgāḥ*). We are told by Watts that in certain districts the crop is cut, in others it is pulled out (Watt's *Dictionary*, Vol. VI, Pt. I, p. 189). Patañjali says that *mudga* also takes sixty days to ripen like the *shashṭikā* rice (*Bhāshya*, II. 360). He also refers to *rājamāsha* (*rāja-māshebhyo hitam rājamāshyam kshetram*, II.345) which is a variety of *māsha* grown principally in the Punjab.

c9.s1.t1.15

⁵ *Tila* (sesamum). Both in the Vedic literature and Pāṇini *tila* is mentioned in connection with *māsha* (V.2.4. and V.1.7 *tila-māsha* and *māsha-tila*). Pāṇini does not explicitly mention the two varieties of *tila*, black and white, but he refers to the use of the same in the *śrāddha* ceremony (VI. 3.71; IV.2.58) where only the black grains are used. They are known to Patañjali also (*kṛishṇatilebhyo hitaḥ kṛishṇatilyaḥ*, II.345). Pāṇini knows of the oil extracted from the *tila* seeds (IV.3.149), but later grammarians thought that there is no derivative sense attaching to the word *taila*, and

c9.s1.t1.16

therefore, it should be taken not as a word but as a suffix in such names as *sarshapa-taila* and *iṅguda-taila* (*Bhāshya*, V.2.97; II.376).

c9.s1.t1.17

6. *Aṇu* (*Panicum Miliaceum*, V.2.4). A very small grain consumed mostly by poorer people, growing as a rainy crop and mentioned with *priyaṅgu* in the *Yajurveda* (XVIII. 13).

c9.s1.t1.18

7. *Kulattha* (*Dolichos Biflorus*, IV.4.4.), horsegram, popularly known as *kulathī*, is grown specially in the Punjab in the Trigarta region (Hoshiarpur, Ambala, Simla) as an autumnal crop. It is eaten as pulses or groats, but Pāṇini mentions it as a flavouring ingredient (*saṁskāraka dravya*, IV.4.4). Like *shashṭika*, *kulattha* also occurs for the first time in the *Ashṭādhyāyī*. Kauṭilya notes it as a crop grown at the end of the rainy season (*Arth.* II.24).

c9.s1.t1.19

The *Gaṇa-pāṭha* of IV.3.136 adds a few more names to the above list of cereals, *e.g.* *masūra* (*Ervum Hirsutum*), *godhūma* (wheat) and *gavedhukā* (*Coix Barbata*, *Vedic Index*, I.223). According to Kātyāyana *gavedhukā* formed part of the *Bilvādi* group (IV.3.136; *Bhāshya*, II.323).

c9.s1.t1.20

II. *FIBROUS PLANTS*—Pāṇini mentions *umā* (linseed) and *bhaṅgā* (hemp) and also the fields named after them (V.2.4). Kauṭilya refers to *atasī* and *śaṇa* in place of *umā* and *bhaṅgā*. Pāṇini also mentions cloth made from linen as *auma* and from wool as *aurṇa* (*Umorṇayor-vā*, IV.3.158). For Pāṇini's acquaintance with *karpāsa* or cotton we have to depend on the reading of the *Bilvādi-gaṇa* (IV.3.134). He, however, knows *tūla* (III.1.25) which might have denoted cotton.

c9.s1.t1.21

Patañjali raises an interesting discussion on *sūtra* V.2.4 as to whether *umā* (linseed) and *bhaṅgā* (hemp) can come under the category of *dhānyas* or not and sums up by saying that the derivative meaning of *dhānya* is 'what pleases', and since *umā* and *bhaṅgā* are profit-yielding commercial crops which must please the grower they too count as *dhānyas*. He further observes that the number of *dhānyas* is seventeen, a list in which *śaṇa* i.e. *bhaṅgā* is also included, hence there should be no objection to treating *umā* and *bhaṅgā* as *dhānyas* for purposes of Pāṇini's rules.

c9.s1.t1.22

III. SUGAR-CANE (*IKSHU*)—It is mentioned in *sūtra* VIII.4.5, and the manufacture of *guḍa* from sugar-cane is implied in rule IV.4. 103 (*Guḍādibhyashṭhañ*) on which the illustration *gauḍika*, meaning 'excellent for making *guḍa*' presumes sugarcane.

c9.s1.t1.23

IV. *KUSTUMBURU* (VI.1.143), the spice coriander (*Coriandum Sativum*). In the South Indian languages the words for coriander bear a closer affinity to Sanskrit *kustumburu*, *e.g.* *kotamalli* (Tamil), *kotimiri* (Telugu) and *kotambari* (Kanarese). It seems to have been a loan-word in Sanskrit.

c9.s1.t1.24

V. DYE-STUFFS—Pāṇini refers to *mañjishṭha*, madder (VIII.3.97) and *nīlī*, indigo (IV.1.42). *Mañjishṭha* (Indian madder, *Rubia Munjista*) is also mentioned in the *Aitareya* (III.2.4.) and *Śāṅkhayāna* (VIII.7) *Āraṇyakas*. Pāṇini derives *mañjishṭha* from *mañji* and *stha*, where *mañji* may mean a cluster of flower blossoms. The permanent dye made from madder has always been highly prized for its deep tinctorial quality. The great part of the madder used in the Punjab is that imported by the Lohani Afghans from the hills of North Baluchistan, Kabul and Khorasan to Multan and Peshawar. (Watt's *Dictionary*, Vol. VI, pt. I, p. 574).

c9.s1.t1.25

(*Nīlī* is according to Kātyāyana the name of the indigo plant. In Pāṇini's time *nīla* was a kind of cloth (*āchchhādana*, IV.1.42), dyed with indigo blue. According to McCrindle: "It appears pretty certain that the culture of the indigo plant and the preparation of the drug have been practised in India from a very remote epoch." (*Periplus*, p. 17). In the post-Vedic language *nīla* describes the colour of dark blue objects, such as indigo, sapphire, etc. (*Vedic Index*, II. 246, foot-note). In Pāṇini the indigo plant as the source of this colour was known and this is the earliest reference to this plant in Sanskrit literature The study of Pāṇinian flora furnishes an important chapter in the general history of Indian plants which still remains to be written on the basis of literary and archaeological sources. Pāṇini refers to the systematic cultivation of forests and groves of trees and plants and to early attempts at nomenclature on the basis of their flowers, leaves, fruits and roots. He is acquainted with the principal trees of north India, a good many of which are referred to by him for the first time. FORESTS—Pāṇini uses the term *vana* in a two-fold sense: (1) natural forests, such as Puragāvaṇa, Miśrakāvaṇa (Misrikh forest in Sitapur district, VIII.4.4); and (2) cultivated groves of trees and fruit-bearing plants, such as *āmravaṇa*, *khadiravaṇa*, *ikshuvaṇa*, which were also used as common names (*asaṁjñāyām api*, VIII.4.5). Pāṇini calls a large forest *araṇya* (IV.1.49) and Kātyāyana *araṇyānī* (*Bhāshya*, II.220).

c9.s1.t1.26

Pāṇini refers to forests classified on the basis of their produce, *e.g.* (1) *oshadhi-vana*, tracts producing herbs, as *dūrvā-vana*, *mūrvā-vana*, and (2) *vanaspati-vana*, those producing timber trees as *śirīshavana* and *devadāruvana* (VIII.4.6).

c9.s1.t1.27

*OSHADHI AND VANASPATI*—The plant kingdom is usually classified into two convenient divisions as *oshadhi* and *vanaspati*, plants and trees (*Vibhāsh-aushadhi-vanaspatibhyaḥ*, VIII.4.6). The word *vṛiksha* is synonymous with *vanaspati* in *sūtra* IV.3.135 (*Avayave cha prāṇy-oshadhi-vṛikshebhyaḥ*), with which Kātyāyana agrees (*sūtra* II.4.12, which prescribes optionally singular number for compounds of tree names, *Bhāshya* I. 475). *Tṛiṇa* and *dhānya* (grasses and cereals) mentioned separately from *vṛiksha* (II.4.12), must have been included under *oshadhi*, which in addition to these two comprised other divisions of annual plants, such as creepers.

c9.s1.t1.28

Patañjali speaks of a tree as consisting of roots, trunk, fruits and leaves (*mūla-skandha-phala-palāśavān*, I. 219). Pāṇini mentions all these parts in different *sūtras*, and in his view the plants were named after the peculiarity of their leaves, flowers, fruits and roots (*parṇa*, *pushpa*, *phala*, and *mūla*, IV.¹.64), e.g. *śaṅkhapushpī*, (*Andropogon aciculatus*), a herb with a flower white like conch-shell. He mentions that a fruit was generally named after its tree, without the addition of any suffix (*Phale luk*, IV.³.163), as *āmalaka*, fruit of the *āmalakī* tree.

c9.s1.t1.29

¹ *Aśvattha* (IV.3.48), *Ficus religiosa*. Pāṇini takes *aśvattha* to signify the time when these trees bear fruit (*yasmin aśvatthāḥ phalanti*, *Kāśikā*).

c9.s1.t1.30

³ *Plaksha* (IV.3.164), *Ficus infectoria*, mentioned in connection with its fruits called *plāksha*, and its groves called *plaksha-vaṇa* (VIII.4.5).

c9.s1.t1.31

*TREES*—The following trees are mentioned in the *sūtras*:

c9.s1.t1.32

² *Nyagrodha* (VII.3.5), *Ficus bengalensis*. Pāṇini also mentions its other name *vaṭa* (VI.2.82), a new word unknown in Vedic literature.

c9.s1.t1.33

⁴ *Āmra* (VIII.4.5), *Mangifera indica*, with its groves called *Āmra-vaṇa*. This is one of the earliest references to *āmra* in Sanskrit literature.

c9.s1.t1.34

⁵ *Palāśa* (IV.3.141), *Butea frondosa*. The *Palāśādigaṇa* mentions seven other trees, e.g. *Khadira*, *Śiṁśapā*, *Syandana*, *Karīra*, *Śirīsha*, *Yavāsa* and *Vikaṅkata*.

c9.s1.t1.35

⁶ *Bilva* (IV.3.136), *Aegle Marmelos*, the wood-apple tree.

c9.s1.t1.36

⁷ *Khadira* (VIII.4.5), *Acacia catechu*. In Pāṇini *Khadiravaṇa* is both a proper name and also applied to a grove containing catechu trees. As a proper name it is mentioned as the abode of Revata, the foremost of the forest recluses (*Khadiravaniya*, *Aṅguttara Nikāya*, XIV.1; see *Journal of the Deptt. of Letters*, Calcutta University, 1920, p. 233).

c9.s1.t1.37

Patañjali speaks of its white trunk (*gaura-kāṇḍa*), small leaves (*sūkshma-parṇa*), and hard bark (*kaṅkaṭavān*, I.113).

c9.s1.t1.38

⁸ *Śiṁśapā* (VII.3.1), *Delbergia Sisoo*; also included in the *Palāśādi* group (IV.3.141).

c9.s1.t1.39

⁹ *Varaṇa* (IV.2.82), *Crataeva religiosa*. (Hindi *barnā*; (Watt, *Dict.*, Vol. VI. pt. I, p. 340; Hindi name *chhaukrā* and Varaṇā (Gk. Aornos) situated near the groves of this tree.

c9.s1.t1.40

¹⁰ *Śamī* (V.3.88 and IV.3.142), *Prosopis spicigera*, found in the arid dry zones of the Punjab, Sindh and Rajputana (Watt, *Dict.*, Vol. VI, pt. I, p. 340; Hindi name *chhaukrā* and *jaṇḍ*). A small tree was called *śamīra*, and articles made of it *śamīla*.

c9.s1.t1.41

¹¹ *Pīlu* (V.2.24 and VI. 3.121), *Salvadora indica*, a large evergreen tree of the same habitat as *śamī*. Payment made, or incidents happening under the *pīlu* trees were called *pailumūla* (V.1.97). The Vāhīka country had large forests of *pīlu* trees (Karṇaparva, 44, 31). Such places were used by the cattle thieves as places for concealing stolen animals (Watt, *Dict.*, Vol. VI, pt. II, p. 448), and as out of the way places they gave scope to criminal acts, as stated in the *Mahābhārata* (Karṇaparva, 44, 20-22). The ripe small berries of *Pīlu* were called *pīlukuṇa* in the time of Pāṇini (V.2.24), a word still surviving in the Punjabi dialect as *pīlaknā* (पिलकना).

c9.s1.t1.42

¹² *Kārshya* (VIII.4.5) synonymous with the *Śāla* (*Shorea robusta*). The reference to the forests of *Kārshya* trees (*Kārshya-vaṇa*) is important as pointing to the Terai forests of *Śāla* trees in eastern India.

c9.s1.t1.43

¹³ *Pīyūkshā* (VIII.4.5) is a variety of *Plaksha*, also mentioned in the *Tālādi* (IV.3.152) and *Kāśādi* (IV.2.80) groups.

c9.s1.t1.44

¹⁴ *Tāla* (IV.3.152), *Borassus Flabelliformis*. Bows made of *Tāla* are referred to in the *Mahābhārata* and the *Kāśikā* (*Tālād-dhanushi*).

c9.s1.t1.45

¹⁵ *Jambū* (IV.3.165), *Eugenia jambolana*, of which the fruits were called *jāmbava* and *jambū*.

c9.s1.t1.46

16. *Harītakī* (IV.³.167); *Terminalia chebula*, noted especially for its fruits, also called *harītakī* (yellow myrobalan).

c9.s1.t1.47

17. *Vaṁśa* (V.¹.50) bamboo, also known as *veṇu* and *maskara* (VI.1.154); the latter is also mentioned in the *Ṛiktantra* (*maskaro veṇuḥ*, *sūtra* 210).

c9.s1.t1.48

18. *Kāraskara* (VI.¹.156), stated as the name of a tree, is in the *Mahābhārata* the name of a people identified with the Āraṭṭas (Jayaswal, *J.B.O.R.S.*, 1933, p. 115), but the two words appear to be different.

c9.s1.t1.49

¹ *Karkandhū* and *Badara* (V.2.24), *Zizyphus jujuba*.

c9.s1.t1.50

19. *Sidhrakā* (VIII.⁴.4), mentioned as the proper name of a forest. The *Sāma-Vidhāna Brāhmaṇa* refers to the fuel of the Saidbrika tree (III.⁶.⁹), of which the wood was hard (*sāravṛiksha i.e.* catechu; also *Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa*, III.4.¹⁰). *Sidhrakā* and *Saidbrika* were the same.

c9.s1.t1.51

⁴ *Pāṭalī* (IV.3.136), *Stereospermum suaveolens*. That Pāṇini included it in the *Bilvādi* group is inferred from Patañjali's example, *pāṭalāni mūlāni* (*vārttika* 2, *sūtra* IV.3.166; II.328). Patañjali implies that *Pāṭalī* takes *aṇ* by IV.3.136 to denote 'the roots thereof' and since the *aṇ* suffix is not elided as a case of exception to the *vārttika Pushpa-mūleshu cha bahulam*, the *ī* of Pāṭalī is elided in the form *pāṭala*.

c9.s1.t1.52

⁶ *Iṅgudī* (IV.3.164), *Ximenia aegyptiaca*.

c9.s1.t1.53

⁹ *Nīpa* (IV.3.152), *Nauclea kadamba*.

c9.s1.t1.54

¹⁰ *Dāru* (IV.3.152) referring to *Pītadāru* or *Devadāru* which as the name of a tree ending in *u* seems to be

c9.s1.t1.55

20. *Vishṭara* (VIII.³.93), a tree but unidentified.

c9.s1.t1.56

³ *Kuṭaja* (V.1.50), *Holarrhena antidysenterica*.

c9.s1.t1.57

The names of trees in the *gaṇas* are:

c9.s1.t1.58

² *Kuvala* (V.2.24), as above.

c9.s1.t1.59

⁵ *Vikaṅkata* (IV.3.141), *Flacourtia sapida*.

c9.s1.t1.60

⁷ *Śālmali* (IV.2.82), Silk cotton tree, *Bombax Malabaricum*.

c9.s1.t1.61

⁸ *Udumbara* (IV.3.152), *Ficus glomerata*.

c9.s1.t1.62

implied in *sūtra* IV.³.139. *Pītadāru* also occurs in *Phiṭ sūtra* (no. 37) and *Sarala*, a name of *Devadāru* (*Cedrus deodara*) in Patañjali (II.81).

c9.s1.t1.63

11. *Rohītaka* (IV.³.152), *Andersonia rohitaka*.

c9.s1.t1.64

12. *Vibhītaka* (IV.³.152), *Terminalia belerica*.

c9.s1.t1.65

13. *Śirīsha* (IV.².80), *Mimosa sirisa* (*Albizzia Lebbek*), mentioned in connection with the town *Śairīshaka* (modern Sirsā) named after it.

c9.s1.t1.66

14. *Spandana* or *Syandana* (IV.³.141), *Ougeinia Dalbergioides*, an ancient tree known in the *Ṛigveda* (III.53.19). It is one of the best woods for shock-resisting ability and was used for making chariots, also called *syandana* cf. Hindi *Sāndan*).

c9.s1.t1.67

15. *Kaṇṭakāra* (IV.³.152), *Solanum jaquini*.

c9.s1.t1.68

16. *Karīra* (IV.³.141), *Capparis aphylla*. Karīra-prastha, a town, (VI.².87) was named after this tree.

c9.s1.t1.69

² *Kāśa* (IV.2.80 and VI.2.82), *Saccharum spontaneum*.

c9.s1.t1.70

³ *Kuśa* (*Poa cynosuroides*) occurs in such words as *kuśāgra*, (V.3.105) and *kuśala* (V.2.63). Its feminine form was *kuśā* (IV.1.42). Patañjali mentions *kuśa-kāsam* as names of grasses (II.4.12; I.475).

c9.s1.t1.71

*GRASSES AND WEEDS*—Pāṇini mentions the following grasses (*tṛiṇa*, II.⁴.12) in the *sūtras*:

c9.s1.t1.72

¹ *Śara* (VIII.4.5), *Sacchrum arundinaceum*. Pāṇini mentions *Śaravaṇa* as the name of a forest and *Śarāvatī* (VI. 3.15) as a river. Patañjali mentions the names of two grasses as *śara-śīryam* II.4.12, I. 476). *Śara* is well-known, and *śīrya* should be identified with *sairya*, mentioned earlier in the *Ṛigveda*, I.191.3.

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⁴ *Muñja* (III.1.117), *Saccharum munja*. Pāṇini refers to *muñja* grass being treated (*vipūya*) in water for its fibres. Its reeds were called *ishīkā* (VI.3.65).

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⁵ *Naḍa* (Reed), IV.2.87, in such names as *naḍvān*; IV.2.88, *naḍvala*; IV.2.91, *naḍakīya*, denoting a place abounding in reeds.

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6. *Śāda* (IV.2.88), grass from which *śādvala*, a grassy land.

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7. *Vetasa* (IV.2.87), cane or *Calamus rotang*.

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8. *Katṭṛiṇa* (VI.3.103), explained by Amara as *saugandhika*, a fragrant grass, probably same as *sugandhitejana* of the Vedic literature (*Vedic Index*, II.453).

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*Grasses mentioned in the gaṇas.*

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1. *Vīraṇa*, *Andropogon muricatus*, also called *uśīra* (IV. 4. 53; IV.2.80), a fragrant grass (*Kisārādi* group). The gathering of *vīraṇa* flowers was a favourite game in East India called *Vīraṇa-pushpa-prachāyikā*, celebrated in the month of Vaiśākha (April-May).

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2. *Balvaja*, *Eleusine indica*, (IV.2.80; IV.3.142).

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3. *Darbha* (IV.3.142); also in the *Gavāśva* group II.4. 11, where it occurs in such compounds as *darbha-śaram*.

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4. *Pūtika* (II.4.11), a grass, also known in Vedic literature (*Vedic Index*, II.11).

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FLOWERS (PUSHPA, IV.1.64)—Pāṇini mentions *kumuda*, water-lily (IV.2.80, IV.2.87), and *pushkara*, lotus (V.2.135). The *Pushkarādi-gaṇa*, also contains its other synonyms, *e.g.* *padma*, *utpala*, *bisa*, *mṛiṇāla*. The *Harītakyādi-gaṇa* mentions *śephālikā* (*Nyctanthes Arbor Tristis*), a sweet-scented flower, which was known to Patañjali who refers to a cloth dyed with its colour, called *śaiphālika* (*Bhāshya*, V.3.55; II.413).

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Pāṇini tells us that the flowering plants or creepers derived their names from the name of their flowering season (*kālāt pushyat*, IV.3.43) on which the *Kāśikā* cites *vāsantī kundalatā*, i.e. the creeper *Jasminum multiform* flowering in the spring season.

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HERBS (OSHADHI). The formation of the names of herbs is the subject of *sūtra* IV.1.64, *Pāka-karṇa-parṇa-pushpa-mūla-bāl-ottara-padāch-cha*. Some herbs are cited in the four *antar-gaṇa sūtras* to the *Ajādi* group IV.1.4, which also occur as *vārttikas* of Kātyāyana, although Haradatta treats them as part of the *gaṇa* (cf. *Padamañjarī* proposing to correct *satprāk-kāṇḍa* as *sadach kāṇḍa* on the basis of the *vārttika*). Thus *triphalā*, the triad of Indian myrobalans and *amūlā*, *Methonica Superba* (*Vedic Index*, I.31) appear to be old names. *Brāhmī*, a famous herb (*Herpestis Monnieria*; Watt, *Dict.*, Vol. IV, p. 225), is known to Patañjali (*Bhāshya*, III.233 on Pāṇini VI.4.171).

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*FRUITS* (*PHALA*)—Pāṇini takes fruits as the produce of trees (cf. IV.3.163-167), but Kātyāyana and Patañjali take *phala* to include even grains as rice, barley, pulses, sesamum, etc., produced by the annual plants which wither away after ripening (*phala-pāka-śushāṁ upasaṁkhyānam*, II.327). This agrees with Manu who defines *oshadhi* as *phalapākāntā* (I.46). Pāṇini refers to fruit-bearing trees (*phalegrahi*, III.2.26) and has made rules for denoting the fruits of various *vanaspatis* (*Phale luk*, IV.3.163 etc.), stating that the linguistic form of the name of the fruit is generally the same as that of the tree.

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Mango, *bilva*, and *jambu* are important fruit-bearing trees mentioned, and berries of *plaksha* and *harītakī* are also named (IV.3.164,167). The *drākshā* vine, and its fruits occur in the *Gaṇa-pāṭha* (IV.3.167). Pāṇini's reference to *Kāpiśāyana* shows his acquaintance with the grapes and its wines from Afghanistan (IV.2.99). The word also occurs in the *Mālādi* and *Yavādi-gaṇas* (VI.2.88; VIII.2.9) and in a *Phiṭsūtra* (no. 57). Pomegranate (*dāḍima*) occurs in the *ardharchādi gaṇa* (II. 4.31), but the first definite mention of the fruit is found in Patañjali (*Bhāshya*, I.38 and 217). Outside India, the fruit is carved on the ancient monuments of Persepolis, Assyria and Egypt, showing its pre-Pāṇinian antiquity.

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*PĪLUKUṆA*—In *sūtra* V.2.24, Pāṇini mentions the suffix *kuṇa* from *Pīlu* (*Salvadora indica*) and other tree names to denote their fruits. The ending *kuṇa* in this sense is a peculiarity of the Punjabi dialect round about Shahpur district in north-west Punjab where *pīlukuṇa* denotes the ripe *pīlu* berries. In Sanskrit literature the *kuṇa*-ending is of rare usage and Pāṇini has taken here a word from the spoken dialect nearer home.

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CLASSIFICATION—Pāṇini classifies creation into animate (*prāṇin*, IV.3.135; 154; also *prāṇabhṛit*, V.¹.129) and inanimate (*aprāṇin*, II.4.6; V.4.97 etc.), the two being also mentioned as *chittavat*, 'with mind' (V.1.89) and *achitta*, 'without mind' (IV.2.47). This becomes significant against the background of the Upanishadic thought where *prāṇa* (vitality) and *chitta* (mind) are considered as the two characteristics of life. The animate world is further subdivided into human (*manushya*, IV.2.134) and animal (*paśu*, III.3.69) kingdoms; and the latter again on the basis of their habits into domestic (*grāmya-paśu*, I.2.73) and wild (*āraṇya*, IV.2.129). Other modes of classification are also referred to, *viz.* according to size, as *kshudra-jantus* (II.4.8), or their food as *kravyād*, the carnivorous animals (III.2.69). Pre-Pāṇinian attempts at classification are reflected in such words as *ubhayatodanta* and *anyatodanta*, *dvipād* and *chatushpād*, *ekaśapha* and *dviśapha* of Vedic literature (*Vedic Index*, I.510). *Mṛiga* is generally a wild beast in the *Ashṭādhyāyī* (IV.3.51; IV.4.35), but in *sūtra* II.4.12 it stands for the cervidae, such as *ruru-pṛishatam* in the *Bhāshya* signifying two species of deer. Birds are called *pakshī* (IV.4.35) and *śakuni* (II.4.12). Pāṇini mentions the following animals:

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¹ An elephant is called *hastin* (V.2.133), *nāga* and *kuñjara* (II.1.62); a trumpeting elephant with prominent trunk was *śuṇḍāra* (V.3.88). A herd of elephants was called *hāstika* (IV.2.47). The height of an elephant constituted a measure as *dvihasti*, *trihasti* (V.2.38), as high as two or three elephants, words used with reference to the depth of a moat or the height of a rampart. Pāli *hatthin* also denotes the size of an elephant (*Milinda*, p. 312; Stede, *Pali Dict.*) The tusk

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of an elephant was called *danta* (V.2.113), used also as ivory; a tusker was *dantāvala*. Strength to kill or shoot an elephant was a mark of valour, expressed by the term *hastighna* (III.2. 54). A goad was *totra* (III.2.182).

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Patañjali refers to the food for elephants as *hasti-vidhā* (*vārttika* II.1.36.3, Bhāshya, I.388).

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2. Camel is called *ushṭra* (IV.3.157) and camel corps *aushṭraka* (IV.2.39). A young camel (*karabha*) restrained by a chain during infancy was known as *śriṅkhalaka* (*Bandhanam asya śriṅkhalaṁ karabhe*, V.2.79). Pāṇini refers to camel-riders (*ushṭra-sādi*, VI.2.40), and to mixed corps of camels and mules (*ushṭra-vāmī*). It seems that the term *ushṭra-sādi* and *ushṭra-vāmī* referred to the army units employed for quick transport.

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Pāṇini mentions *aushṭraka* as the name of articles made from the parts (*vikārāvayava*, IV.3.157) of dead camels. Such articles were large and small sacks (*goṇī* and *goṇītarī*, V.3.90) made of camel hair, and leather jars of large and small size (*kutū* and *kutupe*, V.3.89), made of hides and intestinal integuments of camels (Watt, *Dict.* II.63-64).

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3. *Aśva*. Horse and mare together were termed *aśva-vaḍava* in the masculine gender (II.4.27). Pāṇini mentions *Pārevaḍavā* (VI.2.42), a special breed of mares from across the Indus. Kauṭilya states that the best class of horses were imported from Kamboja, Sindhu, Bāhlīka and Sauvīra (*Arth.* II.30).

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*HARAṆA*—A mare in heat is referred to as *aśvasyati* (VII. 1.51) and the charges paid for her covering as *haraṇa*. *Haraṇa* has a technical sense in the *sūtra* *Saptamī-hāriṇau-dharmye' haraṇe* (VI.2.65). The object of the rule is to regularise the formation of words denoting some customary (*dharma*) dues of which *haraṇa* was one. The *Kāśikā* cites *vāḍava-haraṇa*, signifying a payment given to the owner of a sire for feeding him after covering the dame (*vaḍavayāḥ ayam vāḍavaḥ, tasya bījaniṣhekād uttarakālaṁ yad dīyate haraṇam iti taduchyate*, *Kā-* *śikā*). Such dues in kind or cash, were fixed by custom (*dharmya*) as an obligatory charge. The *Mahābhārata* mentions *haraṇa* in the wider sense of nuptial presents, both in cash and kind, given at the time of marriage; as for example those given by Kṛishṇa and the Yādavas to Arjuna marrying Subhadrā (*haraṇam vai Subhadrāyā jñātideyam*, Ādiparva 233.44). The example *vāḍava-haraṇam* cited in the *Kāśikā* seems to be an old stock-illustration.

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ĀŚVĪNA—(V.2.19). Pāṇini mentions it as the distance travelled by a horse in one day (*aśvasy-aikāhagamaḥ*). The *āśvīna* distance is mentioned in the *Atharvaveda* (VI.131.3) and the *Aitareya* and *Tāṇḍya Brāhmaṇas* (*Vedic Index*, I.70; cf. also Caland's note in the *Pañchaviṁśa Br.*, XXV.10.16). The exact distance is not stated, but seems to have exceeded five *yojanas* (25 miles), since the *Atharva* mentions it as coming after five *yojanas*. Kauṭilya states that horses of the first, second and third class drawing a chariot (*rathya*) travelled 6, 9 and 12 *yojanas* in one day (a *yojana*=about 5 miles), cavalry horses 5, 8 and 10 *yojanas* respectively (*Arth.* II.30). Patañjali mentions an average horse going four *yojanas* and a horse of higher mettle eight *yojanas* in one day (*Bhāshya*, V.3.55; II.413). Thus the *āśvīna* distance travelled by a horse in one day ranged from twenty-five to sixty miles according to the class of horse and the nature of work. As against Pāṇini's *āśvīna* (*aśva khañ*), the form in the *Atharvaveda* is *āśvina*, derived from *aśvin*, a horseman. Patañjali describes *śoṇa*, *hema* and *karka* (red, black and white) as colours of horses (I.251).

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⁴ *Khara*, mentioned in connection with stables for asses, *khara-śāla* (IV.3.35).

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⁵ *Aja* (Goat, IV.1.4; IV.2.39). A herd of goats was called *ājaka*. Goats and sheep together were called *ajāvi* and *ajaiḍa* (cf. *gaṇa Tishṭhadgu*). *Jābāla* denoted a goatherd, and *mahājābāla* (VI.2.38) one who was the owner of a big sheep-run. *Jābāla* does not seem to be a word of Sanskrit

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origin. It may be traced to a Hebrew word *yobel* or *jobil*, signifying ram's horn, whence 'jubilee'. Pāṇini shows acquaintance with some Semitic and Iranian words in use across the frontier (*e.g.* *hailihila*, VI.2.38; Arabic *halahila* 'deadly poison', Steingass, Persian-English Dictionary, p. 1506), whence later Sanskrit *halāhala* or *bālahala*; similarly *karsha*, berry).

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