The History of Bengal (Vol. I: Hindu Period; Vol. II: Muslim Period 1200–1757) v1.c19.s5.14

v1.c19.s5.14

Besides the above, contemporary records mention a variety of other crops grown in different parts of Bengal. These include malabathrum and spikenard, mentioned in the *Periplus of the Erythraean Sea* among the exports of this province.⁶ These were obviously of an excellent quality, and were grown on an extensive scale in the Eastern Himalayas. Another cultivated crop appears to have been mustard. The Vappaghoshavāṭa Grant of Jayanāga (7th century A.D.) mentions the existence of a *sarshapa-yānaka* (mustard-channel) in the Audambarika-*vishaya* of Karṇasuvarṇa.¹ Further, epigraphic records, ranging from the eighth to the thirteenth century, tell us that betel-nut palm (*guvāka*) and cocoanut (*nārikela*) were extensively grown up and down the land.² Betel-vines were also cultivated in the form of plantations (*barajas*) and formed, under the Sena kings, a source of revenue to the state.³ Cotton was also cultivated to feed an important industry of the province.⁴ Fruits like mango (*āmra*), bread-fruit (*panasa*), pomegranate (*dālimva*), plantain, *bassia latifolia* (*madhūka*), date (*kharjura*), citron (*vīja*) and figs (*parkaṭi*) were also widely cultivated.⁵