The Mauryan Polity c7.s3.t1.8

c7.s3.t1.8

It is interesting to give here a categorical list of pot herbs and plants as well as birds reared in the palace according to the *Arthaśāstra*. Jīvantī (Fæderia Fœtida), śevta (Aconitum Feron), mūṣkaka-puṣpa, vandāka (Epidendrum Tesselatum), pijāta, aśvattha (Ficus Religiosa) are the plants and trees. Cats, peacocks, mongoose, spotted deer, parrots, mainās, and Malabar birds (*bhṛṅgarāja*), the heron, the pheasant, cuckoo, and partridge are the birds which could perceive and detect the smell of snake and other poisons.²