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Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.s15: Food

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.s15

Language
English

Food

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The primary wants of life are those of food, clothing and shelter. As the country was largely agricultural there was ample supply of food. Of course, the food that the average man could afford was not sufficiently rich. Four kinds of food are mentioned : food (asana), drink (pāna), eatable (khāima) and relishable (sāima).¹ The articles of food were milk, curds, butter, ghee, oil, honey, wine, molasses, meat, cooked or dressed food (ogā’umaga, com. pakvānna),² sakkuli (luchis in Hindi), raw sugar (phān-iya), a meal of parched wheat (pūya) and a meal of curds and sugar with spices (sihanni).³ The production of salt was very important. Several varieties of salt are mentioned, viz. sochal salt (sovaccala), rock salt (sindhava), ordinary salt (lona), mine salt (roma), sea salt (samudda), earth salt (pamsukhāra) and black salt (kālālona).⁴

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¹ Nāya. 7, p. 84.

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² Ava. cū II, p 319.

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³ Ācā. II, 1. 4 247 ; also Brh Bhā 2 3175ff, cf. Mahābhā. VII 64, 7f.

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⁴ Das.sū 3 8 , also see Caraka, ch 27, p 815 ff.

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Besides, odana (rice), kummāsa (bean) and sattuga (fried barley) are mentioned.⁵ The following consisted of eighteen kinds of seasoned food (vyañjana) : sūpa (soup), odana (rice), java (boiled barley), three kinds of meat, cow-milk, jūsa (water of boiled pulse), bhakkha (khandakhādya or sweets in which candy was used in plenty, com.), gulalāvaṇyā (gol pāpaḍi in Gujarati), mūlaphala (bread-fruit), hariyaga (cumin), sāga (vegetable), rasālu (majjika, a royal preparation made of the mixture of two palas of ghee, one pala of honey, half an āḍhaka of curds, twenty pepper corns and ten palas of candied sugar, com.), pīna (wine), pāniya (water), pānaga (a drink made of grapes) and sāga (a preparation seasoned with buttermilk such as dahibadā, etc., com.). These articles were prepared in a cooking pot (thālīpāgasuddha) and were offered to the parents, master and religious teacher⁶

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⁵ Ava. cū. II, p 317.

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⁶ Thā. 3·135 , also see Caraka, krtānnavarga, ch. 27, p. 800 ff.

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Among other preparations mention is made of pejja (made of gruel or decoction of some kind of pulse or rice), ghayapunna (ghevara in Hindi), pālangamāhuraya (a sweet liquid preparation of the mango or lemonjuice),⁷ sīhakesara⁸ (a sweet), moraṇḍaka (a sweet made of oil seed)⁹, maṇḍaka, a cake stuffed with molasses and ghee.¹⁰ Then āhaḍiyā was a special sweet coming from one house to another as present.¹¹ Pulāka was a special dish.¹² Then we had guliyā or tablets made from the powder of the tubara tree which were used by the sādhus. The khoḷās were dried pieces of cloths moistened with milk; these were washed and this water was used for drinking purposes.¹³

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⁷ Uvā 1. p 8.

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⁸ Anta. p. 10

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⁹ Brh. Bhā 1. 3281.

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¹⁰ Nisī. cū II, p 695.

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¹¹ Brh. Sū 2 17; Bhā. 2 3616.

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¹² ibid 5 6048 ff

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¹³ Brh. Bhā 1·2882. 2892.

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Cooking is mentioned.¹⁴ Cooks (mahānasiya) were employed by the rich and the kings. They prepared various kinds of dishes.¹⁵ Cooks are included among nine nārus.¹⁶ Vegetables were cooked in oil (neha).¹⁷ To make arrangements for vegetable and ghee in the kitchen was known as āvāpa and the discussion whether food is cooked or uncooked as nirvāpa.¹⁸ The place of dining was besmeared with grass and lotuses and flowers were strewn; then pots were arranged and people had their meals.¹⁹ Mahānasasālā is mentioned as a free food distributing kitchen in which food was distributed free to ascetics, monks and the poor.²⁰

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¹⁴ Nāyā 7, p. 88.

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¹⁵ Vivā 8, p. 46.

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¹⁶ Jambu Ṭī 3, p. 193.

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¹⁷ Nāyā 16, 162.

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¹⁸ Thā 4 282.

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¹⁹ Nisī cū. P1 p 46.

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²⁰ ibid. 9, p 511, Nāyā 13. p 143.

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