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Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.t5: Arboriculture

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c9.t5

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English

Arboriculture

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Coming to the forest lands,⁹¹ India seems to have been rich in forest tracts. A forest (aḍavī) of eighteen yojanas is mentioned near Rāyagiha.⁹² Almost the whole country was covered with a large variety of trees. Many species of trees covered with fruits and flowers, are mentioned: nimba, āmra, jambu, sāla, aṅkola, bakula, palāsa, putrañjīva, bibhītaka, siṁśapā, śrīparṇī, asoka, tinduka, kapittha, mātuḷiṅga, bilva, āmalaga, phanasa, dāḍima, aśvattha, udumbara, vaṭa, nandī, tilaka, śirīṣa, saptaparṇa, lodhra, candana, arjuna, tālatamāla and others.⁹³

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⁹¹ Various terms are mentioned to denote a forest; vana, taṇakhaṇḍa taṇaraṇī and kānana, for explanation see Bhag. Ṭī, 5 7, Anu. cū, p 53.

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⁹² Uttarā. Ṭī, 8, p 125

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⁹³ Paṇṇa 1 23 12ff, 351 Rāya 3, p 12 Thā. 10., 736 For useful trees in the Atharvaveda see S K Das, op cit, pp 98-103, also pp. 105-8, Rāmāyaṇa, III, 15.15 ff; IV,1 76 ff, Mahābhārata II, 57 44 ff.

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The trees provided the country with materials for the construction of houses, vehicles etc. Various kinds of bamboos,⁹⁴ creepers,⁹⁵ grass,⁹⁶ medicinal herbs and roots⁹⁷ were to be found in plenty. Vanakamma is mentioned as a profession dealing in wood, which included the felling of trees. Aṅgālakamma was another profession that dealt in charcoal by preparing it from fire wood; it also included brick-making according to the commentator.⁹⁸

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⁹⁴ Vaṁsa, veṇu and kaṇaka are mentioned as varieties of bamboo (Paṇṇa. I, 23, 32).

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⁹⁵ For various kinds of latās and vallīs see ibid, 1. 23. 25 f.

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⁹⁶ For various kinds of grass see ibid., 1. 23 33f

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⁹⁷ For various kind of herbs etc. see ibid., 1 23.40

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⁹⁸ Uvā. 1, p. 11, also cf. Vya. Bhā. 3. 89, Ācā II. 2 303.

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There were wood-gatherers (kaṭṭhahāraka), leaf-gatherers (pattahāraka) and grass-cutters (taṇahāraka) whom we meet frequently roaming about in the forest.⁹⁹

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⁹⁹ Nāyā. 13. p. 143, Bṛh. Bhā., 1. 1097, Anu. Sū., 130.

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