Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s19.137

v1.c3.s19.137

Dhānya (neut.), a derivative from the preceding word,¹ denotes ‘grain’ in general. It is found in the Rigveda² and later.³ According to the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad,⁴ there are ten cultivated (grāmyāṇi) kinds of grain: rice and barley (vrīhi-yavāḥ), sesamum and beans (tila-māṣāḥ), Panicum Miliaceum and Italicum (aṇu-priyaṅgavaḥ), maize (godhūmāḥ), lentils (masūrāḥ), Khalvāḥ and Dolichos uniflorus (khala-kulāḥ). The horse is called ‘corn-eating’ (*dhānyāda*) in the Aitareya⁵ and Śatapatha⁶ Brāhmaṇas, and men are mentioned as ‘purifying corn’ (*dhānyā-kṛt*) in the Rigveda.⁸