Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s6.13

v2.c4.s6.13

Lavaṇa, ‘salt,’ is never mentioned in the Rigveda, only once in the Atharvaveda,¹ and not after that until the latest part of the Brāhmaṇas,² where it is regarded as of extremely high value.³ This silence in the early period is somewhat surprising if the regions then occupied by the Indians were the Panjab and the Indus valley, where salt abounds; it would at first sight seem less curious if the home of the early Vedic Indian is taken to be Kurukṣetra.⁴ It is, however, quite conceivable that a necessary commodity might happen to be passed over without literary mention in a region where it is very common, but to be referred to in a locality where it is not found, and consequently becomes highly prized.