Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s8.811

v2.c4.s8.811

Śyāmāka is the name of a cultivated millet (*Panicum frumentaceum*) in the later Saṃhitās¹ and the Brāhmaṇas.² The lightness of its seed is alluded to in the Atharvaveda,³ where it is spoken of as blown away by the wind. There it is also mentioned as the food of pigeons.⁴ The Śyāmāka and its seed (Taṇḍula) are referred to as very small in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad,⁵ where Max Müller⁶ renders it as ‘canary seed.’