History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c23.s2.t1.5

v1.c23.s2.t1.5

Hemp receives mention in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa* (Ray, p.197)⁷. The fibre, which is inelastic and crushes easily, is derived for purposes of weaving from the bark of *Cannabis sativa*, *Crotalaria juncea* and *Hibiscus cannabinus*. The oldest hempen fragment from *Cannabis sativa*, dated to circa B.C.800, has been found at Gordion in Asia Minor (Geijer, p.8). In India, however, *Cannabis sativa*, characterised as true hemp, has been cultivated predominantly for the narcotic extract obtained from its leaves and flowers. Known as *bhāṅga*, *vijaya* in Sanskrit, *gañjā* in Hindi, Bengali and Persian, it is indigenous to all parts of India. As a source of fibre, it has been utilised only in Nepal (Roxburgh, pp. 545, 718). The most popular source for hemp in India has been the bark of *Crotalaria juncea*, Sanskrit *śana*, Bengali *son*,. It is an annual plant cultivated in all parts of South Asia. The fibre in Bengal is whiter than that of Maharashtra because of the more rigorous processes of cleaning adopted. The history of *śana* pre-dates that of jute in India. The term gunny, carrying the connotation of jute in modern times, was derived from the term goṇi, a coarse cloth originally made from śaṇa (Roxburgh, p. 545; Watt, II, p.545).