History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s2.7

v1.c24.s2.7

The text points out that there should not be a broken furrow. The furrows should be one, three, or five in number. The text lists a number of inauspicious portents in the act of ploughing : the plough raising a tortoise, the forced raising of and a breach in the ploughshare, the plough, īśā, yuga or the śaula breaking, the yotra snapping, the cultivator or a cow falling down or a bull running away. Likewise, a cow bellowing and licking the nose and the bulls voiding dung and passing urine are considered to be auspicious.