History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s3.t3.3

v1.c24.s3.t3.3

The selection of one of the crops of a particular crop season depended to a great extent on the amount of water available (AS.II.24.19). The Arthaśāstra (AS. II.24.22) says that a region where the foam strikes (river bank) (phenāghāta) is suited for creeper fruits; regions on the outskirts of overflows (parivāhānta) for long pepper, grapes and sugarcanes; those on the borders of wells (kūpaparyanta) for vegetables and roots; those on the borders of moist beds of lakes (haraṇiparyanta) for green grasses; and ridges (pālya) for plants reaped by cutting, such as perfume plants, medicinal herbs, uśīra grass, hrībera, piṇḍāluka and others.