History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s5.1

v1.c24.s5.1

The surplus economy of the Harappans may imply the use of fertilisers, but their nature and extent cannot be determined. The evidence about the use of manure in the Vedic period is not clear. Some scholars take the terms karīṣa, śakrt, śakan, śāka and śaka, meaning cowdung, to stand for cow-dung manure (Satavalekar, pp.19-20; Macdonell and Keith, I, p.182). A passage in the Ṛgveda (I. 151.10) speaks of Rbhus separating the śakrt from other parts. The word karīṣa occurring in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (II.1.1.7) denotes dry cowdung. Cowdung was collected in cowstalls (Atharvaveda, XII. 3.4). It is not unlikely that cowdung was used, as in modern times, both as fuel and manure, but there is no clear reference to its use as manure. The Atharvaveda (III. 14.5) provides the only positive reference in mentioning cowdung as a useful manure for the śāli variety of rice.