History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s6.66

v1.c24.s6.66

Epigraphic references suggest that the araghaṭṭas came into a larger use in the early medieval period (Gopal, Econ. p.290). The device involved expenses which were not within the means of any ordinary cultivator. The Upamitibhavaprapañcakathā mentions the landlord, his cultivators, supervisors and female labourers in connection with the device. The complicated device required specialists to operate them. The Tantrākhyāyikā (pp. 142-43) has a story relating to a person who operated an araghaṭṭa. Epigraphic evidence also confirms it (Akh. p. 146, v.12).