History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s2.t1.8

v1.c26.s2.t1.8

*Churning butter*: The Indus Valley seals depict bulls, among them those of the Kankrej breed (Randhawa, 1980, p.184, Fig.96), pointing to the distinct likelihood of dairy operations which could well have included the churning of soured milk into butter. The *Ṛgveda* has several references to the churning of curds with a corrugated stick, the mixture after the operation being termed *prasadiya* (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 34-57). Freshly-prepared butter later acquired the name *navanitha*, while butter prepared from fresh milk was variously termed *phanta* (Pāṇini),*kṣirotanavanitha* (Suśruta) and *payasarpis* (Varāhamihira) (Shastri, 1969, pp. 209- 216). The Lakṣmaṇa Temple (c. 925 AD) at Khajuraho shows in *Kṛṣṇa-Līlā* scenes a stick, standing in an earthen pot, which was churned with the help of a rope (Prakash Vidya, 1982, p, 127) exactly as is done at present. Another charming butter-making device of unknown antiquity common in parts of south India is a convex piece of coconut shell with three pierced holes, fixed on a long bamboo stem; this is worked up and down in a tall cylindrical bamboo or tinned copper vessel to achieve concussion and release of butter in the diluted curd that is being churned. A beautiful Tamil poem, *Perumpanūrrupadai* in the *Paṭṭupāṭṭu* anthology of about the 4th century AD (*Rasanayagam*, 1926, pp. 130-160; Srinivasa Iyengar, 1930, pp. 57-70) describes how the cowherdess sells buttermilk that has been made by “pulling the strings of the *mattu* (churning rod) which creates a sound resembling the growl of a tiger”. The curds themselves are noted as having earlier been seeded using a pat of the previous day’s curd which looked like a “white mushroom”.