History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t2.13

v1.c26.s3.t2.13

The production system is only briefly described. Patanjali has *asuti* for distillery, *asavya* for the fermented mix, and *viniya* for the sediment left after distillation, while the vintner (and apparently also the seller) was a *saundika* (Puri, 1957, pp. 89-115). The *Viṣṇu Purāṇa* calls the manufacturer of wine *maireyaka* and the seller *somavikrayī* (Dayal, 1982, pp. 93-104), and the *Amarakośa* has *svedanī* for an alcoholic still (Deshmukh, 1981, pp. 99-110). The *Arthaśāstra* has recipes for preparing various liquors, but the very terse language that is used makes their interpretation very subjective (Konow, 1975, pp. 60-63; Kangle, 1986, II, pp. 154-156; Agrawala, 1940, p. 291). It would appear that five elements could be varied. First was the raw material, which could be sugarcane juice, jaggery, honey, treacle, various sweet fruits, and cereals like rice and barley. Next, the period of fermentation is stated, in one instance, as being one month, six months or a year. Thirdly, the absence or use of distillation is frequently left unspecifed, except sometimes by inference through use of the adjective “strong” for the liquor. Fourthly, the liquor was frequently doctored with a sweetening agent, or with substances with either a distinctive fragrance, like flowers, or a distinctive flavour, like spices and astringent barks; confusion arises because these same materials could be used even before fermentation, or added before distillation. Fifthly, there is the nature of the ferment itself. In one fairly clear statement in the *Arthaśāstra*, this is stated to consist of a *droṇa* or mashed *māsa* pulse, a third (or three parts, in another interpretation) of rice, and a *karṣa* portion of morata. But other ferments could be used, and one of these is a decoction made from a mixture of *meṣaśṛṅgī* bark and long and black pappers; since such an extract is also a typical flavouring agent, there is room for uncertainty. Incidentally, a spice mixture is even now used in Punjab to make the spongy fermented snack, *warri*.