History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t5.6

v1.c26.s3.t5.6

In the Sūtra literature, the thickening of sugarcane juice to give first phanita, and then guḍa, is noted. The next stage, that of rock sugar (kāṇḍ), finds mention in the writing of Alexander’s companions (Kosambi, 1975, p. 192), who describe “stones the colour of frankincense, sweeter than figs or honey”. From Pundra or north Bengal came the superior variety of sugarcane, pauṇḍraka, and it is possible that sugar technologies were developed in Bengal or Gauda, from which Caraka derives the word guḍa (Prakash Om, 1961, pp. 251-252). In early Buddhist literature (Ibid, pp. 58-86), guḍa is described as being made from sugarcane juice using sugarcane flour (possible ground bagasse) and ashes, perhaps used for clarification. Mention in the Jain cannon of the word matsyaṇḍikā is intriguing, since later this material is defined (Ibid, pp. 132-167) as “globular in shape, like fish eggs”; either it is crystal sugar, or a confection of similar shape. Kautilya mentions all forms of sugar, upto śarkara or granulated sugar, as does Patanjali in the mid-2nd century BC (Ibid, pp. 87-101). Śarkara derives from grit or gravel. and it has been remarked (Kosambi, 1975, p. 123) that the word does not have a “Sanskrit appearance”. China has claimed precedence in crystal sugar production, to which the use of the term chini for sugar would lend support. But the visit of a team from China to the emperor Harsa in the 7th century AD to learn the technique of sugar production is also on record.