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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t6: Honey

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t6

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English

Honey

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*Types and Usages* : The Bhimbetka prehistoric cave paintings show men dispoiling the hives of bees on rocks perhaps 6,000 years ago (Dave, 1954, 1955). The Ṛgveda considered that honey from small bees (śaragava) was superior to those from large ones (āraṅgara) (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 7-33). In later literature, three kinds of bees and honey are frequently referred to (Gopal, 1969, p. 255). The first is makṣika, used for both the common honey bee and its honey, which is by far the most important kind. Next is the bhramara, a large black bee giving a honey of the same name that was believed to be difficult to digest. The third was the small, black kṣudra bee giving ksaudra honey, the only one mentioned in the Arthaśāstra. The fourth one mentioned by Caraka is pauttika honey from the puṭṭika bee, which the Amarakośa defines as being a very small black bee resembling an ant. Suśruta has four more types of honey, termed catra, arghya, auddālika, and dala, which have all been identified in modern terms (Gopal, 1969, p. 255). A Kashmiri work of the 9th century AD has several words for bee clusters,like indindhira, dvivepa and bhṛṅga (Shastri,1975,p.204)

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Honey was considered stimulating, and therefore frequently banned to students, widows, those under a restrictive vow, and the like (Prakash, Om 1961, pp. 132-167). It was always pure even when taken out from the bowl of a mleccha, and was a constituent of madhuparka used to welcome guests, and a recommended food item during the rainy season (Ibid). Jains were strictly forbidden the use of honey (one of the 22 “uneatables”) since its collection was believed to entail loss of bee life (Sanghave, 1980, p. 259; Kannoomal, 1916, p. 78).

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*Production* : In Vedic times, the Rbhu brothers were stated to have built artificial hives of reeds and straw, secured honey sections from a natural hive, and fixed them in the prepared hive (Dave, 1954, 1955). When a swarm had settled in, a year was allowed to elapse before four combs only were removed and the rest left in. Knowledge of bee-keeping was kept secret, and the Vedic saint Dadhyang was beheaded when he taught the Asvins his skill. In later times hives were kept in logs or pots in a horizontal position, or on four-legged stools, or in a wall. In Kashmir the latter procedure is still in use, with detachable ends. When ready, both ends are removed, the bees are gently smoked away and a few combs removed; when the ends are replaced, the swarm soon returns.

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The *Mahābhārata* has references to bee gardens, apiary keepers and pollen-yielding plants, suggesting some degree of commercialisation (Dave, 1954, 1955). The *Mahāvaṃśa* has a story of three brothers, two of whom collected honey for sale by the third (Gopal, 1969, p. 255). Generally collectors were forest dwellers, both in the north and south of India, who sold or bartered their valuable produce. The *Harṣacarita* mentions beeswax by the expressive term *madhucchiṣṭa* (Ibid).

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