History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t6.4

v1.c26.s3.t6.4

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).