History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t7.1

v1.c26.s3.t7.1

*Types and uses:* Salt is not mentioned in the *Ṛgveda*, but thereafter many types are recorded. Five kinds, first mentioned in the *Vinaya Piṭaka* (Prakash, Om, 1961, pp. 58-86), and later by Caraka (Ibid), are the more important. These are rock salt, sea salt, *viḍa*, *audvida* (probably the same as the *udbhedaga* of Kauṭilya) and *sauvarcala*. Suśruta has nine others (Ibid), most of which appear to be other mineral salts of sodium and potassium. Kauṭilya mentions “salt from the Sindhu country”, but whether any of the other special regional salts now recognised were known cannot be ascertained. These include the *kurkutch* of Maharashtra and Gujarat, *kuppa* and *baragara* (in large cubes) from Gujarat, *paṅga* of West Bengal, the pink *kyar* and *resta* of Rajasthan, and the *mapi* or *vajni* of the east coast. These contain impurities in varying proportions which alter their taste and colour.