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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c28.s2: III

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c28.s2

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English

III

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Caraka gives classification of animals based on therapeutic values of flesh. The dietic value of flesh of an animal was conceived to depend mainly on its habitat and mode of life it leads. Dietary animals were accordingly divided into eight classes including fishes in the class *Anūpa*.

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The *Suśruta Samhitā*’s classification of animals is based on their origins. The animals were divided into four groups :

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(I) *Jarāyuja* or (viviparous) - e.g. mammals

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(II) *Aṇḍaja* or (oviparous) - e.g. fishes, birds, reptiles

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(III) *Svedaja* (born out of heat and moisture) - e.g. ants, worms etc.

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(IV) *Udbhijja* (born out of vegetation) - e.g. fire-flies, tadpoles etc.

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The second system of classification is based on habit and habitats of the animals. These are :

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(1) *Jāṅgala* (animals that live in jungle, dry or hilly lands) (2) *Anūpa*-aquatic or amphibious animals (animals living in marshy or water logged areas).

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The class *Anūpa* is further divided into five sub-classes. The fishes were given place in the sub-class, ‘*Matsya*’ which included both fresh water and sea water fishes. About more than twelve inland or fresh water fishes have been described in this text.

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The animals were classified according to whether they were born sexually or asexually. Umasvati in his work *Tattvārthādhigama* evolved another method by which animals were classified into four categories based on the number of senses possessed and used by them.

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The fishes were assigned the fourth category in which animals with five well developed senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearings were placed.

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The fourth category was further subdivided according to the mode of production. Fishes were placed in the sub-group “*Aṇḍaja*”.

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Suśruta not only enumerated a number of fish species that have food value but also gave the relative medicinal properties possessed by different fishes. Hora (1955) stated that fresh water fishes are more nutritious than the marine fishes. According to him, the non-protein nitrogenous components such as trimethylamine oxide and urea which are present in marine fishes, putrefy more readily and thereby reduce their palatability and sale value. The fresh water fishes on the other hand, do not contain these components and can stay fresh for a relatively long period. In ancient days when refrigeration was not known, the relatively high merit of fresh water fish as an item of diet in India could thus, be readily understood.

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Kautilya *Arthaśāstra* is the earliest known dated work of the ancient Hindus. The life of the people and their agriculture including fisheries science during the Buddhist period and in the Magadhan empire are well documented in it. Then we have Jātaka stories which tell us about the previous incarnations of Lord Buddha, the sculptures of the railings and gateways of the stupas of Bharhut and Sanci. The Nanda dynasty was over-thrown by Candragupta Maurya in 325 B.C. whose chief adviser was Kauṭilya, also known as Cāṇakya or Viṣṇugupta. He was the author of the Arthaśāstra.

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Hora (1948) consulted Shamasastry’s English translation of the Kauṭilya Arthaśāstra (2nd edition, Mysore, 1923) and made the following references from this translation.

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(1) Role of fisheries during shortage of food : Book IV, Chapter III, deals with remedies against national calamities under famines. The passage is significant for it shows that in the ancient days the invading armies carried a supply of dried fish with them. As such, the art of processing fish must have been known to those people.

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(2) Fishery management :- In Book II, Chapter I, it is stated (p. 51) that ‘the king shall exercise his right of ownership (svamyam) with regard to fishing, ferrying and trading in vegetables (heritapanya), in reservoirs or lakes (setuṣu)’. The reservoirs referred to in this passage appear to be irrigation tanks. These reservoirs or tanks in those early days were used for fish culture enterprise. Book II deals with the ‘Regulation of toll-dues’. As contained in Chapter XXII (p. 135), imported commodities were charged one-fifth of their value as toll. In case of perishable articles such as flowers, fruits, vegetables (śāka), roots (mula), seeds, dried fish and dried meat, the toll was one-sixth of the value of the articles. The noteworthy point is that dried fish must have been a regular trade commodity in those days and therefore, the methods of processing fish must have been known to the people.

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(3) Rendering fishes poisonous : Kauṭilya deals with secret means to injure an enemy and suggests a mixture and treatment for rendering fishes poisonous (Book XIX, Chapter I, pp. 478, 479).

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Fish and fisheries have been extensively referred in Jātaka literature comprising 547 stories (Hora and Saraswati, 1955). According to them, the varieties of fish mentioned in the Jātakas and their identifications are as follows :-

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(i) Ānanda-maccha (=Rhineodon typus, the Whale shark), Jātaka 32.

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(ii) Kanamahamaccha (= Catla catla), Jātaka 38

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(iii) Mahamukhamaccha (= Wallago attu), Jātaka 288.

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(iv) Rohita (=Labeo rohita), Jātaka 454

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(v) Velamaccha (=Carcharias gangeticus), Jātaka 402.

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(vi) Ksura-nasika (= Pristis cuspidatus), Jātaka 463.

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(vii) Suvannavanna-maccha (= Puntius sophore), Jātaka 491.

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(viii) Kumbhila (=Tetraodon), Jātaka 529.

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(ix) Pavusa (= Callichrous pabda), Jātaka 545 & 451.

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(x) Valaja (= Mastacombelus armatus).

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(xi) Muñja-rohita (=Labeo rohita), Jātaka 451 & 545.

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(xii) Pṛthuloma (=Scaly fish), Jātaka 545.

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Inscriptions of Aśoka who succeeded Bindusāra on the Mauryan throne in 246 B.C. have been found engraved on rocks, separate stone blocks and stone pillars. These have been designated as dhamnalipis, translated as “edicts of the law of piety (morality)”. Aśoka’s pillar edict V, deals with regulations for the protection of many varieties of animals. Five varieties of fish or fish like animals are included in this Edict. These five species of fish in this pillar edict were discussed and identified by Hora (1950) as :

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Anathikamachhe (sharks), Vedaveyake (eel fish), Gaṅgāpupuṭake (fresh water porpoise, fish-like creature), Samkujamacche (skate or ray), Kaphatasayake (globe fish)

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Indian sculpture is largely an expression of the religious beliefs of the people. Fish are, however, found in reliefs illustrating the Jātaka folk-tales, either in connection with the theme of a story or to indicate some points in its artistic treatment.

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The Jātaka sculptures clearly indicate that Rohu and Kāṭla were the most popular fresh water fishes of the Northern India during the second century B.C. The representation of fishes in the Bharhut sculptures are sufficiently accurate to permit identification.

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The Saṅgama literature is an important source of information about the economy and social life of the people of South India. A few species of fish are referred to in the Saṅgama literature. Coins of the Pandyan kingdom are stated to bear the fish symbol as the Chola and Chera coins bear other animals.

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During Gupta dynasty Kalidasa’s Abhigyān Śakuntalam deserves particular mention. We find that Duśyanta and Śakuntalā were reunited through a lost ring obtained from a fish.

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