Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c24.s1.t4.2

v1.c24.s1.t4.2

Vaidūrya or beryl was mentioned by Pāṇini but the precise location of the mine was not given. Was it near Kangayam in the South, or in modern Bidar? In the Mahābhārata, the mineral is connected with the Satpura range which the Pāṇḍavas had to cross to reach the Narmada. This epic also refers to beryl from Simhaladvipa (2.48.30) and Mount Nīla (6 .7.3) During the Roman period, the Indian beryls came chiefly from Kangayam in the South, at the Toda hills, Padiyur in Coimbatore, Punnata (Pounnata or Punnāḍa in South Indian inscription) in the south-west of Mysore, and at Vaniyambadi in the district of Salem. These beryls were exported through different routes — Coimbatore beryl partly controlled by the Cheras sent through Ponnani to Muziris, the Punnata beryls also to the Cola coast and then round to the West. The Pāṇdyas did not have any large share in this trade. Warmington suggested that the Coimbatore reserve was ‘a source of contests between the three kingdoms’.