Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c38.s4.2

v2.c38.s4.2

Next to the ploughshare, the most important metallic tool in the hands of the Ṛgvedic people were the axe the chisel or the adze which were used to cut the forest trees and utilised as the carpenter's tool. We have earlier discussed that chisels or adzes, *vāsī* or *basulā* were stone-made in the neolithic age (10.101.10) and became metallic in the chalcolithic age (8.29.3). *Kṛti* was a chopper or cutter (1.92.10, 1.168.3), more like a sword, and eventually developed as a scissor. *Swadhiti* (2.39.7, 3.8.11) was a similar instrument. The name sounds similar to sword. *Bhurija* (4.2.14, 8.4.16, 9.71.5) was a carpenter's tool used in the making of chariots.