Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c39: 3. Minerals and Metals in the Vedic Literature after Rgveda

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c39

Language: English

v2.c39.s1 Minerals and Metals — 4 parts
v2.c39.s2 Different Kinds of Ayas — 8 parts
v2.c39.s3 On Trapu or Tin — 5 parts
v2.c39.s4 On Lead — 1 part
v2.c39.s5 Ornamental and Barter Metals — 12 parts
v2.c39.s6 Iron Implements — 2 parts
v2.c39.s7 Potteries and other Inorganic Materials — 12 parts
v2.c39.s8 Maṇi in the Vedic Literature — 9 parts
v2.c39.s9 Conclusion — 6 parts
v2.c39.s10 References — 17 parts

3. Minerals and Metals in the Vedic Literature after Rgveda

v2.c39.2

BEFORE pursuing our observations on the Vedic literature we wish to re-emphasize why a separate discussion on the Rgveda was undertaken in the previous chapter. The reason was that we had to be firm about the authorship and date of the Rgveda. The idea that the so-called Āryans came from outside, entered India around 1500 BC and composed the Rgveda around 1200 BC has to be abandoned once for all. This is the considered view of most of the modern scholars whom we have quoted in the previous chapter. (Dyson, 1982; Shaffer, 1984)

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Jim Shaffer has been most categorical:

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Current archaeological data do not support the existence of an Indo-Aryan or European invasion into South Asia at any time in pre- or proto-historic periods.

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Thus we were fully entitled to submit that the Rgvedic civilization thrived at Kālībangan, Banawālī, Bhagwānpurā, etc. on the Sarasvatī Valley indigenously, during the third millennium BC.

v2.c39.6

During the beginning of the second millennium BC, there were neo-tectonic movements in the northern part of India (Rajaguru, 1977: 69-72) causing diversion of the earlier channels of Sutlej and Yamunā away from the Sarasvatī. (Raikes, 1968; Pal, Sahai et al., 1980) This caused gradual drying up of the Sarasvatī. The Sanskrit literatures mentioned some of these events in the form of legends: shifting of the course of Yamunā towards Brndābana (Visnupurānam, 5.18 and 5.26.11), submergence of the old city of Hastināpura (Śrīmadbhāgavatam, 10.68.41-42), desertion of the Sarasvatī river valley and migration of the Ṛgvedic people towards the east for sadānīra or the perennial rivers.

v2.c39.7

The vast Vedic literature following the Ṛgveda was compiled between 2000 to 800 BC in the valleys of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā. The Brāhmaṇas explain the verses in the Vedas and codify the rituals. The later day Sūtras describe the rituals in a serial order. Quite naturally, the studies on the material universe were picked up from the point the Ṛgveda left them.

v2.c39.8

In ṚV, 10.129.1-7, the Vedic bard wonders how this universe originated. Muir translates the statement in the fifth hymn svadhāḥ adhastāt prayatiḥ parastāt (10.129.5) as ‘a self-supporting principle beneath, and (spiritual) energy aloft’. Our concern here is not with the spiritual energy of the Creator but with ‘self-supporting principle’ in this world of creation. B.Up. describes the cosmic evolution: ‘Initially the universe was only space. Gradually it condensed to form atmosphere and then water. The earth differentiated in the form of dense layer on the primordial water:

v2.c39.9

यदपां शर आसीत् तत् समहन्यत । सा पृथिवी अभवत्
*yadapām śara āsit tat samahanyata | sā pṛthivī abhavat*
(B.Up., 1.2. 1-3)

v2.c39.10

The Ś. Brā continues the theory of material evolution: ‘From water was created foam, from foam to clay; clay gave rise to sand, then subsequent steps evolved pebble, stone, metal ore, and gold’. (Ś. Brā, 6.1.3.1-5) The Kaṭha Upaniṣad conceived of the smallest state of existence of matter, namely an aṇu or a molecule, and proposed that consciousness or the self is greater than the greatest and yet subtler than the smallest:

v2.c39.11

अणोरणीयान् महतो महीयान्
*aṇoraṇīyān mahato mahīyān*
(*Kaṭha Up.*, 1.2.20)

Minerals and Metals

v2.c39.s1.1

The word nidhi representing mineral treasures was mentioned in ṚV, 2.24.6, 8.29.6, 10.68.6 etc., and repeated later as in AV, 10.7.23. Commenting on the passage 7.1.2 in the Chāndogya Upanisad, wherein several branches of knowledge such as rāśi or mathematics, bhūtavidyā or physics and nidhi or mineralogy were mentioned, the great commentator Śaṅkarācārya referred to ‘nidhim, the subject of mineralogy as found in books, like, Mahakala, etc.’. We do not know the author or the approximate date of compilation of this book.

v2.c39.s1.2

The use of a winnow must have been very ancient, this having been depicted in a Harappan seal. The Atharva Veda was the first literature in which this is mentioned as a *śūrpa*. The hymns 9.6.15-16 (and also 11.2.1 and 11.8.3-4) describe the roles of the mortar and pestle in corn pounding, followed by the use of a *śūrpa* or a winnow in separating the grain from the husk. Now we know that the principle of separation is based on the non-terminal pneumatic settling of particles. This technique as well as the hydraulic (in water) gravity-settling process must have been used to separate the fine/coarse and light/heavy mineral particles. This separation process was recognised as a step of purification: *śūrpam pavitram tuṣā* (AV, 9.6.16) for which air served as the medium of separation: *śūrpagrāhī vātoipāvinak* (AV, 11.8.4).

v2.c39.s1.3

The words related to purification: *pavana, pavamāna, pavitra*, etc. appeared in many places and under different contexts. We have already discussed pneumatic separation as in winnowing; purifying the juice of *soma* through a strainer or filter represented another kind (*RV*, 1.28.9, 3.36.7, AV, 6.124.3, 9.6.16, 12.3.3, etc.), for which the word *pavitra* was used. Purification by roasting or smelting was well recognised, and *agni* or fire was qualified as *pavamāna* or that which purifies (*Ait. Brā*, 2.37, *Tait. Brā*. 1.1.5.10, 2.2.4.2., *Ś. Brā*, 2.2.1.6, 2.2.3.22, etc.).

v2.c39.s1.4

The word for charcoal namely *aṅgāra* appears in the *B.Up.*, 3.9.18 in connection with the instrument tong or *aṅgāra-abakṣayanam* which was used to handle hot pieces of charcoal in a furnace. The word *bhastrā* meant leather-bag in *Ś.Brā* (1.1.2.7, 1.6.3.16), and eventually it also meant the leather bellow used to blow air into a furnace. *Dhmātri* meant bellow, blow pipe, and the smelter — *prathamā vibhakti dhmātā* in *RV*, 5.9.5. *Dhmātri* has also been used in *saptamī vibhakti* meaning ‘in the furnace of smelting’. The act of smelting or melting is mentioned in the Vedic literature (*RV*, 4.2.17, *Ś.Brā*, 6.1.3.5).

Different Kinds of Ayas

v2.c39.s2.1

We have explained in the previous chapter that in the *Rgveda*, *ayas* meant metal in general and not iron specifically. As a matter of fact, iron was discovered in India much later; the *Rgveda* mentioned gold and silver specifically, and *ayas* mentioned therein probably corresponded to copper and bronze.

v2.c39.s2.2

*Śukla Yajurveda* (*Ś.YV*) or *Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā* (*Vā. Sam*) was probably the first Indian literature to mention *śyāma* or iron specifically, along with a few other metals: *hiraṇya* (gold), *mehaja* (silver), *loha* (copper), *sīsā* (lead) and *trapu* (tin) (*Ś.YV*, 18.13). In the Atharva Veda (AV), a cosmic supernatural being has been described to have different part of the body resembling different metals including *śyāma*:

v2.c39.s2.3

श्याmamय: अस्य मांसानि लोहितमस्य लोहितम् त्रपु भस्म हरितं वर्ण: पुष्करमस्य गन्ध: śyāmamayaḥ asya māṃsāni lohitamasya lohitam trapu bhasma haritaṃ varṇaḥ puṣkaramasya gandhaḥ (AV, 11.8.7-8)

v2.c39.s2.4

Do the above references indicate that these portions of the text in Ś.YV and AV were collated after twelfth century BC, the earliest date for archaeological specimen of iron (śyāma) in India? We are sure that loha (copper), sīsā (lead) and trapu (tin) were known and used in India much earlier, even though these names do not appear in the Ṛgveda.

v2.c39.s2.5

Śyāma appears in many other literatures such as AV, 9.5.4, Ś. Brā, 13.2.2.16, Kā. Saṃ 18.10, Mait. Saṃ. 2.11.5 etc. At a later stage, iron was also known as kṛṣṇāyas or kārṣṇāyas or black metal (Jai. Brā. Up., 3.17.3). A very clear reference is obtained in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad:

v2.c39.s2.6

नखकृन्तनेन सर्वकार्ष्णायसं विज्ञातम् . . . . . . . . कृष्णायसं इति एव सत्यं nakhakṛntanena sarvakārṣṇāyasaṃ vijñātam . . . . . . . . kṛṣṇāyasam iti eva satyam (Chā. Up., 6.1.6)

v2.c39.s2.7

By knowing a nailcutter all things made of iron become known . . . . Iron as such is the reality.

v2.c39.s2.8

The previous passage in Chā. Up. (6.1.5) mentions that by knowing a copper bead or lohamaṇi all things made of copper or loha (red metal) are known. Another interesting passage in Chā. Up. (4.17.7) provides interesting lessons in metallurgy: ‘One would join gold with the help of borax (lavaṇa), silver with the help of gold, tin (trapu) with the help of silver, lead (sīsā) with the help of tin, copper (loha) with the help of lead and timber with copper or leather’. Here the word loha has been misconstrued as iron by several scholars. Loha, lohāyas or lohitāyas is clearly copper, the red metal (Ś.Brā., 5.4.1.1, and 2, 13.2.2.18; Mait. Saṃ, 2.11.5, 4.4.4; Kā. Saṃ, 18.10).

On Trapu or Tin

v2.c39.s3.1

We have already referred to the early citations on trapu Ś.YV, 18.13, AV, 11.8.7-8, Chā. Up, 4.17.7). Several other words for tin, such as kastira, vaṅga and raṅga were evolved during the much later Historical period in India.

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The word trapu is derived from the root trap, which means ‘to be ashamed or shy’, to which the suffix un has been added to convey the sense agnim drṣṭavā trapate lajjate iva (Tārānātha’s Vācaspatyam quoted by V.S. Apte, 1890, 1985: 483; also Monier-Williams, 1899, 1986: 457) or that the low melting point metal easily melts in fire. It may be noted than tin has a very low melting point 232°C and low latent heat of melting 14.5 cal/gm.

v2.c39.s3.3

Monier-Williams (1899, 1986: 266) suggested that the word kastira was derived from the root kāns or to shine, and led to the Greek word kassiteros for tin and the modern word cassiterite, for tin ore. Many scholars on the other hand (such as Chakrabarti, 1979: 68-69) believe that kastira was derived from the Greek word kassiteros. We subscribe to the latter view on account of two reasons. Firstly, the word kastira was used in the Indian literature during the period of Indo-Greek contact few centuries before the Christian era, not earlier and rarely later. Secondly, whereas the Indian word for brass has been traditionally pīta tāla or pitala, the other word which was used during the period of Indo-Greek contact, namely ārakūta (Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra) seemed to be a loan word from the Greek Oreichalcos.

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Monier-Williams’s suggestion regarding kāns (to shine or to glitter) as the root for kastira cannot be altogether ignored specially in view of the strong possibility that this root might have led to the famous word kaṃsā which stands for the copper-tin alloy bronze, also known as bell-metal or white copper. The word kaṃsā has been generally used to indicate copper alloys, not necessarily containing tin. Just as trapu has sometimes denoted (erroneously) lead, similarly kaṃsā has often stood for brass (copper-zinc alloy) or copper-arsenic alloy. The Sanskrit name for arsenic mineral löllingite is kāṃsya vimala.

v2.c39.s3.5

Kaṃsā or bronze has been used widely in the Harappan and Vedic civilization for making various utensils (Ait. Brā, 8.10, Nir. 7.23) such as vessels or bowls (B.Up., 6.3.1). Small pieces of kaṃsā were used as exchange units (śataṃ kaṃsāḥ, AV, 10.10.5).

On Lead

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On account of its low melting point (327°C and low latent heat of fusion (6 cal/gm), lead has sometimes been confused with tin. This is attested by its misleading equations with trapu. As we have quoted earlier (Ś.YV or Vā. Saṃ, 18.13, Chā. Up., 4.17.7) tin (trapu) and lead (sīsā) have been mentioned as different metals. Monier-Williams and other scholars have failed to discover the etymological origin of sīsā or sisaka signifying lead. There are many other references to the use of this metal (Tait. Brā., 2.6.42, 3.12.6.5; Mait.Saṃ., 2.4.2; 3.11.9; Ś. Brā., 5.1.2.14; 5.4.1.9; 12.7.1.7, etc.). In Ś. Brā., 5.4.1.10, the softness of lead metal has been emphasized. Ś. YV or Vā. Saṃ., 19.80 mentioned the use of heavy pieces of lead in the art of weaving: sisena tantram . . . ūrṇāsūtreṇa. Like other metal pieces, lead has also been used as a medium of barter (Ś.Brā., 12.7.2.10-12). In the Atharva Veda, lead powder was reported to have medicinal value in curing tuberculosis of human beings and cows (AV, 12.2.1), when used in small doses. That it acts as a poison when administered in larger doses was also understood (AV, 1.16.2 and 4).

Ornamental and Barter Metals

v2.c39.s5.1

Silver and gold were the principal metals in the Vedic era for producing ornaments and the uses as the medium of financial transactions. In the previous chapter we have provided numerous examples of the use of hiranya or gold in the age of the Ṛgveda. This yellow metal was known as harita in the Atharva Veda (AV, 5.28.1, 5 and 9), hariśiprā in ṚV, 10.96.4, probably means yellow (golden) tiara.

v2.c39.s5.2

We have mentioned different kinds of golden ornaments used in the Ṛgvedic era. We need not repeat those names; the items continued to be used in the post-Ṛgvedic period. In Ś. Brā., 5.4.1.12-13 rukma or gold plate is mentioned to contain sometimes a hundered holes (śatavitṛnna), sometimes nine holes (navavitṛnna). Sacrificers often gave as a dakṣiṇā, a golden plate with eight indentations (Āpastamba Sūtra, 9,18, 16-19, 14). Other forms of gold offering were: gold chips or shavings, hiranya sakala (Ś.Brā., 6.1.2.30, 7.5.2.8-9), hiranya iṣṭaka or gold-brick (Ś. Brā., 6.1.2.30). The Ś. Brā., 12.8.3.11 mentions gold and silver plates placed beneath the feet of the sacrificer at the consecration during the Sautrāmaṇi sacrifice. The Āsval. ŚS (10.3) and Sāṅkh. ŚS (15.27) state that a hotṛ priest should sit on a golden cushion (hiraṇyakaśipu), cushion in which gold threads are woven, during the Rājasūya sacrifice.

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AV, 19.26.1-3 mentioned the bright metal gold ‘born out of fire’:

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अग्नेः प्रजातं हिरण्यम् अमृतम् . . . सूर्येण
सुवर्णं . . . हिरण्यतेजसा विभाससि
agneḥ prajātam hiraṇyam amṛtam . . . sūryeṇa
suvarṇam . . . hiraṇyatejasā vibhāsasi . . .

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Gold was obtained after melting the impure metal taken out from the mines (Ś. Brā., 6.1.3.5, Pam. Vi. Brā., 17.6.4). There is mention of nis + tap heating and melting in Jai. Brā., 1.10 and Jai. Brā. Up., 3.34.6. Golden ornaments, mentioned in the previous chapter, were also modelled in silver.

v2.c39.s5.6

Silver or rajata was scarcely mentioned in the Ṛgveda; probably it was not easily available around the Sarasvatī Valley. Eventually we find many references of silver, occasionally substituting gold in ruksma and niṣka. Silver was used in making ornaments like rukma (Ś. Brā., 12.8.3.11), preparing vessels or pātra (Tait. Brā., 2.2.9.7, 3.9.6.5), and molding coins or niṣka (Pam. Vi. Brā., 17.1.14).

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Śatamāna was clearly a golden (sometimes silver) piece used as medium of exchange of commodities (Ś. Brā., 12.7.2.13; 12.9.1.4):

v2.c39.s5.8

रजतम् हिरण्यम् दक्षिणा नानारूपतया शतमानम्
भवति शतायुर्वैः पुरुषः
rajatam hiraṇyam dakṣiṇā nānārūpatayā śatamānam
bhavati śatāyurvaiḥ puruṣaḥ (Ś.Brā., 13.4.2.10)

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V.S. Agrawala (1953:471) observed that the śatamāna was mentioned only in the later date kāṇḍas (12-14) of Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa associated with the name of Yājñavalkya, and therefore most possibly the coin was introduced in the later phase of the Brāhmaṇa era (c. eight to fifth century BC).

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Ś. Brā., 5.5.5.16 subtly explains the function of śatamāna : ‘with gold they do nothing, and yet it is an object of respect. Sāyaṇa explains that gold was not used for actual consumption, but only indirectly as a medium of exchange (Sacred Books of the East, volume 41, reprint 1963, p. 141). In the same passage, Ś. Bra. refers to triṇi śatamānāni hiraṇyāni dakṣiṇā — an offering of three golden śatamānas. These pieces were circular in shape pravṛttau, (Ś. Brā., 5.4.3.24 and 26).

v2.c39.s5.11

According to the Vedic Index, māna in Vedic literature was a measure of weight equivalent to the kṛṣṇala or raktikā (2.152). Thus, the weight of śatamāna taken literally would be one hundred kṛṣṇala, raktikā or rattis. Krsna Yajurveda recommends (2.3.2.1) prājāpatyām śatakṛṣṇalām. Śatamāna seems to have decimal as well as binary fractions. A quarter was known as pāda: śṛṅgayoh daśa daśa padaḥ abaddhāḥ (B.Up., 3.1.1). In Krsna Yajurveda, 3.4.1.4 (also in Kā. Sam, 11.1 and 13.10) aṣṭāprūḍa hiraṇyam dakṣiṇā aṣṭāpadī. This golden coin had eight circular indentations. One-eighth of this money was known as śāna in the age of Mahābhārata (Āraṇyakaparva 134:14) : aṣṭāyu śānāḥ śatamānam vahanti. This means that aṣṭāprūḍa was another name of śatamāna. It may be noted that binary series of weights was found in the Harappan town of Chanhu-Daro. The Brāhmaṇa literature became popular long after the age of Saṃhitā or Brāhmaṇa literature.

v2.c39.s5.12

Manusamhitā mentioned that śāna and other coins could be made of not only gold or silver, but also copper or black metal (iron or lead). We have already referred to the bronze (AV, 10.10.5) and lead (Ś. Brā., 12.7.2.10-12) pieces being used as media of exchange, AV, 5.28.1 mentions in one breath dīrghāyutvāya śataśāradāya harite trīṇi rajate trīṇi ayasi trīṇi. ‘Three pieces (coins) each of gold, silver and ayas (bronze?) for worship to gain long life’

Iron Implements

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India entered the iron age after the Ṛgvedic era. Many metallic implements, probably made of copper or bronze, were mentioned in our previous chapter on the Ṛgveda. Similar tools continued to be made using the newly discovered metal, iron. We need not mention them again in this chapter. Just by the way of illustration, it may be noted that kṣura or razor known in the Ṛgveda continued to be popular thereafter (AV, 12.5.20,55; Tait. Sam., 2.1.5.7; Ś. Brā., 2.6.4.5; 3.1.2.7; 3.6.2.9, etc.). The ‘sharp edge of the razor’ kṣurasya dhārā nisitā (Kaṭha Upaniṣad, 1.3.14, B.Up., 3.3.2) became a popular expression. Svaḍhiti in Tait. Sam., 6.3.3.2, Vā. Sam., 2.15 and 5.43 meant an axe or a sword as in RV, 2.39.7, 3.2.10, etc.

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The names of several new iron instruments appeared in the later Vedic literature; possibly there had been no prototypes in copper or bronze. Parigha was an iron bar to keep door(s) closed from inside (Chā. Up., 2.24.6, 10 and 15). It also represented an iron cudgel used in warfare. Pariṇaha was an iron chest or sinduka for storing valuable items (AV, 19.48.1). Two-armed iron tongs was known as pariśās (Ś. Brā., 14.1.3.1; 14.2.1.16; 14.2.2.54; 14.3.1); this resembles modern sandāsi and was used to lift hot crucibles and vessels from a furnace. Praśasa was an axe or some other instrument for cutting (Ait. Brā., 2.6.5, Nir., 5.11). Śāsa stood for a sword or knife (Ait. Brā., 7.17.15, Sāṅkh. ŚS., 15.25.1, Ś. Brā., 3.8.1.4-5, 13.2.3.16). A stick of iron was known as śalyaka (Vā. Sam., 24.35, Ait. Brā., 3.26.3).

Potteries and other Inorganic Materials

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The Vedic literatures were not primarily concerned with either metallurgy or ceramics. Thus we do not find in them the details about two outstanding innovations of that age: iron metallurgy and pottery technology. We hardly get any information about the PGW (Painted Grey Ware) in the Vedic literatures. The Atharva Veda (AV, 4.17.4) refers to the āma (unbaked) and nīla lohita ware which is believed to correspond to the earlier black-and-red ware. (Joshi, 1987 : 24-25) Sāyaṇa had explained nīla-lohita as: that (pottery) which was made in a fire-kiln where the fire was nīla on account of the emission of smoke and lohita on account of burning (the combined process of carbonization and oxidization). Hegde pointed out that ayorasa or iron rust was used in making the ritual potteries (S. Bra., 6.5.1.6), and whereas hematite is red, in a reducing furnace it was converted to blue or rather black magnetite. (Thapar, 1987:415) The reducing atmosphere was provided in an inverted technique of firing in agnicayana fire-altar or by some other mechanism.

v2.c39.s7.2

Baudhāyana Śrautasūtra (9.1-4 and 10.1-8) of c. 800 BC described the making of Pravargya rite potteries such as mahāvīra, the fire-altar (agnicayana) and the cauldron (ukhā). Bhāradvāja Śrautasūtra (c. 600 BC) described the polishing of potteries (11.3.9) using cotton cloth and abrasive such as gavidhuka, a very hard wild grain and klitakā or yaṣṭimadhu blackish paste. (Kashikar, 1969:21 and 26) However all these details pertained to the earlier and archaic varieties of potteries or ritual importance, and did not highlight the recently developed wares such as PGW or NBPW. (Thapar, 1987)

v2.c39.s7.3

Similarly, we find only casual references to brick-making in the ritual contexts. Ś. Brā., 6.1.2.22 records: ‘baking the brick (raw material) amounts to oblation (to god through fire); bricks are produced from what is offered to fire-god (iṣṭa), therefore these are called iṣṭaka (bricks)’. Glass or faience heads used to decorate the horse’s tail during the famous aśvamedha sacrifice (Ś.Brā., 13.2.6.8). Mica powder was used as a degraissant in the Harappan potteries. But we do not know whether mica was specifically known as abhra in the Vedic literature Ś.Brā., 7.5.2.48 refers to, and defines cloud as abhra:

v2.c39.s7.4

अभ्रम् वा अपाम् भस्म।
abhram vā apām bhasma |

v2.c39.s7.5

Salt or lavaṇa is rarely mentioned in the early Vedic literature such as the Ṛgveda. The word appears in the period of the Brāhmaṇas. Ś. Brā., 5.2.1.16 recognises salt as an important item of food: ‘salt means cattle and cattle is food’. The property of a salt like borax to act as a flux and assist in joining two pieces of gold was known (Chā. Up., 4.17.7, Jai.Brā.Up., 3.17.3):

v2.c39.s7.6

लवणेन सुवर्णम् संदध्यात्।
lavaṇena suvarṇam saṃdadhyāt |

v2.c39.s7.7

One should join gold (pieces) using salt (borax).

v2.c39.s7.8

The salt from the sea was known as lohita lavaṇa or red salt (Ka.ŚS, 31.17) and also as saindhava or the salt from sindhu or the sea (B.Up., 2.4.12). B.Up. further explained in this reference, that when dissolved in water, a salt particle loses its particulate nature and yet imparts salty taste to the entire mass of water:

v2.c39.s7.9

सैन्धवखिल्य उदके प्रास्त उदकम् एव अनुविलीयेत अस्य उदग्रहणाय इव न ह स्यात्; यतः
यतः तु आददीत लवणम् एव . . . .
saindhavakhilya udake prāsta udakam eva anuviliyeta asya

v2.c39.s7.10

*udagrahaṇāya iva na ha syāt; yataḥ yataḥ to ādadīta lavaṇam eva* *(B.Up., 2.4.12)*

v2.c39.s7.11

Collyrium or *añjana* was another important commodity of common use in the Vedic India. This material was probably black antimony sulphide, applied in the eyes by means of thin ‘antimony rods’ made of copper, etc. *AV*, 4.9.1-10 eulogizes *añjana* which was available in the *Tri-kakuda* (three-peaked) or *Traikūṭa* mountains (Sulaiman range), in the Himavata (Himalaya) as well as on the Jamunā valley (*AV*, 4.9.10). This material was supposed to protect the user from evil influences and also from various diseases such as tuberculosis, high fever, snake bite, etc. (*AV*, 4.9.4 and 8). Was this also internally administered as a medicine? *Traikūṭa añjana* seems to have become rare in the age of the *Sūtras* which has been hinted in several passages (*Ś. Brā*., 3.1.3.12, *Kā. ŚS*, 7.2.32).

v2.c39.s7.12

Shellac or lac was known in the age of the *Atharva Veda* (*AV*, 5.5.1-9) as *lākṣā* or *silāci*. The word *lākṣā* signified *lakhs* of larvae swarming out of a single lac incrustation. The dye component of lac *hiraṇyavarne subhage lākṣe* (*AV*, 5.5.7) was used to colour garments. It was also used as medicine in case of injury by weapons (*AV*, 4.12.1-7, 5.5.1-9).

Maṇi in the Vedic Literature

v2.c39.s8.1

Minerals and gems abounded in the sites of the Harappan civilization and later in Taxilā and the *mahājanapada* sites during the Histrorical Period. Quite strangely however, the Vedic literatures do not mention or name any significant number of minerals or inorganic gems.

v2.c39.s8.2

Gold and silver were of course mentioned as *maṇi* or *ratna*. *Lohamaṇi* in *Chā. Up.*, 6.1.5 meant red (copper) *maṇi* or bead, and not ruby as some scholars have surmised. The word *maṇi* meant ‘anything which decorates’. In the *Atharva Veda*, many plant products such as *jangida* (*AV*, 2.4.1-6), *udumbara*, *darbha*, etc. were stated to be used as decorative *maṇi* to ward off evils.

v2.c39.s8.3

Gems of organic origin such as ivory, conch-shell, pearl are not usually classified as minerals (which are by definition inorganic); these were used in the Vedic ages as *maṇi*, or gems.

v2.c39.s8.4

*Kā. ŚS*, 22.2.22.28 informs that elephants were reared mostly in the eastern part of India, and we have found ivory specimens underneath the early archaeological sites in the Gaṅgā-Yamunā Valley. *AV*, 3.22 refers to the use of ivory.

v2.c39.s8.5

Conch-shell or *śaṅkha* was used to issue proclaiming sound *śaṅkha dhmāyamānasya* (*ninādit*) (*B.Up.*, 2.4.8; 4.5.9). *Kṛśan* or pearl was possibly conch-pearl. The Ṛgvedic poet has described *kṛśan* decorating the chariot of Savitā (*RV*, 1.35.4) and the horses (*RV*, 10.68.1). *Saḍvimśa Brāhmaṇa*, 5.6.13.3 called pearl a *samudramani*. The *Atharva Veda*, 4.10.1-7 discusses the origin of *śaṅkha* and *kṛśan*, as well as their uses as *maṇi* and ‘supernatural aids’ to ensure long life:

v2.c39.s8.6

स नो हिरण्यजाः शंखः कृशनः पातुम अहसः
*sa no hiraṇyajāḥ śaṅkhaḥ kṛśanaḥ pātuma ahasaḥ*
(4.10.1)

v2.c39.s8.7

दिवि जातः समुद्रजः सिन्धुतस्पर्याभृतः।
स नो हिरण्यजाः शंख आयुष्प्रतरणो मणिः
*divi jātaḥ samudrajaḥ sindhutasparyābhṛtaḥ*
*sa no hiraṇyajāḥ śaṅkha āyuṣprataraṇo maṇi*
(4.10.4)

v2.c39.s8.8

देवानाम् अस्थि कृशनं बभूव . . . वर्चसे बलाय
दीर्घायुत्वाय शतशारदाय कार्शनस्त्वाभि रक्षतु।।
*devānām asthi kṛśanam babhūva . . . varcase balāya*
*dīrghāyutvāya śataśāradāya kārśanastvābhi rakṣatu*
(4.10.7)

v2.c39.s8.9

We find in this passage a mixture of scientific observation and mystical belief. The shell and pearl are said to grow in the sea under atmospheric influences on the one hand; on the other, it is also proclaimed that pearl is god’s bone which when worn, ensures a long life.

Conclusion

v2.c39.s9.1

The Vedic literature primarily deals with philosophy and ritual practices. To some extent it touches upon logic, astronomy and geometry. In the area of materials however, the literature is casually involved. The references to conch-shell and pearl in the *Atharva Veda* show that the maritime trade of the Harappan and Ṛgvedic periods continued to some extent.

v2.c39.s9.2

The trade gradually dwindled after the collapse of the Harappan civilization and migration of the Ṛgvedic people away from the valley of the Sarasvatī towards the eastern territories. Consequently, the material wealth in the archaeological sites on the Gaṅgā and Yamunā during the pre-historic period did not match with the splendour we find on the valley of the Sarasvatī.

v2.c39.s9.3

It is quite understandable therefore, that the collection of minerals and gems in Hastināpura and Atrañjikherā (early periods) could not match with those of Harappa, Kalibangan or later-day Taxilā. What is surprising however, is that the Vedic literature does not record some of the genuine material achievements made during its era, such as the discovery of iron, the impressive repertoire of iron implements at Atrañjikherā, Hastināpura and Kauśāmbī, the technology of glass and pottery such as PGW and NBPW, etc.

v2.c39.s9.4

The Ṛgvedic bard had a scientific temperament. In the Nāsadīya Sūkta (RV, 10.129), the poet asked questions about the creation and the mysteries of nature. It appears as if in the later period, the Vedic bards lost this scientific spirit, at least in the realm of physical nature. They were infected with the vice of casteist and hierarchical feelings.

v2.c39.s9.5

At a time when the potters had developed beautiful PGW and NBPW potteries, the Maitrāyaṇi Saṃhitā, the Bhāradvāja Śrautasūtra (6.8.14), etc. prescribed that the ritual milking pot should be prepared by one belonging to any of the first three social orders, and not by a potter! Even metals like gold, copper and newly discovered iron were considered to possess decreasing social status. Ś. Brā., 13.2.2.16-19 describes the aśvamedha sacrifice in which a golden knife had to be used for the first order animal namely the sacrificial horse (both representing nobility), copper knife for the paryangya or the associate animal, and the śyāmāyas or iron knife for the inferior animal (‘both representing infantry’). That iron was considered to be inferior than gold and silver becomes evident in Ś. Brā., 13.3.4.5: ‘the third (in order) oblation is offered to the people in an iron bowl, for the people are of iron’, (that means people are inferior to the king, nobles and the brāhmaṇas). The lower status of potters and ironsmiths in the society reflected a negative attitude towards science and technology, for which India had to pay a heavy price later.

v2.c39.s9.6

As India entered the Historical Period and developed the mahājanapadas, it developed contacts with the Persians, Greeks, and the southern territories of the sub-continent. A new awareness developed in the realms of the material resources, and this was highlighted in the writings of Pāṇini and Kauṭilya, to be discussed in the chapters to follow.

Linked texts (30)

Atharvavedasaṃhitā — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit
Śatapathabrāhmaṇa — Yājñavalkya & Śāṇḍilya (Vedic teacher), Sanskrit
Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Chāndogyopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Kāṭhakasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Kātyāyanaśrautasūtra — Kātyāyana (Vājasaneyi sūtrakāra), Sanskrit
Bhāradvājaśrautasūtra — Sanskrit
Śāṅkhāyanaśrautasūtra — Śāṅkhāyana, Sanskrit
Taittirīyabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit
Maitrāyaṇīsaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Aitareyabrāhmaṇa — Mahidāsa Aitareya, Sanskrit
Kaṭhopaniṣad — Sanskrit
Vājasaneyisaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Taittirīyasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Nirukta — Yāska, Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Viṣṇupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
Baudhāyanaśrautasūtra — Baudhāyana, Sanskrit
Āpastambaśrautasūtra — Āpastamba, Sanskrit
Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit
Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit
Āśvalāyanaśrautasūtra — Āśvalāyana, Sanskrit
Mānava Dharmaśāstra — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit
Pañcaviṃśabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit
Kālībangan
Banawali
Chanhu-daro
Ṣaḍviṃśabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit