Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c40.s2.6

v2.c40.s2.6

Another word related to *ayas* is *ghana* or *ghna*. *Ghana* means compact, solid, hard, firm, dense (Pāṇ., 3.3.77-78). Pāṇini continues in the text 3.3.79-83 to explain that *ghana* is often used as *ghna* or *han*, meaning one which destroys or deforms. In this sense, *ayoghana* or *ayoghna* meant forge hammer or sledge hammer (3.3.82), *udghana* carpenter's bench, *vighana* hammer or mallet, *drughana* an axe (3.3.82) *stambaghana* meaning small hoe for weeding clumps of grass and so on. A related word, *parigha* (3.3.84) or *parighana*, earlier used in the Vedic literatures, meant an iron beam used for locking or shutting the gate or an iron club. From the word tongs (*kutilikā*), the blacksmith, *karmāra* was also known as *kautilika*. Whereas *ayasmaya* meant metallic (1.4.20), *ayo-vikāra* stood for iron fabric (4.1.42) and *āyah-śulika* meant iron spike (5.2.76).