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Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c43.s3.t13: Pearl or Muktā

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c43.s3.t13

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Pearl or Muktā

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There are many kinds of pearl-like substances in nature, but we are concerned mainly with the pearl produced by the molluscs or oysters Meleagrina margaritifera (fresh water species). The pearl is the response of the mollusc to the stimulus afforded by a local irritation of the mantle. A small foreign body acts as the nucleus, and the concentric material deposited on it are alternate layers of calcium carbonate (as aragonite) and the protein conchiolin both produced and secreted internally by the organism; this is also the constitution of the inner coating of the shells known as the ‘mother of pearl’.

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Thin alternate laminated layers of aragonite and conchiolin result in the gem of various sizes, specific gravity 2.65-2.68 and hardness around four in the Moh’s scale. Light penetrates the first few translucent layers and then get reflected; the combined reflection causes the play of colour and what we know as ‘pearly lustre’. Thinner the calcareous laminae, the more beautiful is the lustre. The pearls produced by the marine molluscs are far superior to those produced by the fresh water species.

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In terms of hardness, diamond (10) and pearl (4) are poles apart. On account of the high content of organic material (nearly 10-12 per cent of conchiolin), pearl gradually decays and becomes brittle after a long time. Yet, its beautiful lustre has made it as popular as diamond. On the beauty, popularity and worth of the lustrous pearl, Buddhabhaṭṭa wrote eloquently, and his composition (*RP*, 69) was repeatedly quoted later by other authors:

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विचित्ररत्नद्युति चारुतोय चतुःसमुद्राभरणाभिरामा मूल्यम् न वा स्यात् इति निश्चयमे कृत्स्ना मही तस्य सुवर्णपूर्णा

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*vicitraratnadyuti cārutoya catuḥsamudrābharaṇābhirāmā* *mūlyam na vā syāt iti niścayo me* *kṛtsnā mahī tasya suvarṇapūrṇā*

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(*RP*, 69; *GP* 1.69.17)

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I am sure that the whole earth surrounded by four oceans, overflowing with waters sparkling like gems, is not an adequate price for this (pearl), even if this earth is filled with gold.

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Before we quote references on the beautiful oyster-pearl, let us mention the other kinds of pearls which have received minor attention in the Sanskrit literature.

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Buddhabhaṭṭa wrote about different kinds of pearls:

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Pearls are found in lordly elephants, clouds, wild boars, shells, fishes, cobras, oysters and the bamboos. Pearls in oysters are more abundant. (*RP*, 52)

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Some details were given in *Ratnaparīkṣā*, 53-68, and the entire material was reproduced almost verbatim in *Garuda Purāṇa*, 1.69.1-16. Similar lists have been provided in *AM*, 83-106; *NRP*, 60-68; *MM*, 243-258, 261 & 265, *RS*, 6 and in *RYP*, 39-48.

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It is a common misconception that pearls are produced only by the pearl oysters and the other seven types are imaginary. In this regard, Sarma (1984: 54-56) has put the record straight. The cloud pearl is of course mythical, but other kinds are not fictitious though rare.

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The common conch-shell (*Strombus gigas*) or large conch (*Cassis corunta*) produce pearls of ornamental value, and these are called conch pearls or pink pearls (Herbert Smith, *Gemstones*, p. 472). These pearls are pink or white, non-nacreous, and have porcelain-like surface with a peculiar appearance and sheen like watered silk (Robert Webster, *Gems*, London 1962, Vol. 1, p. 387).

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Conch-pearl has been probably the gem, earliest recorded in the Indian literature. In the *Rgveda* and in the subsequent Vedic literatures, *śaṅkha* (conch) and *kṛśan* (conch-pearl) were mentioned together (vide chapters 2 and 3). Kauṭilya recognised that oysters as well as conch-shells were the sources of pearls (*AS*, 2.11.3). Buddhabhaṭṭa (*RP*, 57) and *Garuḍa Purāṇa* (1.69.6) mentioned that conch-pearl is yellow. Varāhamihira (*Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.28):

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शंखोद्भवं शशिनिभं वृत्तं भ्राजिष्णु रुधिरं च
*śaṅkodbhavaṃ śaśinibhaṃ vṛttaṃ bhrājiṣṇu rudhiraṃ ca*
The pearl born of conch-shell is round, lustrous, beautiful and moon-like.

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In *Navaratnaparīkṣā* (67 & 82), conch-pearl was specifically mentioned as *kṛśan* since it was longish, like the egg of a pigeon, coming from *Pāñcajanya* (the famous name of conch) and lustrous like hail-stone:

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दीर्घं च यत् कृशम् प्रोक्तम् कपोताण्ड प्रमाणम्
वर्षोपल समदीप्ति पान्जन्य कुलोद्भवम्
*dīrgham ca yat kṛśam proktam kapotāṇḍa pramāṇam*
*varṣopala samadipti pāñcajanya kulodbhavam*

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Pherū wrote (*RYP*, 41) that conch-pearl with a reddish tint occurs in the right-whorled conch (*dakṣiṇāvarta saṅkha*). *Maṇimālā* (266-270) provided some collected information:

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Only the yellow-bodied and black-mouthed conch-shells produce pearls. Such a pearl has the dimension of a large plum, and is white as the inner surface of the coat of that shell fish. There are twenty-seven kinds of conch-shells, produced by as many stellar constellations. A conch-pearl could be white, black, yellowish, crimson blue, reddish, deep yellow, ash-coloured or pale red.

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The bamboo pearl is also quite real; some female bamboos produce a siliceous concretion in their joints which is called in Sanskrit *vaṃśamuktā*, *vaṃśalocana*, *vaṃśakarpūra*, *tvakṣāra*, *tvakṣīra* (Persian *tabāshir*), etc. The Indians, Persians and Arabs were aware of its medicinal properties. (Edward Balfour, *Encyclopaedia Asiatica*, New Delhi, 1976 volume 8, p. 797).

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Varāhamihira wrote (*Br. Sam.*, 81.28) that ‘a pearl is to be known to have sprung from bamboo, if it resembles camphor or rock crystal and is flat and uneven (or rough)’:

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कर्पूरस्फटिकनिभं चिपिटं विषमं च वेणुजं ज्ञेयम्
*karpūrasphaṭikanibhaṃ cipiṭaṃ viṣamaṃ ca veṇujaṃ jñeyam*

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The bamboo-pearl has been described as *tvakṣāra* or the essence of the plant-epidermis, *varṣopalasamadiptiḥ*, lustrous like the hailstone, clear as the moon, resembling the fruits of *badari* and *kaṅkolī* or *kakkol*, a fragrant fruit, and the seeds of *guñjā*, *Abrus precatorius*, etc. (*RP*, 61; *AM*, 100; *NRP*, 66; *GP*, 1.69.9; *RYP*, 43). *Maṇimālā* (296) commented that there are five species of bamboos, which produce five different kinds of bamboo-pearls.

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Gajamuktā or elephant-pearl, often described in the Sanskrit literature, is a pearl-shaped growth found in the elephants’ forehead. In *Navaratnaparīkṣā* (*NRP*, 62; also *MM*, 252), it is mentioned that this kind of pearl ‘originates in the head of the elephants of Kāmboja (Cambodia) and is as large as the fruit of the Emblic myrobalan, heavy and more yellow, but not more lustrous than the other kinds’:

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काम्बोजकुम्भसम्भूतम् धात्रीफलनिभम् समम्।
आताम्रपिञ्जरच्छायम् मौक्तिकं मन्ददीधिति।।
*kāmbojakumbhasambhūtam dhātriphalanibham samam* |
*ātāmrapiñjaracchāyam mauktikam mandadīdhiti* ||

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The yellow colour of the elephant-pearl is mentioned in other literatures also (*RP*, 56; and *GP*, 1.69.5). Pherū compared the size of elephant-pearl with the fruit of *āmalaka* or myrobalan and described that the best kind of elephant-pearl has yellowish-red colour but dull lustre (*RYP*, 40).

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The boar-pearl could also be an outgrowth or antidotal concretion developed in the body of the boar, somewhat akin to the bezoar stone. Varāhamihira wrote:

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दंष्ट्रामूले शशिकान्ति सप्रभं बहुगुणं च वाराहम्।
*damṣṭrāmūle śaśikānti sapraphaṃ bahuguṇaṃ ca vārāham* |
(*Br. Sam.*, 81.23)

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Very valuable and lustrous like the moon is the pearl born of the root of the boar’s tusks.

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*Maṇimālā* (261 & 265) described it as generally white like the tusks of that animal, and resembling a plum in shape. Pherū wrote that the boar-pearl is round, *ghī*-coloured and equal in size to *sālaphala*, the fruit of *Shorea robusta* (RYP 44).

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*Maṇimālā* contains extracts from the Sanskrit literature saying (*MM*, 272-276) that pearls occurring in sea-fish are singularly round, small, light and in colour like the back of the sheat fish, *Silurus Boalis*. The pearls originating in whales are *guñjā*-shaped and *pāṭali* coloured (*AM*, 90-91).

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The earlier writers (*RP*, 58; *Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.23; *AM*, 90; *ML*, 2.4.431) specifically mentioned *timija* or the pearl from whales. Sarma (1984: 56) has suggested that this is *ambara* or ambergis which ‘consists of the faeces of the Cachelot or Sperm Whale, *Physeter macrocephalus*, which inhabits the Indian ocean’.

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*Maṇimālā* compiled the Sanskrit texts on serpent-pearls (*MM*, 277-284) ‘which adorn the serpent’s crest, are finely round and highly shining and reflect a beautiful blue halo like the flash of a polished sword’ (*RP*, 62; *AM*, 92-93). Varāhamihira admitted that many of the uncommon varieties of pearl, as mentioned above, are rarely seen, and qualified many of his descriptions with the word *kila* denoting ‘it is said’ (*Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.21)

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The Oyster Pearl

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Now let us return to the well-known and the best variety of pearl: *śukti muktā* or the pearl from the oyster. We have earlier presented the modern scientific knowledge about oyster-pearl and the description of its ‘superlative worth’ given by Buddhabhaṭṭa (*RP*, 69 and *GP*, 1.69.17).

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The chief sources of the oyster-pearl were mentioned in all the ancient Sanskrit texts; Kauṭilya (*AS*, 2.11.2) named *Pāṇḍyakavāṭaka*, *Pasīkā* in Pāṇḍya country, *Kauleya* in Sri Lanka, *Cūrṇi* in Kerala, etc. Varāhamihira referred (*Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.2) to eight sources:

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*Pāṇḍyavāṭaka* (Ramnad and Tuticorin area), *Paraloka* (Purali in Travancore coast), *Siṃhalaka* (Sri Lanka), *Saurāṣṭra* (Kāṭhiāwād), *Tāmraparṇi* and *Kāverī* river in the Pāṇḍya country, *Pāraśava* (Persia) and the *Himālayas* (?). *Ratnaparīkṣā* (*RP*, 75-76) and *Garuḍa Purāṇa* (*GP*, 1.69.23-24) provided a similar list of the sources, Agastimata (*AM*, 109) mentioned *Barbara* which was probably the African coast of the Red Sea.

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Megasthenes (fourth century BC) mentioned large pearls of Sri Lanka and *Taprobane*, a corruption of Tāmraparṇī, the river in the Tinnevelly region in the southernmost part of India. Pliny and the author of the *Periplus* (first century AD), and later, Fa-hien, the Chinese pilgrim (AD 399-414), described the pearl fisheries in South India and Sri Lanka. In *Raghuvamśa* (4.50), Kālidāsa wrote about the pearls from the marine estuary of the Tāmraparṇī:

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ताम्रपर्णी समेतस्य मुक्तासारं महोदधेः
*tāmraparṇī sametasya muktāsāraṃ mahodadheḥ*

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Centuries later, Pherū (*RYP*, 49) provided additional names of places as the sources of pearl:

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रामावलोके बबेर सिंंहले पारसीके केसियदेशेषु च
*rāmāvaloke barbare siṃhale pārāsīke kesiyadeśeṣu ca*

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Rāmāvaloka or Rāmāvaloa was probably Rameshwaran where pearl-fishing was witnessed since the days of Ptolemy. The activities were centred around a chayl or coil, literally the temple on the sandy promontory of Ramnad (Balfour, *Encyclopaedia Asiatica*, Vol.7, p. 168). Kesiya was probably the island of Qays in the mouth of the Persian gulf. Barbara, as we have said earlier, is the African coast of the Red Sea.

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The best oyster-pearls have ben characterised in the various Sanskrit texts. Kauṭilya wrote:

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स्थूलं वृत्तं निस्तलं भ्राजिष्णु श्वेतं गुरु
स्निग्धं देशविद्धं च प्रशस्तम्
*sthūlam vṛttam nistalam bhrājiṣṇu śvetam guru*
*snigdham deśaviddham ca praśastam*
(*AS*, 2.11.5)

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(That which is) big, round, without a flat surface, lustrous white, heavy, smooth and perforated at the proper place is excellent.

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Buddhabhaṭṭa described (*RP*, 95):

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सितं वृत्तं गुरु स्निग्धं सुतारम् निर्मलम् तथा
*sitam vṛttam guru snigdham sutāram nirmalam tathā*

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White, round, heavy, smooth, brilliant and translucent.

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There are similar descriptions in *GP*, 1.69.41; *RS* 7 and *LRP*, 3.

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Navaratnaparīkṣā described an excellent pearl as:

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सुवृत्तम् स्वच्छम् दोषविनिर्मुक्तम् निर्मलम् गुरुत्वम् शीतांशु विम्बसंकाशम् रेखाविहीनम् ईदृश सर्वगुणोपेतम् मौक्तिकम् *suvṛttam svaccham doṣavinirmuktam nirmalam gurutvam śītāṃśu bimbasaṅkāśam rekhāvihīnam īdṛśa sarvaguṇopetam mauktikam* (NRP 85-87)

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Well-rounded, transparent, free of defects and dirt, heavy, bright as the moon, without scratches, with all these virtues.

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and defined *sutāra* as:

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तारकाद्युतिसंकाशम् सुतारम् तत् निगद्यते *tārkādyutisaṃkāśam sutāram tat nigadyate* (NRP 85)

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A good pearl is *sutāra*, which throws out starry beams.

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*Maṇimālā* (304-306) described a good pearl as *ghana* dense, *succhāya* projecting fine shadow, *asphuṭita* not indented and resembling *śvetakāca* white glass.

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Pearls originating from different geographical sources were known to have specific features (*AM*, 109-113; *Br. Saṃ.*, 81.3-6; *NRP*, 71-74; and *MM*, 288-290). The pearls from Sri Lanka were described as multi-shaped, glossy, swan white and large; those from the Tāmraparṇī river estuary are white with a slight red tinge and bright; the ones from Paraloka (Travancore) are blackish, white or yellow. Saurāṣṭra pearls are of intermediate size with the lustre of butter. The Persian pearl is yellow, lustrous and heavy (*Br. Saṃ.*, 81.3-6). *Navaratnaparīkṣā* described:

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रुक्मिणी आख्या भवेत् शुक्ति तस्याम् जातं प्रमौक्तिकम्। निर्मलम् कुंकुमच्छायम् जातीफलसमम् वरम्।। *rukmiṇī ākhyā bhavet śukti tasyām jātaṃ pramauktikam* | *nirmalam kuṃkumacchāyam jātīphalasamam varam* || (NRP, 71; also *AM*, 112 and *MM*, 290)

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There is a particular kind of oyster called *Rukmiṇī* which produces clear pearls which are shaded like saffron and as large as *jāti* fruit or nutmeg’.

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Kauṭilya described (*AS*, 2.11.4) the defective pearls as ‘lentil-shaped, triangular, tortoise-shaped, semi-spherical, layered, coupled, cut up, rough, spotted, gourd-shaped, dark, blue and badly perforated’. The statements on the defects of pearls mentioned in the other Sanskrit texts (*RP*, 96-101, *AM*, 118-121, *NRP*, 75-84, ARP, 29, LRP, 4 etc.) were collated in Maṇimālā (313-321) as follows.

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If any part of an oyster remains fast attached to a pearl, the defect is called śukti-lagnadoṣa. Mīnākṣaḥ is the pearl with marks like the eyes of a fish. When a pearl is without lustre and shade, it is said to have the jathara defect. Atirakta has the shade of a coral. If a pearl has three bracelet-like streaks, it is called trivṛtta. Cipita pearl is not perfectly circular; the triangular one is tryasra and the kṛṣapārśva is a pearl with a broken side (MM, 313-321; see also AM, 118-121).

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Skanda Purāṇa reported (SP, 23. 105-106) that the oyster pearl samples were given different names depending upon their colour and lustre : vaiṣṇava (blue), māhendra (yellow), yāmya (cloud-colour), vāyavya (red), āgneya (slight red) and vāruṇa (pure and white).

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Like diamond, ruby, etc. pearls were also classified into four ‘castes’: brāhmaṇa (white), kṣatriya (red), vaiśya (yellow) and śūdra (black) (MM, 250, 263-64, 292-94, 299-301). Somewhat more scientific of a categorisation was attempted by declaring that pearls could acquire characteristics of any one of the five elements: kṣiti or earth (corresponding pearls are heavy), ap water (cool and white), tej energy (light), marut air (brittle), vyom sky (pearls are soft and light) (MM, 296-298). Another alternative postulate was that a pearl could be formed under the influence of three things:

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water (when the pearl becomes transparent and soft), energy (then round and bright) or air (when the pearl is tender and light).

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For fish-pearls, three influences were listed as air, bile and cold. Three binary and one ternary influences were also deemed to be possible, and hence there could arise seven different varieties of pearls (Maṇimālā, 259, 260 and 274-276).

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Pearl Market in India

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There were extensive pearl-trading activites in India for which we have several historical records. Corroborative proofs exist in the Sanskrit literature referring to: (a) procedures for testing and cleaning pearls, (b) the pricing pattern, (c) various ornaments made of pearls and so on.

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The Ratnaśāstras recommended that whenever doubts arose as to whether a particular sample of pearl was genuine or not, experts should be immediately consulted (MM, 322); they were supposed to conduct specific tests (AM, 166) :

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परीक्षा तत्र कर्तव्या रत्नशास्त्रविशारदैः
parīkṣā tatra kartavyā ratnaśāstraviśāradaiḥ

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One test-procedure consisted of immersing the sample, suspected to be a fake pearl, in hot oil mixed with a pinch of common salt, as the first step. Then the sample had to be soaked overnight in water, and rubbed with dry cloth and grains of paddy. If the colour did not fade, the pearl was considered to be genuine. (RP, 104-105; GP, 1.69. 39-40 and MM, 323-325). Another method was suggested in Agastimata. The sample was to be mixed with salt and cow’s urine, and the mixture heated over fire. Then it had to be rubbed with a quantity of chaff. A false pearl would be reduced to fragments on this treatment, while a real one would shine more brightly. (AM, 167-169 and MM, 326-327).

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The steps narrated above amounted to cleaning of genuine pearl as well, an object for which additional procedures were recommended. Pearls could be cooked in the juice of lemon and then rubbed with finely chopped carrot, when the samples could be bored quickly. Alternatively, pearls could be cooked in a matsyapuṭa or a fish-shaped crucible, with milk, water and lime-water in three successive steps. These were finally cooked in condensed milk, and then rubbed with clean cloth, when the real pearls were expected to shine brilliantly (GP, 1.69.35-37 and MM, 328-329); Garuḍa Purāṇa noted that this method had been originally recommended by Vyāḍi, the great ancient gemmologist (GP, 1.69.37). A Sri Lankan method was to put a white pearl, shining like glass, together with gold, one-hundredth of it by weight, in mercury for some time (adsorption of the gold amalgam provided a surface-coat?) before using it as an ornament. (GP, 1.69.38).

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A fairly long tariff of prices for the pearls was provided in the ancient Sanskrit texts such as AM 129-164; Bṛ. Saṃ., 81.9-19 and RP, 77-94, GP, 1.69.25-34, etc. The tariff was usually divided into two parts: (1) one single pearl of different units of weight, and (2) various numbers of pearls weighing a dharaṇa. Varāhamihira noted that when the weight of a pearl increased from one to two and four māṣakas (one māṣaka equals approximately one gram), the price in kārṣāpaṇa jumped from 135 to 800 and 5300, i.e., 6 and 39 times respectively. The extended table indicated that price (P) increased non-linearly with the weight (w) of the pearl; P is proportional to wⁿ where n is in between two to three. Varāhamihira gave the prices in both kārṣāpaṇa and rūpaka which could have been two names of the same coin. Buddhabhaṭṭa gave the prices in rūpaka alone (RP, 77-85).

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Varāhamihira recorded that small pearls were sold in numbers or in groups of one dharaṇa. When the number of pearls weighing one dharaṇa (6.4 māṣakas) was 13, the price was 325 rūpakas. As the number for one dharaṇa weight went on increasing, the price fell steadily, presumably because the size went on decreasing. 40 number, 100 number and 500 number (one dharaṇa) collections cost 50, 25 and 3 rūpakas respectively. 13, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 55 and 80 or more pearls weighing a *dharaṇa* were given specific names: *pikkā, piccā, arghā, ardhā, ravaka, siktha, nigarā* and *cūrṇā* respectively. (*Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.17). Buddhabhaṭṭa gave another list: *guccha* (13), *dārvikā* (16), *śuvaka* (20), *siktahasta* (30), *sikta* (40), *makaraśīrṣa* (60), *kūpya* (80-90) and *pūrṇa* for 100, and above number weighing one *dharaṇa* (*RP*, 86-92). *Garuḍa Purāṇa* gave a similar tariff (*GP*, 1.69.27-34) closely resembling that in *Ratnaparīkṣā*.

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The fact that the necessity of coining such nomenclatures (as mentioned in the previous paragraph) was felt, shows that there must have been in the ancient India brisk trade in pearls. The differences in the nomenclatures used by Varāhamihira and Buddhabhaṭṭa shows that their texts refer to practices in different regions or periods. It was made clear in all the ancient texts that the price tariff was for good pearls only. Discoloured and/or disfigured pearls fetched lower prices at specified rates of discount (*Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.18-19).

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In the ancient India, various names were ascribed to pearl necklaces of different kinds. There are similarities as well as some distinctions in the two lists given by Kauṭilya (*AS*, 2.11.6-27) and Varāhamihira (*Bṛ. Saṃ.*, 81.31-36). A pearl-necklace four cubits long and consisting of 1008 strings, was mentioned as *indrachanda* by Kauṭilya and *induchanda* by Varāhamihira. Half that number i.e., 504 strings and 2 cubits made it *vijayachanda*, the same name having been used by both. Similar names were mentioned by both for smaller number of strings: *hāra* (108), *ardha-hāra* (64), *raśmikalāpa* (54), *guccha* (32), *nakṣatramālā* (27), etc.; *ekāvalī* was single-stringed containing any number of pearls, and *yaṣṭi* the same with a gem of different kind in the middle. There were some omissions and additions by both which showed that various combinations of pearls, other gems, gold, etc. went on changing with the passage of time.

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Origin of Pearls: The Mythological Theory

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We have indicated earlier that the ancient Sanskrit texts propagated the view that gems on the earth had been produced from different constituents of the body of the slain demon Bala. His teeth were converted to pearls. *Ratnaparīkṣā* (*RP*, 72-74) and *Garuḍa Purāṇa* (*GP*, 1.69.20-22) described that the seeds (Bala’s teeth) fell from the sky along with water from the clouds, and both together entered the oyster shell and were converted into pearls. Agastimata (*AM*, 107) provided the same description.

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*Maṇimālā* quoted a Sanskrit text (*MM*, 271) saying that twenty-seven kinds of pearls were generated in accordance with twenty-seven different stellar constellations, as Bala’s teeth fell over a long period of time. Nine of these kinds were heavy, nine intermediate in density and the remainder nine kinds were light. The best pearls which (originated and still) originate in water drops falling upon oysters, when the sun rests on the *Svāti* (Arcturus forming the fifteenth lunar asterism) star, are flawless and bright (NRP, 69 and MM, 286):

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स्वात्याम् स्थिते रवौ मेघैर्मुक्ता ये जलबिन्दवः
ते गीर्णाः शुक्तिभिर्मुक्ता जायन्ते निर्मलत्विषः
*svātyām sthite ravau meghairmuktā ye jalabindavaḥ*
*te gīrṇāḥ śuktibhirmuktā jāyante nirmalatviṣaḥ*

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Similar descriptions involving the beneficial influence of the *Svāti* star were given in other texts:

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पतिता जलधर्मध्ये समुत्पन्नात् च शक्तिकाः।
स्वाति पर्जन्य संयोगात् शुक्तिगर्भं विभर्ति सा।।
*patitā jaladharmadhye samutpannāt ca śuktikāḥ* |
*svāti parjanya saṃyogāt śuktigarbham vibharti sā* ||
(AM, 108)

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सर्वेषु आकरे षु च शुक्तिपुटे स्वाति ऋक्षे जलयोगे
जायन्ते मौक्तिकानि सर्वालंकार जनकानि।।
*sarveṣu ākareṣu ca śuktipuṭe svāti ṛkṣe jalayoge* |
*jāyante mauktikāni sarvālaṃkāra janakāni* ||
(RYP, 50)

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*Maṇimālā* further added (MM, 287) that the size of the pearls varies in strict concomittance with the size of the water drops falling upon oysters, i.e., a large drop producing a proportionally large pearl, and a small drop, a proportionately small one.

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