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A Concise History of Science in India c10.s2: The Post-Vedic Period

A Concise History of Science in India c10.s2

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English

The Post-Vedic Period

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In the post-Vedic period, the political unification which was brought about by the monarchs of Magadha contributed a great deal to the development of agriculture. It must be emphasized that the State then had an established machinery for collecting taxes from its subjects who followed different vocations, the principal ones which provided the people with the means of livelihood being *kṛṣi* (agriculture), *paśupālana* (cattle-tending) and *vāṇijya* (trade). The three together were recognized as *vārttā* (derived from *vṛtti*, meaning livelihood). The most important of the three vocations was, as could be expected, agriculture. The rural economy was based upon the *grāma-kṣetra* (the arable land of the village) which was cultivated not unoften by means of co-operative irrigation. There were also large holdings—estates of 1,000 *karīsas* (probably acres) or even more and one which required for its cultivation as many as 500 ploughs and a number of hired labourers to ply the ploughs with their oxen.

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The *Arthaśāstra* of Kauṭilya contains information of value to the understanding of importance of agriculture in those days. Undoubtedly, the State gave considerable encouragement to the settlement of people on unoccupied (*śūnyaniveśa*) land with a view to not only providing them with employment but also increasing the agricultural production. It also supported the construction as well as maintenance of irrigation works and was vigilant so as to ensure continued tilling of the lands, making the act of keeping the fertile land uncultivated, a punishable offence soil which would be conducive to their efficacy. The two medical classics give details of the distinctive traits of different types of soil commended for the culture of medicinal herbs and certain grains. Suśruta recommends a ground 'which possesses a soil which is glossy, firm, black, yellowish or red and does not contain any sand, ash or any other alkaline substance, is permeable to the germination of seeds and easily pervious to the roots of plants growing thereon, and which is supplied with the necessary moisture from a nearby stream or reservoir of water'.a He divides the land into three categories, viz. *jāṅgala*, *anūpa* and *sādhāraṇa*, according to the geographic and climatic conditions. *Jāṅgala* is one which presents a flat surface and has scanty growth of thorny shrubs, isolated hills or knolls, where strong gales of warm wind blow and water gets drained. *Anūpa* is a watery or swampy region with woods and forests, hilly and which is impassable owing to its network of rivers and sheets of accumulated water. *Sādhāraṇa* is midway between the two. A similar type of classification is found in the *Caraka Saṃhitā*.b

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The *Arthaśāstra*, which throws enough light on the state of agriculture possibly of its time, speaks of the science of agriculture and the Director of Agriculturec (*Sītādhyakṣa*). The latter was expected to be conversant with the suitability of the soil, ploughing, preparation of the soil, selection of proper seeds, etc., on the one hand, and the amount of rainfall that was expected to occur in different seasons of the year on the other. The text says: 'In conformity with that, he (the Director) should cause crops to be sown, requiring plenty or little water. *Śāli*-rice, *vrīhi*-rice, *kodrava*, sesamum, *priyaṅgu*, *dāraka* and *varaka* (*Phaseolus trilobus*) are the first sowings. *Mudga*, *māṣa* and *śaimbya* are the middle sowings. Safflower, lentils, horse-gram, barley, wheat, *kalāya*, linseed and mustard are the last sowings … which should be in conformity with the season … A (region) where the foam strikes (*phenāghātaḥ*) the banks is suited for creeper fruits; (regions on) the outskirts of overflows, for long pepper, grapes and sugar-cane; those on the borders of wells, for vegetables and roots, those on the borders of moist beds of lakes, for green grass …'

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The *Arthaśāstra* refers to the preparation of the field by ploughing three times (*trīn karṣakān*) in heavy rains.d Often deep ploughing was done. The ploughshare which was fitted in the central bent portion (*potra*) of the plough was made of iron.

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According to this text, the seeds need treatment before sowing, keeping the seeds (rice, wheat, barley) in the dew (by night) and drying in the sun (by day) for a week would bestow on them the desirable qualities. The seeds of pulses were to be similarly treated for three to five days and nights. Honey, ghee, pig's fat, cow's dung, etc., were also used for treating different seeds. When sprouted, the seeds were fed with fresh acrid fish along with the milk of *snuhi* (*Euphorbia antiquorum*) plant. Though the text does not give details of the method of watering different plants, it significantly asserts that ‘the (farmers) shall pay a water-rate of one-fifth when lifted from rivers, lakes, tanks and wells’.a Irrigated cultivation has been classified so as to include flower-gardens, fruit-orchards, vegetables, wet cropfields and roots.

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a *CS. Sū.*, 37, 1.

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b *CS. Sū.*, 6.7.

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c *Aś.*, 2, 24.11 and 22.

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d *Aś.*, 2, 24.9.

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Pāṇinib mentions a practical classification in terms of cultivated and uncultivated lands. The former was known as *karṣa* and the latter included *ūṣara* (waste land) and *gocara* (pasture). The fields were also classified on the basis of the crops grown (*vraiheya* where *vrīhi* was raised; *śaileya*—*śāli*; *māṣya*—beans; *tilya*—sesamum, etc.) and also the quantities of seed required for sowing (*prasthika*—field sown with a *prastha* measure of seed; *drauṇika*—*droṇa*, etc.).

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There were three crops, one sown in the rainy season and collected in granary in Māgha (January-February), another sown in autumn and collected in granary before Caitra (March-April) and the third sown in spring and stored by Jyeṣṭha (May-June). Two or three crops in a year imply the knowledge of crop rotation. No doubt rotation of crops as a scientific method developed in modern times. Without implying that such a practice was consciously developed with the help of scientific observations, we may say that the knowledge of the requirements of different crops and the different harvest seasons may have led to a rudimentary form of crop rotation. But it must be added that the method had not come into general practice. The cultivator took advantage of the double or triple harvest system or kept the fields fallow depending on the wealth of his fields and as his resources permitted or his needs required. A passage in the *Arthaśāstra* suggesting that for augmenting the finances, the administration could prevail upon the cultivators to raise a second crop indicates that the practice of keeping lands fallow was also resorted to in many cases. The sowing of mixed crops was also widely practised. Patañjali tells us that sesamum was sown with beans (main crop), and the ploughing was done according to the requirements of the main crop. The seeds of the minor crop used to be sown by scattering them here and there.c

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As a recognition of high position accorded to agriculture by the rulers as well as the people at large, the construction of tanks and other types of reservoirs was considered to be an act of religious merit even. Construction of irrigation works was regarded as one of the most important welfare activities which the State was expected to provide. There are many inscriptions testifying that the rulers honoured this responsibility with devotion. The Maurya monarchs took keen interest in the irrigation schemes. This is borne out by the account of Megasthenesd who speaks of a band of officers who ‘superintend the rivers, measure the land, as is done in Egypt, and inspect the sluices by which the water is let out from the main canals into their branches, so that everyone may have an equal supply of it’. An irrigation work of historical significance in Saurāṣṭra, called Sudarśana Lake, was constructed by Puṣyagupta under Chandragupta Maurya and restored later by Tusaṣpa, the Yavana governor of Aśoka. The vast reservoir suffered a breach (420 cubits long and 75 cubits deep) in the second century A.D., owing to heavy flood and onrush of the rivers Suvarnarekha, Palasini, etc., and was repaired by the Parthian *amātya* Suviśākha who was the governor of Rudradāman, the Śaka ruler of that time, at the latter's personal cost.a There is no doubt that on this lake depended the prosperity of the people of that area for a long time. In western India the successors of Rudradāman continued the tradition of constructing tanks.

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a *Aś.*, 2, 24.18.

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b Agrawala, pp. 195–97.

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c Agrawala, p. 200.

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d Abo, XV, 1.50–52.

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In the central and south India huge tanks of great engineering skill were constructed. The technical skill that went into the construction of these tanks is clear from the fact that some of them even now serve the purpose for which they were made. The pioneer work in this respect was done by Karikala I, who reigned towards the close of the first century A.D., when he tamed the river Kaveri by means of embankments for utilization of the water of the Kaveri through a number of canals. He also excavated tanks for the benefit of those parts of the kingdom which could not receive water from the river. In those days in south India there used to be tank sub-committees of the village assembly, which looked after the maintenance of tanks.

Cites (2)