Vanaspati: Plants and Plant-Life as in Indian Treatises and Traditions c5.s6: Section VI. Ecology: or Study of Plants in Their Natural Homes

Vanaspati: Plants and Plant-Life as in Indian Treatises and Traditions c5.s6

Language: English

Section VI. Ecology: or Study of Plants in Their Natural Homes

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*Charaka*¹ divides land into different regions according to the nature of the soil (edaphic conditions) and climate (climatic conditions) that determine the characteristic vegetation, and also mentions some of the plants characteristic of each region. Thus he divides land into:

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¹ Charaka, Kalpasthāna I. Madanaphala Kalpa, 6, 7 and 9 (verses). For English Translation, see Fasc. LXI, Kalpasthāna, Lesson 1, pp. 1917, 1918 (English Translation).

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(1) *Jangala* region—(literally, dry wilderness-deserts; plants—*Xerophytes*).

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(2) *Anupa* region (literally, abounding in water; plants—aquatic (*Hydrophytes*) and marshy (*Hygrophytes*).

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(3) *Sadharana* region—(ordinary; plants—*Mesophytes*).

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1. *Jangala* region.—"The region called *Jangala* is full of unobstructed open spaces, where a steady and dry wind blows, pervaded with expansive mirages; rivers and rivulets scarce, abounding in well (scarcity of water) also abounding with dry and rough sands and big sandy particles (*kankurs*)." 6 & 7.

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Suśruta¹ describes this region as: “the country which presents a flat surface, and whose dull monotony is enlivened here and there by scanty growths of thorny shrubs, and tops of a few isolated hills and knolls, and in which the waters from springs and wells, accumulated during the rains, become nearly drained, and strong gales of warm wind blow (during the greater part of the year).”

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¹ Sūtrasthāna, Chap. 35, verses 34-42. For English Translation, see Vol. II, pp. 325-26.

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According to Charaka the following are the plants that grow in this region: Khadira (Acacia catechu), Asana (Pentaptera tomentosa), Aśvakarṇa (a variety of Shorea robusta), Dhava (Conocarpus latifolia), Tinisha (Dalbergia oojeinensis), Śallakī (Boswellia serrata), Sāla (Shorea robusta), Somavalka (Acacia arabica), Vadarī (Zizyphus jujuba), Tinduka (Diospyros glutinosa), Aśwattha (Ficus religiosa), Vata (F. bengalensis) and Āmlakī (Phyllanthus emblica). The predominant types of trees are: Śamī (Mimosa sumo), Arjuna (Pentaptera arjuna) and Śiṃśapā (Dalbergia sisoo)—these are all xerophytic. 6 & 7.

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2. Anūpa region.—(Marshy or swampy and watery.)

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Swampy—“mostly abounding in rivers and bordered by seas, swept by cold wind, i.e., charged with abundant moisture. The country is interspersed with rivers, banks of which are decked with *Vañjula* (Calamus rotung) and *Vānīra* (Calamus Roxburghii of the aquatic variety). Mountains are absent from this region. The region is thickly overgrown with forests, bowers and trees in flowers encircled by verdant trees and tender creepers.

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The land is covered with dense forests of *Hintāla* (Phœnix paludosa), *Tāla* (Borasus flabelliformis), *Tamāla* (Cinnamomum tamala), *Nārikela* (Cocos nucifera) and *Kadali* (Musa sapientum).—*Charaka*. 8.

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Suśruta describes this region as the country “that contains a large number of pools, and is wooded and undulated with chains of lofty hills traversing its area, and which is impassable owing to its networks of rivers and sheets of accumulated rain water rippling before the currents of the gentle, humid air.” 34.

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Varāhamihir¹ mentions the following trees as growing in *Anūpa* region :—*Jambu* (Eugenia jambolana), *Vetasa* (Calamus rotung), *Vānīra* (Calamus sp.), *Kadam'a* (Anthocephalus cadamba), *Udumbara* (Ficus glomerata), *Arjuna* (Terminalia arjuna), *Vijapuraka* (Citrus medica), *Drākshā* (Vines), *Lakucha* (Artocarpus lakoocha), *Dāḍima* (Pomegranate), *Vañjula* (Calamus sp.), *Naktamāla* (Caesalpinia bonducella), *Tilaka* (Sesame), *Panasa* (Jack fruit), *Timira* (?), *Āmrātaka* (Spondias mangifera),—these 16 kinds of trees are the predominant species of this region.” 10 & 11.

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¹ Chap. 54, Vol. II, p. 745.

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*Aquatic plants (Hydrophytes)*—

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Amara¹ mentions the following plants as growing exclusively in water :—

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¹ Amarakosha, Pātālavarga 50-56. Cf. Colebrooke’s Edition (1807). Book I, Chap 2, Section 3, Aquatic Plants, 36-42.

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3. *Sādhāraṇa*—or the ordinary.—*Charaka* says—“That region which is endued with creepers, and plants and trees of both the classes, *i.e.*, the *Vanaspati* and *Vānaspatya*, is called *Sādhāraṇa*. 9.

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According to *Suśruta* a country which exhibited features common to both the aforesaid classes is called *Sādhāraṇa* or ordinary.” 36.

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In the *Swargavarga* of *Amarakosha* the following trees—*Māndāra*, *Pārijātaka*, *Santāna*, *Kalpavriksha* and *Harichandana* are mentioned as five celestial ones; and they seem to be alpine (mountainous) trees, as according to Hindu mythology Heaven or the abode of gods, is situated at the top of the Himalayas.

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Plant Association.—In some places plants of a particular species predominate over others, and the place is given the name of the species dominating there to the exclusion of others. Such as¹:

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¹ Amara, *Pātāla* and *Bhūmi Vargas* (9 and 10).

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*Kumudvatī*, *Kumudinī*—the place where white water-lilies predominate; place abounding in lotus is called *Padminī*, *Nalinī*; where reeds abound it is called *Nadvat*, *Nadvala*; one abounding in ratans is called *Vetasvān*, in green grasses *Śadvala* (शाद्वलः).

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Even rivers abounding in particular species are known by the species dominating—such as *Śarāvatī* abounding in *śara* (reeds) and *Vetravatī* abounding in *Vetra* (ratans).

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The names *Kuśadvīpa*, *Plakshadvīpa*, *Śālmalī-dvīpa*, etc., for the different islands in the Purāṇas, may be indicative of places where these particular plants—*Kuśa* (*Poa cynosuroides*), *Plaksha* (*Ficus infectoria*), *Śālmalī* (*Bombax malabaricum*), etc., predominated.

Cites (4)

Bṛhatsaṃhitā — Varāhamihira, Sanskrit
Carakasaṃhitā — Agniveśa (Āyurveda) & Caraka, Sanskrit
Suśrutasaṃhitā — Suśruta & Nāgārjuna (siddha/alchemist), Sanskrit
Nāmaliṅgānuśāsana (Amarakośa) — Classical Tibetan