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A History of Agriculture in India v1.c40.s2: Implements

A History of Agriculture in India v1.c40.s2

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English

Implements

v1.c40.s2.1

Machines (*yantra*) for crushing sugarcanes are mentioned in a description of the winter season in the *Upamitibhavaprapanchakatha*. Fields irrigated with Persian wheels (*arahata*) and with leather buckets (*charsa*) are mentioned in a record of A.D. 946. Again, it appears from Medhatithi that the Vaishya (the agriculturist *par excellence*) was expected to know, among other things, what seed was to be sown thickly and what thinly, what soil was suitable for a particular kind of seed, and what harvest was expected from a special variety of seed.

v1.c40.s2.2

The early Arab writers of the ninth and tenth centuries refer to the fertility of the soil and the cultivation of grain and fruits in Western India. Some cities in Gujarat grew mangoes, coconuts, lemons, and rice in great quantities. One such city also grew sugarcane and teak-trees. Malabar produced pepper and bamboo.

v1.c40.s2.3

The *Abhidhanaratnamala* mentions a large variety of cereals and other foodgrains along with their synonyms. The list comprises *sali* rice of three varieties, coarse grain (*kodrava*), mustard (*sarshapa*) of two varieties, pepper or saffron or "Italian millet" (*priyangu*), wild sesamum (*jartila*), wild rice (*nivara*), as well as pulses of four different kinds (*masura*, *kalaya*, *ralla*, and *adhaka*). A group of seventeen articles (including rice and barley) is included by the *Smritis* in the category of grain (*dhanya*). Again, Medhatithi mentions sugar-candy (*ikshukhanda*) and sugar (*sarkara*), along with sweetmeats and milk products. The excellence of *pundra* sugarcane which yielded juice even without a pressing instrument in contrast to a variety of sugarcane (*kosakara*) with its mass of flowers, is pointed out in a verse of the *Kavyamimamsa*. Similarly, the *Vishnudharmottara*, gives a list of five kinds of grains (*dhanya*), viz. barley, wheat, paddy, sesamum, and edible grains of two varieties (*kangu* or *syamaka* and *chinaka*). Among other agricultural products, camphor and *aguru* are given as examples of costly articles by Medhatithi.¹

v1.c40.s2.4

¹ Majumdar, R.C. *The History and Culture of the Indian People*, Vol. IV, *The Age of Imperial Kanauj*, pp. 399 to 406

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