365bet娱乐

Barley: Cereals constituted the main diet of the (Hardeum hinn.), 'yava' (III.62.3. V.149.67, 80; XIV.44.8), was the cereal par excellence. From barley were made a variety of preparations like barley cakes (purodasa) (I.127.7), barley gruel (karambha) (XII.37.25), barley meal with curds (mantha) (VIII.27.77), barley porridge (yavagu) (XII.236.12), and a sweetmeat of barley flour (samyava) (XIII.107.65). Fried barley grains (dhana) (XII.37.25), and barley groats (saktu) (XII.221.36) were the more common forms of barley consumption. - 107

Wheat (Triticum Linn), 'Godhuma' (III.188.43; XIII.61.78, 112.62), - 108 is a rather insignificant cereal in the Mahabharata, considering that there are only three references to it in the entire Epic. In all the three instances it is coupled with yava, drawing a clear line of demarcation between wheat and barley. the The word 'godhuma' is absent in the Rgveda, and appears, for the first time, in the Samhitas of Yajurveda and in the Brahmana texts, where it is expressly distinguished from rice (vrihi) and barley (yava) a (Macdonell and Keith 1912: I.237). Even in later literature, it makes very scanty appearances, which has nurtured the belief that wheat was almost exotic with the Aryans for a long time. Sound archeological evidence, however, completely destroys this theory. Firstly, both wheat and barley are believed to have originated outside India, in West Asia, in which case, one would hardly expect the Aryans to be acquainted with one, and not the other. Secondly, there is no denying the fact that wheat was one of the major crops in ancient India, with a continuous archeo-botanical history from 2500 to 1000 B.C., and even later. This conclusive evidence of wheat in arch -eological records can not be ignored. It can only be reconciled with literary evidence if the word 'yava' is understood in the general sense of "grain", for which there is basis in the Rgveda itself, where the word is a a

- 109 used loosely as a generic term for any sort of grain and not merely barley. (Macdonell and Keith : II-187). Rice: (Oryza sativa), 'Vrihi', was a very important cereal, next only to yava. Both are coupled together as the two main cereal items of ancient diet (XIII.94.27). Offerings of both were required for the sacrificial fire, as well as for the Sraddha ceremony (XII.88.3-4, 236.7). Sali and tandula also occur in the sense of rice (II.54.24; XII.172.21; XIV.86.21), though not so commonly as vrihi, sali being described as the product of Videha, in modern U.P. (XII.312.21). They may represent two different varities, though not necessarily so. Sastika, on the other hand, was a definitely superior variety, ripening within 60 days (XII.63.14). Rice was mostly taken boiled, with either milk, butter, ghee, pulses or meat (II.45.9; VIII.28.12; XII.124.10, 221.62, 257.9; XIII.14.83). Parched or friend grains of rice known as laja, occur very prominently on ceremonial occasions, to be showered at or to be offered to the dities along with flowers, sandal powder etc. It is, however, somewhat doubtful, if they were ever taken as food. (X.126.36; III.243.1-2; VI.116.3; XII.40.11; XIII.102.7; XIV.64.4-5). Nivara, a wild uncultivated variety of rise, growing in forest lands and along rivers like the Saraswati, POONA & LIBRARY

is mentioned a few times, primarily as the food of the forest-dwelling hermits and ascetics who lived by non- -cultivation (III.179.13-14; V.36.7; XIII.130.7). There is no definite reference to rice in the Rgveda, but it is frequently mentioned in post-gvedic literature as vrihi or sali (Macdonell and Keith : - 110 II-345). As many as 5-6 varities occur in the Yajurveda, none of which are mentioned in the Mahabharata The one that is mentioned, a fast-ripening one, Sastika, was known to Panini, who also differentiates between vrihi, as the ordinary variety of rice, generally associated with yava as the staple food, and sali, as the finer variety harvested in winter (Agrawala 1963: 104-5). Tandula and laja too, occur in post-gvedic literature, and the importance of laja for ceremonial occasions dates back to the days of the Sutras, where they were used in a crucial marriage ritual, the lajahoma (On Prakash 1961 : 36). Inferior Grains: A number of inferior grains, mainly consumed by forest-dwelling ascetics are mentioned in the Yajurveda Samhitas, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads, by which time asceticism had developed into a way of life, with the result that the food of this class of men too, was incorporated into these ritual and philosophical texts. The Mahabharata too, mentions a few inferior grains,

but they hardly play any role in the food-habits of the lay people. - 111 1) Nivara : a wild, uncultivated variety of rice, mentioned above 11) Syamaka (Panicum frumentaceum), a kind of : millet, recommended for ascetics and Brahmins (III.81.55-56, XIII.91.13; XIV.46.11). 111) Priyangu : (Panicum Italicum), was found along the Narmada in the Avanti country (III.87.2). iv) Pulaka : a coarse grain, the most inferior of all, is compared to a man devoid of men dharma, the lowest among/(XII.174.7). v) Kodrava or Koradusaka: (Paspalum scorbiculatum), vernacular 'kodon', another coarse grain, prophesized as the most important cereal of the evil Kaliyuga (III.188.20; XII.91. 38). Both pulaka and kodrava were considered too inferior for sraddha offerings (XIII.91.38). vi) Indrakrsta dhanya: "a grain sown by Indra",

grew wild in the Trans-Indus region, at the mouth of the river, along the sea, the home of some tribes of mixed origins e.g. Vairama, Parada, Kitava, etc. (II.47.9-10). From the above account it is evident that : the cereal diet of the people in the Mahabharata has almost remained unchanged from Vedic times; - 112 Yava is still the staple food, as it was with the Rgvedic Indians, with rice (vrihi) next in importance; the term 'godhuma' for wheat is as yet a new acquisition, not frequently used; and most of the inferior grains refered to, were known to the later Vedic literature. The above conclusions are based on purely a literary evidence Archeological discoveries have added new dimensions to them. Barley was known in India from very ancient times. The earliest evidence comes from: Mohenjo-daro (2250-1800 B.C.), Harrapa (2300-1750 B.C.), and Neolithic Chirand (2000-1300 B.C.) POONA & LIBRARY (Kajale 1974:61);

- 113 but it is only at Kalibangan (Harrapan) that the evidence of barley is in abundance (Vishnu Mittre 1969:1). It has a fairly continuous history till about r the 10 th century B.C., occuring in Chaleolithic levels at Navdatoli (1500-100 B.C.), and Inamgaon (1600-700 B.C.), and later in the PGW deposits at Atranjikhera (1000 B.C.) (Kajale 1974:61). n This remote antiquity and importance of barley is well attested to in the earliest literary records, the hyms of the Rgveda, dated roughly to about 1200 B.C. What is not attested to, till quite late, is the equally great importance of wheat in the Indion agro-economy. The earliest records of wheat are from : Pre-Harrapan Mundigak (late 4 th millennium B.C.), Mohenjo-daro (2250-1750 B.C.), and

Harrapa (2250-1750 B.C.) (Kajale 1974 : 59). = 114 It was also discovered at many Chalcolithic sites in Central India and the Deccan, at Kayatha (2000-800 B.C.), Navdatoli (1500-100 B.C.), Sonegaon (1290 B.C.), Inamgaon (1300-700 B.C.), in the PGW deposits at and Atranjikhera (1200-600 B.C.) (Kajale 1974 : 59). As noted earlier, this ample evidence of wheat, from some of the most ancient sites can be reconciled with the meagre references to it in literature, only if yava, the favorite cereal of the ancients, is understood in the broad sense of "grain". Rice is the only cereal crop with a long and continuous history in archeological records and a wide Corners a distribution in all concem of the country. Though not reported from either Mohenjo-daro or Harrapa, it does occur in the Harrapan layers at Lothal (2300 B.C.),

- 115 Rangpur (Harrapan II : 2000-1500 B.C.), and Kalibangan (Harrapan) (Kajale: 1974 : 62). At all these sites, the exisestences of rice, is infered solely, from impressions of rice husks and spiklets on potsherds, coinciding in time with the discoveries at Neolithic Chirand (2000-1300 B.C.) and Chalcolithic Ahar (1750-1300 B.C.) (Kajale 1974 : 62). In the early Historical Period, marked by the appearance of Iron, rice was found in the PG deposits at Atranjikhera (1200-600 B.C.), Sonepur (800-600 B.C.), and Hastinapura (1100-800 B.C.) (Kajale 1974 : 62), a crucial Epic Site, where too, the impressions of rice husks were noticed on potsherds.

In the South, rice has been reported around the same period, from Iron Age Hallur (1100-800 B.C.) - 116 (Kajale 1974 : 62) From 600 B.C. onwards, the occurence of rice is an almost regular feature at many sites all over India like: Ujjain (500 B.C.), Nagda (500-200 B.C.), Tripuri (200 B.C. -200 A.D.), Rupar (600-200 B.C.), Khokrakhot (100 B.C.), Dhar (100 B.C.), Nagra (500 B.C.-500 A.D.), Kaundinyapura (500 B.C.-800 A.D.), Bhokardana (200 B.C.-200 A.D.), Nevasa (150 B.C.-200 A.D.), Paunar (100 B.C.-300 A.D.), Kolhapur (100 A.D.), and Kunnattur (300 B.C.) (Kajale 1974 : 63). This pre-eminent position of rice is well-substantiated in literary records, as early as the Atharvaveda, by which time rice had become the stapale food with an important role in religious ceremonies.

a of the inferior grains, only Kodrava has an - 117 archeological record. It has been reported from Nagara (500 B.C. - 200 A.D.) in Gujarat, and from the Satavahana levels at Nevasa (150 B.C. - 200 A.D.) in Maharashtra (Kajale 1974 : 64). Besides the Mahabharata, Kodrava occurs in the Pali Canonical Texts (Om Prakash, 1961: 87) and in the Arthasastra (II.24.16).