Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

Ancient Concepts, Sciences & Systems

The Amarakosha , a lexicon belonging to a date not later than 5th Cent A.D., has a chapter Vanaushadhi Varga containing a list of synonyms of nearly 250-300 plants besides many useful botani- cal aspects. The synonyms of plants given in the book, on etymo- logical analysis will reveal the specific characters of plants and will serve as a useful key for the taxonomic identification of plants. To cite an example - the tree country fig ( Ficus religiosa) has the following synonyms - Udumbara (outer skin peeling off), Jantuph- ala (flies inside the fruit), Yagnanga (twigs used in rituals), He- madughdaka (oozes out slightly yellowish latex). This method of naming the plants (based on key characters) found in Sanskrit literature made William Jones, an eminent Indologist to remark that had only Linnaeus (usually referred to as the Father of Plant Tax- onomy) known Sanskrit he would have adopted many Sanskrit names for his binomial system. Arboriculture or horticulture was widely practised in ancient India. In the Amarakosha there are terms like Arama (public park), Kritrimavana (Afforestation area) etc indicating the antiquity of this branch of botany. One of the encyclopaedic works of the 13th Cent A.D. Sarngadhara Paddhati has a chapter Upavana Vinoda to deal with various aspects of gardening. The chapter deals with the following topics - glory of plants, astrological effects on trees, soil suitability for planting, classification of plants, sowing of seeds, watering of plants, protection of gardens, garden houses, treatment of plant diseases and creation of botanical marvels possibly by hybridization. The most celebrated botanical text of ancient India was per- haps the Vrkshayurveda of Parasara, believed to belong to 1st Cent B.C. or 1st Cent A.D. While the complete text is not yet available, N.N. Sircar has published some extracts from this book in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. The available text has six chapters which is verily a mine of botanical information. Parasara classifies flowering plants into Dvimatruka (Dicotyledons) and Ekamatruka (Monocotyledons). The dicotyledons are character- ized by Jalika parna (leaves with reticulate venation) while the monocotyledons are characterised by Maunja parna (leaves 'with parallel venation). The most notable aspect in Vrkshayurveda is the description of the plant cell. While describing the internal structure of the leaf Parasara refers to innumerable ( Asamkhya ) compartments (. Rasakosa ). They have a sap {Rasas ray a), made up of five elemental principles (Pancha bhautika guna), bounded by a wall (. Kalavestitena) and have colouring matter ( Ranjakayukta ). Par- asara refers to these compartments being invisible to the naked eye ( Anvasva ) which makes one wonder whether he had any instru- mental means of magnification. Parasara’s classification of flowering plants into Ganas comes very close to the families of the modern day classification. Some of these are Samiganiya (Leguminoceae), Swastika Ganiya (■ Cruciferae ), Kurcha ganiya (Asteraceae), The Samiganiya is fur- ther sub-divided into Vakrapuspa (Papilionaceae), Vikarnika Puspa (Caesalpinaceae) and Sukapuspa (Mimoceae). Several floral characters of Leguminosae like ten free stamens ( Dasa kesara), superior ovary ( Tunda mandala ), unequal petals (Visama vidala ), etc find a mention. The family Cruciferae ( Swastikaganiya ) has sepals cruciform in arrangement, flowers in racemes (panktibandhana ), petals four in number and free ( chaturdala, mukta), stamens six and free

(.Sanmukta Kesara), fruit opens on both valves ( Dviputa ) joined by a central replum ( Phalavalkala ). The botanical information found in Parasara’s Vrkshayurveda is surprisingly the most modern and perhaps parallels the Western knowledge of the 17th and 18th century. If the date of the text can be established with certainty to in and around the beginning of the Christian era as is widely believed, it would establish the Indian botanical knowledge on a very firm foundation beyond reasonable doubt. ANIMAL SCIENCE Ancient Indians were equally interested in animals around them as they (animals) provided a source of food. The earliest evi- dence of interest in animal life is available in the form of drawings

in caves made by neolithic men. In order to familiarise themselves with the kind of animals to be hunted they must have studied their form and shape and drawn them on rocks to inform their fel- lowbeings. Neolithic drawings are found on the rocky walls in the Vindhya Hills at Mirazpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Archaeological excavations of the Indus Valley civilization dating back to nearly 3000 B.C. bear eloquent testimony about the awareness and understanding of animals exhibited by ancient Indi- ans. The steatite seals obtained from the sites of the Indus Valley civilization reveal as many as 30-37 kinds of animals. Some of these are humped cattle, buffalo, horse, domestic ass, sheep, goat, elephant, camel, pig, dog and cat. There are also evidences of two domesticated birds such as fowl and black partridge. One of the animals represented on the seals very frequently — the Unicorn — is however mythical. The Samhitas, the Brahmanas and the Arayanka Upanishads are replete with references to animals and their habits and habi- tats. A perusal of the Vedic literature indicates that as many as 260 animals were familiar to Vedic Indians. The Rig Veda, the earliest written record, has many references to both wild and do- mesticated animals. Among the domesticated animals cow and horse are common. Other animals mentioned are lion, tiger, ele- phant, ass, mule, dog, buffalo, camel, goat, sheep, monkey, mon- goose, hare, serpents. Smaller creatures like scorpions, mouse, frog also find a mention. The Yajurveda and Atharvaveda are full of names of animals used for sacrificial offering together with Asva (horse) occupying the pride of place. The Satapatha Brahmana classifies animals under two categories - Aranya (wild) and gramya (domesticated) Vari- ous species of deer have been mentioned in the Brahmanas. Gandupada (earth

worm) is also mentioned in the Brah- manas. Various kinds of serpents referred to in the Brahmanas are - Nirdamsi (that does not bite), Svaja (double headed),

manthavala (living on trees) and Andha (blind). Birds mentioned in