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

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

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