Bharatiya Pragna - Dr. Th Chowdary

I ndia has had a rich agricultural heritage
since the time of Rigveda (c. 8000 BC).
While farmers still follow ancient practices in
many regions, the ‘modern’ agricultural graduates,
trained in the agriculture of the West, are
mostly ignorant of our own ancient agricultural
practices. Despite attempts to improve communication
between scientists and farmers, the two
groups continue to operate on different wavelengths,
and communication gap continues. It is
absolutely necessary for the farm scientists to
possess knowledge of our agricultural heritage
in order to effectively communicate with the majority
of farmers.
In the last 12 years, the Asian Agri-History
Foundation (AAHF), Secunderabad, Andhra
Pradesh has translated four ancient Sanskrit, one
Persian, one Malayalam, and one old Kannada
texts into English, along with commentaries on
the scientific validity of the practices that had been
followed. These texts confirm the richness of
knowledge possessed by our ancestors.
Krishi-Parashara (Agriculture by
Parashara) (c. 400 BC)
Krishi-Parashara (c. 400 BC) probably
is the first-ever ‘textbook’ on agriculture in which
the information is logically organized in chapters.
Here are some highlights from Krishi-Parashara.
It describes tools and implements, forecasting
66
Some ancient and medieval classics on agriculture
and their relevance today
Y L Nene
Knowledge of time-tested agricultural practices in our past is a must for our farm
scientists for a better connectivity with our farmers. The writer refers to invaluable texts
of the past, in this regard.
rain, importance of good management in agriculture,
management of cattle, seed collection
and storage.
The level of knowledge base that we find
in Krishi-Parashara about the plough, production
of crops, and management of cattle indicates
that the period of Parashara must have
preceded Kautilya (4 th century BC) in whose
Artha-sastra we see an undoubtedly superior
agricultural knowledge base, including the
knowledge of techniques to irrigate crops from
rivers, tanks, and wells. Thus I believe that
Parashara must have written the manuscript prior
to Artha-sastra, i.e., prior to 4 th century BC.
November & December 2008 Bharatiya Pragna