Bharatiya Pragna - Dr. Th Chowdary

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68 the main focus of Kashyapa was the Krishna- ishment and fertilizers; diseases of plants and Godavari deltas and the adjacent northern re- plant protection; laying out of gardens and orgionschards; creation of agricultural/horticultural won- Vrikshayurveda (The Science of Plant Life) ders; use of plant species as indicators of crop by Surapala (c. 1000 AD) and animal production; and description of sa- Vrikshayurveda of Surapala (c. 1000 cred plants. AD), an ancient Sanskrit text on the science of The place of horticulture in ecology both plant life was a mere name until few years ago. at the home garden scale and at the field scale The names of both the text and the author were was well understood, as is evident from refer- preserved by tradition. The actual text, however, ences such as in verse 9: “A person is honored was unavailable. The AAHF procured a manu- in Heaven for as many thousand years as the script of Vrikshayurveda of Surapala from the days he resides in a house where tulasi is Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK. grown”; or in verse 10: “And if one properly The text is an independent, full-fledged grows bilva (bel), which pleases Lord Siva, in work on the subject of Vrikshayurveda. The fol- his family (courtyard), the goddess of riches relowing observations proved beyond doubt that sides permanently (in his house) and this (riches) such a branch of learning existed in ancient In- is passed on to his sons and grandsons.” Apdia. There are frequent references to this sciparently the place of trees in environmental mainence in ancient Indian literature such as tenance and food chain was well understood. Atharvaveda, Brhatsamhita of Varahamihira, and The saints and philosophers of the time extolled Sarngadharapaddhati of Sarangadhara. the people to ‘grow more trees’— a slogan that The tridhatu theory of Ayurveda is applied to trees, bushes and other perennials. we seem to have rediscovered during the past few decades. Vrikshayurveda, which means “The Science of From the types of soils, plant species, Plant Life”, mainly deals with various species of kinds of plant protection materials, I believe that trees and their healthy growth and productivity. The text mentions about 170 species of plants, including herbs, shrubs, and trees. There are 325 systematically arranged verses, beginning with a salutation to Lord Ganesha, followed by glorification of trees, and composition on tree planting and production. Various chapters deal with the raising of orchards, agri-horticulture, and tree planting near houses. Special references are made on procuring, preserving, and treatment of seeds and planting materials; preparation of pits for planting; selection of land (soil); methods of irrigation and ways to locate groundwater; nour- Surapala was referring to the Bihar-Orissa region. November & December 2008 Bharatiya Pragna
Lokopakara (For the Benefit of People) by Chavundaraya, 1025 AD The Lokopakara, which meant “for the benefit of common people”, is a vade mecum of everyday life for commoners and describes topics such as astrology, portents, vastu (architecture), water-divining, vrikshayurveda (the science of plant life), perfumery, cookery, veterinary medicine, etc. In this bulletin, we have selected those topics that are of interest to farmers residing in rural areas. The Western Chalukya Kings, with their capital at Kalyani (near Bidar, Karnataka, India) had a tradition of supporting scholarship and Chavundaraya II was one such poet-scholar in the court of Jaisimha II (1015–1042 AD). The author of Lokopakara is also known as Chavundaraya II. This is because another Chavundaraya, referred as Chavundaraya I, preceded him by several decades and was a great minister, Commander-in-Chief, as well as a litterateur in the court of the Ganga rulers of southern Karnataka. Chavundaraya I set up the world famous Gommateshwara statue at Shravanbelagola in Karnataka around 980 AD. This bulletin is based on a printed Halagannada manuscript edited in 1950 by H Sesha Iyengar, a copy of which was obtained from the Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library (Adyar Library), Chennai. Since very few people today understand Halagannada, we requested C K Kumudini, Department of Kannada Studies, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore to translate the manuscript into Hosagannada (modern Kannada). The Hosagannada manuscript was then translated into 69 English by Sri Valmiki Sreenivasa Ayangarya. Three commentaries have been written; one by Y L Nene, another by Nalini Sadhale and Shakuntala Dave, and yet another by Umashashi Bhalerao. These commentaries hopefully would stimulate scholars and researchers to provide notes on the scientific value of Lokopakara. The original text contains the following chapters: Astrological aspects, auspicious and inauspicious time (muhurtas) for various mundane and religious affairs, vastu (Architecture), portents, water divining, vrikshayurveda (Ayurveda for plants including trees), perfumes, recipes for food , medicine for humans and animals, treatment for snakebite, etc ., characteristics of animals, and omens. Mriga.pakshi.shastra (The Science of Animals and Birds) (13 th century AD) This 13 th century classic was compiled by a Jain scholar, Hamsadeva on the advice of King Shaudadeva, who probably ruled the Junagarh area of Gujarat. It is a detailed description in Sanskrit of more than 170 animals and birds. Hamsdeva describes the habitat, breeding, and types of many animals and birds. For example, he describes 6 types of lion; viz. Simha, November & December 2008 Bharatiya Pragna
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BHARATIYA PRAGNA Board of Advisors
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3 Chandrayaan-1 Editorial I ndia’
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5 Even the worm turns! Editorial J
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lectual life of a nation -that of s
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ow. Although a man should do him in
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truth to maintain a spirit of absol
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What Swami Vivekananda is in the re
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15 the happenings of Nature! Is Nat
Page 19 and 20: 17 150th Birth Year to check their
Page 21 and 22: During 1897-1900, Bose turned his i
Page 23 and 24: JC Bose, demonstrated before the sc
Page 25 and 26: Even as the Hindu Muslim riots are
Page 27 and 28: gate his religion but there is no r
Page 29 and 30: sections of society. There is resen
Page 31 and 32: O ver-familiarity with a problem so
Page 33 and 34: of sustenance and the target. The e
Page 35 and 36: which had disastrous consequences f
Page 37 and 38: 35 senior police officers both at t
Page 39 and 40: T he long-declared dissatisfaction
Page 41 and 42: W hatever happened to the ‘silent
Page 43 and 44: Paul II unveiled the document ‘Ec
Page 45 and 46: it as ‘Rajarajeswaram’ after hi
Page 47 and 48: R ecently, some columnists have adv
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Page 51 and 52: Before his death, Baji Rao made a w
Page 53 and 54: 51 The Nexus of Isms: The Nexus of
Page 55 and 56: with common enemy which they view a
Page 57 and 58: I t would not be difficult to come
Page 59 and 60: fulfillment of their wishes. Nobody
Page 61 and 62: L et us assume that a ray of light
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Page 67 and 68: If the quanta of the light energy b
Page 69: 67 The pattern of the rainfall dist
Page 73 and 74: Vishvavallabha was compiled by a sc
Page 75 and 76: India’s babus and politicos say t
Page 77 and 78: Book-Review Indus or Sindhu-Sarasva
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