Rigveda Has References to Rice?

Short communication Asian Agri-History Vol. 16, No. 4, 2012 (403–409) 403

Rigveda has References to Rice?

YL Nene

Asian Agri-History Foundation, Secunderabad 500009, India (email:[email protected])

In my paper “Rice research in South Asia evidence to put forth the view that the through ages” published a few years ago Rigveda does mention rice in addition to (Nene, 2005), I had stated the following: barley, wheat, sesame, black gram, and few other crops. This view is contrary to the “Most scholars seem to agree that the oldest established view of traditional Indologists Veda, the Rigveda, does not contain any and historians the world over since the 19th reference to rice, and that a subsequent century. Veda, the Yajurveda has reference to rice. If one reads Rigveda, one cannot miss This communication is based on various noting the word dhana, which according commentaries of Rigveda (Griffi th, 1896; to Sanskrit dictionaries means rice. Words Sontakke and Kashikar, 1983; Sharma, such as dhana (IV.24.7), dhanaa (I.16.2), 1991), dictionaries (Monier-Williams, and dhanya (V.53.13) are found in Rigveda, 1872; Apte, 1965; Amarsimha’s Amarkosa and all these have been interpreted as the by Jha, 1999), Encyclopedia Britannica words for cereals in general. Susruta, a (1993), books on barley and rice, as well as sage of the ancient era and whose work communications available on the Internet. is described later, recognizes only rice as dhanya (also supported by Monier- Rigveda Williams, 1872) and others as kudhanya, lesser or minor cereals. Charaka, who lived The fi rst published translation of any part before Susruta, also gave much more details of the Rigveda in any Western language about rice than wheat. Sayanacharya (1400 was into Latin by Friedrich August Rosen AD) of Vijayanagar, in his commentary on (Rigvedae specimen, London, 1830), Rigveda (I.16.2) uses the word tandula, predating Friedrich Max Müller’s Editio which, most scholars agree, means rice principles of the text, The Hymns of the (Sontakke and Kashikar, 1983). Why Rigveda, with Sayana’s commentary nd scholars want to believe that Rigveda has (London, 1849–75, 6 vols.; 2 ed., 4 vols., no reference to rice is a riddle, which needs Oxford, 1890–92). Rosen was working from more discussion.” manuscripts brought back from India by Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1782–1807). During the intervening years, I kept on Horace Hayman Wilson (1786–1860) was thinking, reading, and pondering over the fi rst to translate complete Rigveda into the issue. I feel there is suffi cient indirect English, published in 6 volumes during 404 Rice in Rigveda the period 1850–88. Wilson’s version was This verse has the word dhaanah that based on the commentary of Sayanacharya could mean roasted rice or barley (Apte, (a great Sanskrit scholar, who fl ourished 1965), though Amarsimha (c. 200 BC) under the kings of Vijayanagar Empire of mentions dhaanah as roasted barley. In southern India in the 14th century AD). In fact the commentary of Sayanacharya 1977 Wilson’s edition was enlarged by Nag mentions both yava and tandula. Why? If Sharan Singh (Nag Publishers, Delhi, 2nd it was roasted barley only, dhaanah and edition, 1990). In 1896 Ralph TH Griffi th yava would have been adequate. The word published his translation as “The Hymns tandula normally means rice grain that is of the Rigveda” in London. A German ready for cooking. translation was published by Karl Friedrich 3.56.3 Geldner; the title was Der Rig-Veda: aus dem Sanskrit ins Deutsche Ubersetzt, Sayana: prajavana|prakarshena jaayant iti Harvard Oriental Studies, Vols. 33–37 vrihyadyaaha (Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1951–57) prajah|purudh nanaprakarena (Source: World Wide Web). vidyamanvrihiya- vadirupaprajavaan|bahuvrihau ‘udhaso Most translators depended on Sayanacharya’s s nang’ … commentary and accepted yava as the Sanskrit word for barley; however, the The above quote is from the commentary word yavagoo means rice gruel, sour gruel of Sayanacharya. The word vrihi made from rice or any other grain, such as appears at three places. Translators barley (Apte, 1965). Although I have often have interpreted vrihi and bahuvrihi as wondered whether these translators wrongly barley, wheat, etc. but not rice (Sharma, translated the word yava as barley only, I 1991). Why? shall not dwell on that issue in the present communication. 4.24.7

I have highlighted some of the ruchas RV: ya Indraya sunvatsomamadya (verses) from Rigveda (RV) below for the pachatpktirut bhrujyati dhaanah| purpose of discussion. Sayana: Tatha yah paktihi paktavyanshchya 1.16. 2 purodashadin pachat pachet pachanam kuryat|uta api cha yah dhanah RV: ima dhaanah ghrutasnuwo bharjanyogyan yavan| hari ihop’ vakshatah|Indre sukhatame rathe| Even if we concede dhanah as roasted barley, the word purodasha in Sayana: |dhaanah bhrashtya yavatan- Sayanacharya’s commentary should dulanuddish’ sukhatame rathe Indram make us wonder if the word dhanah avasthapya … meant rice. Asian Agri-History Vol. 16, No. 4, 2012 405

4.27.7 • Dhanah: roasted barley • Sayana: purodashadi pachyate|bhrushta Annam, odanah: cooked rice or bhaat yavah dhanah| Thus all the words given above would give tashcha santi havirarth sanskrita bhavanti ﬂ exibility to translators to use the name or names of crops. Thus reference to rice in Contents of this verse are similar to 4.24.7 Rigveda cannot be ruled out. and my comments would therefore be the same. Apte 10.101.3 • Yava: barley Sayana: krute ch’ yonou iha sitayam beejam • Yavanna: boiled barley gramyamaranayam ch’ vapat nidhtta|tilmashvrihyadikam • Yavagu: rice gruel; sour gruel made gramyasaptkam from rice or from any kind of grain such as barley The above verse describes sowing operation. Sayanacharya’s commentary mentions til • Yavasa: meadow grass (sesame), mash (black gram), vrihi (rice), • Vrihi: rice and other crops. • Vrihi-agar: a granary Dictionaries • Annam: food in general • Annakuta: a large heap of boiled rice Amarkosa • Annamaya: consisting or made of food; It would be relevant to mention meanings composed of or containing boiled of certain words related to rice and barley rice as mentioned by Amarsimha (c. 200 BC) in Amarkosa. • Dhaanah: roasted rice or barley

• Vrihi: yava, mudga, mash, priyangu, godhuma, chanak “Most scholars seem to agree that • Yavyam: field suitable for awned, the oldest Veda, the Rigveda, does not awnless barley, and shashtikam (sathi) contain any reference to rice, and that rice a subsequent Veda, the Yajurveda has reference to rice. If one reads Rigveda, • Dhanyam: vrihi, stambakar all mean one cannot miss noting the word dhanya dhana, which according to Sanskrit • Dhanya: vrihi, stambakar all mean dictionaries means rice. …” dhanya 406 Rice in Rigveda

Monier-Williams Eurocentric and look only for cognates in European languages. If annam doesn’t • Rice: vrihi, dhanyam, tandulah, occur in Europe, it is not their fault; after stambkari, nivarah, kalamah, shastika, all, most of Europe was covered with a deep annam and odanam (boiled rice), sheet of ice during the ice age.” dhaanah (fried rice), pyasum (rice- milk), vrihimaya (made of rice) “Paul Kekai Manansala (a freelance writer): Panini suggests anna as ‘food’ There is considerable ambiguity about the although it generally did come to mean meanings of the word mentioned above. mainly (cooked) rice. Otoh, odana, and According to Amarkosa, the word yava odanam refer to rice cooked in milk should be included in vrihi in a broad as found in the Emusa (a boar) myth sense, but yavyam may mean shastikam [Shatpatha (Sat.) Brahmana (Br.) 2.1.1]. rice. While dhanah can mean barley or rice, Panini also has purodasa as ‘rice cake’ dhanyam and dhanya can include vrihi. and the Brahmanas specifi cally state that Apte considers annam as food in general the Rgvedic verses using purodasa refer to but Amarkosa considers annam as cooked rice (Sat. Br. 2.1.3). The Brahmanas and rice or bhaat. However, the words annakuta other commentaries state that apupa as and annamaya refer only to rice. Although used in the RV refers to sweet rice cakes Apte mentions yava and yavanna as barley (RV 10.45.9, Sat. Br. 2.2.3.12). According and boiled barley, respectively, he explains to Sayanacharya, tandula at RV 1.16.2 yavagu as gruel from rice or barley. refers to rice porridge. Apupa: sweet rice cakes (III. 52.1, 7; VIII. 91.2; X. 45.9). Views of some modern Purodasa: ground rice cakes (I. 162.3; III. Indologists 28.1-6; 41.3; 52.2-6, 8; IV. 24.5; 32.16; VI. 23.7; VII. 18.6; VIII. 2.11; 31.2). Odana: Kalyanaraman (2007) wrote: Anna means boiled rice (VIII. 69.14; 77.6, 10) (Source: rice in Rigveda. He further states: [email protected]). “Why do Indologists and IEL (Institute for Educational Leadership, Washington Archaeological evidence DC, USA) pundits claim that Rigveda has Rice no reference to ‘rice’? Because, they are Mehra (2007) has reviewed archaeological fi ndings of the Indus-Sarasvati civilization. Most translators depended on He pointed that wild rice was eaten in the Sayanacharya’s commentary and advanced Mesolithic or pre-Neolithic (c. accepted yava as the Sanskrit word 8080 ± 115 BC) period at Chopani Mando. for barley; however, the word yavagoo Prolific use of rice (cultivated – Oryza means rice gruel, sour gruel made from sativa; wild annual – Oryza nivara; and rice or any other grain, such as barley. wild perennial – Oryza rufi pogon) husk and chaff as pottery temper at Koldiwah Asian Agri-History Vol. 16, No. 4, 2012 407

(c. 6570 ± 210 BC) and Mahagara (c. 5440 barley, wheat, sesame, black gram, etc. but ± 240 BC), and the discovery of the grains not rice. The “etc.” is not listed explicitly. It of cultivated rice at Mahagara establish the is evident that during the Rigvedic period, cultivation of Oryza sativa. Incidentally, all there were the main rainy season (June– three locations, Chopani Mando, Koldiwah, September) and the postrainy season with and Mahagara are in the Ganga region of less rain (October–January). Barley and central Uttar Pradesh in India. It is worth wheat are the normal postrainy season crops mentioning that rice has been preferred whereas sesame and black gram are the over barley and grown in Kashmir since rainy season crops, and both these require time immemorial. It strongly suggests that moderate rainfall. Rigveda hints at heavy the wild rice was grown and eaten during rainfall during the rainy season. Which crop Rigvedic times (c. 8000 BC). Additional could then the farmers be growing? Most intensive researches might provide evidence logical answer should be the rice. of cultivated rice during the Rigvedic times. Concluding remarks Subhash Kak, in his Foreword to the Barley book by Frawley (1994) states, “Recent Archaeologists discovered seed imprints archaeological researches have compelled of naked six-rowed barley at Mehrgarh in the abandonment of that view of the Vedic Baluchistan (now in Pakistan), which were civilization, which was popularized by th dated between 7000 and 6500 BC (Mehra, European scholars of the 19 century and their successors. According to that view 2007). the Vedic people entered India only in the Barley, according to European translators, 2nd millennium BC and the traditions of was the staple cereal for Vedic people. the Vedic religion go back at best to this However, when we read historical accounts epoch. Academics held on to this dogma on the origin and spread of barley in many standard books, the geographical region of Vedic people is invariably mentioned only According to Amarkosa, the word casually. If barley was really the staple food yava should be included in vrihi of Vedic people, one should have found in a broad sense, but yavyam may prominent reference about it in books on mean shastikam rice. While dhanah barley and in Encyclopedia Britannica can mean barley or rice, dhanyam (1993). and dhanya can include vrihi. Apte considers annam as food in general but Amarkosa considers annam as cooked Crops vis-à-vis Rigveda rice or bhaat. However, the words According to most Indologists of yesteryears annakuta and annamaya refer only to and the present-day historians, Rigveda (with rice. Sayanacharya’s commentary) mentions 408 Rice in Rigveda

Barley, according to European As an ingredient of that dogma, translators, was the staple cereal for overemphasis was given to barley as Vedic people. However, when we read staple food, and even though there historical accounts on the origin and was sufﬁ cient evidence that the Vedic spread of barley in many standard people ate rice, mentioning the latter books, the geographical region of Vedic was avoided in translations. Barley, people is invariably mentioned only which originated in West Asia, ﬁ tted casually. If barley was really the staple well with the “Aryan invasion” view food of Vedic people, one should have and to project that Vedic people ate found prominent reference about it in barley. books on barley and in Encyclopedia Britannica (1993).

References Apte VS. 1965. The Practical Sanskrit-English in spite of considerable evidence within Dictionary. Motilal Banarasidass, New Delhi, the Vedic literature that pointed to epochs India. 1160 pp. (Reprint 1992.) going back to the 4th millennium BC and Encyclopedia Britannica. 1993. The New earlier.” Encylopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia As an ingredient of that dogma, overemphasis Britannica, Inc., Chicago, USA. was given to barley as staple food, and even Frawley David. 1994. Wisdom of the Ancient though there was suffi cient evidence that the Seers – Mantras of the Rig Veda. Motilal Vedic people ate rice, mentioning the latter Banarasidass Publishers, New Delhi, India. pp. 11–15. (Reprint 1995.) was avoided in translations. Barley, which originated in West Asia, fi tted well with Griffi th Ralph TH. 1896. The Hymns of the the “Aryan invasion” view and to project Rgveda. Motilal Banarasidass, New Delhi, that Vedic people ate barley. If translations India. 707 pp. (Reprint 1995.) had been done honestly, rice would have Jha V. 1999. Amarsimha’s Amarkosa. 3rd appeared in print and that would have Edition. Vol. II. Motilal Banarasidass, New jeopardized the “Aryan invasion” view; Delhi, India. 582 pp. because all evidence points to the fact that Mehra KL. 2007. Agricultural foundation of rice was domesticated very early and must Indus–Saraswati civilization. In: Glimpses of the have been the staple of Vedic Indians. Agricultural Heritage of India (Nene YL, ed.). Asian Agri-History Foundation, Secunderabad, In view of the discussion provided in this India. pp. 11–26. paper, it is high time that we, at least in Monier-Williams M. 1872. A Dictionary in India, accept that rice could have been the English and Sanskrit. Motilal Banarasidass, New staple food during Rigvedic period. Delhi, India. 859 pp. (Reprint 1999.) Asian Agri-History Vol. 16, No. 4, 2012 409

Nene YL. 2005. Rice research in South Asia Sontakke NS and Kashikar CG. (Eds.) 1983. through ages. Asian Agri-History 9(2):85–106. Rgveda-Samhita with the commentary of Sayanacharya (In Sanskrit). Second Edition. Sharma GS. 1991. Rgved (In Hindi). Sanskrit Books: 1–10. Vaidika Sams’odhana Mandala Sahitya Prakashan, New Delhi, India. 769 pp. (Vedic Research Institute), Pune, India.