Asko Parpola has assumed that the cultivation of rice have spread from the Ganges valley to Swat, Pirak (Kachi plain) and Gujarat during the first quarter of the second millennium BC. He says that the rice undoubtedly came from the Ganges valley, and this suggests a new level of mobility in the North India. Again he says that, the etymology of the Vedic word for rice does not tally with the Proto-Austro-Asiatic words. Asko Parpola considers that the words for rice in Tamil (
arici) and Sanskrit (
Vrihi) have failed to demonstrate with any certainty the influences of the Austro- Asiatic loan words on the oldest phase of Indo-Aryan in the northwest.[1]
It seems that the word
arici traveled westward. Inside India also several languages adopted the word
arici. The possible answer to this predicament is that rice was not found as an alternative for the wheat-eating people in the Sanskrit belt, who were satisfied with wheat and they never felt the need to cultivate rice in their fields. This attitude can be seen in the south even today, where traditional rice eaters, are never interested to switch over to wheat, on any consequences.
It is interesting to recall references made in
Sukraniti about
Vrihi.
Sukraniti mentions that
Vrihi (
oryza sativa) is used in rubbing the oyster pearls, soaked in to saline water during the previous night, in order to test its genuineness. Again it says that the culpability of an offender was determined by
divya sadhana or divine test. In this the offender has to chew with out anxiety or fear one
karsa amount of rice. In doing so, if the offender experiences difficulties through palpitation of heart or want of salivation the man would be declared guilty. The rice-ordeal is to be applied in a case involving theft of Rs. 125. A law has forbidden the king from receiving milk of cows & c., for his kith and kin nor paddy and clothes from buyers for his own enjoyment.
Rgveda mentions about rice. But it received more mention, with the advent of Yajurveda[2] Arthasashtra says that Sanskrit has used different words to refer a variety of rice. Wheat, barley, rice were commonly known as
vrihi. The knowledge about the stage in which rice came to be included in this word will enable us to fix up the road map of origin of domesticated rice cultivation in India.
Inside India, the word
arici for rice is widely distributed with slight regional variations. Instead of picking up that trend why Sanskrit accepted
Vrihi as the word to denote rice is really a baffling question. The time that is being taken for deciphering the origin of that word has made it a historical conundrum.
The prevailing opinion of the scholars is that the word
Vrihi has got no relation with any Dravidian words. We will have a fresh look on the question of
vrihi, not having any similarity with the Dravidian language.
Rice varieties
Rice formed an important item of food next only to yava which was considered as the most important.
Based on seasons, rice crops are distinguished by names like, the
graishmic,
varshic,
hemanti, sharada for summer, rainy, autumn, winter crop respectively. The late maturing rice is
ptasuka vrihi and the early maturing one is
asu vrihi.
Sali,
Vrihi and Sastika are the main varieties of rice. Raktasali considered being the best of all the corns, is one among them. Others are Mahasali, Kalama, Sugandha and Kasthasali.
Vrihi is considered inferior to Sali and sastika.
Vrihi was largely used in sacrifices and eating. [3]
It is
tandula for threshed out paddy grain,
akshat for unbroken rice,
nivar,
namba and
vrihi for the transplanted rice. The unhusked and pounded rice mixed known as
akshata, is used in religious ceremonies and the
homam using this mixture is known as
akshata homam.
Vrihi ripened in autumn, Sali in winter, Sastika in summer. Sastika is quicker in growth, which can be harvested with in sixty days of cultivation (
Arthashastra).
Vishnu Dharmottara makes reference about the two varieties of
swastika, rakta sastika, a medicinal variety, and
pramodaka sastika.
Shashty is sixty in English. The completion of sixty years of age is
shastypoorthy.
Navara rice is of two kinds, whitish and blackish (
kakalakam).
Shastikam is the
navara variety, which takes sixty days for harvesting. It is a
graishmic variety. The field in which
navara is cultivated is known as
shastikyam.
Navara rice is also known as
shastihayanam. Gundert claims that there are two varities of
navara, one that ripens at the end of two months and the other at the end of three months. Gundert says that the origin of the word
navara may be from
navati.
According to Hindu Mythology
sarad is Saraswati or Durga. One aspect of the
saptamatr is also known as
shasti.
Navara is known as
paadalam. Durga Bhagavathy is known as
paadala/ paadalavathy.
One-sixth part of the income is
shashta. The king was known as
Shastamsavrithi. One by sixth of the rice harvested belonged to the Rajah. So the raja came to be known as
shastamsavrithi. Rice is poured on the head of the rajas of Kerala as a part of the installation ceremony, known as
ariyittu valccha.
Karingali is the name of a tree. But a variety of rice is also known by that name.
Salini is the name of a rice variety. Arundhati is also known by that name.
Salyannam is the cooked rice of this variety of rice.
Efforts made by Gundert and Asko Parpola are praise worthy. But the deduction made by Gundart (
vridha?) stands as an incomplete effort. We shall not allow it to remain as such forever.
Vrihi is generally used for any grain including wheat, barley and rice. It is a generic term applied to all varities of rice. This word might have accommodated rice at a later stage. Similarity has been observed for the word
Vrihi (Sanskrit) with the Dravidian words
vari, and
ari. Similarity can also be observed for the
wrijzey (Pushto),
birinji (Persian),
brinji and the Malayan word
beras. The words for rice in Greek and Latin shows more affinity to the Tamil word
arici.
To cite an example, the advent of regular maritime communication, Indonesia made it easy for the transport of staple cereal into Indonesia. Sorghum (
Sorghum vulgare) was the first cereal to be introduced, followed by foxtail millet into Indonesia. But foxtail millet in West Indonesia is known as
sorghum. In Malay jawa (jawa-wut, jawa-ras, zawaH), equally means grain, including foxtail millet. Barley is java in Pali and yava in Sanskrit.
So all the successive interpretation failed to explore whether there are any influence from the far south in the shaping of the rice culture in India and abroad. Asko Parpola has pointed out the Gangetic plane for the rice in the Indus valley. It is also suggested elsewhere that the India got the rice culture from the Greek. The word
arici came from the Malaysia and so on.
Tendency in south India is also the same. In our dictionaries the word
pathayam is considered as a Portuguese word. Really the word
pathayam was originated from
Pathu (paddy field) and
ayam (income). Both words when combined, attain the meaning the granary, in which we store the grain that we harvest. But unfortunately we failed to identify our own word and attributed its origin to the Portuguese. This loss of direction is seen in the case of the rice also. We are not even bold enough to assume that we were capable of doing things on our own.
Mother Goddess – The Beginning of Agriculture
Malayalam dictionaries have attributed meaning to the word
Bharya for wife, as that person who is responsible for collecting/gathering grains for the household. This shows that the advent of agriculture women began to take a leading role in the society.
Monopoly of women folk in the agriculture in the beginnings is the reason for the advent of mother goddess in the Hindu pavilion. The excavation in the Indus valley too establishes this truth. We have come across findings of Shiva and mother goddesses from that civilization. Sir. Marshall says that only in the prehistoric past, tree worship and blood sacrifice were relevant these rituals were taken over by staff and
arattam during later periods. (
Introduction to Mohanjadaro and Indus Civilization)
Tree Worship
A curry, made of greens is known as
ilakkari. The material used for this curry is known as
sakam. While the curry made out of the leaf of the sakam is
sakothanam, the field in which this
sakam is planted is
sakinam. Vegetable food is known as
sakaharam. The word
sakam also means
sakthi. Durga is known as
sakambhari.
The crest of a tree or a mountain is known as
sikha. Durga is known as
sikhara vasini/ Vindhya vasini. No more evidence is needed to prove that Durga was considered once upon a time as the goddess of vegetation.
The village deity, lodged in a small shrine, constructed on a primitive pattern, is typical in South India. This
gramadevata cult however preceded by an earlier cult with no temples at all. Lodged in open air, in the shadow of a big tree, the tree itself is regarded as the embodiment of the deity. Considered as the sacred tree of the village it received all paraphernalia of worship, which are found in worshipping the deity in the subsequent phases.[4] Gods and goddesses of South India were worshipped in the form of trees in the beginnings. In fact Gods lived in the trees. Thus tree worship is an important aspect of historic past.
Koovalam (Aegle marmelos) is known as
sivadrumam. Mango for
muniswar; Vinayaka lived amidst paddy fields, on the banks of water channels.
Karanja (
Pongamia glabra) is sacred to Varahi.
Karanjanilaya is an ancient goddess of vegetation. Vegatative aspect of lord Siva is Durga. The food produces from her body she sustains every one. The other names are
yajnanga, yajniyam, bahusaram, krishnakhnam, krisnari, krishnathothanam, krishnaripu. Both
karingali tree and durga are known as
gayatri.
Karajam is a weapon.
Karingali wood is used for brushing teeth. Its wood is taken for construction of temple, handles of weapons, plough, oil grinder, cart wheels, etc etc. It is also served as an ingredient for several Ayurvedic medicines, including tooth powder. A product made out of this tree is boiled in water to serve as appetizer or to quench one’s thirst.
Karingali is a necessary ingredient in the
khadiraarishta.
A variety of paddy is also known as
karingali. Astrology insists that each person born on a particular austerik should protect and worship an animal, a bird, and a tree. There are twenty such trees. For the betterment of their life they were bound to protect them.
Karingali is the tree for those born in the austerik makayiram.
Varahi
Varahi is the consort of Boar, the female energy of boar form of Vishnu. She is also a mother attending on Skanda (Mahabharata) and sow [5]. A form of Devi, she is considered as the consort of Varaha. Head of a female boar and the body of a female, with coral ornaments, constitutes Varahi. So she is known as
varahimukhi. As a crown she wears a
karantamakutam on her head.
Plough, spear, the
karanja her sacred tree, are her emblems. Balarama, Thrivikrama, Shanmukha, Saraswathy, are the others to wield Plough as a weapon. While an elephant is portrayed on her banner, her mount is an elephant, boar or a buffalo. According to the
Vishnudharmottara she has six hands. Four of them carry a staff, sword, shield, and noose and the remaining two hands being in abhaya and
varada mudras respectively.
Brahmi, Maheswari, Kaumari, Vashnavi, Varahi, Indri, Kali are the six forms of Durga. While some varities of rice is known as
Karingali, jaya, paadala, shashtika Durga is known as
karingali, Jaya, gayatri, karanjanilaya, Vindhyavasini, Sikharavasini, shashti, patalavati, sakambhari.
The meaning of the word
Vrihi includes a grain, paddy, and a grain of paddy. It is a
varshic crop.
Mahavrihi,
vrihisrestam are the names of a kind of rice.
Vyhreya is that which is related to
vrihi.
Vyhreyam is the field in which the
vrihi is grown.
Bahuvrihi is the place where there is plenty of
vrihi grain.
Vrihyagaram means a granary.
The words in Malayalam like
veranda, viral (a kind of fish) became
vranda and
vral. Likewise the word
varahi might have changed in to
vrihi.