Daily Life (4): Household Articles

Amarakośa enumerates a number of household articles, a few in the Nṛ varga, and a few others in Vaiśya and Śūdravarga. They are upadhāna–a pillow, śayyā–bed, mañca–bedstead, dīpa–lamp, pīṭham–chair, samudgaka–casket, pratigraha–spitting pot, prasādhanī–comb, darpaṇa–mirror and vyajana–fan; caṣaka–drinking cup or wine-glass, aśmanta–furnace, aṅgāradhānikā–portable furnace, aṅgāra–charcoal, alāta–fire brand, ambarīṣa–frying pan, kandura–iron plate/sauce pan, aliñjara–water jar, karkkarī–water jar with small holes at the bottom, piṭhara–pot, kalaśa–water pot, śarāva–lid or shallow dish, ṛjīṣaṃ–boiler, kaṃsa–goblet, kutūḥ–a leather bottle for oil, kutupa- the same as previous but smaller one, āvapanaṃ–vessel, darviḥ–ladle, taddūr–wooden ladle.

(a) Kaṃsaḥ (II. 9. 32; p. 206-07)–

[A goblet:]

Additional words like caṣaka, mallika and pāri are given by Kṣīrasvāmin to denote a goblet–

kāmyate āsmāt kaṃsaḥ | caṣako mallikā pāri ca |

(b) Caṣaka (II. 10. 43; p. 235)–

[Drinking cup or wine-glass:]

Kṣīrasvāmin observes that the drinking vessel made of crystal was also called galbarkaḥ–

galvarko'pi sphāṭike pātre'yaṃ rūḍhiḥ | vivakṣātovidhyyanuvādau |

The mention of Caṣaka in the Śūdravarga and in the context of mentioning the wines and related words, one can infer that these words of a drinking cup were used to denote only those which served the purpose of drinking wine in the time of Amarakośa, but Kṣīrasvāmin's mention of it as synonyms to regular dinking glasses suggests the expansion of meaning in the intermediate centuries.

(c) Darpaṇa (II. 6. 140; p. 162)–

[Mirror:]

Darpaṇa, mukura and ādarśa denote a mirror and Kṣīrasvāmin adds ātmadarśa to the list.

(d) Prasādhanī (II. 6. 139; p. 162)–

[Comb:]

Kṣīrasvāmin observes that karṣaṇī is also used to denote a comb - karṣaṇyākhyāprasādhyante'nayā keśāḥ |

(e) Auśīram (III. 3.185; p. 315)^[1] –

[Bed and chair:]

Amarakośa gives auśīram as a bed and chair.

Kṣīrasvāmin specifies that both together is denoted by auśīram, probably referring to a diwan:

śayanāsanayoḥ samuditayoḥ saṃjñeyam auśīram |

(f) Droṇī (I. 9. 11; p. 63)–

[An oval basin:]

Amarakośa gives droṇī and kāṣṭhāmbu-vāhinī to denote an oval basin.

Kṣīrasvāmin says that the word kāṣṭha signifying wood is secondary for it could mean a vessel made of stone to store water–

kāṣṭhamupalakṣaṇaṃ kāṣṭhāśamādimayī jaladhāriṇī droṇī dravatyambho'syām |

He also gives a variant reading accepted by some as droṇikā signifying a vessel used for storing water–droṇikā tvambuvāhinī tyeke peṭhuḥ |

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

auśīraṃ śayanāsane |