Fauna (7): Aquatic Animals

(a) Varieties of Fish:

Pices or the fish family comprises of both marine and fresh water varieties. Amarasiṃha discusses both while dealing with marine fishes he mentions the great whale which does not belong to the pices but mammalia since it possesses mammary glands. This feature is not mentioned by Amarakośa but he observes that it eats other fishes in sea.

(i) Śakulī (I. 9. 17; p. 64)–

[Fish:]

Kṣīrasvāmin explains that fish which has scales on its body is Śakalī, a variant from Amarakośa's Śakulī. He also gives another reading of the same as śalkī–

śakulāni pṛṣṭhe santyasya śakalī saśalka ityarthaḥ | śalkī ca |

Some scholars have identified this variety as the flying fish. It is a marine being marked by very rapid speed. The formation of the fins help in their rapid movement.

(ii) Nalamīna (I. 9. 18; p. 64)–

[Sort of Sprat:]

Kṣīrasvāmin describes the nalamīna as that which moves through perforations and grass. He add that it is also called naḍābhaḥ–suṣira-tṛṇāntaścārī nalamīnaḥ naḍābho vā |

(iii) Cilicima (I. 9. 18; p. 64)–

Variety of fish: Cilicima is also a kind of nalamīna.

Kṣīrasvāmin gives that the Vaidyas or the physicians regard this variety of fish to stimulate the three doṣas and quotes Vāgbhaṭa's Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya (Sūtrasthāna, IV.67b)–

cīyate mīyate ca cilicimaḥ cilicimastridoṣakṛditi vaidyāḥ |

(b) Kulīra (I. 9. 21; p. 65)–

[Crab:]

The etymological meaning of kulīra is interesting.

Kṣīrasvāmin says that a kulīra is so called as it eats its procreator. In support of his derivation he quotes Kauṭilya (Artha Śastra, I. 17. 23) who says that princes who dethrone their fathers resemble in character the crabs which eat their procreators–

kau līyate kulinamīrayati vā janakabhakṣakatvāt yat kauṭilyaḥ—
karkaṭa sadharmāṇo hi rājaputrā janakabhakṣāḥ |

This derivation of kulīra is not given by commentators like Mallinātha or Liṅgayasūrin. The citation from Arthaśāstra in this regard is also exclusive to Kṣīrasvāmin

(c) Ḍuliḥ (I. 9. 24; p. 65)–

[A female turtle:]

This word is read as duliḥ by Kṣīrasvāmin and he adds kūrmī in the same sense–

dolayati duliḥ kūrmī ca ||