Harshacharita (socio-cultural Study)
by Mrs. Nandita Sarmah | 2014 | 67,792 words
This page relates ‘Environmental Awareness in 7th century India’ of the English study on the Harshacharita: A Sanskrit (poetical work) which can be studied as a Historical book of Indian society during the 7th century. It was originally written by Banabhatta who based his Harsacarita on the life of the Gupta emperor Harshavardhana. This study researches the religion, philosophy, flora and fauna and society of ancient India as reflected in the Harsha-Charita.
3. Environmental Awareness in 7th century India
Environmental awareness of the people during Bāṇabhaṭṭa’s time has been revealed through the description of the foresters of the Vindhyāṭavī. The foresters were giving more attention to the wild animals and the trees. It was because, the writer mentions, that they fully depended on the forest only, and collected their entire essential daily livelihood from the forest. They made their huts with the help of slips (poṭa) of bamboo, leaves (dala), stalks and reeds (śara) and nala (a kind of reed).[1] They collected different types of seeds from the jungle such as seeds of wild corns, lotuses, betel nuts etc.[2] they also gave attention to the wild animals and brought them up just like their family members. Those animals were māludhāna (a kind of serpent), wild cats (vanaviḍāla), nakula etc.[3] The people planted the agasti tree in their courtyard (āṅgana), and there were tanks constructed under this tree in which were thrown cakes (pūpikā) for the birds.[4] The forest settlement collected the woods from the woodland[5] and the ladies were garlanding the wild flowers and then went to sell them to the nearer villages.[6] It is mentioned that there were foresters in the forest[7] and the mahattara (village headmen) protected the musk-deer,[8] which shows how deep the people had given attention to the animals.
1 Plants and Day to Day Life:
Again, it is seen that the people of the 7th century A.D., prepared their essential daily livelihood from the different parts of the plants. The servants of emperor Harṣavardhana prepared a hut for him which was made of bamboo, grass etc.[9] when they were on their army expedition. Again, at that time, people used the bower as a house. In this context, the writer mentions that in those cursed moment, Devī Sarasvatī used the bower as her house and she slept on the leaves of the trees.[10] It is mentioned that people used cane to make the seats and chair.[11] The gatekeeper of the royal palace used the sticks which were made of the cane, known as bahuvetriṇi.[12] The writer mentions about some useful boxes made from parts of the body of the plants and animals, which were used by the people of the then society. They were such as-a large bamboo box known as karaṇḍa,[13] ivory boxes (dantaśapharuka), boxes made from small khadira[14] fibers. Again, the fan, blown for the king, was made from the camarīmṛga, known as cowar.[15] The servant known as cāmaragrāhiṇī[16] operated the cowar. The foresters used the skin of tiger (vyāghracarma) to seat.[17] They used to wear fine bark robes of tree or bark garments as a sign of forest life.[18] It is found that in the cursed time Devī Sarasvatī was adorned with the bark of the tree.[19] The writer describes about vandanamālā[20] and vanamālā[21] which were, respectively, an auspicious garland fixed on the outer gate of a mansion, and a garland used as necklace. The author mentions about vanamālā[22] in his gadyakāvyas the Kādambarī and the Harṣacarita.
2 Flowers and Worship:
In Bāṇabhaṭṭa’s time, the people also used flowers to worship the god. In religious worships, flowers were considered to be the best object of argha for the deities. In the Harṣacrita, description is found that Devī Sarasvatī offered eightflowers i.e., aṣṭapuṣpikā when she performed usual daily rites.[23] Here, aṣṭapuṣpikā i.e., a bunch of eight flowers represents the eight forms such as-avani (Earth), pavana (Air), vana (Water), gagana (Sky), dahana (Fire), tapana (Sun), tuhina kiran (Moon) and yajamāna (Man). King Prabhākaravardhana offered prayer with a bunch of red lotuses to the Sun.[24] In this context; reference may be made to the Mahābhārata, which says that the trees pleased the Gods with the flowers, the ancestors with fruits and the guests with shade.[25] Bāṇabhaṭṭa also performed some auspicious rites, when he set out from his native place Prītikūṭa. At that time, he had offered flowers (kusuma) with other things viz., dhūpa, light (pradīp) etc. to god Śiva.[26] It was found in the Agnipurāṇa that the leaves of some plants such as bilvapatra, śamīpatra, tamāla, utpala, śāra etc. were used for religious purposes.[27] It implies that attempts to preserve such type of plants were exercised keeping in mind that these were of utmost necessity for worship. In the Yajurveda, the concept of conservation of forest is reflected in this prayer-vṛkṣānāṃ pataye namaḥ.[28]
3 Restriction of Entering into the Forest:
At that time the kings had not been allowed to hunt in all forests. Only in some of the forests they could hunt. A description is found that Harṣavardhana had gone to hunt the tiger, lion etc. in the foot of the Himālaya.[29] In the Harṣacrita, Bāṇa not only describes the positive side of the environment, but he also describes the negative side of it; that sometimes the king’s servants cut the earth up in many parts in all directions for the benefit of their purposes, so that the kings victorious armies could march in various directions. But it was only the broad roads that separated the several provinces. At that time, rivers, banks, clumps of thousand grasses, hills and forests all these served as boundaries to demarcate one province from another. But these were all removed by king’s servants sometimes. It has been found that, king Puṣpabhūti’s servants cut up the Earth.[30]
The author describes the panic and devastation caused by the royal progress (Harṣa’s army expedition) to the king’s own home territory. The field was covered with the cultivation of beans (māṣa) and the raw-sugar (ikṣu) and the soldiers plugged and destroyed them which had been very harmful for the villagers.[31] But it is described in the Matsyapurāṇa, that the cutting of tree without valid reason or burning of forest product was totally banned.[32] It is supported by Manu[33] and Yājñavalkya[34] also.
Again, the writer mentions something about dāvāgni i.e., the forest was burnt in summer season due to very hot temperature and then the fire burnt up the woods, leaves etc. which were inside the forest, and extinguished all.[35] Bāṇabhaṭṭa also describes the situation so beautifully that due to the hot summer Kāmadeva’s (Madan) kusumaśara also had become joyless, and he got rest in the corner of a tree with all his amenities.[36] Also, the whole atmosphere changed due to the summer, i.e., sank was low[37] etc. In this context, he describes about the village Mallakūṭa; when he reached in that village, at that time, there had been water crisis, and there were no leaves in the trees due to hot summer.[38] As the writer was a keen observer, he mentions that in that situation people not only wished to drink water but also were waiting eagerly for fresh air.[39]
4 Herbs Used As Medicine:
Bāṇabhaṭṭa himself says that he had travelled different parts of India; and in that way he came into close contact with the nature.[40]
Therefore he mentions about the different parts of the plants with brief description in the Harṣacrita, such as—
- kandamūla (bulbous root,p.130),
- śākhā (branch,p.127),
- pallava (tender leaf,p.126),
- patra (petals,p.87),
- vṛnta (petile),
- stavaka and yuthā (cluster of blossom,p.127),
- pūlī (a bundle,p.21,77),
- keśara and raja (filament,p.126),
- phala (fruits,p.130)
- parāga (pollen of flowers, p.127)
- dala, kunda, mukula (bud, p.127,31),
- valkala (bark,p.23) etc.
According to the Ṛgveda, the plants were classified into three broad divisions’ viz.,—
Descriptions of plants of medicinal use are found for the first time in the Ṛgveda. The Āyurveda is related to the nature and in this treatment, herbs are mainly used. There are numerous herbs or medicinal plants used in this treatment. Description of some miracle herbs and wonder drugs are found in the Carakasaṃhitā and the Suśrutasaṃhitā (1000 B.C.). It is not possible to discuss about all the plants mentioned in the Āyurveda. Here, attention will be drawn to the information regarding some medicinal plants and other plants which were available in Bāṇabhaṭṭa’s Harṣacarita.
The medicinal plants were termed as oṣadhi in ancient India. oṣadhi is called the mother in the Ṛgveda.[42] According to the Agnipurāṇa[43] -oṣadhi is used to mean those plants that bear fruits and die after the ripening of the fruits. The Yajurveda recommends not cutting down the oṣadhi.[44] The word oṣadhi[45] is mentioned many a times in the Harṣacrita.
Bāṇabhaṭṭa mentions in his Kādambarī that baby Candrāpīḍa’s hair were dyed with an herb-mixture called sarvoṣadhi.[46]
According to M. R. Kale—
“sarvoṣadhi is a collection of various kinds of medicinal herbs such as muṣṭa, campaka, candana etc., pounded together. This is generally applied to the head of a young child.”[47]
In the Harṣacrita, it is described that sage Bhairavācārya put-up a secret-thread (mantrasūtra) in his hand which was made from oṣadhi.[48] In the 7th century, Āyurvedic medicines were known as bheṣaja.[49] It is found that the merchants (vyavahārini) were busy in collecting the natural plants (bheṣajasāmagrī) to prepare the Āyurvedic medicine for king Prabhākaravardhana.[50] The doctor or physician was known as vaidya, bhiṣaja etc.[51] and the writer mentions a word vaidyavyañjanā i.e., person professing to be a doctor.[52] In the 7th century A.D., the physician had a great capacity to diagnose the diseases only observing the different symptoms of the patient.[53] Seeing the dark tongue of king Prabhākaravardhana they diagnosed that he was suffering from the great fever sannipāta which was a combined derangement of the three humorous of the body (vāta, pitra and kapha).[54] So, it appears that people believed only in Āyurvedic treatment which was mainly related to the herbs. Different plants and herbs were mentioned very clearly in the Harṣacarita, which were used as medicine for quick heel of different physical problems or quick recovery of different diseases.
Bāṇabhaṭṭa mentions various medicinal plants and herbs used for cooling down the body of the king. They were —
- karpūra (camphor powder,p.78),
- sanālanīlotpalapūlī... (Leaves, fibers and flowers of the lotuses, p.77),
- prācīnāmalaka (myrobalans,p.77),
- mātuluṅga (citran,p.77),
- drākṣā (p.77),
- dāḍima (p.77),
- kamalakumudendīvaradalāni (the red, white and blue lotuses, p.78),
- haricandana (fragrant and yellow sandal,p.78) etc.
At that moment, the servants used the ice (hima), lotuses (kuvalaya) for quick cooling down of the king’s head.[55] The Āyurvedic medicinal tablet was known as pathya.[56] Prabhākaravardhana said to his son Harṣavardhana that he could take his pathya[57] after he took the meal.
Here, some of the medicinal plants which are mentioned in different places in the Harṣacrita are given in tabular form with their Sanskrit names, Botanical terms, English terms, Assamese terms as collected from various Dictionaries and other sources. All of them were used in the Āyurvedic formulation contemporary to Harṣacrita. In this context, it can be mentioned that the author noted the word puṭapāka[58] i.e., a particular Āyurvedic method for preparing drugs.
About puṭapāka, P. V. Kane describes—
“The ingredients are wrapped up in leaves and then plastered over with clay. The whole is then roasted in the fire of a cow dung cakes.”[59]
[Table: Some of the medicinal plants]
From the above discussion, it is found that Harṣacarita is very much concerned about the plants and herbs with great medicinal value. This work mentions that herbal plants were used as the remedies of the diseases.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
[a] veṇupoṭadalanalakalitaśaramayavṛtivihitabhitribhiḥ…, Ibid.,VII.p.124 [b] velāvanalatāgṛhodarapulinaparisareṣu…, Ibid.,IV.p.61
[2]:
samnihitanalaśāliśālukakhaṇḍakumudabījavenutaṇḍulaiḥ, samgṛhītatamālabījaiḥ…., Ibid.,VII.p.124
[3]:
poṣyamānavanabiḍāla māludhānanakulaśālijātajātakadibhiraṭavīkuṭumbināṃ gṛhairupetaṃ…., Ibid.
[4]:
āṅganāgastistambhatalaviracitapakṣipūpikāvāpikai…, Ibid.,VII.p.124
[5]:
naikaṭikakutumbikalokena kāṣṭhasaṃgrahārthamaṭavīṃ praviśatā, Ibid.,VII.p.123
[6]:
..pravicitavividhavanaphalapuritapiṭakamastaka..….vikrayacintāvyagrābhirgrāmeyakābhiḥ…., Ibid.,VII.p.124
[7]:
vanapāla……upavanairabhirāmaḥ, Ibid.,III.p.42
[8]:
mṛgamadaparimalavāhimṛgaroma……..mahattaraiḥ sthirīkṛtaḥ, Ibid.,III.p.43
[9]:
nātidūre ca nagarādupasarasvati nirmite mahati tṛṇamaye……mandire prasthānamakarot, Ibid.,VII.p.108
[10]:
[a] śilātale sanāthe taṭalatāmaṇḍape gṛhabuddhiṃ babandha, Ibid.,I.p.8 [b].. …śayanakāle kiśalayaśayanamabhajat, Ibid., I.p.13
[11]:
[a] bhavanātapasairiva sannihitavetrāsannaiḥ, Kādambarī,p.206 [b]..itakaragṛhītavetrāsanaṃ maskariṇamadrākṣīt, Harṣacarita, p.77 [c].…samupaviśya vitatavyāghracarmaṇi bhadrāsane…., Ibid., p.108
[12]:
Ibid., p.77
[13]:
Ibid., p.62
[14]:
Ibid.
[15]:
Ibid.,IV.p.60
[16]:
Ibid.,p.34,60,77
[17]:
[a] vyāghracarmaṇyupaviṣṭam, Ibid., p. 46 [b] bhairavācāryorapi …….vyāghrajinamabhajat, Ibid.,III.p.48
[18]:
bahatu balkale…, Ibid.,V.p.88
[19]:
devī……kalpadrumadukulavalkalaṃ vasānā...., Ibid.,I.p.3
[20]:
….bandanamālākalāpā ivābaddhanta digdāreṣu…, Ibid., p.111
[21]:
...banamālikāmiva vandhāṃ dhārayantī…, Ibid.,I, p.14
[22]:
[a] ubhayapārśasthāpitotpallavamukhapūrṇahemakalaśam.…, Kādambarī, p.281 [b] vedīvinihitapallava……..baddhavanamālādāmni, Harṣacarita,VII.p.108
[23]:
pañchabrahmapuraḥcarāṃ……dhruvāgītigarbhāmavanipavanavanagaganadahana-tapanatuhinakiraṇayajamānamayīrmūrtirṣṭāvapi dhyāyantī suciramaṣṭapuṣpikāmadāt, Ibid.,I.p.8
[24]:
pratidinamudaye dinakṛtaḥ ………..svahṛdayeneva sūryānuraktena raktakamalaṣaṇḍenārcāṃ dadau, Ibid.,IV.p.58
[25]:
[26]:
devadevasya virupākṣasya …..surabhikusumadhūpagandha…… pradīpakavahulāṃ vidhāya pujāṃ paramayā bhaktyā…. prītikūtānniragāt, Harṣacarita, II.p.25
[27]:
The Agnipurāṇa,202.6-10
[28]:
Yajurveda, 16, 17-20
[29]:
[30]:
yaśca sarvāsu dikṣu samīkṛtasarittaṭavaṭaviṭapāṭavītarutṛṇagulmavalmīkagirigahan-airdaṇḍayātrāpathaiḥ …..bhṛtyopabhogāya vyabhajateva vasudhāṃ vahudhā, Ibid.,IV.p.56
[31]:
[a] dāsaka, māsinadamuto drāgdrātreṇa mukhaghāsapūlakaṃ lunīhi, Ibid.,VII.p.112 [b] dhava, vāraya balivardān, vāhikarakṣitaṃ kṣetramidam, Ibid. [c] mantharaka, khādiṣyati gataḥ sannikṣum, Ibid. [d] ….yathā na bhanakṣi phāṇitasthālīm, Ibid.
[32]:
Matsypurāṇa,227.92-95
[33]:
[34]:
nayeyurete sīmānām sthalangaratusadrumaiḥ setuvālmīkanimnasthisaityadyairupalakṣitam, Yājñavalkyasmṛti,II.151
[35]:
sarvataśca bhūribhastrāsahasrasandhukṣaṇakṣumita iva…… jvalitasūryamaṇiśakaleṣu śiloccayeṣu…..pratyadṛśyanta dāruṇā dāvāgnayaḥ, Harṣacarita,II.p.23
[36]:
kvacijjalitanetradahanadagghasakusumaśaramadanāḥ kṛtasthāṇusthitayaḥ, Ibid.
[37]:
Ibid.,II.p.22
[38]:
prathame’hani tu gharmakālakaṣṭaṃ nirudakaṃ niṣpatrapādapaviṣamaṃ….. mallakūṭanāmānaṃ grāmamagat, Ibid.,II.p.26
[39]:
[40]:
sa…balatayā…deśāntarālokanakautukākṣiptahṛdayaḥ……gṛhānniragāt, Ibid., I.p.19
[41]:
oṣadhi prati madadhvam puṣpvatiḥ prasuvariḥ | asvaiva sajitvarirvirudhaḥ parayismavaḥ || Ṛgveda,X.97.3
[42]:
Ṛgveda,X.97
[43]:
oṣadhyaḥ phalapakantaḥ, Agnipurāṇa,363.14
[44]:
Yajurveda, I.25
[45]:
[a] ātmocitasthānaniṣaṇṇāśca mahānto vividhoṣadhidharā bhiṣajo bhūdharā eva bhuvo dhṛtiṃ cakruḥ, Harṣacarita, IV.p.61 [b] śiśiroṣadharasacūrṇāvakīrṇasphaṭikaśuktiśaṅkhasañcchaye, Ibid.,V.p.77 [c] aviralabāṣpapayaḥ pariplutalocanena pitṛparijanena vīkṣyamāṇo vividhauṣadhidravyadravagandhagarbhamutkkathatāṃ ……….tailānāṃ ca pacyamānānāṃ …..tṛtīyaṃ kakṣyāntaram, Ibid.
[46]:
sarvauṣadhipiñjjarajaṭilakeśo…., Kādambarī,p.106
[47]:
Ibid.,p.85
[48]:
vaddhavividhauṣadhimantrasūtrapaṅkinā salohavalayenaikaprakoṣṭhena……….., Harṣacarita,III.p.47
[49]:
Ibid.,V.p.77
[50]:
bheṣajasāmagrī sampādanavyagrasamagra vyavahārini, Ibid.
[51]:
[a] suṣeṇanāmānaṃ vaidya, Ibid.,V.p.76
[b] gateṣu ca bhisakṣa…, Ibid.,V.p.80
[c] … bhiṣaja bhudharā…, Ibid.,IV.p.62
[52]:
Ibid., p.106
[53]:
…asādhyavyādhilakṣaṇapadāni paṭhatā, Ibid.,V.p.77
[54]:
atyuṣṇaniśvāsadagdhayeva śyāmāyamānayā rasanayā nivedyamānadāruṇasannipātārambham, Ibid.,V.p.78
[56]:
Ibid.,V.p.79
[57]:
kṛtāhāre ca tvayyahamapi…….pathyam, Ibid.
[58]:
. …..puṭapākagandha…, Ibid.,II.p.23
[59]:
Ibid., p.244