कृषि-पाराशर (महर्षि पराशर - प्राचीन भारतीय कृषि, मृदा-परीक्षण, वर्षा-पूर्वानुमान व बीज-संस्कार)

INTRODUCTION xi
kinds of the cultivator's duties at different stages of the growth of
paddy, correspond almost literally with the actual practices prevalent
in modern Bengal. The above facts tend to suggest that the book
originated in Northern India, if not in Bengal,⁹ though we cannot
prove anything conclusively. This does not, however, necessarily mean
that the author was an inhabitant of this part of the country.
Style and Language
Written throughout in verse, excepting a few mantras in prose, the
book is very easy and affords a pleasant reading. Even if the book be
held as a compilation, a supposition which is based on Raghunandana's
ascription of certain of its verses to other works like the Rājamārtaṇḍa,
yet, as a compilation, it has some outstanding features which at once
distinguish it from the later prose compilations or digests. It has
nothing of the needless and confusing elaboration indulged in by
later writers, and its language is simple, its style charming. The
9 That fields were extensively cultivated in Northern India, particularly,
in the region now called Bengal, and many crops, especially paddy, were largely
grown from very early times is amply borne out inter alia by the following
literary references :
(1) Mauryan Brāhmī Inscription of Mahāsthān (2nd. cent. B. C.)—the
inscription records the grant of paddy to people.
(2) Raghuvaṁśa of Kālidāsa (c. 5th. cent. A.D.)—IV. 37 (utkhātaprati-
ropitāḥ kalamāḥ hints at transplantation of paddy plants).
(3) Hiuen Tsang's account (vide Beal's Buddhist Records, II, 7th cent.
A.D.): p. 194—"the soil is flat and loamy, and rich in all kinds of
grain-produce"; p. 199.—"it is regularly cultivated, and is rich in
crops"; p. 200—"it is regularly cultivated."
(4) Rāmacarita of Sandhyākaranandin (11th. cent. A.D.)—III. 17 refers
to various kinds of paddy as the staple crop in parts of Bengal (cf.
bahudhānya-rāja-sambhati-sambhāvita-kāmyarūpayā lakṣmyā etc.).
(5) Ānuliā Copper-plate of Lakṣmaṇasena (1179-1206 A.D.),—V. 10—
kṣetrangha-puṇyāvaliśāliślāghya etc. Inscriptions of Bengal. Mazum-
dar, III. p. 85.
(6) Edilpur Copper-plate of Keśavasena (Accession 1225 A.D.).—
V. 24—"These villages had smooth fields, growing excellent paddy."
Ibid. p. 129.