Harappan Agroeconomy

Agricultural economy of Harappans and the ecology of their times:-

The Harappan culture and IVC had a very vast area and the rainfall and climate were varied in these sites .Therefore there were regional differences in varieties of crops grown here as seen from paleobotanical and archeological evidences.The entire area is arid and semiarid and towards the Kutch(old Brighukutcha )in Gujrath it has a anoopa or lowlying coastal (at and below sea level ) climate with continuity of monsoon plains of Kerala,and Karnataka.The Anoopadesa of MahaBharatha and Bhagavatha is this lowlying coastal area extending from Gujrat upto Cape Comorin .(Krishna is addressed as the AnoopadeshaBhoopathy or chieftain of this geographical region)
Old theories of Stein,Piggott and Wheeler and that of Fairdervice and of Raikes and Dyson,and of Choudhary and Ghosh and Thapar are first cited here .
1.Stein (1937):- The extensive remains of dams called Gabarbands and human settlements in Mashkai-Jhalawan area suggest more favourable climatic conditions then.
2.Piggott(1950):- The inference from fauna ,wood needed for burning many million bricks and an implication of a flourishing agricultural background suggest a climate different from today.
3.Wheeler(1959):-Broad jungles and intermittent marshes infested with elephants ,tiger ,buffalo,rhinoceros and crocodiles existed (from their representations on Indus seals).
4 Fairservice(1967):- The 3 main trees in the area Acacia Arabica,Tamario gallica,and prosopis spicigera are enough to for local fuel and there were no tropical type biodiverse forests in Mohenjodaro area.The Harappan fauna suggest their dependence on grassland and an open forest country .
5 Raikes and Dyson(1961) Only 400 acre of forest land is needed for rebuilding of a Mohenjodaro.
6 Choudhary and Ghosh(1951):-The wood remains does not support theory of moist rain forest in neighbourhood of Harappa.
7 Banerjee and Chakraborthy(1973):- Rhinoceros unicornis remains in kalibhangan was studied.they mention occurrence of Rhino in the Punjab during Mughal times.
8 Thaper (1977):-The use of unburnt bricks and occurrence of barley from Kalibhangan as proof of a dry climate during Harappan and Pre-Harappan times.

This show opinions for and against climatic change as given by various observers.
Climatic change is a global phenomenon.The climatically controlled ecological factors from a global research show continuous changing pattern but for a cyclical period and then returning to its original state .There had been glacial expansion between Ca 1000 and Ca 3000 BC.And also during the wellknown little ice age .Glacier expansions are generally associated with aridity of nonglaciated areas.
Beltzner 1976:23:- warmest episode approximately 8000 to 9000 BP with evidence of cooling as early as 5500-5000 BP (BP is before present.)
So 6000-7000 BC warmest and 3500-3000 BC as cooling phase .
National academy of sciences of United states( 1975:132 ):- Period from 7000-5000 yrs ago was marked by temperatures warmer than those of today.The last 5000 years characterized by generally declining temperatures and a trend towards more extensive mountain glaciations ,but not ice sheets,in all parts of the world.
Australian academy of sciences(1976:18):- The trend of air temperatures similar to this at ca 5500 BP .They also indicate a 2000 year cycle of cooling alternating with a warm period .The Harappan cycles are comparable to this both archeologically as well as from the scriptural details of Indian kaaalaganana and flood predictions etc.
Paleoclimatic evidence from Rajasthan:-( Singh et al 1974):-Except for the pre-holocene aridity ,from 10000 BP to 3500 BP Rajasthan was generally wetter than today.Between 5000-3500 BP a markedly wet period was followed by a severe aridity between 3000-2000 BP .After 2000 BP according to Singh the climate acquired the present character.

10000 BP-3500 BP= 8000 BC TO 1500 BC ( wet )
5000 BP-3500 BP= 3000 BC – 1500 BC(markedly wet)
3000 BP-2000 BP= 1000 BC – 1 AD(severe aridity)
AFTER 2000 BP = From AD 1 To the present day.(present climate)
During wet periods river and stream channels will revive and dunes will be stabilized.Sanddunes stabilize when rainfall exceed 250 mm/yr.Microlith-using ancestors in Rajasthan were inhabiting such stabilized dunes.Microliths were excavated drm the body of the dunes.Multidisciplinery survey in Rajasthan by Poona Uty and central arid zone research institute of Jodhput (Yodhpura) from the Pushkar area stabilized sanddunes study (dt ca 5000-6000 BP or 2000- 3000 BC) whe ncalcrete formation was more (as time of dne stabilization) .Climatic changes in from sedimentation changes of Malhar Rann show regular oscillations between sandy silt and kankerized sediments.Scanning electron microscopy of Quartz grains show Aeolian and fluvial conditions alternating with each other.In Nagar district there were perennial rivers as shown by relic river beds in early and middle Paleolithic human settlements but now no such rivers exists.So in late quarternary period climatic changes has happened in Rajasthan.The evidence indicate in 5000 BP or in 3000 BC Rajasthan was a wet land and onset of aridity is placed about 3500 BP or about 1500 BC .
In semiarid regions ecology is on a precarious balance and evn minor shifts in balance can spell disaster .In middle of second millennium BC the increasing aridity in the Rajasthan has put stress on Harappan civilization because of food scarcity .The other factors like increase in salinity ,a rise of water table and floods in neighbouring places (so that food supply could not be shared),frequent floods in various parts of the land,invasions(the Assyrian attacks was at this period) especially jeopardizing the living by other means of trade ,commerce etc for the nuclear urban areas might have happened at the same time.
So paleoclimatic studies are important for knowing the global warming that we face today.To face it and to overcome it we need toknow its history.Wendland and Bryson in 1974 put forth a theory that climatic change can affect vegetation every 50 years and a botanical change thus affects the culture in another 50 years(that is a total of 100 years) .In India this is a Nakshathravarsha or saptharshivarsha and 27 -28 of such constitute 2700 years .This is doubled (one positive and one reverse order )to get 5400 years for one era or half of an era of 10800 years .Double of it is 21600 years the time for a praaana (jeevavarsha) and double of it is 43200 which is a Kaliyuga .So an oscillation of climatic change of 432 X 100 constitute a Kaliyuga and it started in 3104 BC and now in 2010 it is 5110 years past and in 1800 AD it had been 4320 or 1/10th part of a Kaliyuga over. The 18th century saw the effects of the previous 100 years of industrial revolution and loss of ecology,forests,change in climate etc .And then started a rethinking of ones own karma in the next 100 year cycle.This will repeat forever.As long as human beings do not learn from experience and think for welfare of all this sort of manmade calamities will continue.So there is no need to worry over such happenings.Let us think collectively for the entire living things,for entire earth,and for entire cosmos and let us not exploit it over our selfish motives .

Tectonically controlled changes:-Based on chalcolithic settlements in the dry Ghagger and Chautang in Rajasthan ,the question of why such a big river suddenly dried up arose.(Page 226 of Harappan civilization ed Posshell . D.P.Agarwal and R.K.Sood) with figures show the Satlej and its flow path into Gaggar following a path east of Ropar,Sirhing,Patiala and Shatrana.The mighty Ghaggar with a bed of 8 KM wide is now extinct.The multitude of channels of Sutlej is mentioned in Mahabharatha as alegend of Vasishta jumping into it causingit to split into Sathudri(a 100 channels).Since enechelon faults control the river’s course ,Ghagger was prone to drastic changes even by minor tectonic movements.
A major river to the east of Ghagger was changing its course frequently .The channels of this are shown on a map as Y1,Y2,and Y3.Y1 connected to Ghagger.Y2 followed a course merging with Chautang ,and then met Gagger near Surathgarh.Then the combined Y2 /Ghagger as a mighty river bifurcate at Anupgarh (Anoopdesa).The upper branch terminates at Maroth.The lower one ends in a depression at Bheriwala in pakisthan.A chain of tectonic events that diverted Sutlej and easterly rivers from Ghaggar and cause d adepression into which the Ghagger (old Saraswathy) deprived of its major sources of water died and disappered (into a lakelike depression) is thus shown.So there is no guarantee that we will enjoy all the rivers that we enjoy today .
The third Y3 was flowing further east,and joined Ganga through the Chambal (old Malini ),and when it shifted further east it left various lakes in its course which are seen North of Bharathpur and in the vicinity of Mathura.This Y3 was the Yamuna and its present course is not the same as the old one.
When Ghaggar /Saraswathy was a perennial river it met the eastern Nara and flowed directly into the Rann of Kutch (Old Bhrigukkatcha which was part of Bhrigurama/ParasuRama /Kerala/Mooshakavansa/Mahishmathy clan ) and that is why it is called Anoopadesa (though now it is not in anoopadesa after disappearance of te river system).At that time it did not meet the Sindhu river(Indus)and was a separate river called Saraswathy as the most important one in the veda and it was the center of civilization and from there culture,knowledge,man and materials spread to various directions.The paleochannels indicate Saraswathy flowing directly to sea at Bhrighukatcha .The presence of archeological sites in te course of the paleochannels are many .Ghagger was alive during preHarappan and Harappan times.By PGW period it had become dried up.The sites of this period are seen within the entrenched riverbed.Chautang has a number of late Harappan sites associated with it and Y 3 channel was a living river during PGW times (It existed till that time).Y1 and Y2 channels were more ancient and ended up before that period.
In North and west Rajasthan tectonically unstable rivers were the major factor confronting human settlements from pre-Harappan times onwards .Th eannular disturbance of Tectonics in Lothal was studied by aerial survey and showed an annular pattern of drainage.The reason for cutting of the Lothal dockyard from its feeder river and from access to sea as a port was either a tectonic uplift,or a eustatic fall,in the sealevel and probable association with disappearance of Saaswathy/Ghaggaer system is correlated.
Raikes suggested tectonic disturbance impounding on Indus and consequent engulfing of Mohenjodaro under a lake of mud and water.If there was a lake around Mohenjodaro it would be a protected Jaladurga (natural watery fort like most of the Kerala land)and there should have been a Bund/a bundhana or Sethu/to connect it with mainland for food and transport.Agarwal thought that it would be a calamity and that would have killed all forests,animals,prevented their agriculture,food and forced them to migrate and local travel would be impossible. But possibility of a Bandhana /Bund or a dam (anicut) to connect with mainland and possibility of food grown around the township in villages cannot be denied and with boats one can have travels .Such an old bund existed (The Allahbund) in 1819 revealed by an earthquake .In 1926 when a floods happened in Nara river it was breached .(107 years ).The bund was on Indus and 500000 cubic feet /sec water was pushing at it on a narrow front and yet it existed for hundreds of years.
Such bunds are possible in upper courses of rivers ,esp in mountainous areas.There are lake remains in the upper remains of the Indus and Sutlej and they are from a Pleistocene date .
India is a land that has ecological and tectonic stresses throughout ,just like any other country on earth.Ecological survival and finding out means for subsistence and for sharing and development still continued and will continue forever.When we examine the Harappan settlements we find that the greater concentration of large sites is in the central Indus system.It is broadly in and around a rough triangle with Mohenjodaro,Harappa and Kalibangan as three points of the triangle.Between Sutlej and Yamuna there are only smaller settlements.In Gujrat ,in Kutch(Old Bhrighukutcha)there is a major concentration of larger sites.
Consider the concentration at these four sites.What are the causes for such a concentration?
Agricultural land ?Raw materials? Minerals? Communication and transport facilities?
Why is even a smallest Harappan settlement having an urban nature and not a village type?
Towns/urban areas do not cater to food production but depend on surrounding villages for food and are centers for industrial and technical and administrative requirements of people.Food is supplied by village and the other services by urban centers in a mutual way.The Indus an d Ghagger valley with vagrancy of rivers in the upper tracts did not grow much food and were not major food producers from their climate.Agriculture was based on the cover and meander flood plains and in seashores and low lying wet areas of the monsoon .The biodiversity was in the tropics and the growers of food and forest goods needed the towns for their produce to be shared,sold and transported to other areas as a wide network.The need of a good transport and administration for such activities,and for protection of goods and personnel the cities and Rajasthaana(place or palace of kings)came up.The Brahmasthanam (Saraswathy plains )of knowledge became the advisers of these administrators as well as agriculturists and trading people being the elders and the scholars .Thus Saraswathy and Bhrighukatcha and mahishmathy as the head of the Anoopadesa of the Dakshinapatha became very important and it happened in prevedic era (as Saraswathy is praised in the Rgveda itself). The methods to cope with all stresses including a change in farm produce due to climate and how to withstand each and every problem was studied logically by this university of Saraswatha scholars and they were considered a very important part of administration and education of kings and masses alike for a better living and better economy of state.The present economy of agriculture as capitalist farming also has the same pattern of development but with the difference that the old scholars were not doing that for a selfish motive and the present scholarship is for some private returns whether it be a PhD or a job market or exploitation of masses for profits.So only the goal differed and process was same and that is what is meant by a Krithayuga and Kaliyuga functional change .
Why was there a dockyard in Lothal?
Why did Krishna in 3100 BC built a portcity in Gujrat ?
Why it existed there as Kusasthli of RaivathakManu before Krishna ?
Why select that location?
Does it has any relation to trade of timber and forest produce from the tropical rain forest and rice export of the lowlying seashores of Kerala?
Was it because of a flood or a tectonic uplift or a eustatic change that made Lothal away from the sea and made it defunctional ?
Was it the reason for the major economic and sociopolitical change that occurred after the Saraswathy drying out ?
Such questions take us direct to role of Kerala as the major supplier of its food and forest products to the Kutch(Bhrighukatcha) which also was part of the Bhrighu land of ParasuRama and his ancestors.

Can I substantiate this theory of mine with the food economy of the Harappans as evidenced from the crops of the various sites studied in Harappan /IVC areas? Yes .We will now see the pattern of Harappan crops .

The economists sometimes think that there is a socioeconomic disparity between Harappans who eat Superior crops(Rice,Wheat)and those who eat inferior crops (Millets ).But this is more of a ecological,geographical and climatological availability of food rather than socioeconomic superiority or inferiority.In a place like Kerala both rich and poor eat superior grain as staple food (Rice)because it is locally available and is geographically suited for growing.Similarly with wheat growing areas .The millets and other crops are grown for tiding over situations in areas where the rice and wheat are grown, as well as in areas where arid ,semiarid climates prevail as staple food.Therefore when we study the ancient crop of Harappans we are studying the climatic conditions that existed in that particular site where the study is conduted (Regional ).
Pre-Hrappan food economy:-Mundigak in Baluchisthan (Baluchisthan is old Kekaya of India where Queen kaikeyi,mother of Prince Bharatah was born during Ramayana period).

PreHarappan Food economy of Mundigak in Baluchisthan:-
1.Wheat . Triticum compactum
Intermediate forms like T aestivum,T.spherococcum.
T.compactum was apparently T.sherococcum by its glume and grainshape and was indistiniguishable from T.vulgare .Both species possessed dwarfing genes at S and C loci which govern their characteristics.
2.Zyzyphus jujube .
In both Sind and Baluchisthan.Z.mauritiana both cultivated and wildly grown.Z.mummularia .The fruits are eaten in the hotter parts of Sind,Baluchistan .

The Harappan sites and their food :-
1.Harappa (Montogomery district .Pakistan).
Wheat . T .compactum,T.sphaerococcum.
Barley:- Hordeum vulgare,a small seeded six rowed variety
Peas:-Pisum arvanse
Sesame:- sesamum indicum

The wheat came from the granary area (stored)in stratum 3 and in a southern trench in strtum 2. Barley,peas and sesame were from stratum 3 associated sites.

2 Banawali (Haryana India)
Wheat .Not examined .
3.Lothal .(Gujrath India)
Rice .Imprints of both husk and spikelets
4.Rangpur (Gujrath India)
Rice imprints .Wild variety in marshes and cultivated.
5.MohenjoDaro and Chanhudaro( Sind Pakistan).
Wheat and barley.
In Mohenjodaro the sample of wheat was from BC 1650 .(Radiocarbon) and had 56 entire caryopses of wheat with several broken fragments.A single fragment of barley also was there.
Chanhudaro had enormous quantity of wheat caryopses,and from that 160 caryopses of barley could be separated.
A single report of Andrus and Mohammaed say Rice as seen in Harappan sites of Sind and Punjab.
Pisum arvense and Brassicum juncea(mustard ) also reported.

Mohenjodaro wheat mostly T compactum and the plumpest ones were T spherococcum.Luthra classified them as T aestivum subsp Vulgare ,and T aestivum subsp compactum .T compactum of harappa and Mohenjodaro was very similar .Chanhudaro wheat was preserved in storage bins .Shaw (1943)said all the variants of Chanhudaro ,Mohenjodaro and Harappa were T sphaerococcum.
Dimensions of modern wheat grains:-
No of grains studied Length mm Breadth mm Thickness mm
T sphaerococccum
Humped grain( with constriction) 50 Average 5.05 2.81 2.81
T sphaerococcum Humped grain without constrction 50 Average 5.16 2.81 2.71
T.compactum 50 Average 6.02 2.63 2.38
T.aestivum 50 Average 6.66 2.92 2.76

Areas of each length X breadth X thickness=

T spherococcum with constriction 39.875305
T sphaerococcus without constriction 39.293916
T compactum 36.681588
T aestivum 21.3674272
Generally if Length/breadth indices a and Length/thickness indices are under 2 and Breadth/Length index above 0.5 it will be T sphaerococcum .
The others have L/B and L/T indices above 2 ,B/L index below 0.45 .The Harappans and Mohenjadaro,Chaanhudaro people were growing all these varieties of wheat as the present people in those areas do.

Chanhudaro barley was 4.3-5 X 2.2 mm (hulled)and 4-5 X 2to 3 mm(naked ones).

6.Kalibangan (Rajasthan India )
Two samples of charred food grains(Agarwal and Kusumgar ) in early phase of Harappan culture ( carbon dt 4040+- 125 BP and 4025+- 110 BP or around 2000 BC) was not studied .But pre-Harappan and Harappan samples were studied from other sites.
Barley :- Hordeum species .
There 24 cultivated species of Indian barley.5 of them are two-rowed.19 are six-rowed.The types are further divided to those with husked (adherence of lemma to caryopsis) or huskless (naked).The 6 rowed husked type is now widely grown in India.The two rowed ,both husked and huskless are rarely grown.
Exceptionally small barley grains were excavated from Kalibangan.To classify them was difficult and with samples of modern barley from Indian Agricultural Research institute a comparative study was done.
The small grain size was seen in samples from Durgapura in Rajasthan (IARI) but it was rare than the medium and large grains from the same locality.Kalibangha grains were 3 to 5 mm smaller than the present variety of barley. When carbonized there is a reduction in size and this is one cause.The hulled barley does show only very reduction(since it has adherent lemma).Kalibanghan carbonized grains are much smaller than the carbonized shrunken large barley and is more similar to the rare but very small grains that are still seen cultivated in Rajasthan (Durgapura). The hlled varieties even resembled wheat grains with a tiny transverse groove.The carbonized barley of Kalibangan was found in three containers labeled wheat .The spike and palea were absent.The grains varied in size.The hulled ones outnumbered the naked ones.For every 100 hulled grains there were only 5 naked grain.
Size of hulled grains varied from 2 by 1 by 1 by 1 mm to 6 by 4 by 3 mm .The average length ,breadth and thickness for 100 grains was 4.59;3.15; 2.32 mm.
Greatest dimensions being 6 ; 4 and 3.5 (not for same grain) Smallest dimensions 4 ;2; 1 .(not for the same grain) for length,breadth and thickness.
Naked barley grains (6 examined)had average 4 X 2.75 X 2.08 mm .The transverse ripping occur during drying of grain.(contraction of fruitshelldevoid of palaea.)
The barleys cultivated by Harappans at Kalibangan was varieties that produced hulled grains.The naked ones less common.But they were known.The presence of twisted hulled grains showed that they were produced by a six-rowed variety.
Wheat at kalibangan:- only 5 grains with a rotund ,globose surface and adistinct dorsal hump seen among the barley grains.They were T spherococum.Grains intermediate between wheat and barley occurred.Their rare occurrence with hundreds of barley grains suggested either an aberrant form /cross breed/or a few wheat plants that grew in a barley field.
Rice was not found in Kalibangan.
Cicer arietinum(Chickpea) with squat shaped,angular and pointed at one end was found (The gram).Three carbonized seeds with 5-7 X 5-6 X 4-6 mm were studied.
A single seed of Pisum arvense (2.5 mm dia ,0.5 mm long )was seen.
Crystals of potsheds with no organic material showed selenite gypsum in transparent crystalline form.

7.Surkotada (Near Adesar,Kutch India)

Samples from 1970 BC to 1660 BC were studied .Two of the charred lumps yielded 574 seeds an overwhelming majority being wild plants.Seven % were cereals.
The plants identified were:-
40 grains of setaria species of millets including the cultivated species and two wild species of green millet( S.viridis and S. verticillata).
The finger millet ( Eleusine coracana)or Ragi was identifiable.
257 were seeds of grasses manly of wild variety .15 varieties were Phragmites karka(reed grass) .The rest were wild grass Andropogon,Brachiaria,Panicum,Echinocola,Eragrottis,Digitaria.These are varieties that grow as weeds on a disturbed soil in and around cultivated fields and settlement sites or around sheets of water and moist places.

47 seeds were of sedges comparable to seeds of Scirpus supinous.13 glumeless nuts comparable to carex species and 38 resembling Eriophorum species were also seen as sedges.
Cheno-amaranthes:- Among 13 seeds 3 were similar to Amaranthus species ,8 ornamented specimens with Atriplex ,probably griffithii /stocksii a plant seen in salt marshes.
Polygonum:- 215 triangular seeds of this genus.
Euphorbia species:- 12 obtusely angled seeds of E pycnostegia .
Food economy of late Harapans:-
1.Daimabad Ahmednagar dist Maharashtra :-(Savalda culture inhabitants)
Jowar (sorghum)
Barley (Hordeum)
Lentil (Lens culinaris)
In period 2 only barley (Hordeum)
Period 3 a barren and weathered deposit corresponding to period 1 at Prakash( BC 1500) had a food economy of barley ,peas(Pisum),Horsegram,lentils,Mung(Vigna radiate),Indian jujube .
2.Daulatpur District Kurukshethra Haryana
Vigna mungo and Hepper(Phaseolus mungo)

The conclusions made by the authors:-

1.The diet was a balanced vegetarian one.
2.Carbohydrates from cereals like wheat ,barley,millets etc (and rice at Gujrath/Bhrighukatcha),
Proteins from peas,chickpeas,vigna and horsegram,
Fats from sesame and mustard.
Vitamins from fruits like jujube.
3.Geographical variability of crops:-
Wheat at Mundigak,predominantly wheat with some barley in Mohenjodaro, Chanhudarp and Harappa,wheat at Banavali, Exclusively barley in kalibangan,millets setaria and Eleusinae at Surkotada,Rice at Lothal and Rangapura shows the vast Harappan empire having different food economy in each regions (Just as today) and this is due to geographical peculiarities,rainfall etc .The situation is comparable to modern food economy of South Asia . With climatic variations from arid to subhumid ,gradations both in precipitation and temperature and variety of soils this is natural now as well as then.This vast region was not different then from what it is now .
4.Present crops in Baluchistan ,Sind and Punjab of Pakistan :- Triticum spherococcum
Now only in Baluchistan.
T.aestivum ,durum and trugidm ,Hordeum distichon and vulgare now extensively in Sind and Punjab.Setaria italica and bajra(pennisetum typhoides) are important millets in Baluchistan.
Paspalum scrobiculatum in Punjab
Several varieties of jowar (sorghum bicolour) in Sind and Lower Baluchistan.
Panicum miliacium (cheena), P sumatrense (miliare) the later especially in Sind.
Eleusine coracana occasionally in plains and lower hills of Indus delta .

5.In Indian Punjab,Haryana ,western UP wheat is predominant crop grown along with bajra andbarley.Rice is comparatively unimportant here.In Rajasthan desert Bajra is the important crop along with jowar and barley.Maize also cultivated which was introduced inhistoric period.A drawing on a Mohenjo Daro potshed shows sorghum and crops of millets .
6.Environmental analysis of these crops:-
Wheat in areas of annual precipitation between 37-110 cm .But can also grow in areas with less than 22 cms rainfall if irrigation is there.Rainfall should be well distributed over the year.Alluvium yield good wheat crop with or without irrigation.In Rajasthan desert water is the limiting factor for cultivation.Alakaline soil with high % of soluble salts in Haryana,Punjab and Rajasthan with lack of water makes them less productive.If these are provided agriculture is possible.Local wheats of this region by centuries of cultivation are able to withstand adverse conditions.They are drought tolerant and grow in areas of low soil fertility with little precipitation.T.spherococcum especially is highly resistant to drought and that is why it was cultivated in North west India from earliest times.It requires a cool climate at the time of sowing but sufficient warmth devoid of humidity needed at time of grain formation.Desicating hot winds affect its growth adversely.
7.Barley is both heat and drought resistant and grow in areas too dry ,too saline to carry a good wheat crop.Require moderate precipitation,sunny weather.Tolerant to alkalinity ,frost,drought and less exacting in nutritive requirements than wheat.It is grown even without manuring.It is grown with wheat in Punjab and UP as an insurance against weather hazards and is also mixed with gram.Its flour is mixed with that of wheat in making chappathi (a North Indian food).
7.Sesame or Thilam is an essential seed for ancestral rites and needs a warm climate,cannot withstand frost,continued heavy rains,or prolonged drought.Waterlogging is highly detrimental.It thrives well in sandy loams like sandy semidesert soils of Rajasthan,clayey soil or black cotton soil of central India.It is a rotation crop with wheat,gram,cotton,ragi,jowar etc.Also grown mixed with bajra,jowar,cotton as a measure against total loss.Manuring done in the mixed cropping pattern.

8 Setria italica is suited for low rainfall areas .(50-70 cm).A touch of frost is fatal.Millet favour ordinary red loams,very light ashy soils,black cotton soil.It is either grown alone or with cotton,ragi,Dolichos lablab,or in rotation with sorghum and pennisetum typhoides.Manure is seldom applied unless it is under irrigation.Just hoeing or working with a blade harrow is enough and no other further effort needed.The grin is used also for cage birds.Setaria glauca is grown on light soil with moderate rainfall without manuring or irrigation.
Eleusine coracana is much like setaria but grown in areas with under 625 mm of rainfall ,irrigation becomes essential.It stands salinity better than any other crop.
9.Rice (Coriza sativum).Suited for areas with rainfall .In tracts with rainfall below 200 mm it can be grown provided it is supplemented with irrigation.Waterlogged conditions are most suitable (Therefore in coastal lowlying areas best ).This is the reason for paddy cultivation in east as well as west coast of India.These are the only two areas where Indians can grow rice naturally .

When we know these climatic features suited for each crop,the crops in Harappa and IVC period and the crops we now cultivate we will understand the conditions are not different from what it was in Harappan or pra-Harappan times as far as agriculture is concerned and it is better for us to follow the ageold experienced type of agriculture even now ,because the regional factors have to be applied in agriculture for best economic production .Baluchistan,Sind ,Punjab which were extremely low rainfall areas ,droughts and adverse soil conditions are still so .And if Bakra nangal was not provided for better irrigation we would not have produced a Punjab green revolution .Irrigation has to be practiced in those areas .The use of river alluvium if made use of can somehow reduce the limiting factor of water scarcity .That is using flood plains for cultivation was a practice which Harappans knew and used for millennia and precipitation pattern during Harappan times were similar to what it is today.Irrigation mostly natural ,just like we practice today in farming in Sind was being done then also.

Presence of only barley in Kalibanghan suggests a hard environmental calamity ,salinity and alkalinity of soil unsuitable for wheat cultivation,around 1660 BC .The most drought-resistant wheat variant T.sphaerococcus in other Harappan sites also suggest the drought that occurred during Harappan times.The finding of late post-Harappan Surkotada of setaria,Eleusine and thousands of wild seeds gathered by people show a peculiar biodiversity.Whether it was from the neighbouring Gujarat and beyond that the people got such a wild collection is not known.

The status of rice :- Only in Gujrath this is grown and not beyond that in North and North west India simply shows the climatic conditions of monsoons in the Gujarath region which is in a line with monsoon Kerala,Karnataka,Maharashtra .The higher rainfall ,the availability of a network of rivers and the lowlying waterlogging for rice cultivation this is not a surprising fact.In Lakhpat which is a desert area and where rice is not grown since 1762, about 150 years ago a sufficient freshwater supply was derived from an affluent Indus channel and rice was cultivated for a short period between Lakhapt,Shera and Mundhan.The rice cultivation in Lakhpat stopped in 1762 when a bund was constructed at Mora by a ruler of the Sind ,to divert Indus water to his territory ( Raverty 1892: Oldham 1926 ).And considerable quantities of rice was grown in Bikaner (Todd 1832).That is if water requirement is met rice can be (but less successfully than in high rainfall low areas) grown even in areas with low precipitation.The Harappans were aware of this crop .I have shown examples from scriptures and from Vedas for the evidence of knowledge of rice in another chapter.
If historians and archeologists are argueing that Harappans knew nothing about rice and nothing about horse they are having a self-contradictory statement and so too their Aryan invasion theory.

It is noteworthy that in Veda or in old texts we do not see the word Arya .It is a term that is used after BC 500,that is after Budha,who profusely use that word .

1.Who are Aryans?If they came from central Asia with their Vedas to teach Indians they must know of horse and should not know of rice .
2.If they are people from India itself they will know rice .Because they were exporting all forest goods and timber from Kerala/Karnataka /Sahya areas and they must have contact with these rice growing people.
3.Since veda speaks both of rice as well as horse the people who do not know of rice and know of horses alone cannot be the vedic Aryans.
4.It has been proven that horse is known in India from 17000 BP .So ,the argument that horse is not seen in archeological remains,cave paintings or in literature of India is disproved.
Since the veda speaks of both horse and rice ,wheat ,millets and all the agroeconomy of entire land and its seasons and seasonal crops ,the vedic people must be Indians .And Indians who have been wellversed with the biodiversity of Tropical monsoon areas ,especially South India.The conclusion therefore has to be that the Aryans are Indians .They had gone out for trade and commerce and established a very wide network of village and urban centers is the best possible solution.The view of Asko Parpola that the Indus valley people are Dravidians is therefore coming to this truthful conclusion.
The reason why the word Arya is used by Budhist writers and Budha himself is that ,the regional word Araya(alias aracha/ariya /arya )was being used by the teachers by that time since Budha insisted on teaching in regional languages.So the claim that the Arya came from poles cannot be true.It was the Dravida who called himself an Arya when he/she had reached a stage of wisdom who went out and came back when conditions were not favourable in the distant regions who was responsible for spread of Indus valley culture abroad.

Methods of cultivation of Harappans:-

In kalibanghan a area of field preparation through furrowing was seen.
In food plains of Indus wheat and barley were cultivated without ploughing,manring,or providing additional water even now and this was done by Harappans.They surrounded fields with earth embankments ,possibly along banks of natural water /flood channels (Bunds /Bandhana )..The natural fertility of the alluvium was exploited together with the annual inundation just as it is done today.This requires no or minimum tools for agriculture .There is but evidence of a rake or harrow in the sites as evidenced from the signs on Indus and Harappan seals.
The statement that tilling is not essential for germination of wheat and maize but needed only for weed control( Hindustan Times May 1, 1979:Union agricultural minister M.S.Barnala’s statement in Lok Sabha PTI News April 30.1979)is here noteworthy.
To achieve minimum tilling a bullock-drawn till planter to shear offsoil crust and stubbles ,open a furrow,sow seeds,apply fertilizer in a single run was experimented with Punjab Agricultural uty of Ludhiana.Since Harappans knew bullock cart and the plough they were doing minimum tilling for maximum results.

They were using gypsum crystals as fertilizers as a potshed from Kalibangan showed it being stored.Even now we use this chemical for reclaiming saline lands and render them productive.Gypsum occur profusely in Rajasthan deserts.Large deposits are in Bikaner.Ground gypsum is used as a surface plaster for conserving moisture in soil and for aiding nitrogen absorption from manures.It reduces salinity and alkalinity of soil where sodium ion is replaced by a calcium ion.(Gypsum is calcium sulphate
Ca SO4 2H2 O).
They knew cropping patterns and rotation practices as the Kalibanghan furrow shows mixed cropping.Mohenjodaro,Harappa and Chanhudaro mixed wheat ,barley ,gram other grains also suggest this.Especially in Chanhudaro this is evident.The practice as insurance to weather hazards is still followed.Both wheat and barley is seen in granaries showing the people of North India were making chappathy as of now.
The Surkotada pattern also shows the habit of food gathering of Harappans from forest produce .Whetehr it was for a type of gruel or as a medicinal purpose are not yet thought of.Or was it for a classification and teaching of the biodiversity for someone who had wanted to know of it ?To be sent to that person abroad as a sample biodiverse universe of tropical forest as Hatsepusht or the European and Greek scientists after her to make Botanical gardens?
Harappns existed in all sites of OCP ware .And food economy of OCP ware included rice ,barley and gram in Atranjikkara.In Neolithic economy of Chirand in Bihar (Chirand and Cheranad is similar) was having rice ,wheat ,barley and pisum.The introduction of these crops (wheat ,barley ,gram ,pisum)to beyond the borders of Harappan empire which had a drought climate was done by Harappans .They intrduced rice to areas where a wet and waterlogging condition existed but not to drought areas showing that they were well versed in the agroeconomy and domestication of plants for food and fodder and for other purposes.
Rice is the crop which the oldest records (both wild and cultivated) exist from Neolithic Koldihwa dated 7000 yrs BP (5000 BC).Why historians think that it was introduced into south India by North Indians via eastern Rajasthan into Maharashtra and then to deep south (Vishnu-Mittre 1978)baffles my understanding .A tropical waterlogged ,high rainfall area with so many varities of wild species of grass and grains ,South India with its monsoon climate should have been considered the original home and Harapppan culture as same as that of South indian /North Indian (why people differentiate south and north India as two different countries ?They are different in climate but are continuous .To think that a person from Africa and Iran or Russia has to come and introduce and connect a North Indian with a South Indian looks ubsurd to me.).Indians as a race and with crossbreeds between several races and keeping each race as far as possible without being destroyed (as different species of wild and domesticated plants and animals they know of as great biodiversities of nature and as God’s special boons) and with its purity of morphological characteristics by inbreeding (just as they know what we call a Mendels law) is more plausible .Because of knowledge of agriculture and Goraksha associated with it,because of wild and domesticated plant differences learned from observations they had developed their morphological classification of all living things appears more logical to me.

In Susruthasamhitha ,which was codified at least 200 years earlier than Koutilya’s Arthasasthra we see a scientific morphological ,functional classification of living things .The morphological classification in the veda is given in another chapter of this book.




The Utharayana is beginning with Hemantha end and sisira beginning.The seasonal order is Varsha,sarath,Hemantha,Vasantha,Greeshma and Pravrida .Susrutha says in Kasyapa and Athreya works Hemantha and sisira are same and Pravrida and Varsha are same as far as medicinal people are concerned and they are treated alike.In Simhala the cold and heat are always equal in all seasons.In Madras presidency the Margaseersha and Pousha are marked by seeing the first flowers on mango trees.In vaisakha they become small unni mango,and by bhadra and Aswina are mature fruits.(For this the food and breeding cycle of the small insects which pollinate the mango flowers also help.While I write this ,in 2010 for the first time in such a long historical prehistorical period ,the cycle has changed and in Kerala the time of mango flowering is changed due to excessive warmth )In the end of Greesma according to the flow of winds in the oceans on either side Bharatha gets rains.Kasyapa says the nature north of Ganga is Hemanthaprakrithy and south of Ganga is Pravridavarshaprakrithy.Depending upon this the agriculture also varies.
In rainy season the air contain watery atoms and the earth is surrounded by disintegrated organic matter .In all water sources dirt accumulates.At that time the plants take dirt and become less potent .The flow of pitha increase.(bile)..In sisira sun dries up all.The pithajala (bilious humour)become dense and at that time the diseases of bile happen.In end of sisira the suns heat decrease and wind carrying moisture blow.Waters are clear and clean.Cold weather come and plants become matured .Sleshma (mucous)increase.And in vasantha when the mucous become liquidified diseases related to sleshma happen.In hot season the hot winds take away all water from air.There is droughts.Plants and grains become less watery and dry.Air increase and expand.With the first rain this increased air spread in entire body and create diseases of vaaatha(wind).
Dosha Increase Beginning of disease End of disease
Pitha (bile) Rains Beginning of sisira End of sisira
Shleshma Sisira Vasantha Venal/summer
Vaaatha Summer First rain Beginning of sisira
Vasantha or spring is the morning of an year ,summer is the noon,and first rain is the evening.Rainy season is the twilight of year,beginning of sisira is midnight ,and end of sisira is early morning.Thus Makara (Utharayana) is the early dawn and Karkitaka (dakshinayana)is the twilight of samvatsara.The EASTERN WINDS remove dosha and tiredness.It increases acidity and cause dosha of raktha and pitha(bile).It increases wounds,poisons etc.Among the four winds the SOUTHERN WIND is best for strength of body.It gives strength to one’s eyes.It pacifies the blood .Removes the pitha.It does not increase vatha or pitha .Western winds will take away the oily part from body and reduce veerya and sakthy.Northern winds increase the mucous secretion from nose and throat .It increase the strength and destroys constipation and poisonsous effects on body .
In Anoopadesa (near lakes,kaayal,rivers,canals,forest etc in a low lying area) people are fatty,soft bodied ,handsome,with vaathakapha prakrithy.In Jangaladesa( plains,low hills and grasslands) rainwater does not collect and flow away quickly and hot winds blow the entire year and people are strong ,with heavy muscles,and vaathapitha prakrithy.The two types of prakrithy combined is the Sadhaarana desa.There people have equilibrium and body is healthy .
Annam :- Food or annam as well as the body are made of the five elements .Taking food and medicines is to give what is required for the body at certain periods.Therefore taking food and drinks is part of medicines.Annam is needed for growth,health,strength,and for function of all organs including mind .The nature of food,its measures,the opposite food staken together ,certain food sunsuitable in certain seasons,lack of proper cooking etc can lead to annam itself being cause of disease.Therefore all these are to be considered when we select our food( Soothrasthaana Susrutha 46.498;4-99;54.9).The elements in a food item could be good,bad or neutral.
Clarified butter and water and milk and cooked rice are good for all human beings.They will not be made into poison even with other foods.Fire,alkali,poison,that which produce burning and pus formation should be avoided because they lead to death.There are some food items which are important for health and their digestive property and functions.Of these 60 types of paddy grains,22 types of beans ,barley ,Wheat ,and corn are mentioned.If these are grown in unsuitable soil their quality decreases.If grown in out of season,if infested by pests,if harvested before maturing,and if used before keeping paddy grain for at least an year ,the quality of food grains decreases.
One should not eat dry meat,or dry smoked fish,flesh of old,diseased and newborn animals .Susrutha does not consider the eating of eggs as good for health.
About fruits Susrutha says:- some are eaten green and others after becoming mature.One should not eat fruit that came out of season, the immature fruits,more matured and eaten by insects etc ,and also from a diseased tree /Susrutha describes several vegetables,green leafs ,flowers,sprouts of seeds,mushrooms,oilseeds,about 20 roots and tubers and the tender parts of palms and coconut tree etc.Daadimum(pomegranate),Aamalaka( Emblyc myrobalan)draksha(Vitis vinifera),kharjura(date or phornis sylvetris)parooshakam(Grewia asiatica)raajadhaanam(Mimusops hexandra)Mathulungam(Citrus medica)Vaasthukam( Chenopodium album/also called swethahamsapaadam or chilli)Chukku(conchorus)satheenam(Pisum sativum)Moolakapothikam (radish)mandookaparni(Hydrocotyle asiatica or Pennywert)jeevanthi(Dendrobium macrei or swallowwert) etc are also in his list.

For keeping the hair always black and without developing baldness Susrutha gives 11 ingredients to be made into a paste and then add to 7 prastha( 11 liter)of beejakaanda essence and keep for 10 days in an iron vessel that is tightly closed.Then taking one aadhakam(6 ¼ liter) oil of vibheethaka seed(terminalia belerica) is added and then heated slightly .Keep in another iron pot for maturing for one month and after that apply on head and do nasya in nose every day.The food should contain greengram every day (Phaseolus mungo).
In this he uses Adhaka and Prastha for measuring liquids just like the farmers do with grains.
For curing fistula and sinuses he takes 6 ingredients in equal measures and water in 1:16 ratio and heat in mild heat and make a solution .The vegetable oil is taken 1/4th quantity of water added ,and add this to the solution to get a equal density and fill fistule and sinuses with this .Here 1 :16 :4 is the ratio taken just like the Harappan weights and measures.
The classification of living things by Susrutha :-
1Animals :-
Classification according to origin:-
Jarayuja:- sasthani or mammals that deliver children and have a jaraayu(placenta).
Andaja;- from eggs.Birds,snakes,reptiles like common lizards,tortoise,crocodile
Swedaja:- from heat and sweat .Worms and insects
Udbeeja:-from plants .The tadpoles and glowworms are included in this and the scientific nature of this is doubtful.

Classification according to their locomotion:-
This also includes their habitat and food habits.
Chathuspaath worms with 4 legs
Ekasepha with one hoof
Jalesaaya which move in water
Khaga which move in sky
Kravyabhuja which are carnivores
Mriga which move in forests
Pasu are animals that eat grass
Sareesripa which are moving on belly Reptiles
Vyaala big animals with long horns -a great elephant and a crocodile
The beings with a backbone are divided into anoopa and jaangala depending upon their habitat.Jangala were of 8 types (Jamghaalam like deer,Vishkeeram like cock and hen,prathundam like a parrot,guhaasayam like lion,prasaham like kite ,parnaamrigam like monkey,vilesaayam like rabbit,rat,and gramya which are all domesticated beings living in village.)and Anoopa were of 5 types.( koolachara like elephant and buffalo,plava like hamsa,kosastha with a shell like molluscans ,padeenam with elongated leglike paddles for example tortoise and crocodile,matsya which are living in saltwater and in freshwater )
Classification of plants:- Plants are living things which are sthavara (fixed by roots).There are 4 types.
1Vanaspathy:which give fruits without a flower
2 Vriksha:- Fruits formed from flowers
3.Veerooda:-which spread on floor and trees and supports with tendrils
4.Oushadi :- Herbs which are destroyed when the fruits mature

Plants grow depending upon soil,rithu(season)and water (Sareerasthanam 2.33).Soil which is soft ,without any breaks,with black,red and yellow colour and without sand is usually fertile.This type of soil indicate that there had been agriculture there before in the past.If there is availability of water ,the plants grow.The land which has uneven surfaces ,lot of stones,and anthills ,and used for funerals and for killing prisoners is not suitable for agriculture.The quality of soil is seen in the plants that grow there.According to the five elements and the six guna are the soils to be classified.
Soil where Prithwithathwa predominates:- contain stones ,and is heavy ,fixed,and smoky dark colour .Only certain types of grains and trees grow there.
Soil with predominant jalathathwa:- cold,white,with lot of dirt and is best for grains like paddy,for green grass and for young trees
Soil with agnithathwa:- Different colours,with small stone partiles.Only yellow grass grow in sparse distribution.
Soil with vaayuthathwa:- grey colour.Trees with solid porous nature grow.
Soil with akaasathathwa:- dark with increased water content.For small plants ,algae(paayal) and for weeds this type soil is essential.In soil with property of water and earth ,plants for doing virechana(to produce loose motion)grow.In a soil with property of agni,akaasam and earth,plants for vamana (to produce vomiting)will grow.In soil with more than one property plants with more than one medicnal value grow.The vaidya (doctor)has the responsibility of collecting the small plants and algae etc which grow in soil with akaasaguna for the sake of making lifesaving medicines.( Sooothrasthaana 36.5-6).They have some rare samsamana properties (healing).Algae and fungi were thus used in 500 BC as rare healing medicines .Their antibiotic property was noted by those ancients.
Sadharanabhoomi contains all the 5 thathwa and their properties.It is best for growing medicinal plants.The plains between the anoopa and jaamgala is the sadaranadesa (su 36.10).The soil is classified based on its form,(the size and shape of sandgrain),its colour,fragrance,taste,touch,and its sound.The rasa or taste come from water within the soil.The cold oushada are best grown in cold soil.For palnts that increase heat ,hot soil is best.Since rainy season is the period when the plant is collecting its strength ,the strength of oushada is less in that period.Collect cold medicines during rainy seasons.At that time the plants are more sweet ,peaceful,and cold.All plants should be protected from worms,insects,poisons,severe sunlight and heat and cold, and from sharp instruments .Each of the organ of plant is compared to corresponding organ of a human body by Susrutha.One plant with more organs than a human body is the lotus and it has bisam,mrinaalam,padminikandakam,padmapushkaram,and kesaram and the stem and leaf is always above water .
Susrutha then classifies plants in two different ways.First he organizes plants as 35 varga (classes).Each is given a Varganaama (name of a prominent plant in that class of plants) asa generic name .Then gives each of its members in order of its medicinal value.35 classes of plants are thus given medicinal importance .But class 3 and class 22 ,he also includes things from nonplant sources since these also have similar medicinal properties.

Ambasthaadi,Aamalakaadi,Anjanaaadi,aaragbadaadi,arkaaaadi,dasamoolaadhi,elaadhi,guduchyadi,kakoliadi,lakshyadhi,mushkakaadhi,musthaadi,nyagrodhaadhi, kaneeyapanchamoola,mahathpanchamoola,vallipanchamoola,kandakapanchamoola,thrinapanchamoola,paroosakaadhi,padolaaadhi ,pippalyadhi ,priyanghuadi,rodhradhi,saalasaraadhi,saaribadi,surasaadhi,shyaamadhi,thrikatu,thriphala,utpaladhi,vachadi,varunadhi,vidarigandhadhi,veeratharuadi and vrihathwadhi are the 35 classes.408 different plants are thus grouped into 35 classes based on their common medicinal property.
Then he divides plants with medicinal property into samsodhana,samsamana,samsodhana for virechana and for vamana and for sirovirechana are then subclassified .Samsamana are also subclassified as vaathasamsamana,pithasamsamana and sleshmasamsamana listing plants belonging to each variety .
The classification of grains according to their food quality is a alaborate one ( Soothra .46;5-52;144;344).:

1Dhanyavarga :- There were three types of paddy cultivated in BC 500 during Susrutha’s period.

Saalivarga:-17 species of Saalinellu(paddy called saali ),11 species of sasthika and nine species of Vrihi were cultivated in India .Total of 37 species of paddy alone were traditionally grown.
Kudhaanyavarga:-16 species were grown.Koradooshakam,shyaamaakam,Neevaram,santhanu,varakam (varakanellu of the Tamil people),udhaalakam,priyanghu,madhoolika,nandimukhi,kuruvinda,gavedhuka,saram,varukam,thodaparni,mukundakam,and venuyavam(the seed of bamboo) .
Sameedhanyavarga or leguminosae :- 10 varietes were cultivated.of these Vaidaalam (parippu )itself were of 1 1 species. Maasam,kulatham,thilam,yavam,gothuma(wheat),samba,kusumba,atahsi and sidharthaka are other varieties.

2.Phalavarga:- fruits
3.saakavarga :-green leafy vegetables,small plants ,cheera etc
4.pushpavarga :- kovidaram,salmali,vrisham,agastyam,madhusikguru,kareeram,rakthavrksha,nimbam,muskakam,arkam,asanam,kudajam,padmam,kumudam,mallika,malathy,bakulam,paathaalam,naagam,kumkumam,chembakam,kimsukam,kuranthakam were cultivated for the medicinal value
5.Udbheethavarga:- The parasites that grow on other materials .The fungi as per modern classification.
They were of 5 types for susrutha
Ikshuja which grow on the stem of sugarcane and can make body cold
Kareesa is that which grow on cowdung and increase wind and heat
Kshithija is that which sprout from earth itself (the mushrooms).It is difficult to digest them but they will not increase winds
Pathalam is mushroom on haysacks .It reduces thridoshakopa
Venuja is that formed on bamboo and cause increase in winds.
6.Kandavarga include vidarikanda ,sathavari,sringataka,pindalooka,madhyaalooka ,Hasthyaalooka,rakthaalooka ,Indeevara and Utpala etc .About 393 plants and their uses are given in Susruthasamhitha (for medicinal purposes alone).showing the knowledge of the people of that period.


Most of these being cultivated and classified and codified in 500 BC were also being in demand in Egypt,Babylonia,Sumer,China,and Assyria in prehistoric times indicates the antiquity of the agricultural knowledge of the Indians and their trade ,transport economy based on agricultural products.The knowledge of seasonal plants ,their uses and the monsoon winds etc are noteworthy since it represents the trade roots and routes of the people of the land.