This document summarizes insights on good agricultural practices from ancient Indian texts like V k āyurvedaṛ ṣ . It discusses the classification of different types of land, guidelines on seed collection and storage, plant constitution based on tridhātu theory, and natural pest management techniques. It recommends looking to ancient practices for sustainable organic farming using cow urine and products, as modern pesticides can contaminate foods and medicines.

1. Good Agricultural
Practices in Ancient India -
Insights from
V k āyurvedaṛ ṣ
Dr. J.S.R.A. Prasad
Dept. of Sanskrit Studies,
School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad,
Prof. C.R. Rao Road, Hyderabad – 500 046
jsraprasad@gmail.com

2. Contents
• Background
• Types of Land
• Seed Collection
• Seed Preservation
• Tridhātu Theory
• Pest Management
• Recommendations

3. Background
• Sanskrit literature is a treasure trove of innumerable scientific insights
• V k āyurvedaṛ ṣ (science of plant life) is one amongst the ancient Indian
sciences
• ‘V k āyurveda’, ‘Brhatsamhita’, ‘Artha Shastra’, ‘Krishi Parasara’,ṛ ṣ
‘Kashyapiya Krishisukti’, ‘Viswavallabha’ are the prominent texts in
this domain
• Agriculture was given utmost importance during Kautilya's time (321
BCE), as it is a part of ‘vārtā’
• Viśvavallabha (15th
AD), a text on plant science, offers pointers for tree
plantation methods in extremely dry weather conditions

4. Cont’d…
• Dr. Y.L. Nene of Asian Agri-History Foundation, Secunderabad, has
done extensive work on ancient Indian texts on agriculture and
science of plant life
• Dr. Nene and his team has edited and published various Sanskrit
manuscripts related to science of plant life and good agricultural
practices
• Majority of these texts describe the orderly exposition of division of
land, construction of water reservoirs, procurement of tools, season
of farming, procurement of seeds, plowing for sowing seeds,
cultivating procedures for different crops, draining, treating diseases
of plants, pest management etc.

5. Types of Land
• As per Ayurveda (science of life) and V k āyurvedaṛ ṣ (science of plant
life), the land is of four types:
1.sādhāra aṇ deśa (medium land)
2.anūpa deśa (marshy land) and
3.jā galaṅ deśa (arid land)

6. Cont’d…
The above classification is on the basis of its characteristic features like
geographical condition, climatic conditions, flora and fauna, wild life
conditions etc.

7. Sādhāra aṇ deśa (medium land)
Bijapuraka, punnaga, champaka,
amra, atimuktaka, priyangu
(Callicarpa macrophylla), dadima
(Punica granatum), etc. grow on
an ordinary type of land.

8. Anūpa deśa (marshy land)
Panasa (Artocarpus
heterophyllus), lakucha
(Artocarpus lakoocha), tala,
bamboo, jambeera, jambu, tilaka,
vata, kadamba, amrata, kharjura,
kadali, tinisa, mrdvi, ketaki,
narikela, etc. grow on marshy land

9. Jā galaṅ deśa (arid land)
Sobhanjana, sriphala, saptaparna,
sephalika, asoka, sami, karika,
karkandhu, kesara, nimbha, saka
etc. grow well on an arid land.

10. Sub Classification of Land
• It is further divided into six types
based on ‘var a’ṇ (color) and
‘rasa’ (savor)
Based on the var aṇ Based on the rasa
Asita (Black) Madhura (Sweet)
Pandu (pale) Amla (Sour)
Swetha (white) Lavana (Salty)
Shyama (Bluish) Katu (Pungent)
Lohita (red) Tikta (Bitter)
Peeta (yellow) Kashaya (Astringent)

11. Kashyapa Says -
• A few verses in Kashyapa's text explain how to study the physical
properties including the texture of soil. The text also speaks of some
nourishing grains to be cultivated by those eligible for agriculture.
• Kodrava (kodo millet), yavara (sorghum?), yava (barley) are
suggested on wet farms as well as on highlands in every region and in
every village. The vrihi (rice) field on the earth is said to be a watery
[fertile] land. The field of masha (black gram), etc. is, however, said to
be a highland.
• Kashyapa declares - “therefore, farmers should undertake cultivation
of pulses on highlands.”

12. Surapala Says -
• If plant dried due to bad soil, the original soil from the root should be
removed and it should be replaced by healthy soil and milk-water
should be sprinkled over it.

13. Caraka Says -
• If wealth, destiny and the owner are favorable, any plant can grow
anywhere with special effort. Sage Caraka has emphasized the
importance of land while discussing the therapeutic efficacy of Drugs
(Caraka Samhita 7.1.7).
• The drugs become capable of producing maximum therapeutic
effects when their potency is augmented by -

14. Cont’d…
deśa sampat (collecting the plant from the appropriate habitat)
kāla sampat (collecting these plants in appropriate season)
gu aṇ sampat (collecting plants when these are enriched with
excellent attributes) and
bhājana sampat (storing these plants in appropriate container).

15. Seed Collection & Preservation
• Seed preservation and management was one of the very important
duties of an agriculturist.
• As per Parashara, all sorts of seeds should be procured in February or
March.
• They should then be dried well in the sun without putting those
directly on the ground.

16. Cont’d…
• Kashyapa suggested to store seeds in containers woven with ropes
and plastered with mud.
• In some cases, one should design a vacuity in the firm ground on land.
• Properly weeded out seeds should never be stored in a place beset
with white ants or in a cow shed or in the labor room.

17. Cont’d…
• Similarly, ghee, oil, butter milk, lamp and salt should be kept away
from the seeds. Before sowing, the seeds should be besmeared with
cow dung which is endowed with excellent medicinal qualities.

18. Tridhātu Theory
• Three humoral theory (wind-bile-phlegm) is the basis of Ayurveda,
depending on which a person's constitution is decided. The
homeostasis of three humors is translated as good health. An
imbalance in the humors leads to disease.
• Similarly, plants do have a constitution based on three humors.
• Surapala's treatise on V k āyurvedaṛ ṣ , and Caraka Samhita provide
pointers to identify the constitution of plants based on their external
characteristics.

19. Cont’d…
• Dr. Nene (2011) comments –
“I am not aware of any other attempt in the world by which plant
disorders were classified into two groups: i.e. internal and external
before the time of Surapala. Further it is very significant that
physiology of trees was considered similar to those of humans and the
internal disorders of trees was considered similar to those of
humans... Several of the symptoms described can be attributed today
to fungi, bacteria, viruses, or nematodes.”

20. Cont’d…
• Basically, diseases of all types of plants have been classified into two
types.
Śarīra vyādhis (diseases of bodily cause i.e. internal cause) and
Āgantuja vyādhi (external cause).
The former can be further classified as Vaataja (wind origin), Pittaja
(bile origin) and Kaphaja (phlegmatic origin). Agantujas are external
causes due to insects, cold weather etc.

21. Cont’d…
• Vaata type of diseases of plants are due to
land that becomes arid on account of
excessive supply of dry and astringent
matters.
• How to identify?
• Depending on thinness, crookedness of trunk,
appearance of knot on the trunk and leaves.
The fruits are hard, with less juice and less
sweet in taste.

22. Cont’d…
• Pitta type of diseases arise due to excessive
watering of plants materials containing pungent,
sour, salty and penetrating properties. This type of
diseases occur at the end of summer if the clouds
disappear.
• How to identify?
• The diseases are characterized by the yellowness
of leaves, untimely dropping of fruits, dryness and
decay of leaves, flowers and fruits.

23. Cont’d…
• Kapha type of diseases arises due to if the trees
are excessively watered with materials which are
sweet, unctuous, sour, cold.
• This type of diseases occurs in winter season
and Spring season.
• How to identify?
• The plants affected with kapha type of disease,
may take long time to bear fruits, paleness and
dwarfness of leaves tasteless and prematurity of
fruits

24. Pest Management - Insights
Surapala has provided directions to control the external diseases of
plants caused by heat, cold, pests etc.

25. Cont’d…
• To remove insects both from the roots and branches of the trees,
wise men should water the trees with cold water for seven days.
• The worms can be overcome by the paste of milk, kunapa water and
cow dung mixed with water and also by smearing the roots with the
mixture of white mustard, vacha (Acorus calamus), kusta (Saussurea
lappa) and ativisha (Aconitum Heterophylum).
• The worms accumulated on trees can be treated quickly by smoking
the tree with the mixture of white mustard, vidanga (Emblica ribes),
vacha (Acorus calamus) and usana (?) and water mixed with other
materials.

26. Cont’d…
• Creepers eaten away by insects should be sprinkled with water mixed
with oil cake. The insect on the leaves can be destroyed by sprinkling
the powder of ashes and brick-dust. (Parashara also agrees to this
method).
• A wound caused by insects heals if sprinkled with milk after being
anointed with a mixture of vidanga (Emblica ribes), sesame, cow's
urine, ghee and mustard.
• If the branches fall off, the particular spot should be anointed with
the mixture of honey and ghee and sprinkled over by the milk and
water so that the tree will have its branches reaching the sky.

27. Cont’d…
• The wounds of the tree (caused by pests etc.?) are healed by the
treatment of anointing with the paste of the bark of nyagrodha (Ficus
benghalensis Linn.) and udumbara (Ficus glomerata Roxb.), cow dung,
honey and ghee.
• The oozing can be cured by anointing with the paste of the bark of
nyagrodha and udumbara, cow dung, honey and ghee and covering
the part with the bark of dhava (Anogeissus latifolia wall. Ex Bedd.),
sriparnika (Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham), syama (ichonocarpus
frutescens), vetasa (Salix caprea Linn.) and arjuna.

28. Cont’d…
• Unproductive trees fill the quarter with branches covered with
flowers and fruits without fail if treated with cold mixture of sesame,
barley, kulattha, (a kind of pulse’ Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.))
green gram and black gram.
• For plants effected with viral diseases, salinity in irrigation water;
predisposal to blossom blight and fruit decays due to fungal/bacterial
infections – they should be watered with the decoction of milk,
honey, yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn.) and madhuka
(Madhuca indica J.F. Gmel.); watering with decoction of triphala
fruits, ghee and honey.
• Plants which are not cured by any one of the various above stated
remedies should be transplanted at other special sites.

29. Recommendations
• Food chain – Herbs – Hazards of human health
• Are plant diseases always due to pests? Can we consider genesis of
diseases based on plant constitution, as per V k āyurvedaṛ ṣ ?
• If medicinal plants are also effected with pesticides, then their
potential efficacy is lost – subsequently, the herbs render useless in
treating diseases

30. Recommendations
• Whether the food that we eat has pesticide residues or it is
genetically modified, as per Ayurveda, such food is contaminated
with three types of poisons. This leads to various ailments in humans.
• One can only put a full stop for this menace by encouraging
pancagavya (cow urine, cow milk, cow dung, cow curds, cow ghee)
products. Recent studies proved that cow urine is very efficient in
removing toxic effect of pesticides including potential carcinogenic
effects in humans.

31. Recommendations
• It can be presumed that Sri Subhash Palekar has been inspired by
indigenous agricultural techniques thus motivated him to document
his experiences in his 'The Philosophy of Spiritual Farming.' He calls it
as 'Zero Budget Spiritual Farming.' He has popularized this technique
by using natural herbs and cow products, especially cow urine, for
effective pest management and pest control.
• Let us look back at past with reverence

32. Atharvaveda (6.44.3) says thus –
“O go arka (cow urine), you are the destroyer of all germs and toxins.
You wage war against hereditary diseases. You are the giver of long
life.”

33. THANK YOU!!