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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
worldly pleasure and comforts during their life time,' is also to be seen in the text. Both these views must have prevailed in society side by side. Here we propose to survey the materialistic achievements of these worldly people, who no doubt formed a majority in society. Food
Food is the basic necessity of life and our author is well aware of the importance of food in the development of physical body and also its various effects on the mental activities.* Dietary discipline for different people, particularly the avoidance of rich and nourishing food, and the use of dry and coarse food for overcoming the carnal human desires, testifies the same fact. Food-articles, however, have been classified into four categories : (i) asana or soft food such as boiled rice (kūra), (ii) pāņa or beverages like butter-milk, rice-milk, water and wine, (iii) khaima or hard food like roots and fruits, and (iv) sāima or relishable articles like honey, sugar, betelleaves etc. It can be visualized that the food of the people must have been rich and varied. The cereals and pulses, milk and its various products, honey and sweets, spices and condiments, fruits and vegetables, the non-vegetarian dishes, the intoxicating liquors as well as other beverages all formed a part of the manifold dietary of the people during this time.
Cereals and Pulses-Most of the food-grains of today were known to the people of this time. The Nišitha Bhasya refers to
1. Tema Hoteftantia pat yan-Ibid. 2. TotatETTISTATIE HET Hat Hair:-NC. 2, p. 21. 3. folaatfal Threr Bieta - Ibid. 4. 317&TT Rifitat et qefoqet—NC. 3, p. 287.
The Buddhist works also divide food into four categories.Digha, 30 (Lakkhāna Sutta). Susruta also mentions four categories of food : (i) asitam (solid), (ii) pitam (drink), (iii) ridham (that by licking) and (iv) the khäditam (that is chewn).Vide G. P. Majumdar's Article on 'Food', Indian Culture, Vol. 1, p. 413. I-Tsing, however, mentions five solid and five soft varieties of food.-Takakusu, op. cit., p. 43.
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