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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
ubbhijja or ubbhetima salt (kitchen-salt). In certain regions where salt was not easily available, it was extracted by boiling the salt earth (ūsa-khara-bhūmi) in the water. This type was called bila-lona or earth-salt.2 People in these regions did not put salt in food at the time of cooking, but took it separately whenever required. These different varieties of salt have been mentioned by the ancient as well as contemporary authorities, and according to Suśruta, saindhava (rocksalt) was the best of all.
The spices were known as vesana or vesavara.? Various spices like jiraga (cummin), hingu (asafoetida), dhanaga or kulhumbhari.' (corriander ), mariya ( black-pepper )11, pippali (long-pepper)12, allaga phalals or simgavera (ginger)16, sumthi (dry-ginger),16 haridda (tumeric),16 haritaki (terminilia chebula)17 and bhūtatana (andropogo martini) 18 etc. have been
1. 3AH U FRIFFET Anuge fara 91-NC. 3, p. 287. 2. 474 farv tuj ofret etter sint eafa, i fammitui ouifa-Ibid. 3. तत्थ पुण दुल्लभलोणे देसे उक्खडिज्जमाणे लोणं ण छुम्भति, उवरि लोणं दिज्जति
NC. 1, p. 67. 4. Kautilya (Arthatāstra, II. 15. 16) mentions six varieties of salt. In
the Carakasanhită (1. 88-89) five varictics of salt are mentioned. 5. Susrutasanhita, 46. 339. 6. NO. 2, p. 251; cf. Bịh. V¢. 2, p. 473. 7. NC. 2, p. 467. Om Prakash interprets the termves avāra as a stuffing
in which spices were added to ( op. cit., p. 113). From the NC.,
however, it appears to have been a common term used for spices. 8. NC. 2, p. 251; NO. 3, p. 288. 9. Ibid. 10. NC. 2, p. 109. 11. NC. 3, p. 287. 12. Ibid. 13. NC. 3, p. 11. 14. NC. 3, p. 287. 15. Ibid. 16. NO. 3, p. 149. 17. NC. 3, p. 516. 18. NC. 3, p. 319.
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