Shravakachar of Vasunandini

Author(s): Signe Kirde
Publisher: Signe Kirde

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5.2
Catalogue of Vices
5 TRANSLATION: ŚR (57-205)
qualify honey, juice coming from worms and bees, as 'purifying!" 192
pavitta Vasunandin's verses call to mind that some ritual specialists call honey a "purifying substance)" (Skt. pavitra). The ancient Vedic Soma festival was called prāyasiya or pavitra. It was a kind of ritual which lasted several days consisting of certain kinds of purifications for the man who performed the sacrifice. According to some sources it took place during the change of the old year into the new on new-moon, probably in the beginnning of spring in the month Phalguna or Caitra. Special vows had to be observed and items of the sacrifice included the offering of a porridge (isti), the sap of the Soma plant, and the double animal sacrifice. In this context pavitra was understood as the "means of purifying". It might have stood in relation with the rituals of the inauguration of the year (Heesterman 1957:3, 7-13). According to some Vedic ritual, honey is mixed (samprkta) with milk and offered to Indra. It is also associated with the cult of the Asvins. Their vehicle is called madhu-vähana and these gods are identified with the bees. Otherwise, mixed with ghee, curd and roasted barley, madhu-parka was given to guests, often together with meat. Some of these liquid substances were poured on the hands of the guest, or given as a drink. In recent centuries the donation of honey, ghee, etc. has become a integral part of the marriage ritual in India. The trade with salt, honey, meat, liquor, brandy, Soma und lacquer was considered not appropriate for certain brahmin castes. 193
83) But in the world it is common knowledge that a cruel man who destroys (the hives of bees filled with honey, [attains more evil than someone who burns down twelve villages.
• bāraha gāmāi With employing the simile of the twelve village, Va
sunandin strengthens Amitagati's argument of the "burning of seven villages" in the Subhāṣita-ratna-samdoha, chapter XXII. The authors might have intended to persuade the reader that people in the villages and cities should not consume honey, because the destruction of the
19 I owe this reference to Prof. Balbir, p.c. Honey serves as the symbol of sensual pleasures in the parable of the "The Man in the Well", also known as the “Drop of Honey" (madhu-bindu). Cf. Vasu-deva-hindi VIII.3-23; Dharma-pariksă of Amitagati II.5-21; Hemacandra's Sthāviravali-carita II. 191ff.
193 See for instance Hillebrandt 1891:238-256; Schmidt 1911:671, 683; Gonda 1985a:102: Williams 1963: 29,51-52, 247; Kane 1968ff., Vol. II, Part 1, p. 54 and Vol. II, Part 1, p. 128. For the meaning of the bees in traditions of the Middle and Near East see Engels 2008. I owe this reference to Prof. Bollée. Honey is known for its antibacterial and antioxidative qualities. Cf. "Honey as an antibiotic: Scientists Identify a Secret Ingredient in Honey that kills Bacteria". In Science Daily, July 12,2010.
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