Kasyapiyakrsisukti. A Sanskrit Work on Agriculture

Kasyapiyakrsisukti is the lengthiest and most important Sanskrit treatise on traditional Indian agriculture. Its content is divided into four parts: Section one entitled “The description of the methods of cultivating grains and the like” is comprised of fourteen chapters devoted among others to the divine origin of agriculture, the process of grain production, the characteristic marks of cultivators, and the various food stuffs beginning with pulses. Section two “The description of the method of cultivating vegetables and the like” gives also room to economic issues to be supervised by the king. Section three deals with rules regarding edible and inedible substances, while section four describes the order of offerings. Gyula Wojtilla’s study of Kaúyapiyakisukti gives an introduction examining authorship, age and provenance of the work. The main part contains a diplomatic edition of the text, a glossary of selected terms, and a list of botanical names. The four appendices highlight rural society, technique of agriculture, religious life, and food taboos depicted in the text. This book will be of interest to Indologists, historians of agriculture and rural society, students of cultural anthropology and religion.