नामरूपज्ञानम् (Characterization of Medicinal Plants) /19

- VII -
 
Many synonyms indicate the original source of

plants while some are reminiscent of the place of
their trade or commerce
their trade or commercial transaction. Kāśmīraka,

kairāta, drāviḍī, malayaja and maādrī indicate the

place of origin of kunṅkuma, kirātatikta, elā, candana

and ativișăā respectively, Baāhlīka, in ancient times,

was an important centre of world trade being situ-

ated at the crossroads of all the trade routes. Both
hin
hiṅgu and kunṅkuma are denoted by 'bahliāhlīka'. The

synonyms 'panṇya' and 'klītakikaā' indicate that the

products designated by them were articles of trade

and were displayed in markets. Plant products were

also exported to other countries by land or sea routes.

The synonyms like dharmapattana and kollaka

(marica ), koranṅgī (ela), kakkola¹ [^1]etc. indicate the

places of commercial transaction by sea-route.
 
20.500
 

 
Thus synonyms served the purpose well for

which they were coined e.g. indicating specific char-

acters of plants which helped their proper identifica-

tion. Caraka used the synonyms strictly for a single

item which did not denote any other entity leading

to confusion. But in course of time, by the medieval

period, a large number of synonyms accumulated

which denoted more than one plant and thus lost

accuracy. For example, samanṅgaā and mañjistha are
ṣṭhā are
enumerated separately in different mahākaṣāyas in

Carakasamṃhita ( samanṅgā in 5,31 while mañjiṣṭhā in
 

 
[^1]. 'Kakkola' or 'Takkola' is a place in Cambodia. The name

'śrīkākulam' seems to be derived from 'kakkola'.