History of kṛṣiśāstra

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The practice and theory of agriculture is encompassed in a special branch of sciences known as krishishastra literature, or ‘agricultural science,’ within traditional Indian taxonomy. This knowledge is found in krishishastras, didactic poetry, literary passages, and collections of popular sayings, providing a wealth of information on weather forecasting, agricultural operations, village life events, and certain religious beliefs. In the first part, Gyula Wojtilla defines the term krishishastra and its significance among traditional sciences in India. The major portion of the text offers detailed descriptions of individual works on traditional agriculture, primarily written in Sanskrit, but also in Prakrit and various vernaculars, including Bengali, Bihari, Gujarati, Hindi, Kanarese, Malayalam, Maithili, Marathi, Rajasthani, Tamil, and Telugu. The book concludes with four appendices that include independent chapters on the subject, collections of sayings not attributed to specific authors, and miscellaneous topics. This work serves as a literary encyclopedia of traditional Indian agriculture, making it an essential resource for students of classical Indology, the history of science and culture, and the study of peasant society in India.