THE POISONOUS PLANTS OF BOMBAY. 47 



I now proceed to state what the old Sanskrit writers have said 

 regarding the varieties of Amorphophallus campanulatus. 



Madanpal, in his Nighant (Pushpa-Varga, Shlokas 83 to 86), says 

 that there are two varieties of Suran : the tuber of the one is round and 

 well shaped, that of the other is irregular in form. The former is the 

 better of the two ; the latter is known as Ran-Suran and has also the 

 epithet of Vajrakand. This epithet, as applied here, means that the 

 tuber of this variety is as irritating as Vajra, which is a synonym of 

 Kush or Darbha, a kind of grass described by Linnseus as Pool 

 cynosuroides (Eragrostis cynosuroides, Rom. et Sch. according to 

 modern nomenclature). Now, it is well known that the blades of this 

 grass, which is very commonly used in the religious ceremonies of the 

 Hindus, are covered with long stiff hairs, especially at their margins ; 

 these hairs produce an unpleasant, pricking sensation on the skin 

 of persons whose tactile sense is acute. The pricking sensation 

 produced on the mucous membrane of the mouth, throat, and tongue of 

 those who eat the tuber of the wild variety of Suran is very much like 

 that of Darbh grass on a sensitive human skin. The epithet of 

 Vajrakand as given to Ean-Suran would therefore seem to be appro- 

 priate. I have so far dilated on this point as I find Dr. Dymock gives 

 " Thunderbolt " as the English equivalent of Vajrakand (Pharmaco- 

 graphia Indica, vol. Ill, p. 547). Vajra does mean in Sanskrit 

 thunderbolt ; but if Dr. Dymock's English rendering is to be accepted, 

 one cannot find any connection between the term thunderbolt and the 

 shape or properties of the tuber of Ran-Suran, unless it is meant 

 to convey that its poisonous quality is as suddenly destructive as the 

 thunderbolt. 



Narhar Pandit, in his Raj-Nighant, another standard Sanskrit work, 

 also mentions two varieties : — (1) Suran ; (2) Sit or Swet Suran, which 

 is the white variety. 



Dhanvantari Nighant, another old Sanskrit work, mentions only one 

 variety of Suran. It is probably the cultivated form, as the author 

 does not make any reference to the wild variety. 



Bhav Misra, another standard writer, in his celebrated work Bhav 

 Prakash (p. 150, Bombay Jagadishwar Press Edition, 1888), speaks of 

 only one variety. From its description it appears to be the cultivated 

 form, as no mention is made of the wild tuber. 



