Full-length paper

Asian Agri-History Vol. 12, No. 3, 2008 (169178) 169

Antiquity of the Cultivation and Use of Brinjal in India

Ramesh V Bhat1 and S Vasanthi2
1. Centre for Science, Society and Culture, M 11, Kakateeyanagar, Habsiguda, Hyderabad 500007,
Andhra Pradesh, India (email: rameshvbhat@yahoo.com)
2. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Hyderabad 500007,
Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract
The cultivation and use of brinjal (eggplant/aubergine) is of great antiquity. It is from
India, as philological studies indicate, that brinjal moved to West Asia and Europe.
The early inhibitions to its consumption by certain population groups could be because
of the suspicion of the presence of anti-nutritional/poisonous substances. One of the
unique varieties of brinjal, Mattu gulla, cultivated for its special taste and unique flavor
in the Udupi district of Karnataka (South India), is a perfect example of the manplant-God-science relationship. The different regions of India offer a diversity of
accounts, documented as part of history, of the availability of brinjal and ancient
food preparations of brinjal during medieval times.

Antiquity of brinjal
Botanical evidences indicate that brinjal
(Solanum melongena) is descended from
wild, prickly, perennial ancestors as a result
of continuous selection by humans for less
spiny, less bitter, and larger fruit, and for an
annual habit (Fig. 1) (Simmonds, 1976). The
use of brinjal for consumption in the
prehistoric civilizations of Negritos and
Proto-Australoids (Nishada in Sanskrit
literature) has been noted on the basis of
the philological (language science) studies
of Jean Przyluski, Jules Bloch, and Sylvain
Levi (Om Prakash, 1961). One of the
Sanskrit names of brinjal, vartaku, is

considered to be a pre-Sanskrit word,

derived from an ancient Indian language
spoken by the Mundas or Austrics (one of
the oldest inhabitants of India), who now live
mostly in the state of Jharkhand (Achaya,
1994). Brinjal finds reference in the
Ramayana, the great Indian classic epic
(Sensarma, 1989). The treatise
Krishnamangala, written during 1525 by
the great poet Krishnadasa, mentions brinjal
in a list of items cooked by the gopas and
gopis of Brindavan, at Lord Krishnas
request during the Mahabharata period
[Based on about 40 astronomical events that
could be simulated by software such as Sky
Pro, the events of the Mahabharata have

170 Cultivation of brinjal

and the Arab countries, and perhaps even

into Europe.
In his article The vegetables of ancient
China, Hui-Lin Li (1969) writes about early
records marking the existence of brinjal in
Chinese vegetable gardens from 500 BC;
however, the brinjal may not have been
considered edible in China until the 2 nd
century BC.

Brinjal an Indian
contribution to the global
palate

Figure 1. A fruit of brinjal variety Mattu

gulla. Arrow points to the characteristic
spine on the stalk.

been dated at around 3000 BC (Acharya,

2003)]. Buddhist and Jain works, sutras such
as the Uttaradhyana Sutra and the
Prajapana Sutra, and jatakas have
recorded the occurrence and use of brinjal
(Om Prakash, 1961). Brinjal finds mention
even in ancient Tamil literature from South
India (Aiyangar, 1930).
During the medieval period, the Persians
took spices from India by land in their
caravans, and sold them to the Phoenicians
of Sidon and Tyre (coast of present-day
Lebanon), who traded them all along the
Mediterranean coast, from Alexandria to
Rome. Later, the Arabs traveling in dhows
in the Arabian Sea took up the trade from
India and sold the produce to Venetian
traders in Damascus, Istanbul, and Beirut.
These traders introduced brinjal into Iran

The brinjal has many Sanskrit names:

bhantaki, darada, jukutam, hingoli,
vartaka, vartaku, vrutaka, vaantaki,
vantika, and vatinganah. The present-day
names of brinjal in many languages can be
traced to the ancient Sanskrit vatin-ganah.
Names also throw light on how the brinjal
traveled to various countries from India.
First, it moved to Persia where it was called
badin-gan, and then onto the Middle East,
where its name evolved into Arabic albadinjan. When the brinjal reached Spain
through the Arabs, its Catalan name
alberginia was changed to the Spanish
albadingena, which is very close to its
present French name aubergine.
One of the Sanskrit names of brinjal,
vartaku, is considered to be a preSanskrit word, derived from an
ancient Indian language spoken by
the Mundas or Austrics (one of the
oldest inhabitants of India), who now
live mostly in the state of Jharkhand.

Asian Agri-History Vol. 12, No. 3, 2008

Later, the Arabs traveling in dhows in

the Arabian Sea took up the trade
from India and sold the produce to
Venetian traders in Damascus,
Istanbul, and Beirut. These traders
introduced brinjal into Iran and the
Arab countries, and perhaps even into
Europe.
In Australia, the brinjal is called eggfruit,
while the West Africans call it garden fruit.
Other interesting names are apple-of-love,
Asiatic aubergine, Guinea squash, gully bean,
pea apple, pea aubergine, susumber, terong,
apple of Sodom, Jews apple, and brown jolly.
In North America, the brinjal is popularly
referred to as eggplant. The European
cultivars of brinjal, imported into USA
around the year 1700, were white or yellow
and roughly the size and shape of a gooses
egg.
Given Indias linguistic diversity, the brinjal
carries a range of names across the states:
the Tamil kathirikai is derived from the
purple color (kathiri = purple). It is also
called pathiyakari (pathiyam = diet) since
it is used as a restrictive diet (Sairam, 2000).
In Malayalam, it is called valutina,
cheruvalutina, veluttachunnda, and
karuttachunnda. In Kannada and Tulu, it
is called badane/gulla, while in Telugu, it is
vankaya. Other names include vange in
Marathi; baingan, bhanta, badanjan,
bartaku, and mahoti in Hindi; begun in
Bengali; ringni, vengni, and vantak in
Gujarati; and vangun in Kashmiri. The
Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carolus
Linnaeus (170778), considered the father

171

of taxonomy, is responsible for the scientific

name Solanum melongena; the specific
name might be of Arabian origin, or from
the Italian melazana. Before this
nomenclature, the Latin Mala insana or
apple of madness may have been in vogue.
The Italian melazana and the Greek
melitzana are both derived from the Latin
name.
Sanskrit names exist even for the several
other edible Solanum species that are close
relatives of the brinjal: kakamachi (S.
nigrum), kantakari, nidigadhika (S.
surattense), and alarku (S. trilobatum);
the Hindi name rambaingan applies to S.
stromnifolium (Singh et al., 1983).
In the case of brinjal, natural variability and
human selection pressure have both given
rise to the present-day local and improved
varieties. The preference of the consumer
(especially cooking quality) rather than
adaptation mechanisms have had a role in
the diversification of this vegetable, and
determined the course of its selection.
Consumer preferences taste, cooking
characteristics, color, shape, size can be
different and specific within an Indian state
(Seshadri and Chatterjee, 2000).
It is now being increasingly recognized that
the preservation/re-introduction of
traditional food systems and the food
diversity of different local food cultures
around the world is a highly effective solution
to diet-linked chronic diseases. Brinjal is one
of the most important vegetables to be used
as a part of dietary solution to combat the
early stage of Type-2 diabetes. Some local
and traditional varieties have high alpha-

172 Cultivation of brinjal

glucosidase and ACE-inhibitory potential

which could reduce hyperglycemia-induced
pathogenesis. The inhibition of these
enzymes provides a strong biochemical basis
for the management of Type-2 diabetes by
controlling glucose absorption and reducing
associated hypertension (Kwon et al., in
press). It may be pertinent to mention here
that the existing brinjal-based diet
recommendation [as a choice for the
management of Type-2 diabetes] by the
American National Diabetes Education
Program of National Institutes of Health
(NIH), USA, the Mayo Clinic, USA, and
the American Diabetes Association, was
made on the basis of the high fiber and low
soluble carbohydrate content of brinjal.

Inhibitions to the
consumption of brinjal
The 8 th century Sanskrit treatise on
agriculture Kashyapiyakrishisukti mentions
that the white brinjal is poisonous (Ayachit,
2002). According to a Tamil proverb,
kathirikai (brinjal) may induce skin

It is now being increasingly

recognized that the preservation/reintroduction of traditional food
systems and the food diversity of
different local food cultures around
the world is a highly effective solution
to diet-linked chronic diseases. Brinjal
is one of the most important
vegetables to be used as a part of
dietary solution to combat the early
stage of Type-2 diabetes.

ailments such as itching, psoriasis, etc.

(Sairam, 2000). Traditionally, Jains are
forbidden from eating brinjal (Kanoomal,
1916). According to the Dharmasindhu, a
Sanskrit text written in 1758 by Kashinath
Upadyaya, Brahmins of the Vaishnava sect
are forbidden from eating brinjal. For
Brahmins of other sects, the vegetable is
forbidden during Chaturmasya (normally
beginning during the rainy season around
July) and on every tryaodashi (thirteenth
day of each paksha or fortnight) (Najagara,
1970). A possible reason for Vaishnavites
not eating brinjal could be that it is considered
a tamasa (inferior) food dear to Shiva, who
is of tamasika (bad) temperament,
compared with Lord Vishnu, who is of
sattvika (virtuous) temperament. As per the
text Chandimangala written in 1589, by the
Bengali author Mukundaram Chakravarti,
brinjal mixed with bitter neem leaves is dear
to Lord Shiva (Dutt, 1962; Bhattacharya,
1985). Even in the western world (both in
Europe and North America), there were
inhibitions to the consumption of brinjal
because of the suspected presence of
poisons. In fact, it remained an ornamental
plant in gardens for over a hundred years
after its introduction.
The brinjal is known to contain several antinutritional substances such as steroidal
alkaloids (solanine, solasonine, solamargine,
and solasodine), trypsin inhibitors (in the fruit
peel), phenols, amide proteins, etc. It also
has a high polyphenol oxidase activity and
contains anthocyanins. Bajaj et al. (1979)
recorded high solanine levels in brinjal
varieties Arka Shirish (20.50 mg/100 g),
Shankar Vijay (19.50 mg/100 g), and Punjab
Chamkila (18.75 mg/100 g), which had a

Asian Agri-History Vol. 12, No. 3, 2008

characteristic metallic taste and bitter-toharsh flavor. The average solanine contents
for long-, oblong-, and round-fruited types
were 13.20, 11.33, and 8.8 mg/100 g,
respectively.

Plant-man-God-science
relationship: the example
of Mattu gulla
According to Mehra (1996), The cultural
history of India is associated with religious
beliefs and any emphasis on or arguments
dealing with the plant-man-God relationship
appeals to people even today. The history
of Mattu gulla, a unique variety of brinjal
grown in the Udupi district of Karnataka
(South India), is a perfect example of such

Figure 2. Fruits of brinjal variety Mattu gulla.

173

a relationship (Fig. 2). The following

paragraph illustrates the traditional belief
held by the Madhwa community, the
followers of the 13th century Vaishnavite
saint His Holiness Shri Madhwacharya who
established eight mathas (abodes of
ascetics) or temple-centered religious
organizations in Udupi. During the 16th
century, Saint Vadiraja Swami was the
pontifical head of the Sode Matha, one of
the eight mathas.
It has been recorded that Saint Vadiraja used
to offer a special sweet confection called
hayagreeva (or maddi) to the golden icon
of Lord Hayavadana; the Lord used to
emanate in the guise of a white horse to eat
the offering, leaving a little behind as
prasadam for Vadiraja. Some people began

174 Cultivation of brinjal

to doubt this divine occurrence, and decided

to test it by secretly mixing poison into the
confection. An unsuspecting Vadiraja
offered it as usual to Lord Hayavadana, who
ate the entire hayagreeva without leaving
behind any prasadam. Perplexed, Vadiraja
spent the whole day wondering why the
Lord was upset with him. That night, the
Lord explained the reasons for the incident
to Vadiraja, and told him that the poison in
the hayagreeva would make the golden icon
turn blue.
Lord Hayavadana also advised Vadiraja to
offer a preparation made from a special type
of brinjal known as gulla. Vadiraja called
the people of the village Mattu (now in Udupi
district) and asked them to cultivate gulla
(hence the term Mattu gulla). When
Vadiraja offered the naivedyam prepared
from gulla, the icon of Hayavadana regained
its golden color. However, a blue mark
remained on the neck of the icon, to serve
as a reminder of the incident for posterity.
To this day, the golden icon of Lord
Hayavadana with the blue spot on its neck
is worshiped at the Sode Matha in Udupi.
Moreover, on the occasion of the festive
ceremonies of paryaya held every alternate

The brinjal is known to contain

several anti-nutritional substances
such as steroidal alkaloids (solanine,
solasonine, solamargine, and
solasodine), trypsin inhibitors (in the
fruit peel), phenols, amide proteins,
etc. It also has a high polyphenol
oxidase activity and contains
anthocyanins.

January among the eight mathas of Udupi,

the tradition of offering the Mattu gulla
variety of brinjal to Lord Krishna continues
unbroken to this day, after more than four
centuries.
Saint Vadiraja traveled extensively in India
and wrote the Tirtha Prabandha, the first
known travelogue in Sanskrit, which
describes the various places of pilgrimage
in India. One such place is Navadweepa, in
present-day West Bengal, where the river
Ganga joins the Bay of Bengal
(Gangasagar). According to historical
record, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486
1534), the well-known Vaishnavite monk of
Navadweepa and contemporary of Saint
Vadiraja, was once offered a feast that
consisted of shali rice drenched in yellow
ghee, surrounded by leaf cups, dhal, sag,
and vegetables like . . . the brinjal (Achaya,
1994). In the Krishnamangala of the same
period, the poet Krishnadasa mentions the
brinjal in the preparation of various food
items by the gopas and gopis at Brindavan,
at Lord Krishnas request (Achaya, 1994).
These accounts might have influenced Saint
Vadiraja to bring home brinjal seeds from
Navadweepa. It is interesting to note that
the green brinjal, round in shape with spines
and resembling Mattu gulla (though not

Lord Hayavadana also advised

Vadiraja to offer a preparation made
from a special type of brinjal known
as gulla. Vadiraja called the people of
the village Mattu (now in Udupi
district) and asked them to cultivate
gulla (hence the term Mattu gulla).

Asian Agri-History Vol. 12, No. 3, 2008

similar in taste), is available in the Kolkata

Lake markets even today. It is also
significant that modern analytical techniques
should reveal that this round variety contains
the least amount of solanine compared with
other brinjal varieties (Bajaj et al., 1979).
The following account of producing wonder
brinjals is worth mentioning at this stage.

Producing wonder brinjals

In his monumental work Vrikshayurveda,
Surapala refers to several special processes
to which brinjal can be subjected in order to
obtain seedless and large-sized fruits.
According to Surapala, vartaka [brinjal]
produced from healthy seeds cultivated with
marrow of a female boar and also nourished
with the sprinkling by the same marrow
mixed in water always produces seedless
fruits (Sadhale, 1996). Although this
treatment sounds rather exotic in the
present-day context, stem cell researchers
today are well aware of the importance of
bone marrow fluids. It is pertinent to mention
here that one of the unique varieties of
brinjal, Mattu gulla, cultivated over the last
500 years in the Mattu village of Udipi
district, Karnataka, continues to be preferred
by the local people even today because of
its special taste, unique flavor, and few seeds.
The unbroken tradition of Mattu gulla
cultivation involves the application of organic
fertilizer prepared predominantly from a local
fish variety called bhutaai. Locals claim
that this treatment results in larger number
of branches, higher yield, and lower
susceptibility to diseases, when compared
with plants grown with artificial fertilizer. It
is possible that Saint Vadiraja had passed
on to cultivators in this region the information

175

The unbroken tradition of Mattu gulla

cultivation involves the application of
organic fertilizer prepared
predominantly from a local fish
variety called bhutaai. Locals claim
that this treatment results in larger
number of branches, higher yield, and
lower susceptibility to diseases, when
compared with plants grown with
artificial fertilizer.

contained in Vrikshayurveda. In fact, verse

102 of this treatise reads: As per the
availability, the fat, the marrow, and the flesh
of fish, the ram, the goat, and other horned
animals should be collected and stored.
Surapala recommends the use of such
ingredients in the preparation of kunapa, a
highly nourishing treatment for plants. The
Sode Matha in Udupi (of which Saint
Vadiraja was the Pontiff from 1488 to 1600)
possesses even today a large number of palm
leaf manuscripts in Sanskrit, many of which
are yet to be scrutinized.
In yet another verse (287288) of the
Vrikshayurveda, Surapala states the
following: A small hole should be bored in
a tender ash gourd; and seed of the neem
tree, profusely smeared with honey and
melted butter should be dropped in through
the hole. After the gourd is fully ripe the
seed should be carefully extracted and sown.
It then produces a plant which produces
ample wealth in the form of brinjals of huge
size (Sadhale, 1996). Time and again,
recent experiments have shown that the
application of the principles of
Vrikshayurveda does produce phenomenal
and interesting results. The experience of

176 Cultivation of brinjal

Mr TV Rao, a progressive farmer of the

Mattu village, is worth a mention here.
Having obtained the seeds of a variety of
brinjal from Kolkata, Mr Rao sowed them
in Mattu providing the same natural, fishbased organic fertilizer as given for the local
variety. The brinjals harvested were almost
the size of pumpkins, but they did not have
the same taste as the local brinjals (TV Rao,
personal communication, 2006). Today,
modern science has enough evidence to
show not only that plants can take up aminoacid-dissolved organic nitrogen directly (i.e.,
without microbial mineralization of organic
nitrogen to ammonium), but also that
different plant species can use the same
nitrogen differently (Weigelt et al., 2005;
Nene, 2006).
Located about 10 km away from Mattu, and
close to the modern educational township
of Manipal, Perampally village too is famous
for its gulla or brinjal. The soil in Perampally
is not sandy as it is not located on the
seashore. The gulla grown in Perampally
is almost similar to that of Mattu, except that
its stalk has no spines, and the fruit itself is
considered less tasty by the local people.
This underlines the significance of the recent
observations that in general dissolved
organic nitrogen and dissolved organic
carbon tend to be higher in sandy soils than
in more heavily textured soils (Neff et al.,
2003).

Time and again, recent experiments

have shown that the application of the
principles of Vrikshayurveda does
produce phenomenal and interesting
results.

Accounts of brinjal in India

during the medieval period
Brinjal figures in the accounts of many
travelers who visited India during the
medieval period. When the famous Chinese
envoy Cheng Ho (Zheng He) visited Bengal
in circa 1406, his interpreter Ma Huan
maintained a detailed travelogue, where he
wrote about the abundance of foodstuffs
including vegetables such as brinjal that
were available in the region (Randhawa,
1982). The Portuguese merchant Domingo
Paes, who visited the famed Vijayanagara
Empire in 1520 AD, similarly wrote about
the . . . loads of . . . wild brinjals, and other
garden stuff in such abundance as to stupefy
one (Kaul, 1979). In his Ain-i-Akbari, the
court historian Abul Fazl provides a detailed
account of the fruits and vegetables grown
in India during the reign of Akbar (1556
1605). The badinjan (brinjal) is one of the
18 vegetables that are available throughout
the year (Blochmann, 1873). The 17 th
century Persian text Nuskha Dar FanniFalahat (The Art of Agriculture) gives
agricultural practices for brinjal. This text is
an extract from a larger work Ganj-eBadawar compiled by Dara Shikoh, a scion
of the family of Mughal emperors (Razia
Akbar, 2000).

Ancient food preparations

with brinjal
The Lingapurana of Gurulinga Desika
(1594 AD) provides a vivid description of
various brinjal preparations seasoning with
ghee, salt, methi (Trigonella foenumgraecum; fenugreek), black gram (urad),
and cream before boiling; roasting in ghee;

Asian Agri-History Vol. 12, No. 3, 2008

placing on red-hot coals to make bhartha;

cutting into small pieces and cooking with
jaggery, etc. (Achaya, 1994). During 1485
AD, Terakanambi Bommarasa wrote about
royal feasts, describing brinjal bhartha made
with coconut shreds, curry leaves, and
cardamom, mixed well and flavored with
citrus juice and a little camphor (Krishna Jois,
1969).
In his work Manasollasa, written about
1130 AD, King Someshwara of Kalyana,
central India (Basava Kalyana, near Bidar),
refers to a non-vegetarian preparation of
mutton, jackal meat, etc., to which brinjal
pieces are added (Shrigondekar, 1939). King
Basavaraja of Keladi (Karnataka), in his
work Shivatattvaratnakara written around
1700 AD, mentions brinjal fried with rice
grits and chopped onion (Achaya, 1994).
Shankaradevas Shreeramabhagavata
refers to the popularity, in medieval Orissa
and Bengal, of boiled rice covered with
water and kept overnight to be eaten the
next morning with brinjal curry or fish as an
accompaniment (Sah, 1976). This practice
is found even today in parts of coastal
Karnataka and Kerala.

Conclusions
The brinjal is a perfect example of a truly
Indian vegetable that has become
globalized over the ages. Its cultivation and
usage over different periods of history is well
documented. Secondly, the example of
Mattu gulla shows how local farmers can
choose a variety that meets their needs and
preferences, and is best suited to their
specific local ecosystem. The practices
adopted by the farmers of Mattu have a
scientific basis both traditional and modern.

177

More scientific studies are needed to

unearth the several interesting features
about brinjal, and to document the traditional
practices that have contributed to higher
yields, unique flavor, and special taste.
Above all, there is an urgent need to further
explore the concept of genius loci (spirit of
the place), and to preserve the geographical
identity of selected varieties of brinjal. It is
only through such an effort that we can
safeguard for posterity the great heritage
so carefully nurtured for centuries by the
local farmers.

Authors note
Several websites recount the story of Saint
Vadiraja and the miracle wrought by the
Mattu gulla brinjal. A simple search on
Mattu gulla through Google or Yahoo
would yield a great deal of information.

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