270 Birds in Sanskrit Literature and head covered with bare red skin and hence described as an (red- faced) in बृहत्संहिता, 62, 1.1 The महाव्युत्पत्ति, 213 mentions मयूर for the Monal, वहीं for the Peacock, first for the crested Pheasants, for the Peacock Pheasant, andकुट for the Common or Junglefowl. पद्मपुराण mentions कुक्कुट, शिखी (शिखिनः, crested Pheasants) and मयूर but permits only the last as food. fort, and (crested Pheasants, Peacock and Cock respectively) are mentioned in three consecutive paragraphs of चरकसंहिता 3. f, as we shall see, is strictly the Peacock Pheasant but the later Purāņa literature seems to have grouped all the Himalayan Pheasants, principally those that occur in the Central and Western Himalayas as offenfa (the Pheasant-tribe):- मत्तक्रौञ्चमयूराणां नादैरुपघुष्टकन्दरे । जीवजीवकजातीनां वी-रुद्भिरुपशोभिते ॥ वायुपुराण, 54,33. ब्रह्माण्डपुराण, 1.25, 28. जीवञ्जीवकजातीनां विरावैरुपकूजिते । चातकैः प्रियपुवैश्च जीवञ्जीवकजातिभिः । ब्रह्मपुराण, 68, 16 The common name for all Partridges is fafere and for all Quails afar though quite a number of well marked species in both the groups have specific names in Sanskrit. These will be given under each group of birds. A. PEAFOWL India has only one variety of Peafowl within its limits but it also happens to be the most beautiful and gorgeous looking bird and, what is more, it is readily tamed. For these reasons the Peacock has been a favo- urite with the people, and the poets have given him a permanent place in literature, singing of his love for the clouds, his beauty and sonorous cries (sonorous by contrast with the thundering of rain-clouds), and the grace- ful dance with "the train expanded into a gorgeous fan" in which the bird proudly indulges during courtship and at other times to express his shear joy of living. No wonder, therefore, that such a popular bird should have been given many poetic names in addition to the common one of ' Only a few of them may be mentioned: waffe (enemy or eater of snakes); नीलकण्ठ (blue-necked); सारङ्ग (variegated or painted); राजसारस (the shining crane-like bird); a (shining, but if taken in the sense of 'white' the 2. anferere, Ch. 56, 31-38. 3. fafara Ch. 12., 38-40, 1. Similarly the term are distinguishes the wild Cock with a red fleshy crest from the others having a feathery crest. Peafowls, Junglefowls, Pheasants, and Quails name may refer to an albino form of the white Peacock imported from China); far (having the orbital skin of a white colour); and fireft (having a crest). He has also been called age to distinguish it from or 'the little Peacock', the Impeyan Pheasant or Monal:- "महामयूराञ्जयति स्वरेण बलेन नागान्तुरगाञ्जवेन ।" –भेलसंहिता' The snake-eating habit of the Peacock, implying the power of destroying snake-poison, has been referred to in the "fafan" of the Rgveda ("विसप्त मयूर्य:" etc.). Like the Flamingoes flying high, in formation (बलाकपंक्ति) and the birds calling from the tree tops, the Peacocks also have a permanent association with rain-clouds. Dancing to their mates in open forest glades, they add a peculiar charm to forest scenery :- "घनानां शऋचापेन वनानां शिखिताण्डवैः । परस्परप्रभापुञ्जस्पर्धेव समजायत ।।” “क्वचित्प्रनृत्तैः क्वचिदुन्नदद्भिः क्वचिच्च वृक्षाग्रनिषण्णकायैः । व्यालम्बबर्हाभरणमयूरः -भारतमञ्जरी 271 बनेषु सङगीतमिव प्रवृत्तम्" ॥ - रामायण B. JUNGLEFOWLS AND PHEASANTS Two kinds of Junglefowl, y or , occur in India, the Red and the Grey. The former is common throughout the lower Himalayas and the Gangetic plain, and the latter in the Peninsula and as far north and west as Mt. Aboo. This last has been a celebrated place of pilgrimage for ages and is repeatedly mentioned in the Puraņas. The Indo-Aryans, therefore, must have known and named both the varieties of wild Cock. The Cock has also been domesticated in India from time immemorial (See AV. 5.31.2) and several colour types of it including the red and the grey have been mentioned in the बृहत्संहिताः- “यवग्रीवो यो वा बदरसदृशो वाऽपि विगो" - 62.2. Cock-fighting too was very popular and one such fight is described in the agarafa, where the combatant birds are described as fefe, and 1. P. 170, 232. The हारीतसंहिता, Ch. 11, मांसवर्ग, also mentions नील मयूर and मयूरक 2. 1.191.14. 3. हरिवंश 570. 4. 4.28.37.
