Is honey found in Arka trees?

[Asko H S Parpola]

On Tue, 29 Aug 1995, H. Isaacson wrote:

> The following subhaa.sita is often quoted (eg. "Sabara's Bhaa.sya
> 1.2.4; Yuktidiipikaa ad Saankhyakaarikaa 2;
> Saardhatri"satikaalottaravrtti ad 8.12;
> Nyaayavaarttikataatparya.tiikaa ad Nyaayasuutra 1.2.1 etc.):
> 
> arke cen madhu vindeta kimartham parvata.m vrajet|
> 
> i.s.tasyaarthasya sampraaptau ko vidvaan yatnam aacaret||
> 
> Often Mss give the variant akke for the first word.  Apte (and not
> Monier Williams) defines akka as  `[a] corner of a house'; but he
> cites no instance of its use other than the first paada of the above
> verse (which he also cites under arka).  Does akka occur elsewhere,
> or is Apte's an ad hoc explanation  of a corruption of the word in
> this verse?
> 
> Should one assume that arka is correct and that it refers to the tree 
> (?Calotropis Gigantia (Linn) R.Br ex Ait.)?  Is honey never found in 
> such trees?  Do they grow in the plains and not in mountain regions?
> I think that there is an article about this, but I don't remember 
> the details. I should be grateful, if someone could offer 
> me some help. 
> Dominic Goodall.
>  
> 
The reading akke might stand for arkke, for especially in South 
Indian scripts r is often a minimal stroke, while the stops are doubled 
after r. Apart from the verse quoted, I have not come across references 
to honey in connection with arka, commonly identified with Calotropis 
gigantea. This large shrub is "common in the plains of Northern India and 
in the Peninsula...Lower Burma (Kurz). Ceylon. Malay Penins. and Archip." 
(Dietrich Brandis, Indian trees, London 1906, p. 471). For the Vedic 
symbolism of arka, see Zatapatha-BrAhmaNa 9,1,1,4;9;42 and 10,3,4,3-5.

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Asko Parpola  (E-mail Asko.Parpola at Helsinki.Fi)
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Department of Asian and African Studies, Univ. of Helsinki