Wootz Steel

[N. Ganesan]

<<
I have argued (in a paper entitled "pIta and zaikya/saikya:  Two terms of
Iron and Steel Technology in the MBh" [Journal of the American Oriental
Society, 120.1 (Jan-Mar, 2000), pp.  44-61]) that the MBh knew of steel
produced by a fusion process.

[...]
The commentatorial tradition was not consistent in its treatment of these
terms, and usually relied upon the etymology zaikya < zikya (a carrying
sling, kavadi), which explanation, I believe I have shown in the paper,
does not adequately explain either zaikya or the obvious doublet saikya.

Unsolved problems that stand out after my argument is made:  1) How did
there occur the unusual development from saikya to zaikya?  and 2) Why, as
seems broadly to be the case, was knowledge of this saikya/zaikya steel
forgotten in Sanskrit textual traditions (some traces of recollection do
persist in some inscriptional evidence; see the paper).  I cannot answer
either of these questions, but I believe that readers of the paper will find
the evidence of the MBh text convincing that saikya and zaikya are indeed
two forms of the same word and must indeed refer to metal, usually ferrous
[and hence "steel"], produced by fusion.
>>

"zaikya" mentioned in the commentaries, I believe, can be explained
through Dravidian. Consider the tamil word, "cEku" meaning
solidity or hardness. (See Cologne Online Tamil Lexicon).
There is a common proverb using "cEku",
"maram muRRin2Al cEku; man2itan2 muRRin2Al kuraGku".
(when tree becomes old, it turns solid/hard
(and useful) whereas man becomes a monkey in old age).

Word-initial k-/c- are common. tamil kai = telugu cey = hand;
kEraLa & CEra kings etc., Drav. *kEku (related to cEku, attested in
tamil)  could change to "zeku" in Sanskrit.

This Drav. *kEku/cEku > Skt. *zeku, and then "zaikya" refering
to steel is connected with "eHku" of the sangam texts and "ehu"
mentioned in the Satavahana inscription of the 2nd century.

Regards,
N. Ganesan

My earlier posts with word-initial drav. k- into skt. z-:
1) ziva (23 Dec 1999) < *kiva < drav. kema(=good/auspicious/red)
http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind9912&L=indology&P=R11011&D=1&H=0&O=D&T=1
2) zimIdin, ziva, zibi (30 Dec 1999)
http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind9912&L=indology&P=R13503&D=1&H=0&O=D&T=1
3) karko.taka (25 Nov 1999) = drav. "gem-giver"
http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind9911&L=indology&P=R17156&D=1&H=0&O=D&T=1


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