[INDOLOGY] rubrication in Indian mss.

[Ashok Aklujkar]

I recall being told in Kerala many years ago that palm leaves are kept in mud or muddy waters after they are taken off the trees and before they are cut to a specific rectangular shape to form the material for manuscript writing. Soft earth or clay (mṛtsnā) may in some cases refer to mud in such processing. 

Soft clay is also applied to body in Āyurvedic treatments.

a.a.