Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal 1948 (Science)

In judging the knowledge of the ancient Hindus regarding fish it must be borne in mind that they settled and flourished in the plains of the Indus' and the Ganges. [...] Kautilya's 2 Artlusdstra is the earliest known dated work of the ancient Hindus having been written somewhere between 321 and 300 B. C. The work deals with the art of government the duties of kings ministers and officials and the methods of diplomacy. [...] In Book XIII Chapter V dealing with the operation of a siege Kautilya advises the reduction of the enemy before the commencement of the siege and among a large number of other measures suggests: 'A splinter of fire kept in the body of a dried fish may be caused to be carried off by a monkey or a crow or any other bird (to the thatched roofs of the houses)' (p. [...] With regard to conch shells the fixation of the amount of the toll was left to the judgement of experts. [...] It is known to fish culturists that the quality of the food determines the taste and flavour of the fish.