Rasadarpana
AN ANCIENT INDIAN CONCEPT
Wikipedia mentions the word soup comes from French soupe ("soup", "broth"), which comes through Vulgar Latin suppa ("bread soaked in broth") from a Germanic source, from which also comes the word "sop" , a piece of bread used to soak up soup or a thick stew.
In dictonaries such as Oxford Learner's, Collins, Merriam-Webster, Britannica, Cambridge, American, Urban and Wordsmith Children's Dictionary; Soup is defined as a liquid food made by boiling meat, vegetables, etc. in water, and often containing pieces of solid food. It also includes a definition for soup as something that has the consistency or nutrient qualities of soup, such as a heavy fog or nitro-glycerine.
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In Hinduism Dharmashastra (religious law) or Manusmṛti with the Manubhasya, categorized as smriti, an important and authoritative selection of books dealing with the Hindu lifestyle; the word Supa (सूप), ‘supa’ is defined as special preparation of Mudga and other grains cooked with rice, and culled ‘baranna’, and ‘saka’ for cooked roots, fruits, leaves etc.; the particle ‘ca’ includes other rich kinds of food, milk-rice, cakes, and so forth. (Manusmṛti Verse 3.226. [Section XIV - Method of Feeding])
Philologists Jones and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, in the 18th century, dated Manusmriti to around 1250 BCE and 1000 BCE respectively, which, from later linguistic developments, is untenable due to the language of the text which must be later than the late Vedic texts such as the Upanishads, themselves dated a few centuries later, around 500 BCE.
ManusmritiFurther, Ayurveda, India’s traditional healthcare system, that originated more than 5,000 years ago was originally transmitted orally. Ayurveda’s earliest concepts were first recorded during Vedic period. Documented history available today from the Indian subcontinent dates 3,500 years and those references suggests that the oral tradition of Ayurveda is much older.
Present and Prospect of World Traditional Medicine
In Ayurveda, Supa (सूप) refers to “soup”, according to the Astadhyayi VI.2.128, and is commonly found in literature dealing with the topics of dietetics and culinary art, also known as Pakasastra or Pakakala.
Of the pulse preparations, kulmasa is the most prominent one among the common people. It is prepared by stewing beans and mixing them with a little guda and oil. Astadhyayi says another preparation of pulse called as supa (soup).
Valmīkiramayana (Ayodhyakanda 91.67 ) describes a liquid spicy preparation known as supa, which was prepared with fruit juices.
The scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE,[7][8] and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE,[9] although original date of composition is unknown. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a process of interpolations and redactions, making it impossible to date accurately.
In Toxicology i.e. Study and Treatment of poison; Shodhganga: Kasyapa Samhita—Text on Visha Chikitsa, Supa (सूप) refers to a “lunch of lentils”, and is used in the treatment of rat-poison such as those caused by the Sudanta-rats.
A conventional medical view might take some exception to aspects of herbal philosophy and approach to treatment that may follow some rather unorthodox lines .There may not be much scientific justification for example, the use of 'alternative" or cleansing herbs to clear the body of toxins, or cooling herbs to clear 'accumulated heat', but they are integral to the philosophies of ancient and respected systems, such as Chinese, Tibetan, And Ayurvedic medicine, that have survived almost intact for at least 56000 years.
“All these are neutralised by having a lunch of lentils (supa) [supena bhojanam]. A paste made from the powder of Asana and ghee mixed with water of Vajrika must be applied. Fumigation must be done with these and powder of the roots of sirīsa Nakula”.
In Unclassified Ayurveda definitions such Sushruta samhita, Volume II, Supa (सूप, “soup”), is a a salted decoction of any substance seasoned with spices is called Supa while the one unsalted and unseasoned is called Yusha.
In preparing the soup of any pulse, all husks should be carefully thrashed out and the grain should be slightly fried before boiling.
Also seen in Sushruta-samhita,
Cikitsastha Volume 4, Chapter IX: The medical treatment of cutaneous
affections.
Chapter XXIX - Elixirs (rasayana) for the prevention of death and decay,
“.....the expressed juice of the Amalaka should be invariably mixed
with any kind of
Yusha
or supa”
In The Garuda Purana (by Manmatha Nath Dutt) Chapter CXCII -
Medicinal recipes of
inffalible
effcacies < [Dhanvantari Samhita],
“A Supa (salted soup), well-cooked and taken
lukewarm, forms a light diet”.
Even in Mahabharata, probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE Mahabharata Supa (सूप) refers to a “sauce” (book 10, chapter 5, verse 2).
Accordingly, “Having worshipped a learned man even for a long time, a stupid [man, even if a] hero does not know his religious duties, like a ladle [does not know] the flavour of the sauce (supa-rasa)”.
Name
System
गुणांश्च सूपशाकाद्यान् पयो दधि घृतं मधु | विन्यसेत् प्रयतः पूर्वं भूमावेव समाहितः || २२६ ||॥
guṇāṃśca sūpaśākādyān payo dadhi ghṛtaṃ madhu | vinyaset prayataḥ pūrvaṃ bhūmāveva samāhitaḥ || 226 ||
Bookname & Number
Manusmiriti 3.226
Name
System
सूपं भूयिष्ठमन्नीष्वं नाद्य मांसं यथा पूरा
(sūpaṃ bhūyiṣṭhamannīṣvaṃ nādya māṃsaṃ yathā pūrā)
Bookname & Number
Mahābhārata 12.29.128
Name
System
पच्यन्तांविविधाःपाकाःसूपान्ताःपायसादयः
(pacyantāṃ vividhāḥ pākāḥ sūpāntāḥ pāyasādayaḥ)
Bookname & Number
Bhāgavata 1.24.26; 11.27.34.