The first comprehensive book on alcohol in pre-modern India, An
Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions uses a wide
range of sources from the Vedas to the Kamasutra to explore drinks
and styles of drinking, as well as rationales for abstinence from
the earliest Sanskrit written records through the second millennium
CE. Books about the global history of alcohol almost never give
attention to India. But a wide range of texts provide plenty of
evidence that there was a thriving culture of drinking in ancient
and medieval India, from public carousing at the brewery and
drinking house to imbibing at festivals and weddings. There was
also an elite drinking culture depicted in poetic texts (often in
an erotic mode), and medical texts explain how to balance drink and
health. By no means everyone drank, however, and there were many
sophisticated religious arguments for abstinence. McHugh begins by
surveying the intoxicating drinks that were available, including
grain beers, palm toddy, and imported wine, detailing the ways
people used grains, sugars, fruits, and herbs over the centuries to
produce an impressive array of liquors. He presents myths that
explain how drink came into being and how it was assigned the
ritual and legal status it has in our time. The book also explores
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain moral and legal texts on drink and
abstinence, as well as how drink is used in some Tantric rituals,
and translates in full a detailed description of the goddess
Liquor, Suradevi. Cannabis, betel, soma, and opium are also
considered. Finally, McHugh investigates what has happened to these
drinks, stories, and theories in the last few centuries. An Unholy
Brew brings to life the overlooked, complex world of brewing,
drinking, and abstaining in pre-modern India, and offers
illuminating case studies on topics such as law and medicine, even
providing recipes for some drinks.
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