Sarpir-maṇḍa

Sarpir-maṇḍa (Sanskrit: सर्पिर्मण्ड) was a type of dairy product, from five stages of milk described in Hinduism and Buddhist texts.

sarpir-maṇḍa
Chinese name
Chinese醍醐
Korean name
Hangul제호
Japanese name
Hiraganaだいご

As in Buddhist texts

Buddhist texts including Nirvana Sutra describes five stages of milk as an analogy to stages of purification of spirit:

Sanskrit Chinese translation English translation
1क्षीर kṣīra乳milk
2दधि dadhi酪curd or sour milk
3नवनीत navanīta生酥butter
4सर्पिस् sarpis熟酥
5सर्पिर्मण्ड sarpir-maṇḍa醍醐

乳變為酪，酪為生酥，生酥為熟酥，熟酥為醍醐，醍醐為第一。

— 『長阿含經』[1]

Milk yields curd; curd yields butter; butter yields sarpis; sarpis yields sarpir-maṇḍa; sarpir-maṇḍa is the best.

Sarpir-maṇḍa was most probably the early form of ghee.

In East Asia

In Chinese Buddhist texts, sarpir-maṇḍa was translated to tíhú. (醍醐) The entry for tíhú in Compendium of Materia Medica (1578) quotes various references, the earliest of which was written in 5th century Liu Song dynasty.[2]

The word 醍醐 is pronounced daigo in Japan. The word has been used in Daigo Temple, Emperor Daigo, (who has been named after the temple,) and the word daigo-mi (醍醐味), which means a superb flavor.[3]

Japanese Dairy Association claims that Emperor Daigo encouraged the production of so, daigo, and other cheese-like products during this reign in the 10th century.[3]

See also

References
  1. zh:s:長阿含經/卷十七
  2. zh:s:本草綱目/菜之二#醍醐菜
  3. "チーズの歴史　日本乳業協会　 (History of Cheese, by Japan Dairy Industry Association)". 日本乳業協会. Japan Dairy Industry Association. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
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