Śāli

Śāli · śāli, “śāli rice”

Grammar: masculine noun; glossed in the Hindi as अगहनी धान, the winter rice.

Meaning: śāli rice.

In the scriptures: the Bhavishya Purāṇa speaks of śāli in these places:

• Among grains, cīnaka has twice the essence, red grain four times and śāli five times; when old, the essence is greater still (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 12).
• In the Śāka Saptamī vrata, śāli rice mixed with curd is offered as naivedya (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 47).
• Śāli is one of the eight aushadhis, with yava, godhūma, nīvāra, tila, sāṃvā, priyaṅgu and vrīhi (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapters 19–21).
• When Bhagavān Sūrya was drinking amṛta, the drops that fell from his mouth became śāli, mūṅga and ikshu (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 49).
• In the rite for the prīti of Bhagavān Ananta, homa in the second four months, from Caitra, is with śāli grain (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 105–106).
• On each nakshatra a brāhmaṇa is given a ser of śāli rice and a vessel of ghee (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 108–109).

Sources

• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 12, 47; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapters 19–21; Uttara Parva, Chapters 49, 105–106, 108–109