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Alcoholic drinks from Ancient and medieval India

Mādhvī / mādhvīka (ancient Indian mahua-flower or honey liquor)माध्वी

Mādhvī is one of the three kinds of surā named in the Laws of Manu, beside gauḍī from jaggery and paiṣṭī from grain. Bühler's translation, following the commentators, takes it as liquor from madhūka (mahua) flowers, while Bhishagratna's Suśruta translation glosses mādhvīka as a weak liquor made from honey. No recipe with amounts or times is known, so the process here is only an outline.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Mādhvī / mādhvīka itself. Its own sources do not record how it is made, so the steps and scenes below are those of Mahua (mahua flower liquor), the closest documented alcoholic drinks ferment, shown as a guide to the method, not as a record of Mādhvī / mādhvīka.

Short entryAlcoholic drinks

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo recipe survives in the sources read; they name the drink but give no amounts.
Madhūka (mahua) flowers or honeyThe sources disagree on the base and give no amounts[manu-buhler][sushruta-2]

Total time across the steps of Mahua (mahua flower liquor): 10 days – 16 days

Start
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40–43 °C

What changes: Fallen mahua flowers dry in the sun and their sugar concentrates

Step 1 of 4 · steps of Mahua (mahua flower liquor)
Collect and sun-dry fallen flowers
Time
5–7 days
Reported
Temperature
40–43 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Yeasts

Output: dried mahua flowers, stored in gunny bags.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Mādhvī is one of the three kinds of surā named in the Laws of Manu, beside gauḍī from jaggery and paiṣṭī from grain. Bühler's translation, following the commentators, takes it as liquor from madhūka (mahua) flowers, while Bhishagratna's Suśruta translation glosses mādhvīka as a weak liquor made from honey. No recipe with amounts or times is known, so the process here is only an outline.

What makes this one different

Mādhvī is defined by its sweet base (mahua flowers or honey), where gauḍī is made from jaggery and paiṣṭī from ground grain. Modern mahua liquor is made from the same flowers.

Related ferments

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Laws of Manu XI.95 in Bühler's translation names three kinds of surā. The Suśruta Saṃhitā recommends mādhvīka in some treatments and calls it a weak wine.

  1. [manu-buhler] The Laws of Manu, trans. G. Bühler 1886, Sacred Books of the East vol. 25, ch. XI verse 95, p. 450; scan on archive.orgarchive
  2. [sushruta-2] Sushruta Samhita, trans. Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna, vol. 2, Chikitsa sthanam, p. 377 (mādhvīka "prepared from honey") and an earlier chapter calling it "a kind of weak wine"; scan on archive.orgarchive
  3. [s1] wisdomlib.org, Madhvika and Madhvi definitions (not reachable for checking in 2026-10)web