Sura (alcoholic drink)

Surāh (Sanskrit and Pāli; Devanāgarī: सुरा) is a strong distilled alcoholic drink originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is referred to as an anaesthetic by Suśruta (a surgeon in India circa 400 BCE). Other ancient medical authorities also mention it; Charaka referred to making a woman with a miscarriage senseless to pain by administering alcoholic drinks like "surā", "sīdhu", "ariṣṭa", "madhu", "madirā" or "āsava".
The method for preparation appears in the Atharvaveda in the Kandas 5 and 8.
Even today the drink is tradionally made at homes in Khar Danda village of Mumbai.
In Buddhist texts "surāh" is mentioned as one of intoxicating drinks, along with (Pali) "meraya" (Sanskrit "maireya", a drink made with sugar cane and several spices) and "majja" (maybe equivalent of Sanskrit "madhu", mead or hydromel), and renunciation of its usage constitutes the 5th of the Buddhist precepts (pañca-sīlāni): "I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drinks which cause heedlessness" ("Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi").