Sarpir-maṇḍa

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

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

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

Sarpir-maṇḍa has been theorised to be 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 the 5th century Liu Song dynasty.

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

According to The Japanese Dairy Association, Emperor Daigo encouraged the production of so, daigo, and other cheese-like products during his reign in the 10th century.