Ayurvedic treatment is done in two ways-
(A) Cleansing—Through five ways, which are
1. Vaman-getting rid of the bad thing by vomiting.
2. Virechan-getting rid of the bad things from the anus.
3. Vasti-enima.
4. Raktamokshan-throwing out bad blood from the body caused by a poisonous bite.
5. Nasya-giving some greasy thing from the nose.
(B) Suppressing—Treating the disease by giving medicines. This has a comprehensive sphere. Eight kinds of treatments have been given.
1. Kaay chikitsa-ordinary treatment.
2. Kaumaar bhrityam-pediatrics
3. Bhoot vidya-psychiatry.
4. Shalaakya tantra-treatment of the upper parts of the body like ear, nose throat, etc.
5. Shalya tantra-surgery.
6. Agad tantra-treating poison.
7. Rasaayan-chemical treatment or chemotherapy.
8. Baajikaran-increasing virility.
Mrita sanjeevani chaiva vishalyakaranimapi Suvarnakarani chaiva sandhaani cha mahaushadheem. —(Yuddha kaand 74-33) 1.
Meaning:
1. Mritasanjeevani-one that can give new life.
2. Vishalyakarani-one that can pull out the weapons that are embedded in the body.
3. Suvarnakarani-one that can bring back the colour of the skin.
4. Sandhaani-one that can heal he wounds.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Rajyam Pranidhi moolam hi mantrasaram prachakchathe
Meaning: According to those who have great knowledge of intelligence is the foundation of the state and secret consultation is the essence of intelligence
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Sushruta Samhita
Vaktrenotpalanalena yathodharvam jalamadadet Tatha pawanasanyuktah paadaih pibati paadapah.
Meaning: “Just as if one puts the lotus stem in his mouth and sucks to drink water, similarly, with the help of the wind, the plants can drink water from their roots.”
Brihat Samhita - Modern
1. Pandu Patrata - Chlorosis of leaves
2. Pravaal Avriddhi - Falling of buds
3. Shaakha Shosh - Drying up of branches
4. Rasa Struti - Exudation of sap
Meaning: “Just as if one puts the lotus stem in his mouth and sucks to drink water, similarly, with the help of the wind, the plants can drink water from their roots.”
Brihat Samhita - Modern
1. Pandu Patrata - Chlorosis of leaves
2. Pravaal Avriddhi - Falling of buds
3. Shaakha Shosh - Drying up of branches
4. Rasa Struti - Exudation of sap
Friday, January 11, 2008
Hindu Botany
Charak’s classification—In Charak Samhita, by Charak, vegetation has been classified in four different ways:
1. Trees—Which bear fruit without bearing flowers e.g. goolar, jackfruit, etc.
2. Vegetal—Those that bear fruit after the flower e.g. mango, guava, etc.
3. Medicinal—Those fruits which fall off after ripening and becoming dry, e.g. wheat, barley, gram, etc.
4. Veerudh—which have tendrils or fibres, e.g. creepers, climbers, shrubs, etc.
Similarly, trees have also been classified according to their uses:
1. Roots—Whose roots, in comparison to other parts of the plant, are more important. They are 16 in number.
2. Fruits—Whose fruits are more useful.
There are 19 varieties of plants that come under this category. Sage Charka has divided edible plants into seven categories:
1. Bristle crop—Those that have bristles or hair on them like wheat, barley, etc.
2. Pod crop—Which belong to the legume family and which have pods like beans, peas, green lentil, black gram, arhar, etc.
3. Leafy vegetables—Spinach, fenugreek, bathua etc.
4. Fruit—Different fruits.
5. Green vegetables—Various vegetables like bottle gourd, torai (cridged gourd), etc.
6. Food and diet—Sesame, spices, etc. which are used in food.
7. Ikshu (sweet juice) category—Sugar cane and its familes.
Sushruta’s classification- Sushruta classified vegetables into ten categories:
1. Root- radish, etc.
2. Leaf-Whose leaves are used.
3. Thorny leafless shrubs-whose sprouts are used, like bamboo shoots.
4. Front part-Cane, etc.
5. Fruit-All fruit bearing plants.
6. Kaand-kooshmaand (pumpkins), etc.
7. Adhiroodh (flexible)-creepers, vines, etc.
8. Skin or bark-matulung cinnamon, etc.
9. Flowers-Kachnaar, etc.
10. Fungi-Mushrooms.
Sage Parashar’s classification-Maharshi Parashar classified flower bearing plants into families like pod plants, pipeelika catkins ganeeya, swastika ganeeya, tripundak ganeeya, mallika ganeeya and koorch ganeeya. What is amazing is that the modern botanical classification matches Sage Parashar’s classification. For example, let us see the shamiganeeya (leguminous) classification:
Sami tu tundamandala Vishamvidalasmrita Panchamuktadalaishchaiva yuktajaalakarurnitaih Dashabhih keshrairvidyat sami pushpasya lakshanam Samee simbiphala gyeya parshva beeja bhavet sa Vakram vikarnikam pushpam shukaakhya pushpameva cha Etaishcha pushpabhedaistu bhidyante samijatayah.
—(Vriksh Ayurveda-pushpaangsootradhyaya) (This book is available with Ocean Books (P) Ltd. 4/19 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi-110 002.)
Shameeganeeya - Leguminous
According to Parashar - Modern recognition
Tundamandal - Flowers hypogamus
Visham vidal - Unequal corolla lobes
Pancha muktadal - Five true petals
Yukta jaalika - Synsephalous corolla
Dasha prikesar - Ten stamens
1. Trees—Which bear fruit without bearing flowers e.g. goolar, jackfruit, etc.
2. Vegetal—Those that bear fruit after the flower e.g. mango, guava, etc.
3. Medicinal—Those fruits which fall off after ripening and becoming dry, e.g. wheat, barley, gram, etc.
4. Veerudh—which have tendrils or fibres, e.g. creepers, climbers, shrubs, etc.
Similarly, trees have also been classified according to their uses:
1. Roots—Whose roots, in comparison to other parts of the plant, are more important. They are 16 in number.
2. Fruits—Whose fruits are more useful.
There are 19 varieties of plants that come under this category. Sage Charka has divided edible plants into seven categories:
1. Bristle crop—Those that have bristles or hair on them like wheat, barley, etc.
2. Pod crop—Which belong to the legume family and which have pods like beans, peas, green lentil, black gram, arhar, etc.
3. Leafy vegetables—Spinach, fenugreek, bathua etc.
4. Fruit—Different fruits.
5. Green vegetables—Various vegetables like bottle gourd, torai (cridged gourd), etc.
6. Food and diet—Sesame, spices, etc. which are used in food.
7. Ikshu (sweet juice) category—Sugar cane and its familes.
Sushruta’s classification- Sushruta classified vegetables into ten categories:
1. Root- radish, etc.
2. Leaf-Whose leaves are used.
3. Thorny leafless shrubs-whose sprouts are used, like bamboo shoots.
4. Front part-Cane, etc.
5. Fruit-All fruit bearing plants.
6. Kaand-kooshmaand (pumpkins), etc.
7. Adhiroodh (flexible)-creepers, vines, etc.
8. Skin or bark-matulung cinnamon, etc.
9. Flowers-Kachnaar, etc.
10. Fungi-Mushrooms.
Sage Parashar’s classification-Maharshi Parashar classified flower bearing plants into families like pod plants, pipeelika catkins ganeeya, swastika ganeeya, tripundak ganeeya, mallika ganeeya and koorch ganeeya. What is amazing is that the modern botanical classification matches Sage Parashar’s classification. For example, let us see the shamiganeeya (leguminous) classification:
Sami tu tundamandala Vishamvidalasmrita Panchamuktadalaishchaiva yuktajaalakarurnitaih Dashabhih keshrairvidyat sami pushpasya lakshanam Samee simbiphala gyeya parshva beeja bhavet sa Vakram vikarnikam pushpam shukaakhya pushpameva cha Etaishcha pushpabhedaistu bhidyante samijatayah.
—(Vriksh Ayurveda-pushpaangsootradhyaya) (This book is available with Ocean Books (P) Ltd. 4/19 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi-110 002.)
Shameeganeeya - Leguminous
According to Parashar - Modern recognition
Tundamandal - Flowers hypogamus
Visham vidal - Unequal corolla lobes
Pancha muktadal - Five true petals
Yukta jaalika - Synsephalous corolla
Dasha prikesar - Ten stamens
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Utthishtitha jagrata prapya varannibodhata
Meaning : Arise, Awake and stop Not Till the Goal is Reached.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition - Plants too have life
In Chapter 184 of the Shanti Parva in the Mahabharata, there is a dialogue between Sages Bharadwaj and Bhrigu. In it, Sage Bharadwaj asks that since trees can neither see nor hear, nor smell, nor feel pleasure, nor have the sense of touch, then how are they animate or living and how are they constituted by the five elements?
Sage Bhrigu replied: “O Sage, although the trees seem solid, yet there is no doubt that they have the space. That is why it is possible for them to bear fruits and flowers.
“The heat that the trees have shrivels or withers the leaves, the bark, the flowers and the fruits and they fall off. Therefore, it also proves that they have the sense of touch.
“It has also been seen that when there is a loud sound like that of the harsh winds, fire, thunder, etc. the flowers and the fruits of trees fall off. This proves that trees can hear also.
“The creeper covers the tree from all sides and climbs right to the top. No one can find his way unless he can see. This proves that trees can see too.
“With pure and holy fragrance, the tree becomes healthy and grows better. This proves that they can smell also.
“They drink water from their roots and if they are suffering from some disease we can put some medicine in their roots. This way, we can treat them too. This proves that trees have the sense of taste.
“Such as a man sucks water through a lotus stem into his mouth, likewise trees suck water through their roots upward with the help of wind.
Sukhdukhyoshcha grahanaacchinnasya cha virohanaat Jeevam pashyami Vrikshanam chaitanyam na vidyate.
“When a tree is cut, it sprouts again and they accept joys and sorrows. Hence, I see that trees also have life and that they are not non-living things.
“The wind and the heat inside the tree help it to digest the water that it takes in from its roots. Complete assimilation of the food gives it glossiness and it grows well.”
Besides this, the sages Charak and Udayan have also described the feelings of life that one can observe or notice in trees and plants. Sage Charka says: Tachyetanaavad Chetananch meaning they (trees) also have life like living creature.
He further says Atra Sendriyatvena Vrikshadinaamapi Cetanatvam Bodhavyam meaning trees also have feelings. Therefore, we must know that they too have organs and hence life.
Udayan also says, Vrikshadayah pratiniyatbhokytradhisththitah jeevanamaranaswapna jaagaranarogabheshaja prayogabaajasaja ateeyanubandhanuku lopagampratikoo lapagamaadibhyah prasiddha shareerawat. —(Udayan-prithvinirupanam)
“Like a human body, trees also experience the following feelings-life, death, dream, waking up, disease, medicinal treatment, seed, grafting, accepting what is suitable and rejecting what is not.”
Sage Bhrigu replied: “O Sage, although the trees seem solid, yet there is no doubt that they have the space. That is why it is possible for them to bear fruits and flowers.
“The heat that the trees have shrivels or withers the leaves, the bark, the flowers and the fruits and they fall off. Therefore, it also proves that they have the sense of touch.
“It has also been seen that when there is a loud sound like that of the harsh winds, fire, thunder, etc. the flowers and the fruits of trees fall off. This proves that trees can hear also.
“The creeper covers the tree from all sides and climbs right to the top. No one can find his way unless he can see. This proves that trees can see too.
“With pure and holy fragrance, the tree becomes healthy and grows better. This proves that they can smell also.
“They drink water from their roots and if they are suffering from some disease we can put some medicine in their roots. This way, we can treat them too. This proves that trees have the sense of taste.
“Such as a man sucks water through a lotus stem into his mouth, likewise trees suck water through their roots upward with the help of wind.
Sukhdukhyoshcha grahanaacchinnasya cha virohanaat Jeevam pashyami Vrikshanam chaitanyam na vidyate.
“When a tree is cut, it sprouts again and they accept joys and sorrows. Hence, I see that trees also have life and that they are not non-living things.
“The wind and the heat inside the tree help it to digest the water that it takes in from its roots. Complete assimilation of the food gives it glossiness and it grows well.”
Besides this, the sages Charak and Udayan have also described the feelings of life that one can observe or notice in trees and plants. Sage Charka says: Tachyetanaavad Chetananch meaning they (trees) also have life like living creature.
He further says Atra Sendriyatvena Vrikshadinaamapi Cetanatvam Bodhavyam meaning trees also have feelings. Therefore, we must know that they too have organs and hence life.
Udayan also says, Vrikshadayah pratiniyatbhokytradhisththitah jeevanamaranaswapna jaagaranarogabheshaja prayogabaajasaja ateeyanubandhanuku lopagampratikoo lapagamaadibhyah prasiddha shareerawat. —(Udayan-prithvinirupanam)
“Like a human body, trees also experience the following feelings-life, death, dream, waking up, disease, medicinal treatment, seed, grafting, accepting what is suitable and rejecting what is not.”
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
India’s science heritage
Sanskrit was the medium of communication, education, law, administration, trade, commerce, art and intellectual debates till a few centuries ago. Our knowledge of astronomy was much more advanced than that of the West. This is proved when we read the Rig Veda where some of the following points have been expounded on:
The elliptical path through which all the celestial bodies move is “imperishable and unslackened”.
The mean planets move on their orbits and the true planets in eccentric circles.
The cause of eclipse is that the moon that covers the sun and the shadow of the earth covers the moon.
The influence of comets increases rapidly in the autumn and spring seasons as these naturally exist in the solar rays.
In the eighth region of the sky there are 3,07,03,2212 comets.
The moon is a satellite of the earth revolving around its mother planet.
The radius of the earth is 800 yojanas.
Massive celestial bodies are attracted towards the earth by her gravitational force.
Bhaskaracharya discovered the nadivalayam which helped people to determine the time
The shanku yantram was discovered to trace the sun’s path and find time.
Similarly, Sanskrit revealed our ancient knowledge of physics—the speed of light as 2,202 yojanas in half a minute;
the sequence of the creation of matter is as follows: akasha, vayu, agni, apa, prithvi; units of measurement, electricity generation by using copper plates and chemicals kept in earthen pots; formation of rainbow, motion, lens, elasticity, etc.
The elliptical path through which all the celestial bodies move is “imperishable and unslackened”.
The mean planets move on their orbits and the true planets in eccentric circles.
The cause of eclipse is that the moon that covers the sun and the shadow of the earth covers the moon.
The influence of comets increases rapidly in the autumn and spring seasons as these naturally exist in the solar rays.
In the eighth region of the sky there are 3,07,03,2212 comets.
The moon is a satellite of the earth revolving around its mother planet.
The radius of the earth is 800 yojanas.
Massive celestial bodies are attracted towards the earth by her gravitational force.
Bhaskaracharya discovered the nadivalayam which helped people to determine the time
The shanku yantram was discovered to trace the sun’s path and find time.
Similarly, Sanskrit revealed our ancient knowledge of physics—the speed of light as 2,202 yojanas in half a minute;
the sequence of the creation of matter is as follows: akasha, vayu, agni, apa, prithvi; units of measurement, electricity generation by using copper plates and chemicals kept in earthen pots; formation of rainbow, motion, lens, elasticity, etc.
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