There are thousands of medicinal plant species found in the materia medica of Ayurveda, a tribute to the great biodiversity of the Indian subcontinent. Ayurveda has a unique way of understanding plants, with classic treatises like Charaka Samhita providing an exhaustive description of around 600 plants and their medicinal uses. It contains information on nomenclature, descriptions for identification, biological…
According to Ayurveda, food is meant for nourishment and is to be consumed based on bodily needs rather than by the dictates of taste value of the eatable. Diet is considered a more significant modifier than even drugs, which are secondarily resorted to when dietary correction is insufficient. Thus food is to be consumed with…
Each individual is born with a particular dosha predominating his or her constitution that is determined at conception. Thus permutations of vata, pitta and kapha during fertilization determine his/her constitution or Prakrti. There are thus seven basic types of Prakrti namely vata, pitta, kapha, vata-pitta, vata-kapha, pitta-kapha and vata-pitta-kapha. These basic traits are also shaped by other important factors such as diet, lifestyle, behaviour, emotions and seasons. Depending on lifestyle choices, this predominant dosha,…
The fundamental doctrines of Ayurveda describe the human system in terms of 3 doshas that describe its principle of function, 7 dhatus that describe the principle of structure and 3 malas through which bodily impurities (physical and subtle) are eliminated. A balance of these doshas, good quality structural supports – the 7 dhatus (Ras – plasma, Rakta – blood, Mamsa – muscles, Meda – fat, Asthi – bone…
Also called Sleshma, it is the formative, cohesive, cementing and cooling component lending firmness, stability, flexibility and calmness to the body. It aids anabolism and builds up tissues. Enabling mental strength, endurance and bodily resistance to diseases, kapha most strongly relates to the physical structure of the body. Kapha is the cooling element that keeps vata and pitta confined to their normal limits, in…
It corresponds to metabolism of western physiology and is roughly synonymous to bodily fire. All metabolic processes in the organism are pitta mediated. Thereby it governs all metabolic transformation in the body involving digestion, absorption, assimilation, nutrition, temperature, skin colour, lustre of the eye, intelligence and understanding. Through it are aroused anger, hate and jealousy. Energy being…
According to Charaka Samhita, vata is the grossest manifestation of the Panchabhautic vayu or air element and is the motivating force which keeps everything going (read as moving). This subtle influence pervading everywhere governs all biological movement – breathing, blinking, muscle and joint movement, heart beat and all nerve and membrane contractions and expansions, as well as tremors and spasms.…
Health is defined in Ayurveda as the soundness of body (sharira), mind (manas) and soul (atma). Each part of this tripod of life should receive equal attention as psychic influences strongly affect the body in health as well as in disease, a fact that is only recently being acknowledged in modern medical science. Modern medicine takes…
Table 2.2 Gurvadi gunas – the 10 opposing pairs of qualities Guru (heavy) Laghu (light) Manda (slow) Tiksna (fast) Sita (cold) Usna (hot) Snigdha (greasy) Ruksa (dry) Slaksna (smooth) Khara (rough) Sandra (solid) Drava (fluid) Mrdu (soft) Kathina (hard) Sthira (stable) Cala (moving) Suksma (subtle) Sthula (obvious) Visada (friction) Picchila (slimy) Italics – upakarmas Table 2.3 Pancha Mahabhootas, Tanmatras and Gurvadi gunas…
Matter is a mixture of five universal elements containing one or the other in a predominant ratio. According to Sushruta, all substances are derived from a combination of the five bhootas and a predominance of any one of them in a particular substance determines its character and this is at the heart of Ayurvedic pharmacology. Apart from…