Mother Earth and The Science of Medicines
Reference: A text book of Dravyaguna Vignana — By: Dr. Prakash L. Hegde and Dr. Harini A.
Before I talk about the science of medicines as per Ayurveda, I would briefly like to touch upon the magnificence of our planet earth. In the Hindu vedic philosophy, earth (Prithvi or Bhumi), is the manifestation of goddess Lakshmi as the mother. In Srimad Bhagavatam, she assumes the form of a cow and supplicates to the lord of the universe, Mahavishnu, to rid her of sinful kings and rulers who have been plundering her resources and impoverishing her. She is the consort of Varaha, an avatar of Vishnu.
The Science of Ayurveda is supposed to have been passed on from the creator Brahma in the form of hymns, to his son, Daksh Prajapathi, who later enlightened the king of heavens, Indra, about this sophisticated healing process. The first mortal to have learnt the science from Indra is supposed to be rishi Bharadwaj, who spread it to other sages and demi-gods.
In modern science, we know how earth revolves around the sun in the solar system. Earth, the only planet that is the home for life, nourishes her flora and fauna with the help of sun’s radiant energy. Sun or Surya, in Hindu mythology is the father of Manu (the progenitor of human race) and Yama (the god of death). As much as Surya is a father and nourisher of all living things on earth, representative of brilliance, consistency and valor, mother earth is representative of the qualities of patience and forbearance. Mother earth is closer to us is in proximity and is one of the panchamahabhootas (five elements) that forms our material body. Upon death again, she assimilates the physical matter that remains of us. Her gravitational pull is that attractive quality that holds us together and sustains us. In a very poetic way, one could postulate that it is through this attractive love that she keeps us close to her, like a mother.
Prithvi is a part of all living things that proliferate on or within her. Plants that use solar energy to photosynthesize, are extensively used for their medicinal value in treating illnesses and maintaining health. When Prithvi is generative, she is believed to produce plants with high medicinal value. In Ayurveda, the branch of knowledge called Dravyaguna Vignana deals with the Guna (properties), Karma (actions) and Prayoga (therapeutics) of Dravya (drugs). Acharyas used medicinal plants judiciously as medicines(Aushadha) and food(Ahara). For a successful treatment of any illness the co-existance of Chatuspada (four limbs of treatment) is essential. The four limbs are: Bhisak (physician), Dravya (medicine), Upasthata(nurse or attender) and Rogi (patient). Dravya therefore is an important component (2nd in importance in the list of essentials) of treatment. According to Master Caraka, there is no substance that cannot be used as a drug. The boon and bane of any drug however, lies in it’s judicious usage. A poisonous drug when used skillfully becomes the best medicine and the best medicine when improperly administered transforms into poison. Therefore an important part of ayurvedic studies focusses on the usage and knowledgeability of dravya. A physician who can administer drugs according to the condition of the patient is judged as a Sresta Vaidya (or a supreme doctor).
The panchamahabhutas (earth, water, fire, air and ether) are the inborn constituents of every dravya. There are seven basic principles or Sapta Padarthas, that constitute the understanding of dravyas. They are: Dravya (drug substance itself) , Guna (property of the drug that relates to the prominent mahabhuta. The five properties are — Sabda or sound which is an ether property, Sparsha or touch which is an air property, Rupa or form which is a fire property, Rasa or taste which is a water property, Gandha or smell which is an earth property), Vipaka (taste conversion after digestion — Jatharagni or the digestive fire plays an important role in how dravya is assimilated), Karma (action of the drug: burning sensation, digestion, causing fatigue, inducing sweat, inducing vomit, causing purgation, causing giddiness, inducing thirst, causing discomfort), Rasa (taste of the drug: the six rasas are — madhura or sweet, amla or sour, lavana or salty, katu or pungent, tikta or bitter, kasaya or astringent), Virya(potency of the drug: light,heavy, hot, cold etc.) and Prabhava (special effect of the drug). Classification of drugs can be based on these padarthas. Again, drugs are classified based on where they are grown (underground or above the ground) , which part of the plant is used, habit of the plant (tree, shrub, creeper, herb), life span of the plant, nature (terrestial, aquatic, parasitic etc). Study and classification of herbs based on each the Sapta Padartha mentioned above, makes it possible for a physician to understand it’s transformation, action and their effect on the tridoshas. It is generally proposed that similar properties enhance the respective qualities inside the body and opposite properties reduce the qualities, although it is not a hard-and-fast rule. I prepared the following table for my readers to understand how the rasa gunas of the dravyas affect the tridoshas.
The combination of several drugs or aushadha dravyas having similar morphology and pharmacological actions come under the umbrella of misraka vargikarana. Many physicians who are adept at doing this, create a combination of drugs with advantageous properties for curing an illness. For example Triphala uses a combination of three fruits (Amlaki — Indian Gooseberry, Vibhitaki — Black Myrobalan, Haritaki-Belleric Myrobalan) to cure various diseases. The ratio of the three fruits in Triphala differ as per acharyas. Most ayurvedic medicines that are administered are combination drugs.
Knowledge of nomenclature of plants (Nama Gnana), morphology(Rupa Gnana) and medicinal properties (Guna Gnana) are necessary to understand the taxonomy of plants. The properties of dravya depend on the bhumi where it is grown, referred to as desa (depending on whether it is forest land, mountain, or a plane). Characteristic of the soil in the land depends on altitude, temperature, humidity, fertility and rainfall. Collection of plants is an important stage for further processing and formulation of medicines. Few criteria on the basis of which drug is collected are : part of the plant, season, time, method, purpose and drug potency. The drugs should be collected from non-infested, toxin-free, non-damaged and deep rooted plants that are grown in moderate conditions (never extremes of weather). They should be collected in the morning hours in a healthy mental and physical disposition. There are suitable times mentioned for collection of different parts of the plant. Medicines are sometimes also collected from animals. Storing and preservation of drugs also has detailed methods.
Food substances that dislodge the doshas but do not expel them out of the body are known as Viruddha or Ahita Dravyas (incompatible). Caraka has mentioned 18 types of Viruddhas. These are: a) Desa Virudha — not following rules and regulations as per region b) Kala Viruddha — depending on time, one has to take proper food c) Agni Virudha — as per hunger or agnibala one has to take food d) Matra Viruddha — some substances taken in equal amounts may cause harm e) Satmya Viruddha — person habituated to one quality in substance when consuming substance of opposite quality f) Dosa Viruddha — using similar qualities that vitiate a dosa will aggravate the condition g) Samskara Virudha— If proper processing is not followed while preparing the food h) Virya Viruddha — Combination of substances having opposite potency g) Kostha Viruddha — Medicines not consumed as per nature of stomach h) Avastha Virudha — food consumed without assessing condition of the person i) Krama Virudha — if a person does not follow an order j) Parihara Virudha — different combination of foods k) Upachara Virudha — again, different and disallowed combinations l) paka virudha — if proper method of cooking is not followed m) samyoga virudha — combining two different rasas n) hrt virudha — substance not pleasant to mind o) sampat virudha — consuming immature, over mature or rotten food p) vidhi virudha — not following some rules while eating food — example eating in public. Eating virudha ahara results in indriya dourbalya (weakening of sense organs) or even mrutyu (death). There are exceptions to eating virudha ahara.
Bhaisajya kala means, time of administration of drugs, is also an important aspect of healing. It depends on time of the day, nature of the patient, nature of medicine, nature of disease, stage of food digestion and season. There are different rules to the time of administration of medicines for best results that a physician is knowledgeable about. Also the part of administration is different for different illnesses. Example: medicines administered through mouth cures diseases of the stomach, if administered through nose cures diseases pertaining to head, if administered through rectal route cures diseases of the colon, for various other parts if the body external applications by pouring hot or warm decoctions give good results.
We have seen how the science of medicines under the branch of dravya vignana is based on several factors. An ayurvedic physician preparing and administrating drugs for illnesses should be deeply knowledgeable about the patient, the illness, the drugs to be used and mixed and the timings and methods of administration. The substances produced by mother earth in the form of herbs have properties and potencies that are unique to the cure adopted by the physician and the science behind choosing the right herbs is extremely involved for the treatment to be very effective.
