Upavasa is an exercise of restraining all activities. The word upavasa is widely applied for therapeutic fasting. However, practicing upavasa includes many other abstaining measures. Upavasa is one of the spiritual therapies and a type of langhana (that which produces lightness of the body) therapy[Cha.Sa. SutraSthana 22/18].Upavasa is a religious and spiritual practice in many countries of South East Asia region. Greek physician Hippocrates has said “Continuous intake of food without the elimination of waste materials from the body is deleterious to one’s health and fasting is the best natural remedy.”.Indian sages practiced upavasa to gain more spiritual powers. ‘Ekadashi (Eleventh day after full moon and new moon)’ Upavasa,Shivaratri Upavasa,ChatpujaUpavasa etc. are traditionally followed as religious practices.There are different type of upavasathat may be compared with calorie restriction. It includes lowering 30-40 percent of usual calorie consumption, while maintaining all the necessary nutrients and vitamins to support life.This article describes the concepts and practices of upavasa in detail.
| Section/Chapter/topic | Concepts& Practices /Upavasa |
|---|---|
| Authors |
Bhojani M. K. 1, AcharyaRashmi Rekha 1 Deepankar Rahul1 |
| Reviewer | Basisht G.2, |
| Editor | Deole Y.S.3 |
| Affiliations |
1 Department of Sharir Kriya, All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, India 2Rheumatologist, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. 3Department ofKayachikitsa, G.J.Patel Institute of Ayurvedic Studies and Research, New Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, India |
| Correspondence emails |
meera.samhita@aiia.gov.in, carakasamhita@gmail.com |
| Publisher | Charak Samhita Research, Training and Development Centre, I.T.R.A., Jamnagar, India |
| Date of publication: | November 29, 2022 |
| DOI | 10.47468/CSNE.2022.e01.s09.119 |
Etymology
Upavasa means “to sit or stay near (the God or divinity)”, to maintainGod in close proximity to your heart and mind. Upavasa has an inbuilt orientation of divine therapy.In a therapeutic sense, it can be considered as staying near oneself or giving rest to the agni(GodVaishwanara).
Definition
- Ahoratrabhojanaabhava: Lack of food for the whole day and night.[2]
- Sarvabhogavivarjana: Abstaining from every single delight of senses, mind, and body.[3]
- In general, upavasa denotes abiding in a state of abstinence and one should refrain from food and other psychological tendencies like desires(ichcha), anger(krodha), grief(shoka), greed(lobha), fascination(moha) etc.
Synonyms
- Upavasa
- Upasa
- Aupavasa
- Anasana
- Laghubhojana
- Bhojanaparityaga
- Upavastam
- Uposhitam
- Uposhanam
- Auopavratam
- Vrata
- Vratopavasa
Types
- Generally: Two types are described based on oral intake.
- Nirahara:without taking any food
- Sajala: with water
- Nirjala: without consumption of water
- Phalahara: Taking fruits only
- In naturopathy practices: Three types
- Laghuupavasa (1-3 days)
- Madhyamupavasa (4-6 days)
- Dirghaupavasa (7 to 30-40 days)
- According to Vachaspatyam: two types [Vachaspatyam-1322]
- Vaidha or lawful fasting
- Avaidha or lawless fasting
- According to Jainism:Cite error: Closing
</ref>missing for<ref>tag - Kalikaupavasa: Fasting for a specific time duration in a day.
- Dugdhakalpa: When only milk is permissible for drinking during fasting.
- Rasoupavasa:When an individual restricts oneself to a specific taste.