Charak Samhita

Aushadha

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Aushadha means medicine or drug. It is used for the preservation of health and the treatment of diseases. Aushadha is used for regaining health, and its appropriate use is as beneficial as nector, whereas inappropriate use makes it a poison.[1] The aushadha may be used either in combination or as a single drug. In the context of using a single aushadha, a description of agrya prakarana (superior aushadha) with 152 entities is found in Charak Samhita [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana 25/40] and 155 entitites in Ashtanga sangraha.[2] Ashtanga Hridaya described 55 entities.[3] [A. Hri. Uttar Tantra 40/48-58] Aushadha is among the four aspects of the healthcare system with the physician, attendant, and patient. [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana 9/3] All dravya in the world are derived from five mahabhutas (prithvi, apa, agni, vayu and akasha). The sharira is a constitution of panchamahabhuta in variable proportion. Any imbalance in this proportion can alter homeostasis and cause disorders. Dravya of a particular panchamahabhautika composition is required to normalize the composition of panchamahabhuta in sharira. For example, if a disease originated due to insufficiency of apa mahabhuta, then dravya rich in apa mahabhuta is administered to patient to increase the quantity of apa mahabhuta back to normal. Since all dravyas have a specific panchamahabhautika constitution, they can be used to establish normal homeostasis of panchamahabhutas of sharira and treat disease. Since aushadhi too is a dravya and similarly treats the disease, thus all the dravyas are aushadhi[4] [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana 26/12] [Su. Sa. Sutra Sthana 41/9] Effectively managing a disease requires correct identification, dosage and time of administration of aushadha. Selection of the right aushadha requires understanding its mode of action. To prevent the untoward effects of aushadha, it’s essential to know that the aushadha are patient-specific, location-specific, and season specific. Examination of aushadha must not be missed prior to its use. This chapter describes various aspects of aushadha.
Contributors
Section/Chapter/topic Concepts / Aushadha
Authors Bhojani M.K.1,
Rahul Anand1
Reviewer Basisht G.2
Editor Deole Y.S.3
Affiliations 1 Department of Kriya Sharira, A.I.I.A., New Delhi, India,
2 Rheumatologist, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.,
3 Department of Kayachikitsa, G.J. Patel Institute of Ayurvedic Studies and Research, New Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat, India
Correspondence email meera.samhita@aiia.gov.in,
carakasamhita@gmail.com
Publisher Charak Samhita Research, Training and Development Centre, I.T.R.A., Jamnagar, India
Date of first publication: December 13, 2022
DOI 10.47468/CSNE.2022.e01.s09.120

Etymology and derivation

  • The vegetations that die when their fruits mature are called ‘aushadhi’. Example, the plants of banana and grain.[5]

The rasa (essence) is called osa. Entity that contains this rasa is called ‘aushadhi’. As disease-free state is obtained through rasa, so the entity that contains rasa is called aushadha.[6]

  • Aushadha is the plant which perish after fruits mature. [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana 1/73].

Synonyms [Cha. Sa. Chikitsa Sthana 1/1/3]

  • Chikitsita: That which alleviates disorders.
  • Vyadhihara: destroyer of diseases.
  • Pathya: beneficial for the channels in body.
  • Sadhana: that which is an instrument for performance.
  • Prayaschitta: expiation.
  • Prashamana: pacification.
  • Prakritisthapana: that which helps recovery.
  • Hita: wholesome.
  • Bheshaja: therapeutics

Classification

  1. Aushadha is of two types- [Cha. Sa. Chikitsa Sthana 1/1/4]
    1. That which promotes strength (and immunity).
    2. That which alleviates disorders.
  2. Aushadha can also be classified as-[7]
    1. Shamana aushadha: Shamana therapy is a palliative approach that normalizes the vitiated dosha at the seat of aggravation.
    2. Shodhana aushadha: Shodhana (purification) is a therapy in which the aggravated dosha is expelled from the body, thereby eliminating the internal causative factors of the disease.
      Shodhan aushadha is again of two types:
      1. Agneya aushadha: Aushadha that are predominant in agni and vayu mahabhuta.
      2. Soumya aushadha: Aushadha predominant in apa, akash and prithvi mahabhuta.
  3. Sushruta mentioned that all dravya is aushadha, and then classified aushadha into two:
    1. Sthavara: Entities of plant origin are called sthavara. The sthavara are of four types:
      1. Vanaspati: Those bearing fruits without being preceded by flowers.
      2. Vriksha: Those bearing both flowers and fruits.
      3. Virudh: These are creepers and shrubs.
      4. Aushadhi: Those which perish after the ripening of fruits.
    2. Jangama: Entities of animal origin are called jangama. The jangama are of four types:
      1. Jarayuja: Viviporous class of creatures like animals, human beings, beasts, etc.
      2. Andaja: Living beings originated from eggs like birds, snakes, creeping animals, etc.
      3. Swedaja: Organisms believed to be originated from sweat, like worms, insects, ants, etc.
      4. Udbhijja: Organisms believed to be originated from the soil, like cochineal insects, frogs, etc.

    Assessment criteria

    Qualities for assessing the superior nature of an aushadha are its abundant availability, effectiveness, capability to be converted into various pharmaceutical forms, and excellence of composition. [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana 9/7] Moreover, the aushadha possessing appropriate lightness, appearance, taste, roughness or softness, smell, grown in proper place, not vitiated by insects, and not burnt is considered a superior quality product.

    Characteristics

    Identification and proper administration of aushadha

    The aushadha are found in all vegetation like hills, forest, etc.; one may find it difficult to identify the correct aushadha. In this situation, help can be sought from the local goatherds, shepherds, cowherds, and other forest dwellers. The local people are accustomed to the aushadha of their respective areas by name and form. The aushadha may treat the patient if administered by the physician who knows the aushadha in its entirety or may prove lethal if administered by a physician who is unaware of the principles governing the correct application of aushadha. Thus, the patient should not take aushadha prescribed by psudo-physicians, nor by a physician who is not proficient in the principles governing the application of aushadha. [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana /121-133] Only the substance which can bring about a cure, is a correct medicine. [Cha. Sa. Sutra Sthana 1/135].
    The aushadha was identified in ancient era mainly by their morphological characteristics and aroma. Current advanced techniques for identification of herbs include DNA markers that use nucleotide sequences to identify species. This technique is tissue specific and has a high discriminating power.[8] Several researchers use DNA barcoding for identification of medicinal herbs.[9] Researches are carried out to develop a modern smartphone leaf picture recognition tool for medicinal plants. This is a software that operates on the operating system Android. It will have two key functions, i.e. recognition of medicinal plants and quest data for medicinal plants.[10] In Sri Lanka, a database was created from scanned images of leaves and flowers for identification of rare species of plants.[11] Identification of medicinal herbs is also carried out based on their image using first order feature extraction and multiclass svm algorithm.[12]

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    References

    1. ↑ Satyapala, editor, (1st ed.). Commentary Vidyotini of Kashyap Samhita, Khila Sthana; Bheshajyopakramaniya Adhyaya: Chapter 3, Verse 4. Varanasi: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Sansthan, 2015; 363.
    2. ↑ Tripathi R.D., (1 st ed.). Commentary Saroj on Astanga Sangrah of Vridhavagabhata, Sutra Sthana; Agryasangraha Adhyaya: Chapter 13, Verse 3. Delhi: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2015; 269-271.
    3. ↑ Murthy K.R.S., editor, (8th ed.). Vagbhata’s Ashtanga Hridayam, Uttar Tantra: Vajikaranavidhi Adhyaya: Chapter 40, Verse 48-58. Varanasi: Chowkhamba Krishnadas Academy, 2011; 420.
    4. ↑ Shastri A D, editor, (1st ed.). Commentary Ayurveda Tattva Sandipika of Ambikadutta Shastri on Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana; Dravyavisheshavigyaniya Adhyaya: Chapter 41, Verse 9. Varanasi: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Sansthan, 2015; 199.
    5. ↑ Dev R.R.K., editor, (1st ed.). Shabdakalpadrum, Kand 1. Delhi: Amar Publications, 2018; 303.
    6. ↑ Satyapala, editor, (1st ed.). Commentary Vidyotini of Kashyap Samhita, Khila Sthana; Bheshajyopakramaniya Adhyaya: Chapter 3, Verse 27. Varanasi: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Sansthan, 2015; 366.
    7. ↑ Tripathi R.D., (1 st ed.). Commentary Saroj on Astanga Sangrah of Vridhavagabhata, Sutra Sthana; Bheshajavacharaniya Adhyaya: Chapter 23, Verse 6. Delhi: Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2015; 424.
    8. ↑ Showkat Hussain Ganie, Priti Upadhyay, Sandip Das, Maheshwer Prasad Sharma, Authentication of medicinal plants by DNA markers, Plant Gene, Volume 4, 2015, Pages 83-99, ISSN 2352-4073, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plgene.2015.10.002.
    9. ↑ Chen S, Pang X, Song J, Shi L, Yao H, Han J, Leon C. A renaissance in herbal medicine identification: from morphology to DNA. Biotechnol Adv. 2014 Nov 15;32(7):1237-1244. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2014.07.004. Epub 2014 Jul 31. PMID: 25087935.
    10. ↑ Medicinal Plant Identification Using Andr Oid Application Based On Leaf Image. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 2020; 7(9): 1496-1506. doi: 10.31838/ejmcm.07.09.161
    11. ↑ A. D. A. D. S. Jayalath, T. G. A. G. D. Amarawanshaline, D. P. Nawinna, P. V. D. Nadeeshan and H. P. Jayasuriya, "Identification of Medicinal Plants by Visual Characteristics of Leaves and Flowers," 2019 14th Conference on Industrial and Information Systems (ICIIS), 2019, pp. 125-129, doi: 10.1109/ICIIS47346.2019.9063275.
    12. ↑ R. I. Borman, F. Rossi, Y. Jusman, A. A. A. Rahni, S. D. Putra and A. Herdiansah, "Identification of Herbal Leaf Types Based on Their Image Using First Order Feature Extraction and Multiclass SVM Algorithm," 2021 1st International Conference on Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Intelligent System (ICE3IS), 2021, pp. 12-17, doi: 10.1109/ICE3IS54102.2021.9649677.
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