I find samosas tempting but potatoes do not agree with me nor does the maida. And yet I eat them. Ayurveda has a very evocative phrase to describe such behaviour. Prajnaparadha, translated as intellectual blasphemy, means one doesn’t have the sense to avoid what is not good for him/her.
You don’t have the sense to heed your own or other’s experience. Disease often strikes because you persist in behaving in a manner that you know will do you harm. Staying up late in the night will definitely mess up our health but we still do so.
Coming back to the samosas, if you have indulged in unwholesome food and you have heaviness in the chest, pain in the flanks or back, bloating in the stomach, flatulence etc., Shaddharanam Churna can alleviate the problems. The churna has only six dravyas but each one strikes at the root of the symptoms.
Plumbago zeylanica (Chitraka in Sanskrit) is a ushna veerya drug and has the guna of deepana and pachana, and it promotes appetite and digestion. People who often have burning sensations should avoid this churna.
The second ingredient is Holarrhena antidysenterica (Indrayava in Sanskrit), it is useful in preventing diarrhoea. The Theosophical Society in Chennai has these trees with jasmine-like flowers and long slender pods, often in pairs, making an oval statement. This dravya called kutaja is useful in amoebic dysentery and maybe our acharayas included it anticipating an attack of amoebiasis when eating out.
The third ingredient is Cyclea peltata (called Pathya in Sanskrit) and is used in the treatment of fever and intestinal worms. In mythology, this herb was used by Indra to kill the Asuras. Vedic texts call it Viryavathi, Vishagni, Rakshogni and Medhya. The fourth ingredient is Picrorhiza kurroa (called Katuka in Sanskrit) and it is used in treating chronic fevers, skin disorders and diabetes.
It has the properties of bhedaniya and lekhaniya, the former property causes a piercing action and purgation, the later has a scraping action. It removes the toxins but one has to adjust the dose if there is too much diarrhoea. Because of its scraping property it is used where weight loss is indicated. So Shaddharanam churna should not be taken for a long period, just a week till the stomach settles back to normalcy.
The fifth drug is Aconitum heterophyllum (called Ativisha in Sanskrit) for being an antidote to many poisons. Ayurveda considers undigested food as toxic and, hence, Ativisha comes in handy to deal with the poisons that our system generates.
Ativisha is an important ingredient in Balchaturbhadra Churna that is used to treat fever, loose motions, bronchitis, infections of upper respiratory tract, asthma, vomiting and other paediatric complaints. So refer those children, who are being poisoned with antibiotics to the ayurvedist.
The last ingredient is our famous haritaki also called pathya or wholesome. Terminalia chebula has anulomana guna and sends the products of digestion downward. Since Pathya is wholesome and when we tell people that they need to be on pathya when taking ayurvedic drugs, we mean eat wholesome foods which suit your constitution.
I have friends who say they don’t like Ayurveda as they have to be on pathya. But if you want be healthy, eat pathya foods and don’t indulge in Prajnaparadha.
The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com/arogyamantra.blogspot.com