Medicine brought with compassion, after worship, for treating brahmins, holy men, sages and distinguished people is said to be meritorious; quoting the Paitamaha, the text says that after worshipping the trees one should take the root that runs to the north and the leaves, flowers and fruits from the east, south and west, and explains this as taking medicine for the good of living beings without destroying the plant from its root.
Names and synonyms
- Sanskrit
- औषधानयन
- Hindi
- वृक्ष की पूजा करके औषधि लेना
- English
- Collecting plant medicine after worshipping the tree
Ingredients and preparation
Preparation as described
The trees are first worshipped; then the root that has gone to the north is taken, and leaves, flowers and fruits from the east, south and west.
अर्चायित्वांघ्रिपान्मूल-मुत्तराशागतं हर‘त्।
How it is used
The medicine is taken for the good of living beings, without destroying the plant from its root.
निर्मूलतो न विनाशथेदित्यर्थ:
पूर्वदक्षिणपाश्चात्यपत्रापुष्पफ लानि च॥Source wording as converted, Appendix: Hitahita · p. 619.What the text says
Each statement reports the source, with its chapter, page and verse. Traditional descriptions are not presented as proven medical facts.
Preparation1
Plant (immobile) medicine taken with compassion, after worship, for treating great persons such as the twice-born, holy men and munis is said to be a cause only of merit; quoting the Paitamaha, the translation says the root of a tree that has gone toward the north should be brought after worshipping it, and the leaves, fruits and flowers bent toward the east, south and west should be taken.
Cautions1
This rule of taking medicine with compassion is said to be for the favour of living beings, so the trees and other plants are not to be destroyed from the root.
Safety
- Contraindication in the text: The plant is not to be destroyed from the root.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, kidney or liver disease and other medicines all call for professional advice before any traditional remedy is used.
Questions and answers
Who should treat holy men, and with what medicines, according to the end of the hitahita discussion?
The physician of holy men should himself be a holy man; failing one, a Jain layman; failing that, even one of wrong faith; and failing that, even a wicked physician of wrong faith won over with honour, gifts, trust, mantras, medicines and knowledge. They are to be treated with pure, fresh, fragrant, nourishing medicines well freed of life (prasuka), or, when these cannot be had, with sinless medicines chosen with care.
Detailed answer and sourcesHow should plant medicine be collected, according to the Paitamaha quoted in the translation?
The root of a tree that has gone toward the north is brought after worshipping it, and the leaves, fruits and flowers bent toward the east, south and west are taken.
Detailed answer and sourcesWho should treat holy men, and with what medicines, according to the translation?
Holy men devoted to yoga, with pure, life-free medicines; failing such a physician, a lay follower (shravaka); and failing him, a physician of wrong faith won over with honour, gifts and respect.
Detailed answer and sourcesAll references
Every page and verse of the source that this entry draws on.
Extraction notes
- Part of the argument that the slight harm of gathering plants is outweighed by merit when it is done with compassion to treat good people.
- Hindi rendering of the procedure T29 records from the Sanskrit on PDF 691; the T29 id is kept so both layers merge.
Quick facts
- Content type
- Procedure
- Source pages with records
- 2
- Pages naming it
- 0
- Chapters
- Appendix: Hitahita
- Extraction tasks
- T29, T30
- Record id
- method_aushadha_grahana_p691