Nov 17, 2009 07:44 AM
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(Updated Nov 17, 2009 05:07 PM)
Discovery Of Sanjeevani Booti.
Recently I read an article that medicinal herbs work, when we use them for healing. When there are plenty of illnesses, there are also plenty of herbs. To use medicinal herbs is more safe & natural way to heal our body and mind, than eating pills.
Medicinal plants, herbs, spices and herbal remedies are known to Ayurveda in India since long times. In recent time the value of medicinal plants, herbs and spices as herbal remedies is being lost due to lack of awareness, and deforestation. The result is many valuable medicinal herbs are becoming rare and precious information is lost.
Less the pollution, more ecological balance we can maintain, & can add to happiness to humankind. And we should also safely preserve the knowledge of medicinal plants, herbs, spices and herbal remedies, which humankind has received from the past generations, for posterity.
History of herbal remedies is very old. Since old times before the modern medicine, people became ill and suffered from various ailments. In absent of modern medicinal remedies people relied on herbal remedies derived from herbs and spices. There are many medicinal herbs like tulsi, Shikaki, Neem,Pippali etc which find place in day-to-day uses, many of these, are used as herbal remedies.
Even though the medical science has progressed; methods and ideas based on herbal healing have sustained and grown in different countries, across different cultures, often being used in exactly the same way. For instance, bitter chamomile is used as digestive aid throughout the world.
Many cooked foods contain spices. Some minor ailments like common cold, cough, etc may be cured by herbal remedies with use of medicinal properties of spices.
The growth of Ayurvedic and traditioinal medicine and as well as the increase in western herbalists helped in the identification, quality selection and appropriate processing of crude drugs. India has about 45,000 plant species and among them, several thousands have been claimed to possess medicinal properties.
It is very interesting & surprising to know that the Indian mythology's most famous medicinal herb, Sanjivani Booti, may not be just myth. Scientists are busy in trying to identify the magical herb for its most gifted quality, being able to survive even without water.
Sanjivani Booti which Lord Hanuman brought to save the life of Lord Ram's brother Lakshman is being researched upon by scientists for its survival instincts. Sanjeevani means ‘one that infuses life.’ The Sanjeevani plant is well known for its medicinal properties and is mentioned in Ayurveda and other ancient texts.
The team of five scientists working at the National Botanical Research Institute, found few Himalayan herbs that match the description of the sanjivani and are identifying the properties of each of these. 'Sanjivani' (scientific name Selaginella Bryopteris) belongs to the Pteridophyta group of ferns.
While NBRI scientists are engaged in the project, ayurvedic researchers at yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Pantajali Ashram in Rishikesh claim to have already found the right herb.
The NBRI team is worried about the plant's over-exploitation. Because the plant is known for its tremendous medicinal uses, tribals in UP, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal soak a huge quantity of this plant in water overnight. The plant is then discarded and the water drunk to cure burning sensation during urination,to treat heat stroke, jaundice, menstrual irregularities, dysentery and venereal diseases.
Herbs and human health can never be separated.
