A conceptual study on imperative herbs from classical texts of Ayurveda used in Panchakarma

Abstract

As per the Ayurvedic classics almost all the diseases have their origin from ‘āma’ which is produced due to the malfunctioning of agni. To re-word the term ‘āma’ (toxins), Ayurveda uses the word Tridosha (Bio-humors). – They are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These Tridoshas are key factors to maintain health. Same in turn when go abnormal or vitiated, they cause the disease. Alone use of “Samshamana Chikitsa” i.e. Medicines only cannot remove toxins from the body and moreover sometimes they don’t reach the site of the disease and also there is a chance of recurrence. In such conditions, “Samshodhana Chikitsa” i.e. Panchakarma proves very favourable line of treatment because - It confiscates all Toxins and free radicals from the body without taxing the body and thus helps in curing the root cause of the disease preventing the recurrence of the disease [1]. Panchakarma treatment requires some specific herbs of specific properties which will be discussed in this article. Classical texts of Ayurveda provide a wide range of herbs used for accessory processes i.e. Poorvakarma as well as various Panchakarma processes such as Vamana, Virechana etc. All these herbs from various references of classical texts have been mentioned and discussed in the present article.