Charaka Samhita

Ancient healers, developed formulations based on medicinal herbs, were probably not aware about the chemical composition of the herbs. But the advancement they made despite the non-availability of scientific procedures is astonishing. The work on Terminalia chebula (myrobalan) mentioned in Charaka Samhita is quiet authentical and modem studies have revealed that the purgative activity mentioned in Ayurveda is justified by the isolation of chebulic acid, the active constituent of myrobalan. 

The Ayurvedic texts describe a term virya which seems to be the Ayurvedic equivalent of active constituent. Charaka Samhita has mentioned that therapeutic activity of a medicinal plant is due to factor known as virya. The formulations used in ancient texts are based on plant in natural form. They do not believe in extraeting the active constituent from the plant. According to experts during extraction some significant virtues of the plant are lost. 

Chamaelirosides, 3236, 3242 Chamazulene, 2988, 2991 (3-Chamigrene, 2988 Chapparinone, 3785 Characteristic features, 890 Characterization, 2318 Charaka-Samhita, 3664 Charales, 3598... 

Table 1 lists some of the plants described in Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita having these properties. 

Table 6 - Plants prescribed in Charaka Samhita as having actions on Ama...

P. Sharma (ed) (1983) Chikitsasthana. In Charaka Samhita, Chapter 6 Stanzas 7, 8, Chaukhambha Orientalia, Varanasi... 

Vata is made up of the two elements space and air. Charaka Samhita defines the characteristics of Vata dosha as dry and rough rookshaha) cool sheetoha) light-weight-... 

Charaka (80-180 AD) wrote his monumental Charaka Samhita when he was court physician to Kanishka, but... 

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