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| BOOK REVIEW |
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| Year : 2016 | Volume
: 35
| Issue : 3 | Page : 180-182 |
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A review on Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ (text with English translation)
VS Sujnana, M Shreevathsa
Department of PG Studies in Ayurveda Siddhanta, Government Ayurveda Medical College, Mysore, Karnataka, India
| Date of Web Publication | 8-Apr-2016 |
Correspondence Address:
V S Sujnana
Department of PG Studies in Ayurveda Siddhanta, Government Ayurveda Medical College, Mysore, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0257-7941.179862
How to cite this article:
Sujnana V S, Shreevathsa M. A review on Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ (text with English translation). Ancient Sci Life 2016;35:180-2 |
Editor: Sri. Kaikkulangara Rama Warrier
Year of Publication: 2006
ISBN: 81-7080-223-7
Pages: 442
Price: 500/-
Binding: Hard Bound
Published by: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series office
| Introduction | |  |
Kaumārabhṃtya is one among the aşṃānga s of Ayurveda. It constitutes subjects ranging from prenatal care till the child completes kumāravasthā. Kaumārabhṃtya also includes the treatment of women from the beginning of pregnancy until cessation of breast feeding – because any disturbance in the mother's physiology will reflect in the child and also because the child would be treatable only through the medium of breast milk. Therefore pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology are included under Kaumārabhṃtya. Kāśyapasaṃhitā is the most important text that deals with Kaumārabhṃtya. Since the complete text of Kāśyapasaṃhitā is not available, a complete text such as Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ based on bālacikitsā has its own importance. This text is well known in and around Kerala but not in other parts of the world because the language of the text is Sanskrit but its script is Malayalam. An English translation of this text is bound to make the text gain wider currency. It is because of this that the translation of the work done by Dr. Lal Krishnan is noteworthy.
| About the Author | | |
Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ was written by Kaikkulangara Rama Warrier (Kaikkulangara is the place name), an eminent Scholar. Several Sanskrit books were translated and explained in great detail by him. He was born in 1832 in Thrissur district. There are more than 40 works to his credit, which includes both original works and commentaries on different subjects ranging from medicine, astrology, music and literature. Some of his most famous works other than Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ include Hridyapātha known as horāśāstra in Kerala, which is a commentary to the text bṃhat jātaka of Varāhamihira. He also wrote a Malayalam commentary on Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ. He has written two commentaries on Aşṃāṃgahṃdaya- sārārtha-darpaṃa and bhāvaprakāśa. His text on vyākaraṃa is called padasamskāracandrikā, which is a partial commentary on Vaiyyākaraṃa Siddhānta kaumudī. He has written vyākhyāna on Amarakoşa named bālapriyā. He has also written Malayalam commentaries on Raghuvaṃśa, Kumārasambhava and Meghadūta of Kālidāsa, Śiśupālavadha of Māgha etc.
| About the Translator | | |
Dr. Lal Krishnan is an Ayurvedic scholar involved in various facets of ancient Indian life sciences and scientific wisdom such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Tantra, Vāstu, Kalarippayaṃṃu etc., In the course of his career he has contributed many articles on various subjects to many national and international journals and magazines. He is a graduate of the Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Ayurvedic College, Nazarathpet, Chennai.
| About the Style | | |
Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ is written in simple Sanskrit. It is assumed that author completed this work after referring to the saṃhitā s and many other Ayurvedic texts, analyzing their contents and practical implications. Most of the diseases mentioned in the saṃhitā s find mention in this text along with new additions on account of their importance and predominance during the time. The way of explaining a disease and its treatment is not as per the saṃhitā s. Saṃhitā s use a treatment method based on basic principles, and a step by step treatment method based on the condition of the patient. But Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ is more practically oriented and hence can be considered as a physician's hand book. The diseases already mentioned in the saṃhitā s are not further detailed and only certain important and easy to use yoga s and kalpanā s are given. Certain diseases predominant during the time of writing of the book are further detailed than the saṃhitā s along with their classifications and medicines. The śamana treatment method is more preferred in this text than śodhana.
| About the Book | | |
The text as translated comprises of 47 chapters. There are other versions of Ā rogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ which have only 40 chapters, but the contents remain same, this could be because of the absence of ending colophon in each chapters.
The first chapter begins with the definition of the word bāla, and continues with an eleven-fold classification of bālavasthā, types of bālacikitsā, postnatal care, specifications for breast feeding, rakşā karma, principles of treatment in children, treatment of diseases occurring up to 15 days after delivery, pathyāpathya. The second chapter deals with śuddhāśuddha stanya, symptoms of its vitiation and its treatment, and describes treatment of different types of jvara. The third chapter deals with different medicinal preparations prescribed for jvara, description of dosage for children corresponding to their age group, and treatment methods for some specific types of jvara such as vişaja jvara, abhighātaja jvara etc. The fourth chapter deals with raktapitta and the fifth concerns kāsa cikitsā, the sixth chapter elaborates on is śvāsa and hidhma (hiccough) cikitsā. The other special chapters include topics such as: kşaya-roga-cikitsā which includes arocaka; svarasāda, tṃşṃā, mada, chardi and hṃdroga cikitsā; different types of visarpa and their treatments, masūri cikitsā; raktastambha (vātaśoṃita) and raktānavasthā cikitsā; kunḍalaka, jaṃarāvaraṃa, ulbāru, raktālasaka and their treatments; śākharoga s mainly raktolbuda, asraśopha, gallaka, kūpaka, ajagallaka, indrerma, idhmaka, and dadhmika; nābhirogas and sthoulyakārśya cikitsā, vrana cikitsā, bhagandara, nīli vrana, granthi, arbuda; lingavyādhi and yoniroga cikitsā; jatrūrdhvaroga cikitsā; unmāda, apasmāra and bālagraha; pakşipīda; prakarādi yogas i.e., immunomodulatory measures starting from jātamātrāvasthā up to 12 years of age; different types of vişa and their chikitsa; pratyauşadhas (remedial measures for excessive intake of food); dravya śuddhi, i.e., methods of purification of different raw drugs; pariśişṃha cikitsā which elaborates on rajodośa and śukladośa cikitsā along with garbhiṃīroga cikitsā; dṃşṃa śirasi pratikriyā, which mentions different medications for easy delivery and for treatment of sūtika.
| Peculiarities of the Book | | |
This work contains exceptional information regarding various diseases, their pathogenesis and management with reference to pediatric age group which is not seen in any of the other Ayurvedic works. The detailed explanation of 51 types of visarpa, jvaramukta cikitsā, śākharoga cikitsā, śakunipīda cikitsā and prakarayoga s are highlights of this text. Also, the step by step treatment for rajodoşa, śukladoşa, garbha, garbhiṃī, newborn and sūtika recommended in the work is noteworthy. Rişṃalakshana s in the new born are also mentioned. Methods for purification of stanya, including lepas are mentioned. Some unique diseases like kuṃṇālaka, kūpaka, raktānāvasthā etc., are described in the work. The text also provides a new 11-fold classification of bāla, which is not mentioned in earlier texts. Description of vataśoṃita as raktasthambha is available only in this text.
| Certain Yogas Mentioned in the Book | | |
Some important and widely used yoga s that are the contributions of Ārogya Rakşā Kalpadrumaḥ. Some of them are:
- Dhānvantarī gulikā, Śwāsānanda guṃika, Śwāsāśanī taila, Nayopāyam kaşāya, Vilvādi lehya in śwāsa
- Aşṃakşāri gulikā, Kaiḍaryādi gulikā in grahaṃi
- Jātyādi taila, Nimbapatrādi taila in piḍaka
- Saptasāra kaşāya in gulma
- Vaiśvānara bhasma in śūla
- Pancasāra, Tiktaka ghrita, Visarpantaka taila, Khadirāsava, Lākşādi gulikā and Visarpāśani gulikā in visarpa
- Dineśavalyādi taila, Kārpasapatrādi taila, Durdurapatrādi taila in kuşṃa
- Dhānvantara taila, ṃaşṃikataila, Kārpāsastyādi taila, Prasāriṃī taila, Prabhanjanavimardana taila in vātavyādhi
- Amṃtottara kaşāya in vātaśoṃita
- Lohāsava in sthaulya
- Aśvagandhādi ghṃta in kārśya
- Triphalādi rasāyana, Navasārabhasma in vraṃa
- Kuṃkumādi taila in kşudraroga
- Candanādi gulikā, Nayanāmṃta, Sunetrī gulikā and different dhāras in netrarogas
- Stanyāşṃama taila, Bhāgottara gulikā, Triphalādi taila, Baladhātryadi taila in śiroroga
- Durdurapatrādi kera, Kārpāsapatrādi kera in kapalāru
- Mānasamitravaṃaka, Nīlotpalādi taila in unmāda
- Pāśupata ghṃta, Apasmārakulāntaka ghṃta in apasmāra, etc.
The drugs mentioned in the yoga s were available in plenty in Kerala since a long time and are available even today in the rural areas and forest regions. The text is not only an authentic account of bālacikitsā, but is also an excellent reference in general treatment due to its wide range of application. Ācārya concludes the book by saying that the treatment modalities described in the book are equally effective in aged people. Considering the wide collection of diseases and treatments, the work can be of use for both bālacikitsā as well as kāyacikitsā.
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