The verse and its meaning · Ayurveda · Ayurveda — Rasayana Herbs

Guduchi and Its Names

Bhavaprakasha, Guduchyadi Varga 3

हते तस्मिन्सुरारातौ रावणे बलगर्विते । देवराजः सहस्राक्षः परितुष्टश्चराघवे ॥ तत्र ये वानराः केचिद्राक्षसैर्निहता रणे । तानिन्द्रो जीवयामास संसिच्यामृतवृष्टिभिः ॥ ततो येषु प्रदेशेषु कपिगात्रात्परिच्युताः । पीयूषबिन्दवः पेतुस्तेभ्यो जाता गुडूचिका ॥ गुडूची मधुपर्णी स्यादमृताऽमृतवल्लरी । छिन्ना छिन्नरुहा छिन्नोद्भवा वत्सादनीति च ॥ जीवन्ती तन्त्रिका सोमा सोमवल्ली च कुण्डली । चक्रलक्षणिका धीरा विशल्या च रसायनी ॥ चन्द्रहासा वयस्था च मण्डली देवनिर्मिता । गुडूची कटुका तिक्ता स्वादुपाका रसायनी ॥

Meaning · English

When Ravana, enemy of the gods, proud of his strength, had been slain, Indra, king of the gods, the thousand-eyed, was pleased with Rama. The monkeys who had been killed by the rakshasas in battle, Indra brought back to life, sprinkling them with showers of amrita. Then, in the places where drops of that nectar slipped from the monkeys' bodies and fell, guduchi sprang up. Guduchi is also called Madhuparni, Amrita, Amritavallari, Chinna, Chinnaruha, Chinnodbhava and Vatsadani; Jivanti, Tantrika, Soma, Somavalli, Kundali, Chakralakshanika, Dhira, Vishalya and Rasayani; Chandrahasa, Vayastha, Mandali and Devanirmita. Guduchi is pungent and bitter, sweet after digestion, and renewing.

Bhavamishra opens with where guduchi came from. After Ravana fell, Indra revived Rama's fallen monkey soldiers with showers of amrita, the drink of deathlessness. The drops that slid off their bodies took root as this vine. The story tells you what kind of plant it is: one tied to life returning. In later tradition, the name guduchi itself is often read as 'the one that guards'. The other names say the same. Amrita, Amritavallari (nectar-vine), Jivanti (life-giving), Soma, Somavalli and Devanirmita (god-made) echo the story. Chinna, Chinnaruha and Chinnodbhava mean cut, and growing again from the cut. Kundali (coiled), Tantrika (threadlike), Mandali (round) and Chakralakshanika (wheel-marked, as a cut stem shows) describe its look. Madhuparni means sweet-leaved, Vatsadani eaten by calves, Chandrahasa moon-bright, Dhira steady, and Vishalya freeing from the arrow's wound. Vayastha keeps one in one's prime. Rasayani marks it as a rasayana, a renewing herb. It tastes pungent and bitter, yet its vipaka, the effect after digestion, is sweet.

Snip a length of money plant and drop it in a glass of water on the windowsill. Within a couple of weeks, white roots push out from the cut end, and the piece becomes a plant of its own. Guduchi's names Chinnaruha and Chinnodbhava point to that same habit. A severed piece of the vine lives on, and the text ties the plant to life coming back.

Guduchi is the climbing vine Tinospora cordifolia, sold widely as powder, tablets and juice. Researchers have looked at its effects on immune activity, inflammation, blood sugar and the liver. Most of that work is in the laboratory or in animals, with a few small human trials. The findings are early and not firm. Rasayana, renewal, and a sweet after-digestion effect have no exact modern counterpart. The cautions are plain. Its safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been established. It may lower blood sugar and add to the effect of diabetes medicines. Because it seems to stir immune activity, it may not suit people with autoimmune conditions or people on drugs that damp the immune system. Liver injury has been reported in some people taking it. Products vary in strength and purity. Ask a doctor before taking it.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

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