About the Book

This book is a translation of the original work Madanapala nighantu by a king named Madanapala. It was a tradition in olden times that books were named after the kings and the original author remained anonymous. this is one such work and is considered to be one of the gems of Ayurvedic literature. This work has been translated by the reputed scholar Vaidya Bhagwan Dash. It is one of the rare works of Ayurveda which are not available today in any other language other than Sanskrit. The publication of this text was, therefore essential for the benefit of readers looking for original work.

Over 500 ingredients which have medicinal properties have been described in the book. A detailed information has been provided with respect to description of the various elements and products present in the nature like the edible fruits & vegetables, cereals. meat different liquids like water, milk and urine with their medicinal properties. It tells us about the innumerable curative properties which mother nature has in store and how to use them for the benefit for our health and have a better life free form diseases and ailments.

The book is divided into 13 chapters each being classified into various categories depending upon the source.

About the Author

Vaidya Bhagwan Dash. D.A.M.S., H.P.A., M.A. & Ph.D. is a scholar and writer of international repute. He is the former Dy. Adviser (Ayurveda) in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Govt. of India. He has written many books on herbal treatment of various disorders which are very popular.

Foreword

The Madanapala nighantu or commonly known as Madanavinoda occupies an important place in nighantu literature of Ayurveda. Madanapala was the ruler in the 'Tika ('Taka?) dynasty with his capital at kacha (kastha?) situated north of Delhi at the bank of the Yamuna river. The description of certain items like phoga and pheni indicate the probable residence of the author in Rajasthan. He was younger brother of Sahajapala and the son of Sadharana. At the end of the' Madanapala nighantu, in concluding verses, the author has himself given his geneological table as follows :

In the introduction (P.6) of the Madanaparijata; the editor, Pandit Madhusudana Smritiratna, has given the name of Bharapapala as Bhavapala. Additional information is obtained from the Rasaratnadipaka, the work of Ramaraja, the son of Ratnapati, who was in the service of King Sadharana. According to this, Sadharana had three sons the eldest being Laksmanasimha and the youngest Madanapala. Rasaratnadipaka was composed in Saka 1342 (1420 AD.) and the Madana palanighatu in Yikrama Samvat 1431 (1374 A.D.) as stated in the last verse of the text.

Madanapala was a versatile scholar and prolific writer. Besides the Madanapalnnighantu" he composed a number of books on dharmasastra such as Anandasanjivana, Tithinirnayasara, Yantraprakasa, Sudradharmabodhini, Siddhantagarbha and Smrtikaumudi. The king patronised a team of scholars in different subjects who helped him in this pursuit. Madanaparijata was written by Visvesvara Bhatta while Gunakara Kavisvara, the son of Vacaspati, the author of the Atankadarpava Comm. On the Madhavanidana, helped Madanapala in composition of this nighantu.

Madanapala introduced many new and materials drugs such as opium, bhanga; jayapala; kumari; parasika yavani; methika, cauhara, sulemani kharjura, seva, amrtaphala; anjira,' kundalika, pheni etc. And also described the properties of human urine and established the concept of bald catustaya. Thus, in every respect, it constructed the base and paved the way for the Bhavaprakasa nighantu which dominated the field for centuries and is the most popular text of dravya guna even today,

It is heartening to note that such a nighantu text of historical importance has been handled for new edition with English translation by Vaidya Bhagwan Dash, a scholar and writer of international repute, who has made very effort to effect improvements in order to make it more intelligible and popular. I express my thanks to the author and also the publisher to bring this important text to light in new attractive form.

Preface

Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India is catering to the health needs of the people of this region since the early days of human civilization. Its importance and significance for the welbeing of the society was recognised and this 'science of health' was treated as one of the upavedas of the Atharva veda (according to some, of the Rk veda). Along with accumulation of human experience, both mundane and spiritual, the science was classified into eight specialised branches, and classics were composed on each of these specialities. It had its ups and downs during different periods of history. To promote its practice for the welfare of humanity, efforts were made periodically to compose new works on different aspects of each of these specialities and thus, texts of Materia Medica as a part of kaya cikitsa (internal medicine) become popular. Madanapala nighantu which was composed during the 14th Century A.D. Is one such effort in this direction. Several prints of this work were published with editing and translations into regional vernaculars.

Important editions of this work are given below:

1. Edited and translated into Hindi by Vaidya Rama Prasada Sarma; published by Laksmi Venkatesvara Press, Bombay in 1910 (Reprint in 1954).

2. Edited and translated into Bengali by Devendra Natha Sena Gupta and Upendra Natha Sena Gupta; published by Sena Gupta, Calcutta, in 1914.

3. Edited by Nanda Kisora Sastri; published at Varanasi in 1919 (3rd edition).

4. Edited and translated into Hindi by Saktidhara Sukla; published by Navala Kisora Press, Lucknow in 1917 (12th edition).

5. Edited and translated into Gujrati by Madana Lala Daulata Rama Sarma; published at Ahamedabad in 1918.

6. With the commentary of Ravidatta, published by Laksmi Venkatesvara Press, Bombay.

Need for Publication

Unfortunately, all the above editions of this work have gone out of print since long and the Sanskrit text, of 'its commentary and translations are not available in the market to Ayurvedic students, teachers and research workers. As it is mentioned in the beginning of this text, at the time of its composition, several other Nighantus or works on Ayurvedic materia medica were prevalent. Some of these texts were in detail, some were in brief and some others included inaccurate descriptions of the synonyms and properties. The present work was composed avoiding unnecessary details, appropriately expanding the brief statements and correcting the inaccurate descriptions. Bringing out an edition of this reputed text was therefore, considered essential.

Critical Edition

The earlier editors of this works, had consulted several manuscripts on this work as it is evident from their editorials but details of these manuscripts and variant readings are not furnished. For them, to bring this work to lime light and to make it available to students and teachers were more important than giving critical notes and variant readings. All these editors were reputed Sanskrit and Ayurvedic scholars. Manuscripts they had, were full of calligraphic corruptions and unauthentic interpolations. Such inaccuracies were, no doubt, corrected by the editors. But the exact nature of original readings is not furnished to facilitate future research work. Therefore, it was found necessary to bring out a critical edition of this work after consulting original manuscripts.

Need for Translation into English

There is a growing interest in the fundamentals and practices of ayurveda among the doctors of Modern medicine and scientists of this country and abroad. Only Sanskrit text or its translations into vernaculars do not help them in appropriate comprehension of the intricacies and deep-meanings embedded in these texts. There- fore, providing an English translation of the text was considered essential. Several works on ayurvedic materia medica are, no doubt, available at present in English. But 'description of ayurvedic drugs in these works are given, for the most part, from the Chemistry, Botany or Pharmacology points of view. For the appropriate appreciation of the therapeutic value of drugs, dietary articles and drinks, it is essential to understand the fundamentals of drug composition and drug action as envisaged in original ayurvedic works. There- fore, instead of a running translation of verses, an attempt has been made in this work to describe the synonyms and properties in a format classified keeping in view the requirements of ayurvedic fundamentals relevant to such work.

English rendering follows the Sanskrit text and Sanskrit name of the ingredient is given in Romanised form at the beginning of each monograph. Along with the name, the botanical or English name of the ingredient is furnished in parenthesis. In case of doubt, such botanical names, etc., are not included. In certain cases, like food preparations, the equivalent terms used in vernacular for these items are furnished.

Along with the main ingredient, at times, synonyms and properties of its various parts and variants are provided. These are printed duely indented.

In the format for English rendering, the following subheadings generally appear:

1. Paryaya (Synonyms);

2. Rasa (Tastes);

3. Virya (Potency)

4. Guna (Attributes);

5. Karma (Action);

6. Prabhava (Specific action);

7. Vipaka (Taste that emerges after digestion); and

8. Amayika prayoga (Therapeutic usage).

At the end of the item, notes, where ever necessary, are given to indicate specific nature of the inqredient which is not appropriately covered under the above mentioned subheadings.