THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT MEDIA FOR THE URDHVA PATANA OF PARADA
In our ancient literature of Rasashastra, Parada or Rasa is considered the supreme Dravya out of all Rasoparasa’s, Dhatu’s etc1and described to be of divine origin. The importance of Parada is highlighted mainly for Rasachikitsa. Mercury always comes with natural impurities i.e., “Naisargika dosha”, when mercury is put to trade and commercial use it is adulterated with cheaper metals like Naga and Vanga for more commercial gains. As a result, mercury in the market is often available with this kind of adulterants, which are considered as “Yougi- ka Dosha”. Consumption of impure mercury is considered highly toxic and hazardous. It can be made into medi- cine by adopting proper Shodhana procedures. In Rasashastra process of Shodhana is having greater im- portance. Hence a wide range of purification methods is described for each metal and mineral including Parada. The literary meaning of Shodhana is purification, but in Rasashastra Shodana is a Samskara which essentially improves the potency along with detoxifying the metal or mineral. In our classics, various methods have been told for Shodhana of Parada, in which Patana plays a very important role2. All the different classical references of Urdhva Patana Samskaras are compiled and critically analysed to know their role in Shodhana of Parada. Various media told are Tamra churna, Sarja Kshara, Yava Kshara, Hingu, Panchalavana and Kaashtoaushadis such as Kumari, Nisha churna etc. An attempt is made to analyse the role of various media for the Urdhva Patana of Parada. Keywords: Parada, Shodhana, Urdhva Patana, Mercury