Herbal fume inhalation similarities between Dhoopan and Hawan

Herbal fume inhalation for health benefit or disease treatment is an Ayurvedic and Vedic approach. In Ayurvedic texts it is mentioned as Dhoopan and in Vedic texts it is referred as hawan (Yagya). There are similarities in methods and procedures of both the methods. The present study identifies five areas where there are similarities i.e. herbal mixture preparation, offerings to fire, use of smokeless fire, use of chanting, dose repetition. This perspective showed similarity present between these two ancient herbal inhalation methods potentiating a great scope of further research in this direction.

Mathematical and Scriptural aspect of Mekhala in the Construction of Yagya Kund

Yagya kund has five parts - Khat, Nabhi, Kant, Mekhla and Yoni. The construction of Yagya kund shall be done with proper consideration of all of its parts. The final shape and appearance of the Yagya kund came after the construction of Mekhala. Mekhala is an object which surrounds another object by keeping that object in the middle. For Yagya kund, Mekhala surrounds the fire pit which provides the shape to the Yagya kund. The present paper attempts to describe the mathematical and scriptural aspects of Mekhala i.e. description of Mekhala and Khat, shape, number of Mekhala, and significance. The number of Mekhala varies by the size of Yagya Kund, the number of offerings, and the purpose of Yagya. The study also described the dimension of all types the Mekhala construction for 1 hast Kund indicating the important role of Mekhala in the Yagya Kund construction.

Perception of Indian Youth towards Yagya

Understanding Indian cultural and ritual perspective of India has been important aspect of the sociologists and culturists. Perspective on Indian culture can be availed through understanding of Yagya as it is the basis of Indian culture. Survey by Nielsen Corporation has shown the proud feeling of Indians towards their culture while Wiber J Scott indicated that Indian students studying in America had gone to a level of ‘difficult situation’ towards understanding their culture and spirituality. Hence, the present study aimed to find understanding-level of youth (18-40 years) towards contemporary scenario of Yagya. The survey-questionnaire (self-prepared, Google form) was circulated through digital platforms. 566 participants had responded from the different disciplines and professions. 96.99% participants were aware of the term ‘Yagya’ or ‘Hawan’ and indicated it as important for health, environment, and spiritual development and for attaining peace of mind too, while 86.21% believed to have Yagya as part of daily life. The study has shown that youth were aware with the general and basic understanding of Yagya used in ceremonial purposes and surprisingly they (58.83%) also felt that it does not belong to one specific community or religion. However, there is also a category of youth (35.86%) that did not agree nor did that know about it (5.3%). It is also important to note that the questionnaire was circulated through social-media platforms and sharing of link was of personal interest, the majority of participants were familiar with Yagya, hence, such cross sectional study with wider population would justify the present research attempt.

Svāhā in the Yagya: Meaning and Importance

Svāhā is the word generally used in the Yagya when an offering is made to the fire. Generally in Yagya offering is made to the deity with deity Mantra; in this procedure, after the mantra is chanted, it is followed by word ‘Svāhā’ and ‘Idam-Na-Mama’. The offering is particularly put in the fire with the word ‘Svāhā’. The present study explored the meaning of Svāhā through Indian Scripture. Description of Svāhā is present in the all types of Indian literature i.e. Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Brahmana and well commented by Scholarly works. The study summarized the 3 types of implications of Svāhā i.e. 1) Svāhā is inseparable from Yagya Agni as it is depicted as wife of Agni, 2) Svāhā is essential portion of ritual i.e. Yagya is considered incomplete while offerings made without chanting of Svāhā; as Agni can not avail the offerings to deities, 3) Svāhā teaches how one should made offerings i.e. offerings shall be made with complete surrender, humility and sweetness full of emotions, after establishing oneself in wisdom, without ego, and attachment, and thus, only such offerings through Svāhā can be taken by Agni to the deities for welfare of the individual and society.

Dhoopan: Therapeutics of Herbal Fumigation in Ayurvedic texts

Herbal fume inhalation is a therapeutic module mentioned in detail in Ayurvedic literature for therapeutic purposes. Different herbal fume inhalation varieties are mentioned in Ayurvedic texts i.e. Dhoom-Nasya (herbal fumes inhaled through the nose), Dhompana (herbal fumes taken through the nose or the mouth and exhaled through the mouth) and Dhoopan (treatment using herbal fumes in total). The present manuscript studied the selected portions of Ayurvedic texts to understand the various therapeutic purposes of Dhoopan described in Ayurveda. All classical Ayurvedic texts mentioned some form of herbal fume inhalation for therapeutics. For example for disease treatment, for health prevention, for mental illness, for fever, for child growth, for diseases of ears, eyes, teeth, etc. Besides therapeutics, dhoopan is also helpful for environmental benefits such as killing bugs, purifying the environment, etc. The study gives perspective and argues ways to identify components mentioned in the Ayurvedic formula especially where some non-herbal meanings were derived from the classic Sanskrit texts; hence opening-up a new dimension of research required for reviving the ancient methods given in Ayurvedic texts.

Aromatherapy and Yagya Therapy for Mental Health

Aromatherapy is a well-known complementary and alternative therapy around the world. It has always existed in different cultures with its own unique imprint. Aromatherapy, as the name itself suggests depends on the fragrance or aroma of essential oils extracted from the leaves or root of medicinal herbs. This was incorporated in humans for health benefits in various forms such as pulmonary inhalation, massage, at times, in powder or tablet form. Studies have shown the therapeutics potential of aromatherapy widely observed on human (clinical trials), and also on animal models to treat various physiological as well as psychological problems including mental health suggesting its potential. One of ancient vedic method, Yagya involved inhalation of herbal vapors similar to more recent aromatherapy. In India, the process of Yagya is an ancient technique used for personal and spiritual development. In Yagya various medicinal herbs are used in mixtures that have therapeutic potential to treat psychological problems. In this review we have covered all the therapeutic benefits of medicinal herbs used in Aromatherapy and in Yagya along with herbal components used in Yagya to shed light on the Yagya in fortifying mental health.

Yagya Kunds of one-hast (24 angul) with different shapes have equal volume

Yagya kund construction is the outcome of great research of ancient India. Indian scripture has given very sophisticated Vedic mathematical formulations for construction of Yagya kund. There are different types of shapes described for Yagya kund; Circular & Lotus, Semi-circular, Vulvar, Trigonal, Square, Pentagonal, Hexagonal, Heptagonal, Octagonal. Irrespective of shapes,all these Yagya kunds have same surface area. Based on the fact given in the literature, 1000 offerings (ahutis) require construction of BhuHastatmakaKund (1 hand or 24 angul long). In addition, height of the all one-hand long kunds are same. Hence, the present research tests the hypothesis that the volume should be same for all different shaped kunds. In the present study, the volume of 1 hast Yagya kund (24 angul) for all these shapes is calculated using the dimensions given in the scripture using available simple available mathematical formulas. Volume of all these kunds is compared with circular shape kund. The difference in the volume of different shapes is foundbelow 0.3% in all the kunds except for vulvar, pentagonal and octagonal shapes which is observed to be 7.48%, 1.76% and 2.83% respectively. The difference isdueto inappropriate mathematical formula for these complex structures having different angles in the slants and multiple sides of the bases.

Yagya Therapy as adjunct care tended to normalized level of thyroid hormones in 18 thyroid patients after 40 days of treatment

Yagya Therapy is an ancient Vedic therapy. Using specific herbs for management of the disease, this novel approach can provide a supportive care in various conditions. Besides, it involves a holistic approach with pulmonary inhalation of herbal vapors through Pranayama. In the thyroid condition, hyper and hypo thyroid, there is imbalance of the T3, T4 and TSH hormones along with complains in associated with quality of life. The present study evaluated thyroid hormonal levels and quality of life in 18 thyroid patient after giving 40 days of Yagya Therapy with application of herbal mixtures for hormonal balance as supportive care. Patients were without any change in the drug and dose in past 6 months. The pre and post evaluation after Yagya Therapy revealed that in just 40 days of Yagya Therapy as supportive care, it helped to achieve the desired pattern in the hyperthyroid patients. In hypothyroid patients (n=9), pattern of increase in the T4 and T3 levels and decrease in TSH level and in the hyperthyroid patients (n=3), decrease in the T4 and T3 level and increase in TSH level were observed (p=0.06). In addition patients reported significant improvement in quality of life in physical weakness (p-value 0.0078), breathing issues (p-value 0.0078), sleep issues (p-value 0.0176), stress (p-value 0.002), indicating the potential of Yagya Therapy in treating and managing Thyroid condition. Yagya Therapy has great potential for management of chronic condition of Thyroid through both balancing thyroid hormones as well as by improving quality of life.

Chandra Gayatri And Mind : Perspective from Indian Scriptures

Gayatri mantra is one of the most sacred chants to be found in Hindu lore, where an entire philosophy of Indian culture is compressed into these few syllables. Gayatri is the considered as supreme source with infinite divine forces. One of them is ‘Chandra Gayatri’. Chandra (moon) has a strong relation in Indian Scripture. The aim of this perspective is to understand the importance of Chandra Gayatri Mantra in Vedic texts for reaching mental peace and stability.

Saraswati Panchak – A Novel Herbal Combination for Mental Health

Herbal medicines have a history of long therapeutic use and are still serving a lot of the health needs of a big population of the world. However, the quality control still remains a challenge because of the variation of chemical constituents involved. There are numerous compounds in herbal drugs that are in complex matrices in which no single active constituent is responsible for the overall efficacy. This creates a challenge in establishing quality control standards and standardization of finished herbal drugs. Saraswati Panchak is a novel combination given by Pandit Shri Ram Sharma Acharya for mental health. In this study, components of this novel herbal combination were explained for its potential utility in mental illness. In addition, the study also detailed how Saraswati Panchak Churna was converted into tablet form to increase the shelf life, make it easy to dispense, for dose fixation, etc. The tablet was subjected to organoleptic analysis and physico-chemical analysis to establish its efficacy. After performing complete analysis it was found that all the parameters are within the range. The coarse powder of these herbs may be used as havan samagri in brain related disorders because of the presence of nootropic herbs.