Withania Somnifera

JAY SHREE POOJYASHREE SHREE AMMA
JAY MAHAN BRAHMASHREE GOPALAVALLIDASAR
JAY SHREE RADHEKRISHNA SATHSANG

Radhekrishna to one & all,
We began the description of the herb called as 'Ashwagandha' in our previous article.

Ashwagandha in Sanskrit means "horse's smell", probably originating from the odor of its root which resembles that of sweaty horse. The species name somnifera means "sleep-bearing" in Latin, indicating it was considered a sedative, but it has been also used for sexual vitality and as an adaptogen. Some herbalists refer to ashwagandha as Indian ginseng, since it is used in ayurvedic medicine in a way similar to that ginseng is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

For your information, below is the scientific classification of this herb:

Withania somnifera Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Subkingdom:	Tracheobionta
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Subclass:	Asteridae
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Withania
Species:	W. somnifera

Synonym: Physalis somnifera

Now let us see the usefulness of this herb.

The following shloka describes the same:

Medhamsmrtimkantimanamayatvam Aayuh
Prakarsambalamindriyanam

Strisu praharsamparamagnivrddhim
Varnaprasadampavananulomyam

Meaning: The Rasayana promotes intelligence, memory, luster, immunity and longevity, strengthens sense organs and sexual excitement, stimulates (digestive) fire, gives (good) colour (to skin) and maintains favourable (state of) vata (wind humour).

Rasayanasyasya narah prayogat
labheta jirnoapi kutipravesat

Jarakrtam rupamapasya Sarvam
bibharti rupamnavayauvanasya

Meaning: By taking this medicine, even an old man casts away all senility & bears the form of fresh youth.

Source:Bhavaprakasa–nighantu, Guduchyadiganah Slokah – 179 (Vedic period) Caraka–samhita, Siddhi–sthanam, Adhyayah 1, Slokah 74,75 (1^st Century BCE)

…. to be continued

Radhekrishna
Sarvam Guruvarpanam