I ndian I olklife

A QUARTERLY NEW SLETTER FROM NATIONAL FOLKLORE SUPPORT CENTRE

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 SERIAL NO. 13 APRIL - JUNE 2003

Folk Medicine
and
Biodiversity

BH AI SH AJYAGU RU ,
TH E BU D D H A OF M ED I CI N E

BO A R D

O F

T R U ST EES

C H A I R PER SO N

N ational Folklore Support Centre (N FSC) is a nongovernmental, non-profit organisation, registered in Chennai
dedicated to the promotion of Indian folklore research, education,
training, networking and publications. The aim of the centre is to
integrate scholarship with activism, aesthetic appreciation with
community development, comparativefolklorestudies with cultural
diversities and identities, dissemination of information with multidisciplinary dialogues, folklore fieldwork with developmental issues
and folklore advocacy with public programming events. Folklore
is a tradition based on any expressive behaviour that brings a
group together, creates a convention and commits it to cultural
memory. NFSC aims to achieve its goals through cooperative and
experimental activities at various levels. NFSC is supported by a
grant from the Ford Foundation.
CO N T EN T S
Editorial.....................................................3
Dohada (Pregnancy Cravings)........................5
H ot / Cold ..................................................6
Dreams.......................................................7
Indigenous Know ledge Erosion .....................10
M edicinal Plants ..........................................12
A n Introduction to the Tamil Siddhas...............14
Folk M edicinal Wisdom ................................19
Green H ealth Boom.......................................21
Book
Rev i ew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Review Books ................................................24
C O V E R

I L L U S T R AT I O N

Front: M edicine Buddha or Bhaishajyaguru is considered to

be t h e p h y si ci an of h u m an p assi on s, t h e u n f ai l i n g
healer of the ills of samsara. H e is dark blue in colour and
holding a myrobalan (arura) plant in his right hand and a bow l
of amrita medicine in his left hand. Courtesy: A Hand Book of
Tibetan Culture (1993, London, Sydney, A uckland and
Johannesburg: Rider)

T H I S

I S S U E

The focus of A pril June 2003 issue is on Folk M edicine and

Biodiversity.
Visual motifs courtesy: Sangs-Rgyas Stong: An Introduction to Mahayana
Iconography (1988, Gangtok (India): Sikkim Research Institute of
Tibetology), and A Hand Book of Tibetan Culture (1993).

N E X T

I S S U E

The theme of the July - September issue of Indian Folklife is

Folklore and Biopolitic. The forthcoming issue proposes to explore
how folklore expresses the rich symbolism of the human body
that exists as a way for social groups to express about their
relationship to community, nature and state in a hierarchical
society. Closing date for submission of articles is September
10, 2003. All communications should be addressed to:
The Editor, Indian Folklife, N ational Folklore Support Centre,
7, 5th Cross Street, Rajalakshmi N agar, Velachery, Chennai 600 042 (India), Tele/Fax: 91-44-22448589/ 22450553, email:
i n f o@i n d i an f ol k l or e. or g/ m u t h u @m d 2. v sn l . n et . i n /
[email protected]

Komal Kothari
Director, Rupayan Sansthan, Folklore Institute of Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

T R U ST EES
A jay S. M ehta
Execut i ve D i r ect or, N at i onal Foundat i on for I ndi a, I ndi a H abi t at Cent r e,
Z one 4-A , U G Fl oor, Lodhi Road, N ew D el hi

A shoke Chatter jee

B-1002, Rushi n Tower, Behi nd Someshwar 2, Sat el l i t e Road, A hmedabad

N . Bhakthavathsala Reddy
D ean, School of Fol k and Tr i bal Lor e, War angal

Dadi D. Pudumjee
M anagi ng Tr ust ee, The I shar a Puppet Theat r e Tr ust ,
B2/2211 Vasant Kunj , N ew D el hi

Deborah Thiagarajan
Pr esi dent , M adr as Cr aft Foundat i on, Chennai

Jyotindra Jain
Pr ofessor and D ean, School of A r t s and A est het i cs,
Jawahar l al N ehr u U ni ver si t y, N ew D el hi

M olly Kaushal
A ssoci at e Pr ofessor, I ndi r a Gandhi N at i onal Cent r e for t he A r t s,
C. V. M ess, Janpat h, N ew D el hi

M unira Sen
Execut i ve D i r ect or, M adhyam, Bangal or e

K. Ramadas
D eput y D i r ect or, Regi onal Resour ces Cent r e for Fol k Per for mi ng A r t s, U dupi

P. Subramaniyam
D i r ect or, Cent r e for D evel opment Resear ch and Tr ai ni ng, Chennai

Y. A . Sudhakar Reddy
Reader, Cent r e for Fol k Cul t ur e St udi es, S. N . School , H yder abad

Veenapani Chaw la
D i r ect or, A di shakt i Labor at or y for Theat r e Resear ch, Pondi cher r y

EXECU T I V E T RU ST EE A N D

D I RECT O R

M .D. M uthukumaraswamy

REG I O N A L
RESO U RCE PERSO N S

STA FF
Assi st ant D i rect ors
T. R. Si vasu br am an i am
Administration
M i r i am N el k en
Programmes (Volunteer)
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Programme Offi cers

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Programme Assi st ant s

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Vol unt eer (Research Proj ect )

Ren gi n A k t ar

Support St aff
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I N D I AN FO LKLI FE
ED I T O RI A L T EA M
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Editor
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I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

Edi t or i al

LIGHT ING A YERCUM FIBRE WICK

veryday as I walk to the Centre for w ork I

pass through tw o folk medicine shops in
Velachery, one of the fast grow ing hi-tech
suburbs of Chennai city. The shops themselves are
semiotic delights as they assemble a w ide range of
sacred objects used in w orship along w ith folk
medicine. For the familiar eye the shops represent a
mindset, a w orldview and a luxury fast disappearing
in the countryside. The citys economy and vastness
have facilitated the business of these shops and their
sheer presence anachronistic to those w ho belong
to the popular realm - charts out an unstated vision
of alternatives.
Let me first of all name some of the herbs sold in
these shops. A rugam grass, basil, climbing brinjal,
Indian pennywort, bael, jamoon plum nut, turmeric,
gallnut, M alabar nut, lotus stem w ick, Yercum fibre
w ick, dry ginger and neem flow er make up common
list along w ith items that w ould ward off evil eye
such as black tw ines, pumpkin pictures and yellow
tw ines. If sacred things varying from basil bead
garlands and holy ash pockets to lamps and w icks
form yet another set available, then, traditional
almanacs, astrological chapbooks and books of
prayer songs complete the picture. M edicine, belief
and w orship shape the syntax of these shops and
certain objects like turmeric, basil and Yercum
traverse through all the three realms. Indicators of a
larger paradigm basil and turmeric have found
entries in the encyclopedia of South Asian Folklore
(2003) edited by M argaret A . M ills, Peter J. Claus and
Sarah Diamond. Yercum is yet to make its place in
any encyclopedia including the Tamil one,
Abithanachintamani.
Yercum is a milky plant that grow s even in a
mound of trash all over the Tamil landscape. Yercum
sports small w hite flow ers w ith violet veins along the
edges of the petals. Children are often advised not to
play w ith the milk of Yercum plant, as it is feared to
be poisonous. A lthough ruthlessly destroyed if it is
Yercum Plant

found in the backyard of any house, Yercum is

believed to be the most favourite plant of Ganesh,
the remover of all obstacles. During Ganesh
Chadurthi festival there is sudden demand for
Yercum flow ers. Ganesh figurines made out of
Yercum stems are considered to be of extraordinary
significance and auspicious quality. Lighting a
Yercum fibre w ick in front of Ganesh is believed to
bring boons unparalleled. N onetheless no plausible
explanation exists in the folklore of Ganesh that
w ould connect him to Yercum. On the contrary there
is quite a body of negative folklore surrounding
Yercum. In the recently published ten-volume
collection of Tamil
folksongs (2001) edited by
A ru. Ramanathan, one
folksong refers to Yercum
as one of the herbs that
may be used to abort an
unwanted child. (Volume
3, Page 76 Song number
412). In fact, Yercum is a
Tamil cultural sign that
subscribes to certain
incompleteness and so to
infinity of interpretations.
Tying a Yercum fibre
tw ine around the hip of a
child is believed to cure
diarrhoea and ward off any
Lord Dhanvantari,
the Original Teacher of Ayurveda
possible stomach ailments.
It is possible that Yercum
kills shigella, a highly virulent microbe responsible
for half of all episodes of bloody diarrhoea in young
children. N obody has ever proved it yet. Yercums
transference from a sacred/feared plant to a
medicinal herb is a path familiar to a hermeneutic
that w raps itself in itself and enters the domain of
languages. It is this hermeneutics that reveals the
cultural processes at w ork because it show s how
cultural signs never cease to implicate themselves. If
culture w ere to be seen as a dynamic process w e
cannot believe that cultural signs exist primarily,
originally, actually, as coherent, pertinent and
systematic marks. The ambivalent position of Yercum
in Tamil culture exposes this fundamental nature of
cultural signs. Floating they are, they gain meaning,
place and purpose in lifes moments.
Lighting a Yercum fibre wick in front of Ganesh or
tying a Yercum fibre twine around the hip of a child
may emerge from someones moments of despair
facilitated by tradition. Often they cannot and do not
stand the test of scientific testimony. Especially when
it comes to the case of folk medicine the main
argument revolves around its scientific verifiability.
The domain shift results in several problems.
L I G H T I N G A YE R C U M

FIBRE W ICK

Courtesy: http://w w w.avatara.org

M .D.M uthukum araswam y

Courtesy: The Hindu Folio, October 8, 2000

One, w hen the curative

properties of some of the
folk medicine do stand the
tests of verifiability they are
immediately patented in
todays context of global
economy. The patenting
severely restricts the free,
unlimited and creative uses
of the said medicines in any
given culture.
Tw o, often folk
medicinal herbs are
collected from particular
surrounding only as the
Agasthiyar, the patron saint of
Siddha medicine
surrounding consisting of
certain soil condition and
accompanying plants contribute towards their
curative properties. A ctually the prescriptions for the
surroundings are the prescriptions for the
preservation of biodiversity as w ell. When particular
herbs are isolated for mass production their necessity
of unique habitat is brutally ignored.
Three, folk medicine is embedded in a system
(say, Ayurveda, Siddha or Unani-Tibb) that links
cosmos, body and nature. There has been such an
erosion of know ledge that often the relation betw een
the cosmic philosophy of these systems and the
actual medical practices do not make sense.
These are issues in addition to the conceptual
divide betw een a single modern, rational, mechanistic
and science based medical system and a plurality of
context-dependent folk medicines. Thanks to the
w orks of very fine scholars new respect for
indigenous know ledge systems (Barsh 1997; Brush
1993; Dharampal 1983; Sen 1992; Shiva and H olla-Bhar
1993; Warren et al. 1995) and for the cultural value of
alternative sciences (N andy 1988; Visvanathan 1997)
has diminished confidence in scientism. H ow ever,
the job of the folklorist in decoding medicinal signs is
yet to be done. A t the moment only collections listing
folk medicines exist in print.

Let me light a Yercum fibre w ick towards the

accomplishment of this goal.
Note
I gratefully acknow ledge my colleague M r.
M urugans help in collecting some of the data
required for this essay.
Bibliography
Barsh, Russel, 1997. The Epistemology of Traditional
H ealing Systems . Human Organization. 56 (Spring): 28-37.
Brush, Stephen B., 1993. Indigenous Knowledge of Biological
Resources and Intellectual Property Rights: The Role of
Anthropology . American Anthropologist, 95(3): 653-71.
Chaudhuri, B., and S. Chaudhuri, 1986. Tribal H ealth,
Disease and Treatment: A Review Study . In
B. Chaudhuri, ed., Tribal Health: Socio-Cultural
Dimensions, N ew Delhi: Inter-India, pp. 37-52.
Claus, Peter J., 1984. M edical A nthropology and the
Ethnography of Spirit Possession . In E.V. Daniel and
J.E. Pugh, eds., South Asian Systems of Healing, 60-72,
Contributions to A sian Studies (Leiden) vol. 18.
Dharampal, ed., 1983 (1971). Indian Science and Technology
in the Eighteenth Century. H yderabad: A cademy of
Gandhian Studies.
M ills, M argaret A ., Peter J. Claus and Sarah Diamond,
eds., 2003. South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. N ew
York: Routledge.
N andy, A shis, ed., 1988. Science, Hegemony and Violence:
A Requiem for M odernity. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Ramanathan, A ru., eds., 2001 Nattupurapadal kalanchiyam
Volume 1-10. Chidambaram: Meyyappan Thamizhayvakam.
Sen, Geeti, ed., 1992. Indigenous Vision: Peoples of India,
Attitudes to Environment. N ew Delhi: Sage Publications.
Shiva, Vandana and Radha H olla-Bhar, 1993. Intellectual
Piracy and the N eem Tree . The Ecologist. 23(6): 223-7.
Visvanathan, Shiv., 1997. A Carnival for Science: Essays on
Science, Technology and Development. Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Warren, D. M ichael, L. Jan Slikkerveer and David
Brokensha, eds., 1995. The Cultural Dimensions of
Development: Indigenous Knowledge Systems. London:
Intermediate Technology Publications.

V i si t
O u r R en ov at ed
W ebsi t e

w w w . i n d i a n f o l k o r e. o r g

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

DOHADA (PREGNANCY CRAVINGS)*

Jerom e H. Bauer
Jerome H . Bauer is Lecturer in the
Department of Religious Studies at
Washington University, St.Louis. The
author can be contacted at
[email protected]

ohada (Sanskrit), dohala

(Pali), dohala (Prakrit,
H indi), doladuk (Sinhalese),
tw o-heartedness, is the
pregnancy w him, w hen the w ill of
the foetus influences the moods
and desires of the mother. The
w ord is probably derived from
Sanskrit (dvi + hrd), literally
having tw o hearts ; from Sanskrit
daurhrda, sickness of heart,
nausea, or evil-hearted ; or
perhaps from Sanskrit doha + da,
giving milk. Dohada is
sometimes a euphemism for
pregnancy.
The condition of having a
second heart, causing vicarious
cravings in the mother, is
discussed in Sanskrit treatises on
medicine and love, and in
religious literature, w here it is
often interpreted as transfer of
karmic substance (especially by
H indus) or as coordination of tw o
peoples karma (especially by
Jains). In literature, the dohada
motif is used as a stock
embellishment. For example,
many poetic descriptions of spring
feature the pregnancy longings of
blossoming trees. The asoka tree
longs for the touch of a maidens
foot in order to blossom, and the
kadamba tree for the first thunder
of the monsoon. Stories of
pregnant humans and animals in
dohada also abound, especially in
the religious literature of the
H indus, Buddhists, and Jains,
w here they often have a formulaic
character, serving, like dreams, to
augur the birth of a hero. Dohada
incidents often serve as a start
motif, or are used ornamentally,

having no obvious influence on

the main events of a story.
Dohada stories usually involve
some direct or indirect danger to
the husband, w ho must perform
heroic deeds to satisfy his w ifes
cravings, ensuring a safe and
auspicious birth. Sometimes a
dangerous dohada is satisfied by
trickery, or dohada may be
feigned to trick the husband.
Dohada stories usually involve
inauspicious, dangerous cravings,
but, especially in a Jain context,
may involve auspicious cravings
for pious acts.
Examples of auspicious or
good dohada are the craving of a
Jain w oman to hear continuously
the Jain teachings, and to spend
money for religious purposes, or
the craving of a Buddhist w oman
to entertain the monks.
Cases of inauspicious or evil
dohada are more numerous. For
example, in the Thusa Jataka,
Prince A jatasatrus mother has a
dohada to drink blood from her
husband King Bimbisaras knee,
w hich is satisfied; she gives birth,
after an unsuccessful attempt at
abortion, to a child w ho is
destined to kill his father and seize
his throne. The Vipaka Sutra (a
Svetambara Jain canonical text)
contains many especially sinister
dohada stories.
Dohada is often satisfied by
deceit. In the Kathasaritsagara,
Queen M rgavati has a dohada to
bathe in a lake of blood, w hich is
satisfied by her husband, w ho
makes for her a lake of red colored
lac. In the Parisistaparvan, the
M achiavellian political theorist
Canakya (Kautilya), plotting to
destroy the N anda dynasty,
searches for a suitable proxy to
rule for him. A village chiefs
daughter has a dohada to drink
the moon, and Canakya promises

to fulfill it if the infant is given to

him to raise. The dohada is
fulfilled w hen the mother drinks a
reflection of the moon, and her
son, the future M auryan emperor,
is named Candragupta, M oon
Protected.
M any stories involve feigned
dohada. In the Vidhurapandita
Jataka, the queen, w ishing to hear
the sage Vidhura discourse on the
Dharma, feigns dohada. In the
Nigrodha Jataka, a w oman feigns
pregnancy and dohada in order to
improve her status in the
household.
Similar tales are found in the
w orlds folk and popular literature.
(See M otifT571, unreasonable
demands of pregnant w omen ;
Thompson 1957: 402-403).
References
Bauer, Jerome H ., 1998. Karma and
Control: The Prodigious and the
Auspicious in Ivetambara Jaina
Canonical M ythology, ch.5.
Ph.D.diss., University of
Pennsylvania.
Bloomfield, M aurice, 1920. The
Dohada or Craving of Pregnant
Women: A M otif in H indu Fiction .
Journal of the American Oriental
Society 40 (1): 1-24.
Taw ney, C.H ., tr., The Ocean of Story,
Being C.H. Tawneys translation of
Somadevas Kathasaritsagara (or Ocean
of Streams of Story). Delhi: M otilal
Banarsidass.
Thompson, Stith, 1957. M otif-Index of
Folk Literature, vol. 5. Bloomington:
Indian University Press.

(This article was originally published in

the encyclopedia of South Asian Folklore
(2003), p. 163.)

South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia

Ed i t ed by M ar gar et A . M i l l s,
Peter J. Claus, and Sarah Diamond
2003, pages xxx + 710 N ew York,
London: Routledge.

D O H AD A

HOT / COLD*
M ark Nichter
M ark N ichter is teaching at the
Department of Anthropology, Princeton
University. The author can be contacted at
M [email protected]

ot/cold is a conceptual
framew ork w idely adhered
to throughout South A sia.
Within A sian medical systems,
hot/cold descriptors are used to
denote the qualities of people,
plants, animals, minerals, places,
times, seasons, celestial bodies,
foods, medicines, stages of
development, gender-based
proclivities, and bodily sensations
as w ell as symptoms and types of
illness. Symptoms are recognised
as signs of internal heat and cold
manifest in myriad forms, related
to various humoural imbalances.
To the lay population, hot/cold
reasoning guides behaviours
ranging from folk dietetic practice
to bathing habits, domestic health
care to the interpretation of how
medicines w ork, evaluations of the
qualities of soil to deliberation
about the use of various types of
fertilisers.
Significant intra- as w ell as
interregional variation exists in the
classification of specific items and
phenomena as hot/cold; there is
more of a pattern in the way the
framew ork is employed than in
the specific rules for its
application. Consensus is greatest
for items involved in rituals. For
example, H indu rituals follow a
logic that demands particular
types of offerings representing
hot/cold qualities matching the
characteristics of a deity or the
intent of a particular sequence in
the ritual.
H ot/cold may refer to either
selective qualities or the overall
qualities of an item being
described. A point of comparison
may be implicit (rice is cool in
relation to w heat) or explicit w hen
an index object is noted in

conversation. For example,

particular colours and tastes are
w idely associated w ith states of
hot/cold (e.g., red: hot, w hite:
cold), but these attributes may be
eclipsed by others, such as body
sensation, w hich are more
immediate (e.g., burning
sensation: hot) as w ell as subject
to personal interpretation.
H ot/cold reference is often
relational, hot-cold constituting a
continuum along w hich one item
may be described in relation to
others w ithin a common domain
(e.g., milled rice: hot, parboiled
rice: cold; beer: cool, rum: hot). A
point of comparison may be
implicit (rice is cool in relation to
w heat) or emerge as an anchor
point in conversation. Items tend
to be classified w ithin domains
(vegetables, meats, liquor,
medicines), each domain
analogous to an octave on a
musical scale. Thus, a grain such
as w heat may be classified as hot,
as may a meat such as chicken
and an oil such as mustard seed
oil. Each may be thought of as hot
in relation to other members of a
class, but their qualities may not
be seen as identical, although each
may be described as causing a
heating effect on the body if
consumed in excess.
The hot/cold conceptual
framew ork constitutes an excellent
example of an interpretive model
of serving as a model for
(Geertz 1973) practice. A t issue is
w hen the model is invoked.
Research in South A sia suggests
that predispositions toward hot/
cold reasoning are embodied
through a complex of practices,
especially those associated w ith
pregnancy and delivery, child
care, and illness. South A sians do
not spend their lives strictly
abiding by rules of healthy living
underlain by hot/cold
conceptualisation. They do,
how ever, follow practices

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

influenced by hot/cold reasoning at

times associated w ith states of
vulnerability. H ot/cold reasoning is
further employed to explain new
phenomena (e.g., how birth
control pills w ork), and it serves as
a guide for experimentation. A
flexible, user-friendly conceptual
framew ork, hot/cold facilitates
communication betw een expert
domains of know ledge such as
astrology, Ayurveda medicine, and
exorcism w herein associations
betw een the hot/cold properties of
stars, spirits, and bodily states
may be draw n. H ot/cold also
provides specialists w ith a w idely
understood reference point
enabling communication w ith
laypersons unable to grasp the
complex relationships underlying
expert practice.
References
Beck, Brenda, 1969. Colour and H eat
in a South Indian Ritual . M an 4:
553-572.
Babb, Law rence, 1973. H eat and
control in Chhattisgarhi ritual .
Eastern Anthropologist, 26: 11-28.
Geertz, Clifford, 1973. The
Interpretation of Cultures. N ew York:
Basic Books.
N ichter, M ark, 1986. M odes of Food
Classification and the Diet-H ealth
Contingency: A South Indian
Case . In R.S. Khare and M .S. A .
Rao, eds., Food, Society and Culture.
Durham: Carolina A cademic Press.
Wandel, M argareta, et al., 1984.
H eating and cooling foods in
relation to food habits in a southern
Sri Lanka community . Ecology of
Food and Nutrition, 14: 93-140.

(This article was originally published in

the encyclopedia of South Asian Folklore
(2003), pp. 289 - 290.)

South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia

Ed i t ed by M ar gar et A . M i l l s,
Peter J. Claus, and Sarah Diamond
2003, pages xxx + 710 N ew York,
London: Routledge.

Serinity Young
Serinity Young is Research Associate in the Department of
Anthropology at American M useum of Natural History, New
York. The author can be contacted at [email protected]

reams are pervasive in South A sian folk

literature. Folk beliefs about dreams in South
A sia are similar to those found in the classical
traditions of South A sia as w ell as in other cultures
from around the w orld. For example, most people
distinguish meaningful from meaningless dreams,
emphasizing the importance of dreams that occur
around daw n and dreams sent by gods over those
caused by bodily disorders, such as indigestion.
Indeed, most of the dreams in Somadevas
Kathasaritsagara story collection take place at daw n
and are sent by the gods. These basic ideas about
dreams are also found in ancient texts such as the
Caraka and Susruta Samhitas (medical texts) and in
early Buddhist w orks such as the Samantapasadika
(I.520-529), M anorathapuraii (V.xx.6), and M ilindapanha
(IV.75), w hile the Palija takas are particularly rich in
the dreams of w omen.
Overshadowing these theories in Hinduism,
however, is the well-known idea that we are all
participating in Gods dream of creation. One version of
this idea is contained in the Kurma Purana, which
describes the beginning of this kalpa (eon), when
nothing existed but a vast ocean and Lord Narayana
(Brahma; in other versions, Vishnu) sleeping on the coils
of a great snake. A s he sleeps, he dreams, and a
wonderful lotus grows out of his navel from which arises
all that exists; Gods dream is the basis of our reality.
Shared Dreams
One type of dream preserved in various stores is the
shared dream, a dream that appears on the same
night to more than one person. While examples of
such dreams can be found in other cultures, South
A sia is an especially rich source for them. Examples
from the Kathasaritsagara include:
tw o Brahman cousins w ho perform austerities
to Karttikeya and then receive a shared prophetic
dream telling them w here to find a guru (I.12).
three Brahman w omen, w ho remain virtuous
w ives even though they have been abandoned by
their husbands, share a dream from Siva (I.19-20).
a king and queen w orship Siva in order to
obtain a son, and he appears in both their dreams,
predicting they w ill have a son. Later the queen
dreams that Siva gives her a fruit, and this is taken as
confirmation of the first dream (II.136).
Shared dreams also occur in Buddhist stories
such as the M ahavastu, in w hich the Buddhas father,
w ife, and aunt all have dreams portending his

M aya, the mother of Buddha, having a dream

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DREAMS*

departure from home (II.129-131). A nother type of

shared dream is one that transcends time, as w hen
the Buddha has five dreams said to be the same
dreams had by Buddhas of earlier eons recorded in
Lalitavistara (I.296-297). A second example of this type
is the conception dream of the Buddhas mother that
is said to have been dreamt by the mother of the
preceding Buddha, Dipamkara, mentioned in
M ahavastu (I.205). A dditional examples of such
transtemporal shared dreams are contained in the
Lotus Sutra and the Arya svapna nirdesa nama
mahayana sutra (bKa gyur, vol.25, text 48), w hich
describe the dreams of Bodhisattvas. In these
examples shared dreams are used to dramatize the
essential sameness of all Buddhist heroes; their
progress along the path leading to enlightenment is
marked by dream signposts. Correspondingly, shared
dreams also appear in stories about famous Buddhist
religious figures in Tibet. One group of such dreams
centres on Padmasambhavas departure from home
w hen both his adopted father and his w ife have
frightening dreams.
A n especially rich text in terms of dreams and
folk beliefs is the popular biography of the Tibetan
yogi and poet M ilarepa (eleventh through tw elfth
century). This text is actually structured by the
dreams that begin and end it, as w ell as anchor its
pivotal centre, w hen M ilarepa passes from being a
disciple to becoming a guru himself. It also contains
the shared dreams that M ilarepas guru, M arpa, and
M arpas w ife, Dakmema, have the night before
M ilarepa arrives to ask M arpa to be his guru. M arpa
dreams of a vajra (a tantric ritual implement), w hile
Dakmema dreams of a stupa (Buddhist reliquary),
religious symbols appropriate to announcing a
Buddhist saint.
Conception Dreams
Some of the dreams presented thus far are also
examples of the conception dream, a type of dream
frequently encountered in the biographical literature
of the Buddhists and Jains. Equally famous are the

D REAM S

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dreams of Queen M aya, the

state. One of the ways to get rid of
Buddhas mother, and Queen
dream pollution is to transfer it to
Trisala, the mother of M ahavira,
another object or to associate the
founder of the Jains. In her dream,
dream w ith something ephemeral.
Queen M aya sees a magnificent
Examples of this kind of thinking are
w hite elephant, w hich, by striking
found in the Taittiriya-Araiyaka,
her right side w ith its trunk, is able
w hich recommends a particular grass
to enter her w omb. This dream is
for removing the effects of bad
understood to be a prediction of the
dreams (X.1.7), and in the Atharva
birth of a son w ho w ill be a w orld
Veda, w hich states, We transfer
ruler either through kingship or
every evil dream upon our enemy
renunciation. M any versions of
(VI.46).
M ayas dream are among the earliest
The medical texts of ancient
images preserved in Buddhist
India, the Caraka Samhita and Susruta
iconography and texts, and
Samhita (CS and SS), w hich are still
M arpa, the founder of the Kagyu School
representations of this dream kept
in use today as part of the Ayurvedic
of Tibetian Buddhism
up an even pace w ith the spread of
system of healing, use dreams as a
Buddhism. The Buddhist belief in
diagnostic tool. Sudhir Kakars recent w ork has
conception dreams is also w ell documented in later
show n the persistence of these ancient ideas and the
Tibetan biographies, probably due in equal part to the Ayurvedic approach to the w hole person, in w hich
popularity of M ayas dream and earlier indigenous
dreams are considered a meaningful part of the
beliefs.
person. This is not an idea unique to ancient IndiaIn the Jain case, on the night that M ahavira enters dreams w ere used as a diagnostic tool by such w ellQueen Trishalas w omb she has fourteen sequential
know n ancient Greek doctors as Galen and
dreams of a w hite elephant, a w hite bull, a lion, the
H ippocrates, as w ell as by ancient M esopotamian
goddess Sri, a garland, the moon, the sun, a large
doctors. Significantly, the CS contains many
flag, a vase, a lake, the milk ocean, a celestial abode,
examples of premonitory dreams of disease and
a heap of jew els, and a fire. When Queen Trishala
death that are similar to those seen in the epics and
tells her dreams to her husband and asks him to
folktales.
interpret them, he says they mean that the couple
In the SS, dreams seem to be caused by illness as
w ill have a son w ho w ill be a great king. The next
w ell as being symptoms of it; certain dreams
day, how ever, the king sends for the official dream
appearing to a healthy person indicate the onset of
interpreters w ho, citing dream interpretation books,
illness. In other w ords, a dream may be the first
say the dreams mean the child w ill be either a
symptom. Fortunately, the text also has
universal emperor or a jina (a Jain hero). Of particular
recommendations to avert the influence of dreams,
interest is Trishalas behaviour after her husband
such as reciting the Gayatri, meditating on a holy
interprets her dream. She says, These, my excellent
subject,
or sleeping in a temple for three consecutive
and preeminent dreams, shall not be counteracted by
nights.
It
also recommends that an evil dream
other bad dreams. The narration continues,
should
not
be related to another, although this is
A ccordingly she remained awake to save her dreams
challenged by the evidence of Indian folk and literary
by means of [hearing] good, auspicious, pious,
texts, in w hich the detailed telling of dreams,
agreeable stories about gods and religious men
especially those thought to be inauspicious, is a stock
(Jacobi, 1968: I.240). H er w ords and actions are
device. This does not, how ever, preclude someone
reminiscent of similar ritual activities from the Vedic
from keeping silent about his or her dreams, and the
period, though here they are in relation to auspicious
recommendation itself w ould seem to be connected to
dreams.
the idea that saying the dream out loud w ill
Propitiation and Diagnosis
contribute to or hasten its dreaded effect. The main
Some of the earliest references to dreams are
point, though, is the notion that dreams have a
contained in the Rg Veda, in w hich several hymns
lingering effect that can be avoided by appealing to
appeal to various deities to dispel the effects of evil
divine pow er, an idea that persists from Vedic times
dreams (II.28.10, V.82.4-5, VIII.47.14-18, X.36.4, and
to the present.
X.16.4). In the Arthava Veda other
A s w e have seen, this
appeals for protection from bad
lingering effect may also be a
dreams are directed toward
source of pollution (such as
healing plants and salves (VI.9,
contact w ith the dead) or it may
IV.17, and X.3), in part due to a
be view ed as part of the effluvia
related belief that dreams can
of the night that must be purified
reveal the onset of illness.
or washed away during morning
A ncient Indians also sometimes
ablutions. The philosophical texts
dreamt of the dead, but for
treat dreams as effluvia w hen
them, as in many other cultures,
they assert a negative position,
contact w ith the dead is polluting
mainly referring to them as
and such pollution can occur in
useless illusions or as useful only
dreams as w ell as in the waking
Fourteen Dreams of Queen Trishala
8

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for signifying how real and pow erful a force illusion

(maya) is in waking life.
In spite of the lively interest in dreams in the
Vedas and related texts, few dreams actually occur in
the epics, and then they play a very minor role. Tw o
dreams that do occur in Valmikis Ramayana are of
minor characters; how ever, both announce deaths,
using the same images contained in the ancient
Indian medical texts, for example, seeing a w oman
dressed in red, dragging someone toward the south.
The few dreams in the M ahabharata also belong to
secondary or even liminal characters such as Karna
and Bhisma. Dreams are, how ever, ubiquitous in the
Tibetan epic of Gesar (Kesar), in w hich the hero
continually receives dream visitations from Buddhist
deities w ho offer him advice w hich he follow s.
Divination
Because they link the internal and subjective
emotional life of an individual w ith w hat appears to
be objective outer events and symbols, dreams are
believed to be a particularly potent form of
divination. The
dreamer is totally
engaged in the
dream activity and,
upon awakening,
feels compelled to
describe the
experience and to
seek an
interpretation that
resolves it. The
objective quality
of dreams is
perhaps most
clearly expressed
w hen dreamers say
they saw (drs) the
dream rather than
M ilarepa, a twelth century poet-saint of Tibet
had a dream.
This use of language expresses the idea that dreams
are experienced as given to individuals rather than
created by them and emphasises the external rather
than the internal origin of the dream, thereby lending
them a possibly divine authority. This thinking is
expressed in hymn 4.9 of the Atharva Veda that
appeals to an eye ointment, anana, for protection
from troubled dreams, and in the Tibetan Tangyur
(vol.25, text 48) that recommends preparing and
using a certain eye ointment w hen seeking an
auspicious dream.
A t the same time, dreams are a useful narrative
device, acting as a deus ex machina to shift the
action, define character, and express the inevitability
of w hat follow s. N ot infrequently, they are the
vehicles for divine appearances that reassure the
audience not only of the immanence of divinity, but
of the gods enduring concern w ith the affairs of
humanity. M ore research needs to be done on all
these aspects of dream life, especially through
interview ing living people about their dream beliefs
and experiences.

References
Bays, Gw endolyn, tr., 1983. The Voice of the Buddha: The
Beauty of Compassion. (Original: Lalitavistara) Berkeley,
California: Dharma Publishing.
Bhishagratna, Kaviraj Kunjalal, 1963. Sushruta Samhita.
Varanasi, India: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series.(2nd edition).
bKa gyur., 1980. Vol. 25, text 48. Oakland, Calif.: Dharma.
Bloomfield, M aurice, tr., 1979 (1897). Atharva Veda. Delhi:
M otilal Banarsidass.
Bolling, G.M ., 1913. Dreams and Sleep (Vedic) . In James
H astings, ed., The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics,
vol.5. N ew York: Charles Scribner.
Esnoul, A nne-M arie, 1959. Les Songes et leur interpretation
dans lInde. In Les Songes et leur interpretation (Dreams and
Their Interpretation) Paris: Editions du Seuil.
Griffith, Ralph T.H., tr., 1971 (1889). The Hymns of the Rg Veda.
Varanasi (India): Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office.
Jacobi, H ermann, 1968 (1884). Jaina Sutras. N ew York:
Dover Publications.
Jones, J.J., tr., 1949-1956. M ahavastu. London: Pali Text
Society.
Kern, H ., tr., 1963 (1884). Lotus Sutra, or Saddharmapuidarika
(The Lotus of the True Law ), 278-279. N ew York: Dover
Publications.
Lhalungpa, Lobsang P., tr., 1984. The Life of M ilarepa.
Boulder, Colo., and London: Shambhala Publications.
O Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, 1984. Dreams, Illusion and Other
Realities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sharma, Jadish, and Lee Siegel, 1980. Dream-Symbolism in
the Sramaiic Tradition: Two Psychoanalytical Studies in Jainist
and Buddhist Dream Legends. Calcutta: Firma KLM .
Sharma, R.K., and Bhagwan Das, tr., 1977. Caraka Samhita,
II.545-550. Varanasi (India): Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series.
Shastri, H .R., tr., 1953-1957. The Ramayana of Valmiki.
London: Shantisadan.
Tagore, Ganesh Vasudeo, tr. (n.d.) Kurma Purana. Delhi:
M otilal Banarsidass.
Taw ney, C.H ., tr., 1924. Kathasaritsagara (The Ocean of
Story). London: Chas. J. Saw yer.
Tsogyal, Yeshe, 1978. The Life and Liberation of
Padmasambhava, tr.[Kenneth Douglas and Gw endolyn
Bays from the French of Gustave-Charles Toussaint.]
Berkeley, Calif.: Dharma Publishing.
Van Buitenen, J.A .B., tr., 1975-1978. The M ahabharata. Vols.
2 & 3. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Young, Serinity, 1999. Dreaming in the Lotus: Buddhist Dream
Narrative, Imagery, and Practice. Boston: Wisdom
Publications.

(This article was originally published in the encyclopedia of

South Asian Folklore (2003), pp. 166 - 169.)

South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia

Ed i t ed by M ar gar et A . M i l l s,
Peter J. Claus, and Sarah Diamond
2003, p ages xxx + 710 N ew Yor k ,
London: Routledge.

* We sincerely thank Professors Peter J. Claus,

M argaret A . M ills and Sarah Diamond, the Editors
of the South Asian Folklore An Encyclopedia (2003,
New York and London: Routledge) and the authors,
Jerome H . Bauer, M ark N ichter and Serinity Young
for giving us permission to reprint these articles.

D REAM S

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE EROSION

Jyoti Kum ari

he indigenous communities in India are the

original inhabitants of the natural region and
they have been maintaining a historical
continuity w ith pre-industrial societies by follow ing
traditional patterns of life. Scattered all over the
country, they constitute around 8.8 per cent of the
total population and w ith a few exceptions, the
majority of them are forest dw ellers. Their sociocultural identity has remained unaffected by forces of
colonisation, modernisation, and globalisation. They
have preserved their culture through their indigenous
know ledge systems, w hich authenticate the presence
of their rich socio-cultural and medical heritage. The
sacred rituals and healing practices are very much
visible in their culture. Erosion of indigenous
know ledge has been taking place in India for the past
tw o hundred years and there is no effort by the
government to promote and protect these
anonymous but unique know ledge holders of the
society. The contribution of indigenous know ledge in
the modern systems of medicine has been
underestimated and it is ironical that the scientific
community has treated the foundation of scientific
medicine as unscientific .
This article emphasises on the revival of folk
medicine tradition that is happening w ith the help of
pharmaceutical companies, voluntary organisations.
Folk know ledge about pharmaceutical diversity is as
old as civilisation itself. The first historical evidence
of traditional know ledge about medicinal plants has
been found in Rg Veda. In fact, the Atharva Veda, a
treatise on folk medicine traditions, explains various
herbal formulations that are still in use. Even in the
medieval period there was an exchange of traditional
medical w isdom betw een A rabs, Chinese, and
Indians. H ow ever, it was during the British rule that
the exploitation of natural resources and unfriendly
forest law s adversely affected the indigenous
communities access to medicinal plants and heralded
an era of gradual know ledge erosion. The colonisers
ideological principle of scientific forestry was based
on the conception that all traditional practices of
conservation w ere wasteful and they w ould destroy
the forest w ealth. The conservators of the postcolonial period also promoted the same legacy
further.
In fact, the allopathic system of medicine was
promoted and legitimised during the British rule,
10

w hereas the traditional systems of medicine received

a major setback. Deforestation during this period led
to the disappearance and extinction of several
medicinal plants and the reduced access to natural
resources further aggravated the situation. Various
development projects taken up in the postindependence period have displaced thousands of
local and tribal communities. When indigenous
people are forced to displacement, the unrecorded
traditional know ledge they carry w ith them w ill
become completely useless in view of new ecosystem.
A nd, the forced resettlement of indigenous and tribal
people in a different ecological zone poses a great
threat to the existence of their indigenous know ledge
system and intellectual property rights. In addition,
the communities tend to lose vast amount of
unrecorded traditional know ledge because of the
ageing of the elders and maintenance of secrecy

Courtesy: http://tbgri.com

Jyoti Kumari is a freelance researcher and doctoral candidate

researching Environmental History of Colonial Punjab at the
Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in New Delhi. The author can be
contacted at [email protected]

Kani people and TBGRI scientists after the first transfer

of licence fees and royalties in 1999

about medicinal plants and forest products. There is

an urgent need to collect, document and preserve
this medicinal know ledge keeping in view of the
future generations and this needs to be done
immediately w ith the help of individuals,
government agencies, and non-governmental
organisations.
The gradual erosion of traditional know ledge has
serious repercussions on the subsistence patterns,
that is, it reduces the self-sufficiency of indigenous
people by making them depend on urban societies.
In the absence of basic healthcare facilities in villages,
the traditional medicine practices provide an
alternative health security to millions of people. The
World H ealth Organisation (WH O) estimates that
around 80 per cent of the w orld population depend
on traditional medicine for some aspects of primary
health care. H ow ever, there is a need for an objective
evaluation to get maximum benefit of the traditional

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medicine system. The indigenous and modern

systems of medicine are not mutually exclusive but
rather complementary, and a combination of them
can render development more cost effective, equitable
as w ell as more sustainable. The traditional literature
and folklore of indigenous medicine and medicinal
practices have positively contributed to the
discoveries of many allopathic medicines, such as,
M orphine, Digoxin, Ephedrine and Reserpine. The
Raulfia, a pharmaceutical product for low ering blood
pressure, is manufactured from the extract of
snakeroot plant, w hich has been used by indigenous
communities for centuries. The folk know ledge about
cinchona bark led to the discovery of Quinine for
curing malarial diseases.
A number of research institutions and nongovernmental organisations w orking on herbal
medicines and indigenous systems of curing have
been exploring and promoting the value of traditional
medicines. Jagran, a not-for-profit organisation in
Rajasthan, is promoting indigenous healers; the use
of Banjauri plant (Vivoa indica) as an oral
contraceptive by the Bihar tribals has been confirmed
by scientists of the Indian Institute of Science and the
Georgetow n University M edical Centre, Washington;
the Catholic H ealth A ssociation of India in A ndhra
Pradesh has successfully developed a medicine based
on tribal formulations to cure kala-azar (the Central
Drug Research Institute has confirmed its
effectiveness). The Foundation for Revitalisation of
Local H ealth Traditions in Bangalore has been doing
commendable w ork in documenting and encouraging
the cultivation of medicinal plants. The revival of
traditional medicine is extremely difficult under the
current system of intellectual property rights. The
developing countries are unable to institute their ow n
law s on such rights since they are under the pressure
of national and multinational companies w hich have
been exploiting this know ledge for their ow n profit.
A s far as patent law s are concerned, it is mandatory
for the patent holder to disclose the source or origin
of information regarding the property. There is no
provision for providing compensation or recognition
to the original know ledge holders and it has resulted
in disproportionate sharing of benefits.
The nexus betw een pharmaceutical companies
and policy makers highlights the implications of
know ledge exploitation and they promote each other
at the cost of traditional know ledge of the local
population. The
Arokyapaccha plant (Trichopus zeylanicus)
controversy
betw een the Onge
tribe of A ndaman
and the Indian
Council of M edical
Research (ICM R)
over the discovery
of herb that cures
cerebral malaria is a
case in point. In
Darjeeling, the
pharmaceutical and

herbal companies are

commercialising the
cultivation of medicinal plants
and in the process, many
species have been lost even
before their true value was
recognised. The already
explored know ledge of
indigenous people must be
protected through national or
international law s and they
must be recognised as unique
Jeevani
or the only possessors of this
know ledge. There should be a fair arrangement of
profit sharing betw een indigenous communities and
pharmaceutical companies. But this w ould require
recognition of intellectual property rights of tribal
communities by the government and corporations,
w hich disagree w ith the notion that indigenous
people should be paid for their know ledge. H ow ever,
one example of such profit sharing arrangement is
that the local Kani tribe in Kerala is given recognition
as discoverer and know ledge holders of the medicinal
plant, Trichopus zeylanicus travancoricius, w hich gives
the drug called Jeevani, by the Tropical Botanical
Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI). A fter giving
license to a local drug manufacturer, the TBGRI
shared fifty percent of the license fee and royalty on
the drug w ith the Kani tribe. Though the w hole
arrangement is not free from controversy, it is still
the first and only example of giving recognition to the
intellectual property rights of an indigenous tribe. For
meeting the future needs of rare medicinal herbs, the
documentation of traditional medicinal know ledge
has long been suggested by national and
international organisations. The Indian government
has set up a Traditional Know ledge Digital Library to
facilitate w ider access to this know ledge and to save
it from bio-piracy. H ow ever, there are no provisions
for any compensation for the communities w hose
know ledge has been stored in it and w ill now be
freely available at global level w ithout giving the local
communities their rightful due. A ccess to this
know ledge should have had enough safeguards to
protect the interests of indigenous people. If new
discoveries are made on the basis of this know ledge,
then there should be a proportionate benefit sharing
among the patent holders and know ledge holders.
The w hole process w ould become successful only
w hen it is legally controlled.
References
Gosling, David L., 2001. Religion and Ecology in India and
Southeast Asia. Routledge, London.
UN DP, 2001. Human Development Report 2001: M aking New
Technologies Work for Human Development. Oxford
University Press, N ew York.
Sharma, Devinder, 2002. Digital Library on Indian
M edicine Systems: A nother Tool for Biopiracy . Economic
and Political Weekly, June 22.
Shukla, R. S., 2000. Forestry for Tribal Development. N ew
Delhi: Wheeler Publications.

IN DIGEN O U S

KN O W LE D G E E RO S I O N

11

12

M EDI CI NA L P L A NT S
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Sl.NO. BOTANICAL NAMES

ENGLISH NAMES

TAMIL NAMES

Sl.NO. BOTANICAL NAMES

ENGLISH NAMES

TAMIL NAMES

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
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9
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14
15
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Himalayan Silver Fir

Jequirity
Babul Tree
Catechu, Black Catechu
Cassia Flower
American Aloe
Rough Chafftree
Indian Aconite
Indian Atees
Sweet Flag
Malabar Nut
Maiden-Hair Fern
Bael Fruit
Small Aloe
Lesser Galangal
Galangal
Marsh Mallow
Ceylon Cardomum
Pellitory
The Creat
Cuscus Grass
Thick-leaved Lavender
Chamomile
Celery
Elephant Creeper
Worm-Killer
Mashaparni
Salaitree, Gu-Gugul
Bamboo
Indian Spinach
Mohua
White Gourd Melon
Indian Barberry
Curry Leaf
Anotta Seed
Sperading Hog-Weed
Silk Cotton Tree
Indian Olibanum
White Mustard
Rape Seed
Black Mustard
Lavender Flower
Bryoms
Bastard Teak
Molucca Bean
-

Talispatri
Gundumani
Karuvelum
Kasikatti
Sheeyakay
Avarampoo
Anekatalai
Nayuruvi
Vashanavi
Ativadayan
Vasambu
Adhatodai
Hansraj
Manja - Kadambe
Vilvam
Sirupulayur
Naikoddai
Priyangu
Mattipal
Musambaram
Kattalai
Chitharathai
Perarathai
Tukme Kitmee
Thandukkirai
Kuppaikkirai
Periyayelaky
Akkirakaram
Nilavembu
Vettiver
Karpooravalli
Babuna
Ajmoda
Paymoostey
Samudra Pachai
Adu-Tinna-Palai
Neermulli
Tannirvitan Kilangu
Shatavari
Peruidukol
Adavi-Amudan
Gukkulu
Kumuda
Moongilarisi
Samutra Palam
Pachalai
Illupai
Kalyan-Pooshini
Mara Manjal
Karuveppilai
Bhuja Palva
Jaffra Vedai
Utanjan
Mukkaratai
Elevam
Mani Kundrikam
Vendadugu
Kadugu
Kadugu
Ustukhudus
Akashakarudan
Musumusukkai
Murkampoo
Kadimumukan
Gaozaban
Kazhar-Shikkay
Gajakay

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133
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135

Sappa Wood
Java Almond Tree
Black Damar
Chillies
Saf-flower
Bishop Weed
Staff Tree
Goose Foot
Endive, Wild Chicory
Citron
Chaksoo
Heart-leaved Moonseed
Indian Berry
Gold Thread
Hazel Nut
Tree Turmeric
Purgative Cotton
East Indian Root
Bitter Gourd
Black Musale
Mango Ginger
Wild Turmeric
Round Zedoary
Bermuda Grass
Indian Cyperus
Nut Grass
Thornapple
Horse Gram
Australian Asthma-Weed
Elephant or Wood-Apple
Indian Sweet Fennel
Dikamali
Mangosteen
Indian Gamboge
Agai Agai
Superb Lely
Soybean
Sweet Wood - Liquorice
Hind
Sun Flower
East Indian Screw-Tree
Indian Sarsaparilla
Thyme-Leaved
Brown Indian Hemp
Musk-Mallow
Chineses Rose
Kurchi
Jangli Badam

Pathimugam
Jangli Badam
Karuppu Gunguliam
Shankhini
Milagai
Kusumphool
Shimayi-shombu
Omam
Ajmud
Ushittagarai
Valuluwai
Parupu Kire
Kasini Virai
Maphal
Mulappalvidhai
Kovai
Sindilkodi
Kakakulli
Peetharohini
Findak
Mara Manjal
Babuna
Nervalam
Nattu-Ativudayam
Kattu-Tumatti
Nial-Panai-Kizhangu
Arukamlaka
Kasturi Manjal
Kichili Kilangu
Arugu
Mutta-Kachi
Korai Kizanghu
Umatham
Jadwar
Jivanti
Kollu
Karisalai
Rutthraksham
Elakkay
Vayu-Vilamgam
Burg-Sadab
Amum-Patchaiaressi
Usi Thagarai
Marukozhunthu
Vilvapazham
Perungayam
Shombu
Dikamalai
Mangostan
Rival Chinipal
Katukarohini
Kanveli Vadai
Ati-Maduram
Siru-Kurunja
Chaulmugera
Sarivan
Surya Kiranti
Valumbirika
Nannari
Neer Brahmi
Oulimanji
Kasthuri Vidhai
Sembaruthi
Kasppu-Vetpalarishi
Nirattimuthu

Abies Weebbiana
Abrus Percatorius
Acacia Arabica
Acacia Catechu
Acacia Concinna
Acacia Farnesiana
Acave Americana
Achyranthes Aspera
Aconitum Ferox
Aconitum Heterophyllum
Acorus Calamus
Adhatoda Vasika
Adiantum Capillus-Veneris
Adina Cordifulia
Aegle Marmelos
Aerua Lanata
Agaricus Campestris
Aglalia Roxburghiana
Ailantus Malabarica
Aloe Littoracis
Aloe Vera
Alpinia Chinensis
Alpinia Galanga
Althaea Officinalis
Amarantus Gangeticus
Amarantus Viridis
Amomum Sublatum
Anacylus Pyrethrum
Andrographis Paniculata
Andropogon Muricatus
Anisochilus Carnosus
Anthemis Nobicis
Apium Graveolens
Argyreia Malabarica
Argyreia Speciosa
Aristolochia Barcteata
Artanema Sesamoides
Asparagus Adscendens
Asparagus Racemosus
Atylosia Barabata
Baliospermum Axillare
Balsamodendron Mukul
Balsamodendron Roxburghi
Bambusa Arundinacea
Barringtonia Racemosa
Basella Alba
Bassia Longifolia
Benincasa Cerifera
Berberis Aristata
Bergera Koenigii
Betula Bhojapattra
Bixa Orrellana
Blepharis Edulis
Boerhaavia Diffusa
Bombax Malabaricum
Boswellia Glabra
Brassica Alba
Brassica Campestris
Brassica Nigra
Brunella Valgaris
Bryonia Epigoes
Bryonia Seabra
Butea Frondosa
Butea Superba
Caccinia Glauca
Caesalpinia Bonduc
Caesalpinia Bunducella

Caesalpinia Sappan
Canarium Cummune
Canarium Strictum
Canscora Decussata
Capsicum Frutescens
Carthamus Tinctorius
Carum Carui
Carum Capticum
Carum Nigrum
Cassia Tora
Celastrus
Chenopodium Album
Cichorium Intybus
Citrus Medica
Cassia Absus
Coccinia Indica
Cocculus Cordifolius
Cocculus Suberosus
Coptis Teeta
Corylus Avellan
Coscinium Fenestratum
Cotula Anthemoides
Croton Tiglium
Cryptocoryne Spiralis
Cucumis Trigonus
Curculigo Orchioides
Curcuma Amada
Curcuma Aromatica
Curcuma Zedoaria
Cynodon Dactylon
Cyperus Pertenuis
Cyperus Rotundus
Datura Alba
Delphinium Denudatum
Dendrobium Macrael
Dolichos Biflurus
Eclipta Alba
Elaeocarpus Ganitrus
Elaeocarpus Tuberculatus
Elettaria Cardamumum
Embelia Ribes
Euphorbia Lathyris
Euphorbia Pilurifera
Eurycoma Longifulia
Exacumlawii
Feronai Elephantum
Ferula Assafuetida
Foeniculum Vulgar
Gardenin Gummifera
Garlinia Mangostana
Garlinia Morella
Gelidium Cartilagineum
Gentiana Kurroo
Gloriosa Superba
Glycine Suja
Glycyrrhiza Glabra
Gymnema Sylvestre
Gynocrd Odorata
Hedysarum Gangeticum
Helianthus
Helicteres Isora
Hemidesmus Indicus
Herpestis Monniera
Hibiscuc Cannabinus
Hibiscus Abelmonschua
Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis
Holarrhena Antidysenterica
Hydnucarpus Wightiana

M ED ICIN AL PLAN TS

Sl.NO. BOTANICAL NAMES

ENGLISH NAMES

TAMIL NAMES

Sl.NO. BOTANICAL NAMES

ENGLISH NAMES

TAMIL NAMES

136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
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147
148
149
150
151
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188
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194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202

Indian Pennywort
Henbena
Star Aniseeds
Pharbitis
Trueindigo
Bidarkand
Turpeth Root / Indian Jalap
Walnut
Arabian or French Lavender
Henna
Cress
Neem
Cobras Saffron
Senitive Plant
Bitter Gourd
Indian Mulberry
Drumstick Seed
Mulberry
Cowhage or Cowitch Plant
Bay Berry, Box Myetle
Nutmeg
Bombay Mace
Cloves
Musk Root
Small Fennel or Black Cumin
Sweet Basil
Holy Basil
Two-Flowered, Indian Madder
Wild Marjoram
Stone Flower
Pau
Syrian Rue
Parsley
Dill
Black Gram
Edible Date
Cape Gooseberry
Anise, Sweet Fennel, Aniseed
White Pepper
-

Nirmulli
Kurarani Omam
Anasipoo
Terada
Kodikakkatan
Siva-Narvaymbu
Neeliouri
Vellai Kilangu
Shivadai
Kattu Malli
Akrottu
Kachhola Kilangu
Nirbishi
Tukme - Balunga
Dharu, Alaphajana Dharu
Maruthonri
Alivirai
Poduthuvalai
Maida-Lakti
Gaozaban
Babuna
Todri Safeed
Vembu
Badurangboya
Sirunaga Poo
Thotta Suringi
Magudampoo
Parpadgam
Pavakka-Chedi
Nuna
Murangai Vidhai
Shetuta
Poonaikkali
Karuveppallai
Marudam Pattai
Jathikay
Rampatri
Kirambu
Jatamashi
Zufa
Karunjeeragam
Lilly
Ganjankorai
Tiruniru Pachai
Tulasi
Parpadagam
Gauzhban
Maruvamu
Chirkualathi
Kalpasi
Chitta Mutti
Peru-Nerinjal
Neurnji
Shimai-Azha-Vanai-Virai
Munnay
Sadakuppi
Ulundu
Perichchangayi
Kizhkay Nelli
Siruthakkali
Katukarogani
Shombu
Vella Milagu
Chavyam

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257
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260
261
262
263
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265
266
267
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269
270

Long-Pepper
Black Pepper
Mastiche Tree
Tropical Duck Weed
Ispaghula, Isapgol Seeds
Rose Coloured Lead Wort
Indian Beech
Guava
Babchi Seeds
Bishops Weed
Pomogranite
Quince
Oak Null, Magic Nut
Emetic Nut
Radish
Sarpagandha
Himalayan or Indian Rhubarb
Galls
Castor Oil Plant
Damask or Persian Rose
Indian Madder
Garden Rue
Marking Nut Tree
China Root
Wild Eggs Plant, Bitter Sweet
Shaggy Putton Weed
Eastindian Globe K
Nux-Vomica, Poison Nut, Quaker
Clearing Nut Tree
Lodh Tree
Himalayan Yew
Beleric Myrobalans
Myrobalan
Fenugreek
True Valerian
White Dammer Tree
Purple Fleabane
Aharanthus Roseus
Wild Violet
Five Leaved Charti Tree
Grapes
Winter Cherry
Sweet Indrajao
Dry Ginger
Jujub Berries
Nutmace

Thipplee
Milagu
Rumi Mastaki
Akasa Thamarai
Ishappukolvirai
Shivappu Chittramulam
Pungamaram
Siruthekku
Priyangu
Goyyapazham
Karpokarishi
Omam
Bidarikand
Madulam
Karupali
Shimai-Madalaivirai
Machakai
Marukkallan-Kai
Mullangi
Chivan Melpodi
Variyattu
Karkada Singi
Amanakku
Rojappu, Golappu
Manditta, Manjitti
Arvada
Koranti
Shenkottai
Parnagichekkai
Kandan Kattari
Manathakkali
Thuthulai, Tudavullay
Nutti Choorie, Narrai-Churi
Vishukrianthi
Akalkem
Penai Mavum
Sambirani
Yetti-Kottai
Tetan-Kottai
Thuthuvalai
Nilavembu
Shilajetu
Lodhrapattai
Nandhiavattan
Niradimuthu
Talispatri
Tanrik-Kay
Kadukay
Shindilkodi
Milagaranai
Devadaru
Shekakul
Pudel, Kattup-Pepudal
Vendayam
Asaroon
Vellai-Kungiliyam
Kattu Shiragam
Nithia Kalyani
Vayilethe, Vayilettu
Banafsha
Nochi
Draksha
Amukkuram
Dhathiripoo
Veppal Arisi
Sukku
Unnab
Jathipathri

Hydrocotyle Asiatic
Hygrophica Spinosa
Hyoscyamus Niger
Illicium Verum Hook
Impatiens Balsamina
Impomoea Hederaceae
Indigofera Aspalathoides
Indigofera Tincoturia
Ipomoea Digitata
Ipomoea Turpethum
Jasminum Angustiflolium
Juglans Regia
Kaempferia Galanga
Kyllinga Monocephala
Lallemantia Royleana
Lavandula Stoechas
Lawsonia Alba
Lepidium Sativum
Lippia Nodiflora
Litsea Sebifera
Macrotomia Benthami
Matricaria Chamumice
Matthiolaincana
Melia Azadirachta
Melissa Paruiflora
Mesua Ferrea
Mimosa Pudica
Mimusopa Elengi
Mollugo Cerviana
Mollugu Lerviano
Momordica Charantia
Morindia Citrifolia
Moringa Oleifera
Morus Nigra
Mucuna Pruriens
Murraya Koenigll
Myrica Nagi
Myristica Fragrans
Myristica Malabarica
Myrtus Caryophyllus
Nardostachys Jatamansi
Nereta Ciliaris
Nigella Sativa
Nymdhaea Lotus
Ocimum Album
Ocimum Basilicum
Ocimum Sanctum
Oldenlandia Corymbosa
Onujma Bracteatum
Origanum Majorana
Osbeckia Cupularis
Parmelia Perlata
Pavonia Zeylanica
Pedalium Murex
Pedalium Murey
Peganum Harmala
Permina Integrifolia
Petruselinum Satiucm
Peucedanum Graveolens
Phaseolus Royburghi
Phoenix Dactylifera
Phyllanthus Niruri
Physalis Minima
Picrorrhiza Kurrooa
Pimpinella Anisum
Piper Alum
Piper Chaba

Courtesy: R.N. Rajan & Co., Exporter, Importer and Pharmaceutical Supplier of Herbs #1, Kumarappa M aistry Street, Chennai - 1

Piper Longum
Piper Nigrum
Pistacia Lentiscus
Pistia Stranotes
Plantago Ispagula
Plumbago Rosea
Pongamia Glabra
Premna Herbacea
Prunus Mahaleb
Psidium Guyava
Psoralea Coryifolia
Ptychotis Ajowan
Pueraria Tuberosa
Punica Granatum
Putranjiva Roxburghi
Pyrus Cydonia
Quercus Infectoria
Randia Dumtorum
Raphanus Sativus
Rauwolfia Serpentina
Rheum Emodi
Rhus Succedanea
Ricinus Communis
Rosa Damascena
Rubia Cordifolia
Ruta Graveolens
Salacia Reticulata
Semecarpus Anacardium
Smilax China
Solanum Jacquinii
Solanum Nigrum
Solanum Trilobatum
Spermacoce Hispida
Sphaeranthus Hirtus
Spilanthes Oleracea
Sterculia Foetida
Strax Benzoin
Strychnos Nux-Vomica
Strychnos Potatorum
Sulanum Trilobtum
Swertia Chirata
Swertia Decussata
Symplocos Racemosa
Tabernaemontana Coronaris
Taraktogenos Kurzii
Taxus Baccata
Terminalia Belerica
Terminalia Chebula
Tinospora Cordifulia
Toddalia Aculeata
Toddalia Bilocularis
Trachydium Lehmanni
Trichosanthes Cucumerina
Trigonella Foenum Graeceum
Valeriana Officinalis
Vateria Indica
Vernonia Anthelmintica
Lochnera Rosea
Viola Odorata
Viola Serpens
Vitiex Negundo
Vitis Vinifera
Withanis Somnifetra
Woodfordia Floribunda
Wrightia Tinctoria
Zingiber Officinale
Zizyphus Vulgaris
Myristica Fragrans

13

AN INT RODUCT ION T O T HE T AMIL SIDDHAS:

T ANT RA, ALCHEMY, POET ICS AND HERESY
WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF WIDER TAMIL SHAIVA WORLD
Layne Little

rint culture and oral temple tales of the past

century have largely been responsible for
shifting the Siddhas from the most peripheral
crevices of Tamil religious imagination into the
limelight of a nationalistic religious awareness. 1
Local television programming offers the convenience
of a daily consultation w ith Tamil Siddha doctors in
the comfort of ones living room. A grow ing number
of temples now seem to have taken on their token
Siddha tomb to celebrate the ever-imminent return of
the deathless ones. In the modern imagination the
Siddhas offer an ancient spiritual science for a
modern secular w orld, a technology of the ancestors
to surpass that offered on the neo-colonial global
market. But is there some coherent theocratic
integration beyond the vogue of pop-parlor speech
and name-dropping the w ords Tamil Siddha as a
kind of magic invocation of cultural authenticity?
The Tamil Siddhas have no central authority or
unifying doctrine. Though there are innumerable
texts claiming to represent some nebulous Tamil
Siddha tradition, there is no single philosophical
orientation propounded in their w orks. Rather,
innumerable philosophical threads are stretched,
interw oven and unw oven again in a phantasmagoric
tapestry of subjectivities, as all the w hile tantra
looms large in the background as the loom on w hich
the tapestry is w oven. So w hile frustrating all
attempts to attribute to them a cogent cosmological
theory, there is a kind of buoyant, free-floating
quality to their processes of relating to life and the
greater universe. This takes the form of an
unapologetic celebration of the immediacy of
subjective experience and the fluid application of a
variety of mutually exclusive philosophical
view points all simultaneously arrayed before the
reader.
This brief introduction presents, an albeit,
simplistic survey of some of the major thematic
elements that the Tamil Siddhas emphasise and
invariably reinscribe w ith their ow n unique visionary
exegesis. It is in this context that this paper touches
upon the irreconcilable social conflict that has raged
outside the Tamil Siddhas and the perpetual role
their imaginative process takes in reconciling the
conflict the rages w ithin.
The Tamil Siddhas remain an ill-defined,
incongruous body of religious specialists found in
the southern part of India w hose origins can be only
tenuously traced back to the seventh or eighth
century. H ere they form a distinctive part of a larger
14

movement that spread throughout South A sia, from

Sri Lanka in the South to Tibet in the north, betw een
the seventh and eleventh centuries. H indu,
Buddhist, and Jain Siddhas everyw here share certain
commonalties mostly in the realm of (subtle) body
image, transmutational w onder tales, and physical
and mental manipulations of yogic savvy. A ll of
them are part of a pan-Indian tantric yoga
movement w hich Eliade described as formulating
over a five hundred year period (betw een seventh
and eleventh centuries), but fully flow ering only
after tw elfth century. 2
Within the South A sian literary context the name
Siddha originally denoted one of the eighteen
categories of celestial beings. These beings of semidivine status w ere said to be of great purity and their
dw elling was thought to be in the sky betw een the
earth and the sun. Later they became associated w ith
a class of more adept human being, often an
accomplished yogi. The term had been derived from
the Sanskrit root sidh meaning fulfilment or
achievement, so the noun came to refer to one
w ho had attained perfection. Because the Tamil

Courtesy: http://palani.org

Layne Little is a Fulbright scholar and doctoral candidate in the

South Asian Studies Department at the University of California,
Berkeley. The author can be contacted at [email protected]

Bhogar instructs Siddhars

language lacks the aspirated consonants of Sanskrit

so the w ord has been w ritten and pronounced by
the Tamils as cittar. This has led the Tamils to
associate the w ord more w ith the Sanskrit term cit,
meaning consciousness. 3
This appellation is evident even in the Shaivite
devotionals know n as the Tevaram hymns of the sixth
and seventh centuries that w ould later become part
of the Saiva Siddhanta canon. H ere the term is
applied not only to one of the 18 categories of divine
beings but also to God Shiva himself, w ho is a
cittar because the very nature of God is
consciousness. Likew ise, it describes the devotee as
also being a cittar since his consciousness is always
immersed in the divine presence. By the tw elfth to
thirteenth century the term has taken on new

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

Courtesy: http://w w w.himalayanacademy.com

meaning as w e learn from the w ritings of

Perumparrapuliyar N ambi w ho describes the God
Shiva as the cittar alchemist w ho is w orking strange
miracles in the city of M adurai. 4
Essentially though, the term siddha or cittar
has the same connotations as it does w hen referring
to the 84 Siddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism, the N atha
Siddhas of N orth India, or the medieval alchemists
know n as the Rasa Siddhas. It is a movement born
of a synthesis of Vajrayana Buddhism, Shaivite
Tantrism, Indian A lchemy, magic, and the H atha
Yoga and Pranayama disciplines expounded by the
ascetic saint Goraknath. A lthough, in the present
era, the term is often applied to any form of
unorthodox mystic or saint. A nd certainly the term
has a new found currency amongst (usually nonBrahmin) Tamil religious organisations and temple
institutions, as w ell as the pop-culture yoga
institutions flourishing in the w est.
A perplexing aspect of the Tamil Siddha cult is
that the text w hich is identified as the root text of its
tradition had been also amended to the orthodox
Saiva Siddhanta canon (Tirumurai) to give the
Siddhantins a philosophical orientation that could
hold up against the Sri Vaisnavas Vashishtadvaita
doctrine of Ramanuja. Though difficult to measure
the full extent of interpolation that the text has
undergone to make it more form-fitting for the
conservative
sectarian context, the Tirumantiram (7 th
8 century A D) maintains a significant number of
references that are unmistakably w ell rooted in this
w ider South A sian Tantra/Siddha complex.
Both sectarian groups emphasized different
aspects of the teaching and could spin a theological
line that became more and more w idely divergent.
The Siddhas w ould be scoffing at temple w orship,
reliance upon Brahminical authority, and
proclaiming the injustice of caste; w hile the Saiva
Siddhantins w ould berate the Siddhas much as
M . Srinivasa Iyangar did in 1914 w hen he w rote that
the Siddhas are mostly plagiarists and impostors
and in addition, Being eaters of opium & dw ellers
in the land of dreams, their conceit knew no
bounds . A t times the Siddhantins have even
engaged in an organised effort to eliminate the
Siddhar faction. For example, one movement,
observed in the latter half of the nineteenth century,
systematically sought out any copy of the w ritings of
the heretical Siddha-poet Sivavakkiyar, and promptly
destroyed them.
The rift betw een the tw o orders may have been
rooted in the Saiva/Shakta dichotomy that conflated
gender conflict to cosmic proportions. M any of the
Siddhas propitiate Shakti or the creative potency of
the primordial essence w hile Shiva is elevated to a
( no-w here ) position of absolute abstraction, as he
is w orshipped as vetta veli or vast space. The
goddess alone is envisioned in her manifestations5
hidden both w ithin the shifting tides of external
forms as w ell as abiding w ithin the body itself. H ere
she can be coaxed and subdued, manipulated and
directed. A s the serpent pow er Kundalini, flow ing
through the subtle body, she can propel the
consciousness of the Siddhar into union w ith the
A bsolute. Though the orthodox Saiva Siddhantin
may content himself w ith the w orship of Shiva in the

temple through the rituals of the priest, the Siddha

placates the goddess to intercede on his behalf and
expand the consciousness of the Siddha beyond all
limitation, w here he may become Shiva himself.
N otions, such as this, being fundamental to the
Tamil Siddha, may have struck the Shaivite
orthodoxy as heretical. But one should not overlook
caste conflict and more terrestrial political dynamics.
M any of the Tamil Siddha compositions w hether
defining philosophical view points, yogic practices, or
presenting alchemical recipes for herbal tinctures and
base metal amalgams are
riddled w ith tantric
imagery, references to
Kundalini, and clues to
control the dangerous
feminine pow er through
breath manipulation or the
recitation of the Goddesss
secret names. Because of
the enigmatic nature of the
Siddha imagery, and their
philosophy often being
structured in direct
defiance of human logic,
few scholars have ventured
to address the Tamil
Siddhas and then only as
Thirumular
mere curiosities. But it
seems that the stylistic
inconsistencies of the Siddha authors may also have
steered scholars away from these w orks. There are
vibrant jew els shining in the rough but even the
more popular siddha w orks are riddled w ith endless
repetition, nonsense w ords that clumsily maintain
the rhyme scheme, and jarring incongruities in the
narrative portions of the texts.
One of the most basic characteristics of Tamil
composition, and one that is also relevant to Siddha
poetry, is the tendency to layer the w ork so that
each w ord or image builds upon the last. Because
each component image is presented so as to be
view ed autonomously and in relationship both
sequentially and to the totality of the verse, the
images of the poem may appear to some as being
slightly disjointed and contradictory. Though this
seems to undermine the aesthetic quality and overcomplicate the simple act of enjoying poetry, the
Tamil Siddha compositions pattern this imagery to
expound the subtle complexity of their shifting
view point or to map out the terrain of the inner
landscape w hich is dominated by the dormant
serpent energy.
While much of the recent explosion of interest in
the Siddhas centres around modern invented
traditions offering tenuous ties to the older
established Siddha orders, many of these
groups did
th
not come into their ow n until the 12 century. A nd
though the image of a unified succession of Tamil
Siddha sages is particularly tenuous, Tirumular is
pervasively revered in the diverse literary w orld of
the Tamil Siddhas. The Saiva Siddhantins had
included him as one of the 63 canonised saints or
nayanmars, and his w ork, the Tirumantiram was
posthumously represented by them as fully defining
the Tamil Saiva tradition of the time. This text also

AN

IN TRO D U CTIO N

TO

TH E TAM IL S ID D H AS

15

In Shaktis temple
if you control
the left and the right
you can hear a lute
in the centre of your face.
A nd Shiva w ill come out
dancing sw eetly.
I sw ear upon Sada N andi
w e have spoken the truth.

Kalangi Nathar teaches Bhogar Siddhar

H ere Tirumular discusses the basis of Kundalini

Yoga w hereby the breath, carrying one of the vital
airs know n as prana, flow s into the solar and lunar
currents w hich run from the right and left nostrils
dow n to the base of the spine and are there brought
into union. The point of this union is at the root
chakra M uladhara, the first of six chakras or nerve
plexuses through w hich the Kundalini energy w ill
flow. This energy is moved by the union of these
solar and lunar streams of vital breath that have
entered the central current at M uladhara and w ill
ascend upwards through the six chakras, each
corresponding to a higher and more expansive state
of consciousness. The individual awareness is
sublimated into divine union at the crow n of the
head. It is a kind of inner journey towards the
infinitude of the Divine, but begins only after the
tw o streams flow into the central current as w e learn
from verse 801 of the Tirumantiram...
Left hand
Right hand
Both hands...
Change!
H e w ho eats
w ith the hand of w orship
need not be depleted.
The conscious ones
capable of abandoning sleep
need not die...

Courtesy: Victor M. Fics The Tantra (2003)

Kundalini Yoga

16

Courtesy: http://palani.org

th

became the 10 book of the Saiva Siddhanta canon,

the Tirumurai. Though it was the one w ork outlining
the philosophy of the Siddhantins, the sect has
always had a difficult time fully integrating the many
passages w hich discuss the w orship of the Goddess
and the Kundalini Yoga practices so characteristic of
Tantrism. On the other hand, the Siddhas have
view ed these same passages as the most critical in
formulating their esoteric doctrines on the arousal of
the serpent energy.
A s w e can see in verse 730, the Siddhantins w ere
confronted w ith the tantric orientation of their
philosopher Tirumular, w hen he relates that it is the
human body itself that is the temple of the Goddess
Shakti...

they can live forever.

The term used

to denote the
hand of w orship
is Tutikkai. Tuti is a
verb meaning to
w orship, kai is
the noun meaning
hand . Together,
as Tutikkai, the
expression also
means the
elephants trunk.
This interpretation

is equally viable in that Ganesha, the elephantheaded god of gateways and new beginnings, is said
to reside in the body at the base of the spine, at the
root chakra M uladhara w here the tw o currents flow
together and enter central current Shashumna.
Shashumna is sometimes envisioned as the trunk of
Ganesha raised aloft and holding the full-blow n lotus
of enlightenment, Sahasrara, at the crow n of the
head. What is eaten is amrita, conceived of as both
the nectar of spiritual ecstasy and the elixir of
immortality.
Tantra appears in its more seminal form around
th
the 4 century, but its real beginnings seem to reach
back much earlier. 6 Elements of tantric thought had
already pervaded the south by the time of Tirumular,
as they had seeped into yogic theory and practice at
some antecedent time and even impacted temple
ritual and the budding bhakti cults. Tantra was more
deeply rooted in a fluid set of symbolic constructs
than a static enunciation of doctrine. It represents a
profound refinement of the symbol systems of
H indu-Buddhist South A sia. Its emphasis on the
experiential aspects of the individuals religious
experience collided w ith the Shaivite orthodoxy like
the Gnostic heresy did w ith the early Christian
Church as it sought to establish an internal selfpolicing system of sanctioning only those subjective
experiences that tow ed the orthodox line.
In an effort to demonstrate that the macrocosm is
reflected w ithin the microcosm, Tantra began to
emphasise that the universe, in all its totality, is
contained w ithin the body of the individual. It
superimposed universal symbols over the human
body to help demonstrate this relationship. The
spine, along w hich the shashumna or central
channel ran, became the cosmic axis. A ll the Gods
that oversaw the mechanism that is this universe
w ere hidden in the lotus centres of the bodys
chakras, like blossoms flow ering on the vine of the
spine. But it was the portly god Ganesha, w ho
guarded the gate to the inner w orld. H e became a
patron of Kundalini yoga in the South and was
invoked by the female Siddha
mendicant A uvaiyar,
th
in this excerpt from her 14 century w ork Vinayagar
Agaval. H ere she relates how the elephant-headed
god has reconciled the dualistic nature of the
universe as the various manifestations of Shiva w ere

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

taught to be part of her inner savouring.

Courtesy: Victor M. Fics The Tantra (2003, New Delhi: Abhinav Publications)

H e has concentrated my mind,

clarified my intellect,
and said,
Light and Darkness
share a common place.
H e presses me dow n
into the grace giving ecstasy.
In my ear
he renders limitless bliss.
H e has revealed Sada Shiva
w ithin the sound.
H e has revealed the Shiva Lingam
w ithin the mind.
A nd he has revealed that...
The smaller than the smallest,
The larger that the largest,
stands within...
like ripe sugarcane.

In about 1661, as A urangzeb set about to expand

his kingdom throughout the subcontinent and free
the land of heretics, he was at the same time
extending his protection to an obscure H indu
monastery in the Punjab. A t the time in question
A nand N ath, the abbot of the monastery and a
N atha Siddha alchemist, was providing the greatest
M ogal persecutor of
H induism in history a
regular supply of treated
mercury w hich promised
to confer longevity. 7
Simultaneously in the
deep south the Tamil
Siddha alchemist Bhogar,
w ho had supposedly
migrated from China8
along w ith his guru
Kalangi N athar, was
purportedly establishing a
shrine to the God
M urugan on the top of
Palani H ill. 9 It was here
that he is thought to have
composed his 7000 verses
on Kundalini Yoga,
The Serpent Power Kundalini
alchemy, and Siddha
medicine. By medieval times Indian alchemy had
come into vogue much like tantra had done almost a
millennium earlier. A nd though the Indian
alchemists also sought to develop the chemical
processes of transforming base metals into gold as in
Europe and the M iddle East, they often emphasised
the pursuit of bodily perfection and the preparation
of the elixir of immortality as the Chinese alchemists
had sought. They often view ed their experience of
the inner processes of Kundalini Yoga as mirroring
the chemical process of the alchemical w ork.
N early a thousand years after Tirumular, Bhogar
is still w restling w ith the serpent energy, even in the
midst of his alchemical operations. Though now, the
Kundalini is personified as the consort of Ganesha,
the Goddess Vallabai...
9
The green-hued Vallabai
w ill become subservient
and bow dow n.
She ll tell you
the appropriate time

for the appropriate chakra.

If the basis of M uladhara
is perfected...
You can go anyw here,
wandering freely
throughout the three w orlds.
The dull-hued body
w ill mellow
and shine.
A ll impurities
w ill be removed
and the six chakras
w ill become visible
to the eye.
The gold-coloured alchemy
w ill heed your every w ord.
In the Sleepless Sleep
all subtlety
can be perceived.
Look and see.

In a particularly odd verse of Bhogar, w e find

him describing a visionary experience involving the
ingestion of an unidentified substance and the
w earing of mercurial amalgams.
80 Bhogars Leap I nto the U niverse
A s the Principle of Intelligence itself
I leapt into the cosmos.
Shiva clearly elucidated
the nature of this universe.
For the sake of all beings
there is a path
that becomes a vehicle
for the five senses.
The universe that appeared before me
was arranged in layers.
Grandfather (Tirumular) said,
Enter the tenth one.
I took w hat was given me10
and put it in my mouth.
A nd a bunch
of mercurial amalgams
I tied onto my w rist.
Off I w ent.
Entering the universe
of fire and light.

Consciousness was seen to ride the vehicle of

breath into union w ith the absolute in the Sahasrara
Chakra at the top of the head. The Siddha could,
through the intercession of the Goddess, placated by
manipulation of the breath, expand consciousness to
the point w here it becomes w hat is called the M aha
Citta or Great Awareness w hich is the God Shiva
himself. H ere is one of the closing verses of Bhogars
discussion of Kundalini Yoga
94
Invite the breath,
the outer space,
to come w ithin your house.
If you are unwavering,
placing it there
as though you w ere
putting oil in a lamp,...
They shall meet.
Breath and God
becoming one.
Like w ind becoming breath
there is no individual intelligence.
The Great Awareness becomes Siva.
H e and breath
merge into one.
AN

IN TRO D U CTIO N

TO

TH E TAM IL S ID D H AS

17

Courtesy: http://members.tripod.com

In the last century the poet-saint Ramaligar had

much to do w ith bridging the Siddha-Saiva gap and
making the Siddhas more palatable to the
mainstream Tamil religious w orld. 11 Ramalingar was
born in 1823 near Chidambaram, arguably the
greatest of all Saivite temples. N aturally, the
heretical nature of his teaching and the grow ing
number of his disciples caused the protest of temple
officials and a variety of Saiva Siddhanta institutions
throughout the region. Eventually they w ere forced
to call in A rumuga N avalar from Jaffna to put an end
to Ramalingar. A s a Tamil scholar and Saivite
authority, the
orthodox religious
leaders throughout
the area, w ere
confident that he
could expose the
fallacy of
Ramalingars teaching
and defrock the
heretical saint.
A rumuga quickly set
about organising
public meetings to
provide a platform on
w hich to abuse
Pambatti Siddhar
Ramalingar and a
horde of pamphlets w ere circulated issuing public
warning about this dangerous little man. Eventually
though, A rumuga was forced to take legal action and
filed a suit against the saint. The gentle Ramalingar
was dragged into court, but eloquently speaking in
his ow n defense, easily w on the case.
The nature of Ramalingars heresy is found to be
all the more insidious w hen w e learn that he also
cherished and called his ow n the devotional hymns
of Saiva Siddhanta saints other than Tirumular. One
of these, sometimes hailed as the 64th nayanmar, was
M anikkavasagar, w ho had a profound influence on
Ramalingar and Siddha devotionalism in general.
M anikkavasagars namethmeans H e w hos utterances
are rubies and in the 9 century he beautifully
w rote this mini creation myth in flow ing verse...

In this poem Ramalingar praises M anikkavasagar and

w eaves his verse w ith a complex echoing of sound as
he speaks again and again of the sw eetness of his
mystic absorption experienced w hen hearing the
poetry of the saint. This fervent merging, savoured
by the ecstatic Ramalingar is described w ith the
adverbial participle kalantha, from the verb root kala
meaning to flow together , to make as one , as it
also denotes a sexual union.
One w ith sky M anikkavasagar,
your w ords...
One w ith me w hen I sing
N ectar of sugarcane
One w ith honey
One w ith milk
and one w ith the sw eetness
of the fertile fruit
One w ith my flesh
One w ith my soul
Insatiable
is that sw eetness!

A lthough Ramalingars hymns w ere penned in

praise of the God Siva, they w ere often addressed to
a feminine audience w ith unqualified personal
designations such as A mma or A kka , M other or
Sister . Perhaps indicating that the hymn was meant
for an internal, intimate and distinctly feminine force
that could propel the invocation along the proper
channels of the inner cosmos, towards Sivas secret
abode.
The fact that his songs began to be sung in the
schools, villages and even the temples of 19th century
Chennai, began to outrage the orthodox Saiva
Siddhantins in the area. H e, as w ith many
outspoken Tamil Siddhas, was somew hat
iconoclastic, not adequately deferential to temple or
Brahminical tradition. H e did not perpetuate the
traditional modes of linga w orship. Forgoing the
objectified image by capturing the subjective gaze
itself, he perpetrated the greatest of heresies by
blatantly revealing the true face of God veiled w ithin
volumes of tantric lore. A t the shrine he established
at Vadalur, behind the curtain that housed the holy
of holies, he established a single flames light to
illuminate a mirror that w ould reflect the image of
the w orshipper as the secret face of god and final
mystery of the Tamil Siddhas.

Becoming sky and earth,

Wind and light
Becoming flesh and spirit,
A ll that truly is
and all that w hich is not
Becoming the Lord
H e makes those w ho say,
I and mine
Dance in the show.
Becoming sky,
and standing there...
H ow can I
praise H im?

In this final w ork of Ramalingar, w e see a

different side of the heretical Siddhas. N ot the
enigmatic ramblings or harsh riddles of the ascetic,
but a tender ode, that view s the Siddhas experience
of union as the distilled essence of lifes sw eetness.
18

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

Courtesy: http://palani.org

It is this light becoming breath

that redeems the soul.
Surely this is the truth
of Siva Yoga!

Bhogar Siddhar

Notes
1. This introduction to the Tamil Siddhas was w ritten
nearly ten years ago and reflects many of the
misconceptions surrounding the siddhas that w ere popular
at the time. A lso its circulation on the internet surely
added to over simplifying the subject w ith faults that are
entirely my ow n. I ve tried to briefly rectify the overtly
erroneous statements that I had made and have attempted
to elaborate on some of the more reductionistic portions of
this w ork.
2. M ost of the Tamil Siddha w orks popular today w ere
w ritten only in the last tw o centuries. A significant
percentage of w orks purported to be rediscovered are
modern forgeries.
3. R. Venkataraman, 1990: 1, 2.
4. Ibid.: 3. See the Tiruvilaiyadal sections 13, 42 & 45.
5. As Manonmani, Valai, Vallabai, Parai, Parapparai, etc.
6. Some see the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad as containing
enough of the key elements of tantric cosmology to represent
the earliest strain of a definitive Tantric tradition complete
with the hitta functioning as a proto- shashumna nadi,
anticipating the more elaborate kundalini system to come.
7. David Gordon White, 1996: 1, 9.
8. Bhogars 7000 tells of his repeated visits to China but
does not provide even a single cultural detail that
demonstrates he has any first hand know ledge of the
region, its customs, etc. N ow in popular secondary
sources on the Tamil Siddhas the China origin of Bhogar is
strongly refuted w ith the characteristic nationalistic fervour
of the present day.

9. Bhogar makes no mention of Palani in his 7000 and

has always been associated in the Tamil Siddha literature
w ith Sathuragiri mountain. Further, the Palanitalapuranam
(the M ythic H istory of Palani) makes no mention of its
supposed founder (though it does make passing reference
to Gorakhnath).
10. Presumably he is referring to one of his gulikais, a
pill often made of treaded mercury in solid form.
11. A nother notable entry into the modern literary
sphere comes w hen freedom-fighting poet, Subramaniya
Bharathi, called himself a cittar, invoking a religiousrevolutionary persona that was intrinsically Tamil.

References
Eliade, M ircea, 1969. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom.
Princeton: Bollingen.
Francis, T. Dayanandan, 1990. The M ission and M essage of
Ramalinga Swamy. Delhi: M otilal Banarsidass.
Little, Layne, 1994. Shaking the Tree: Kundalini Yoga,
Spiritual Alchemy, and the M ysteries of the Breath in
Bhogars 7000. Available also at http://w w w.levity.com/
alchemy/...
Venkataraman, R., 1990. A History of the Tamil Siddha Cult.
M adurai: Ennes Publications.
White, David Gordon, 1996.The Alchemical Body: Siddha
Traditions in M edieval India. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Zvelebil, Kamil V., 1973. The Poets of the Powers. London:
Rider.
1975. Tamil Literature. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

FOLK MEDICINAL WISDOM OF

CHITTOOR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH
S. Vedavathy
S.Vedavathy is President of Herbal Folklore Research Centre at
Tirupati. The author can be contacted at [email protected]

the affected parts also. This therapy is called as mandhu

noone and the Gesthampalli village is famous for it.

M edicine for Emukalu virigithe - Bone fracture

Leaf juice is secretly added with alcohol and given to the

person who is addicted to alcohol. The person starts vomiting
and feels irritation. If the therapy is repeated two or three
times, the person develops a sort of aversion towards alcohol.

Jatamansi - (Nardostachys jatamansi) Valerianaceae

(Gundello nemmu Pneumonia)

(For w illing patients w ho want to give up alcohol different

therapy is administered )

Vavili (Vitex negundo) and Allamu (Zingeber

oficinale) (Onti Talanoppi - M igraine)
Juice extracted from the leaves of vavili and rhizome of
allamu is mixed in equal proportions and few drops of the
juice are instilled into the nostrils to cure migraine.

Decoction of the root pow der

is given tw o or three times a
day and it is continued until
the fever subsides. Wheat
pow der mixed in Calotropis
leaf juice is applied on the
chest to prevent pleurisy

Kanuga (Pongamia pinnata) Fabaceae

(Keella noppulu & Ollu noppulu - Arthritis and Body Pains)

Saraswathi aku (Centella

asiatica) - Apiaceae
(Teliviki - Brain Tonic)

The root bark boiled in gingely oil is stored in earthen pot

and given to patients suffering from chronic body pain and
arthritis. The oil is given both internally and applied on

Dried plant is pow dered along

w ith Piper nigrum seeds in 10:1
ratio and a mixture of 2 to 3
AN

IN TRO D U CTIO N

TO

Photo by the A uthor

Every village in the Chittoor district has one medicine man

w ho know s the treatment for dislocated and broken bones.
The tw o centres in the district, one at Puttur and another
at Kalluru, have become famous because of the devoted
families. The people in these centres are service oriented
and they do not accept money for their service.

ome of the folk medicinal treasures found in

Chittoor district in A ndhra Pradhesh are given
here:
Tagubothulaku Natu M andu (Psidium gujava) M yrtaceae (M edicine for alcohol addicts)

Saramma, an expert in curing

dog bite & snake bite

TH E TAM IL S ID D H AS

19

Root bark of Kasinatha (Cassia occidentalis) Caesalpiniaceae

Enugukalu (Filariosis)
Photo by the A uthor

A spoonful of paste made w ith ghee is given tw ice a day

and M imosa pudica leaf paste is applied on the affected feet
until relief is achieved.

Fruit rind of Dhanimma (Punica granatum),

Punicacease, Alum and Camphor
(Rommulu gattipadataniki - Large, H ard breast)

An Yanadi woman with

M adana Kameswari plant

spoons of the pow der and a glass of cow s milk is given in

the early morning. The Somala village is famous for this
therapy.

Nelausiri (Phyllanthus amarus) - Euphorbiaceae

Seeds of Sompu (Foeniculum vulgare), leaves of

Tamala paku (Piper betel) and Honey
(Recheekati - N ight blindness)

Pasiricalaku (Jaundice)
A spoonful of paste is given early in the morning on an
empty stomach along w ith buttermilk. This is repeated,
depending upon the condition of the patient, for a w eek or
a fortnight.

A ll the plant parts in equal proportions are added w ith

honey to make paste. The paste is kept
in a clean bottle and the paste is applied
on the eyes daily.

The plant parts in equal proportion are

mixed w ith old jaggery and made into
paste w ith water. A soap nut size paste
is given daily for a fortnight.

Stem bark of Tellamadhi (Terminalia

arjuna) - Combretaceae
(Rakthapotuku -H ypertension)
Bark decoction w ith milk is given to the
patient in the early morning.

Photo by the A uthor

Cotyledons of Gacchakai
(Caesalpinia crista), roots of
Reppala (Wrightia tinctoria) and
seeds of Pokalu (Areca catechu)
(M oorcha - Epilepsy)

The fruit rind is made into paste w ith alum and camphor in
8:2 proportion. The paste is applied over the breast late in
the evening and bandaged. The bandage is removed in the
morning. This is repeated for a period of tw o w eeks.

Leaves of Saraswathi aku (Centella

asiatica), dried rhizome of Allamu
(Zingeber officinale) and fruits of
Pipallu (Piper longum) (Clear Voice)

Kalluru, bone setting

Leaves of Veduru (Bambusa arundinacea) - Graminae

(To remove a dead child from the w omb)
Leaf paste mixed w ith water is given to w omen for w hom
delivery becomes difficult leading to the death of the child
in the w omb.

Adavimalathi (Aganosma dichotoma) - Apocynaceae

(Mutrasayamlo rallu - Stones in the urinary tract and bladder)
Root pow der is given w ith milk in the early morning for a
period of tw o w eeks.

Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) - Lamiaceae

(Chali jwaram - M alaria)
A glass of root decoction is given tw ice a day to subside the
malarial fever in 4 or 5 days.

Gurivinda (Abrus precatorius) - Fabaceae

(Pandu rogam - Leucoderma)
Leaf juice is applied on the w hite patches and exposed to
the sun for an hour. Within tw o to three months the w hite
patches w ill disappear and turn into the colour of the skin.

The plant parts mixed in equal

proportions are dried in shade and pow dered. H alf a
spoonful of pow der w ith honey is given for forty days.

Leaves of Banyan (Ficus bhengalensis)

(H ealing w ounds and binding damaged tissues)
The tender leaves are warmed in fire and w rapped around
the w ound or any deep cut and then the w ound or deep
cut is bandaged.

Latex of Banyan (Ficus bhengalensis) and fruit

decoction of M yrobalan (Terminalia chebula)
(H ealing w ounds)

The w ound is washed w ith the M yrobalan fruit

decoction and the entire w ound is drenched w ith the
latex obtained by cutting the new branches of Banyan
tree. The fresh latex is poured on the w ound by
holding the cut branches on the w ound. For noothi or
chronic ulcer, the latex is taken internally daily in a
prescribed quantity.

Ravi (Ficus religiosa) - M oraceae

(Nallamanduku virugudu - drug addicts (Bhang and Opium)
Vayuvidangalu (Embelia ribes), fruits of Terminalia
chebula, Terminalia bellerica, Emblica officinalis and
latex of Calotropis gigantea
(Sanna jeevalu rakunda - To drive away rats, scorpions and
mosquitoes)
The plant parts are dried and powdered when the powder is
burned its fume drives away mosquitoes, rats and scorpions.

20

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

Photo by the A uthor

Decoction of stem bark is given for relief.

Yanadi people on the way to

plant and animal collection

While each of the six disciples prepared a

compendium of Ayurveda, A gniveshas w ork is the
most outstanding. It has been redacted by Charaka
and then by Drdhabala, and is know n today as the
Charaka Samhita.
A t the folk level, in every ecosystem from the
trans-H imalayas to the coast, local communities have
keenly studied the medicinal plants found in their
locality. Every 100 km or so, throughout the country,
one can observe variation in ethnic names and use of
local species, indicating the intimate and independent
appraisal that local communities have made of their
local resources. Striking illustrations of ecosystem
know ledge include the Thakur tribals of coastal
M aharashtra, w ho use over 500 species of plants,
including 168 trees, 207 shrubs and herbs, 105
climbers and creepers, 13 grasses and 16 low er
plants. Even in this day of increasing spread of
allopathic medicines, there are hundreds of millions

GREEN HEALTH BOOM

Darshan Shankar
A . V. Balasubram anian
Darshan Shankar is Director, Foundation for Revitalisation of
Local Health Traditions, Bangalore. The author can be contacted
at [email protected]
A .V. Balasubramanian is Director, Centre for Indian Knowledge
Systems, Chennai. The author can be contacted at [email protected]

Graphics by the A uthors

Note: The outer box represents the total folk (e.g. tribal)
usage, which is not necessarily codified into formal
systems; the inner circles are of the formal systems.

of people in India w ho are dependent on biodiversity

for their health needs (see Table). Indeed, the World
H ealth Organisation estimates that four-fifths of the
w orlds population uses nature for a substantial part
of its medicinal and health requirements.
The distinctive health traditions of diverse
communities in India, are partly based on the distinct
ecological niches that different medicinal plants
occupy. So for instance, plants like Aconitum violaceum
and Rheum spiciforme, are found in the transH imalayan areas; Acacia senegal and Capparis decidua in
Folk medicine: a continuing tradition

Graphics by the A uthors

he w ords of a tribal song say: I love the

forests, they keep me, my animals and my
fields healthy . . . Biodiversity and health are
intrinsically linked. This link can be clearly seen,
firstly, if w e understand the basics of biodiversity
itself. A variety of life forms exist and flourish across
diverse ecosystems: mountains, coasts, seas, forests,
lakes and rivers, and so on. M illions of species of
plants, animals and micro-organisms exist in a
healthy way in their ow n natural habitats. H ealth is
therefore implied in the very existence of
biodiversity.
From this simple yet pow erful principle, flow s an
understanding of the relationship of biodiversity to
human health.
Biodiversity-based health traditions
From 1986 to 1996, an A ll India Coordinated Research
Project on Ethnobiology was carried out by the
Department of Environment of the Indian
government. This project concluded that tribal
communities alone (w ho constitute only a small
percentage of our population) use over 9,000 species
of w ild plants, of w hich the single largest use
category - medicinal plants - number over 7,500
species. Besides this, 3,900 are for edible use, 700 for
material and cultural requirements, 525 for fibre and
cordage, 400 as fodder, 300 as pesticides, 300 as gums
and dyes, and 100 as incense and perfume.
There is a verse in the Ayurveda classic Charaka
Samhita that explains how local communities
understood and explored natures gift of medicinal
plants: Yasmin deshe tu yo jaatah tasmin tajjoshadham
hitam . N ature is so (benevolently) organised that it
has provided every micro-environment, the natural
resources (in the form of plants, animals and
minerals) necessary for the typical health needs of the
people living in that environment.
A nother tale from ancient texts is even more
pow erful. Punarvasu A treya, the distinguished
Ayurvedic A achaarya had six disciples, namely,
A gnivesha, Bhela, Jatukarna, Parasara, H aritha and
Ksarapani. It is said that on one occasion, the
A achaarya assembled all his disciples and bid them to
set forth in various different directions. Their task
was to return w ith all the plants they encountered,
that had no medicinal use. While five disciples came
back w ith several plants, A gnivesha returned empty
handed. H e said that every single plant that he
examined had some medicinal use. A gnivesha was
thus considered the foremost disciple of A treya.

Traditional Carrier

Subject/Usage

N umber of users*

H ousew ives and elders

H ome remedies
Food and nutrition

M illions

Traditional birth attendants

N ormal deliveries

7 lakhs

H erbal healers

Common ailments

3 lakhs

Bone-setters

Orthopaedics

60,000

Visha Vaidyas
(Snake, scorpion, dog)

N atural poisons

60,000

Specialists

Eyes, Skin,
Respiratory, Dental,
A rthritis, Liver,
M ental Diseases,
GIT, Wounds,
Fistula, Piles

1000 in each area

GREEN

H E A LT H

BO O M

21

the desert regions of Rajasthan; water plants like

Ipomoea aquatica in the Konkan areas of M aharashtra;
Cassia fistula and Anogeissus latifolia in the deciduous
forests of the Deccan; Capparis aphylla and Balanites
roxburgii in the scrub jungles of Karnataka; M yristica
malabarica and Vateria indica in the swamps of the
w estern coast; Pandanus tectorius and Thespesia
populnea in the coasts of Kerala; and so on.
N ature has also situated bio-resources almost as if
know ing w hat humans needed. To illustrate, N eem
(Azadarichta indica), occurring in dry, arid and hot
habitats, has cooling properties, ideally suited to
correct the health imbalances that could occur in such
environments. The plant Epedera vulgaris, occurring
only in high altitudes, has a broncho-dilatory
property, very useful in rarefied atmospheres.
Traditional communities have used biodiversity
not only to deal w ith the health needs of humans,
but also those of livestock and for needs of crop
plants in agriculture. A nd if one w ere to take a less
human-centred attitude, one w ould realise that the
diversity of life itself is a major component of the
health of natural ecosystems, and in turn healthy
ecosystems provide the conditions for plant and
animal species to flourish.
Though not very systematically documented,
there is a clear relationship betw een biologically
diverse agriculture, and human/livestock health. The
most obvious link is nutrition; ask elders in any
village, and they w ill tell you how their traditional
diversity of food was so much more nutritious than
w hat is available from the markets now. A cross large
parts of India (though there w ere also traditional
pockets of malnutrition and under-nutrition),
traditional agriculture provided a range of crops,
livestock-related products, semi-w ild species (such as
shrimps and frogs in paddy fields), and other inputs
(see article on A gricultural Biodiversity, in this issue).
Various nutritional inputs needed by the human
body, w ere provided by such a diversity of produce.
With the change in agricultural systems to
monocultural plantations, this diversity and the
related nutrition are lost, and the replacements from
the market do not necessarily make up for this. On
top of this loss, the use of chemicals creates other
health problems!
Biodiversity loss, health and culture
When biodiversity is destroyed or eroded, as is
happening w ith alarming rapidity across the w orld,
the health of ecosystems as a w hole and of their
individual members is affected. H ealth and
biodiversity links are a sub-set of the larger
relationship betw een biodiversity and cultural
diversity, so the loss of cultural diversity in the face
of the increasing spread of modern monocultural
systems, also leads to a direct loss of peoples
know ledge that relates biodiversity w ith health. The
spread of the lure of allopathic medicine is so strong,
that even in remote areas, villagers are beginning to
prefer the pill and the injection over plant-based
medicine. A cheap and locally available input is being
replaced by an expensive, externally controlled one.
This is not to say that all health problems can be
tackled by local traditional health systems, or that
biodiversity has the answ er for all diseases, but
simply that haphazard replacement of such systems
by allopathic ones creates serious imbalances and loss
of control.
22

Unfortunately, w hereas there are many studies

on the specific bio-resources used by ecosystem
people for health needs, there are hardly any studies
that have show n the epidemological effects on
humans and other species, due to loss or disturbance
of natural habitats. The economic value of such
functions, and of medicinal plants, to human health
and w elfare, have also not been estimated. Take the
example of just one use of one plant, the neem. H alf
a billion people still use neem branchlets as a
toothbrush. To replace this w ith a commercially
available toothbrush and toothpaste, they w ould have
to spend about Re.1 each, per day per person. This
means that the value of neem datuns alone is a billion
rupees per day. A dd to this the hundreds of other
uses of neem, and its value w ould be magnitudes
more than the medicinal exports of India.
It is to be hoped that the new -found enthusiasm
of the Indian government, illustrated in the setting
up of a N ational M edicinal Plants Board, w ould
encompass such studies and related action, though
this is not yet clear from the mandate of the Board.
It is in this context, that the ongoing N ational
Biodiversity Strategy and A ction Plan (N BSA P)
process (see Introductory essay) is attempting to
bring back focus on the above issues. A specialist
Thematic Working Group is drafting a national level
action plan on Biodiversity and H ealth. A t many of
the State and substate levels at w hich the N BSA P
process is being carried out, medicinal plants and
health traditions, are a key focus. A t Vidarbha,
M aharashtra, for instance, a peoples health
organisation is doing a series of consultations w ith
villagers, government officials and N GOs, to prepare
a plan to conserve the biodiversity of the region and
thereby secure the livelihoods, health, and security of
lakhs of villagers.
Biodiversity, nutrition and health
The link betw een biodiversity-based nutrition and
health in dramatically illustrated in tw o examples. In
the mid 1990s, the area M elghat region in eastern
M aharashtra was rocked by a few hundred deaths of
tribal children, caused by malnutrition during
drought seasons. It was soon found that children
inside the forests of the M elghat Tiger Reserve had a
much smaller incidence of this than those outside,
and that this was because they still had access to a
diversity of forest foods (tubers, fruits, etc.) even
w hen agriculture had failed.
In the lush Biligiri H ills of Karnataka, doctors
have found that Soliga tribals inside the Billigiri
Ranganaswamy Temple Sanctuary have a much better
health profile than their counterparts in the adjacent
villages and tow ns, despite having much less access
to modern health facilities. for instance, there was
no instance of appendicitis, colonic cancers, sexual
diseases, and other stress-induced illnesses. The
reason, again, was access to a diversity of w ild and
semi-w ild foods, and the natural surrounds in w hich
they lived. The Soligas also use over 300 herbs for
medicinal purposes.

This article was originally published in The Hindu

Sunday Folio dated M ay 20, 2001.
We sincerely thank the Editor of The Hindu for
giving us permission to print this article.

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003

Book Revi ew

T HE OVERLAPPING
DOMAINS OF MUSIC
AND MEDICINE

Healing Sounds from theMalaysian Rainforest: Temiar Music and

Medicineby Marina Roseman (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London:
University of California Press, 1993. pages xviii + 234)
M . Ram akrishnan is Programme Officer for
Publications at the N ational Folklore Support Centre.

his thought provoking ethnomusicological

research of M arina Roseman, Professor of
M usic and of A nthropology at the University
of Pennsylvania, delineates the role of sound in the
healing performances of Temiar, an ethnic community
living in the M alaysian rainforest. This study is an
outcome of Rosemans tw enty-month field research
among the Temiars of Ulu Kelantan betw een 1981 and
1982. During her stay in the field she has
observed, recorded and participated in
numerous singing and trance-dancing
ceremonies. The Temiar community
belongs to the Senoi ethnic division of the
A boriginal Orang A sli of peninsular
M alaysia. The Temiars speak the
A ustroasiatic, M on-Khmer language of
Central A slian stock. Living in small
settlements of 25 to 150 inhabitants along
the five major rivers, they are basically
horticulturalists w ho cultivate tapioca, hill
rice, maize, millet, and other crops. They
also hunt, fish, gather jungle products for
their ow n use and also for exchange. The
relatively egalitarian Temiars live in the
agamous type of villages, that is, the
inhabitants are allow ed to marry w ithin or outside
the village group. M arriage or kinship links the
villages that consist of extended families w ith a core
sibling group. Generally, the elders of the core sibling
group play a major role as village leaders. Roseman
points out that some of them even today receive
additional sanction as headman from the Department
of Orang A sli A ffairs.
The economic system practised by the Temiars
allow s for generalised reciprocity in w hich food,
manufactured implements, and labour are given to
others w ith the expectation that other members w ill
be equally generous in the future.
Through her research Roseman has explored not
only the articulation betw een the Temiar concept of
illness and their strategies of diagnosis and treatment
but also the indigenous ideas about musical
composition, performance. For her, the healing
performances provided an entry point into the
domain of Temiar illness and w ell-being, letting
performance acts and native exegesis. It also helped
her to understand the relations betw een humans and
the rainforest environment, as w ell as the
relationship of the self w ith society and cosmos.
Roseman has analysed the ceremonial
performances of Temiars in terms of Symbolic
Structure, Value Structure, Role Structure, and

Emergent
Structure. In order
to understand the
moment of
articulation
betw een medical
and musical
domains
exemplified by
healing
A view of Temiar settlement
ceremonies,
Roseman has integrated theories from interpretative
anthropology and performance theory w ith
ethnomedicine and ethnomusicology. The
ethnomedical approach, w hich studies how particular
groups of people conceptualise and deal w ith the
concept of health and illness, facilitated Roseman to
say that illness experiences, practicener-patient
transaction and the healing process are sociocultural
phenomena, constituting the health care system, a
cultural system integrating interrelated w ith local
patterns of meaning, pow er, and social interaction.
For the Temiars, the relationship
betw een the detachable souls among
humans (head and heart souls), plants
(leaf and root souls), animals (upper
and low er souls), and landforms (such
as summit and underground souls of
mountains) enables dream and trance
encounters, promoting song
composition and precipitating illness.
A major technique of healing involves
singing/ trance-dancing ceremonies in
w hich mediums sing tunes and texts
given to them during dream by
spiritguides. They conceptualise the
concept of illness in terms of the path
in the jungle, that is, a lost or waylaid
detached head soul can cause illness is
similar to getting lost or losing paths
can be fatal for a person. During the ceremonial
singing as a treatment, the lost soul should be show n
the right path and led it back home. This symbolic
pow er of the image of the path arises from their daily
travel along land and river routes running through
the jungle and settlement. It is believed that the souls
of other entities can meet the detachable soul of the
dreamer and can express their desire to become the
dreamers spiritguide. This is confirmed through the
bestowal of a song from the
spiritguide to the dreamer.
The ceremonial performance
links the person and
spiritguide, w hich transforms
the dreamer into a medium for
the spirits to diagnose and
treat illness. The Temiar songs
are considered paths that
link mediums, female chorus
members, trance-dancers, and
patients w ith the spirits of the
jungle and the settlement.
Even the treatment of less
serious cases, w hich occurs
outside the ceremonial
A Temiar man stands as medium
context, involves singing by
the medium.
M U S IC AN D

M EDICIN E

23

I ndian Folklife Regd. N o. R.N . TN EN G / 2001 / 5251

I SSN 0972-6470

REVIEW BOOKS

The Kalevala and the Worlds

Traditional Epics
Edited by Lauri H onko
Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society
2002, Pages 488
ISBN 951-746- 422-3

Tamil Nattuppuraviyal
Ayvin Varalaru
A . Pitchai
Chennai: IITS
2003, Pages viii + 200

Ploughshares of Gods:
Ladakh... (Vol. 1)
Sanyukta Koshal
N ew Delhi: Om Publications
2001, Pages xxiv +644
ISBN 81-86867-46-5

The Tantra: Its Origin,

Theories, Art and Diffusion...
Victor M . Fic
New Delhi: A bhinav Publications
2003, Pages 144
ISBN 81-7017-424-4

The Performance of Healing

Edited by Carol Laderman &
M arina Roseman
N ew York, London: Routledge
1996, Pages vi + 330
ISBN 0-415-91200-8

From M ajapahit and Sukuh to

M egawati Sukarnoputri
Victor M . Fic
N ew Delhi: A bhinav Publications
2003, Pages 360
ISBN 81-7017-404-X

Changing Tribal Life

Edited by Padmaja Sen
N ew Delhi:
Concept Publishers
2003, Pages xiv + 142
ISBN 81-8069-023-7

Chanted N arratives: The Living

Katha-Vachana Tradition
Edited by M olly Kaushal
N ew Delhi: IGN CA &
D.K. Printw orld (P) Ltd
2001, Pages 290
ISBN 81-246-0182-8

(History of Tamil Folklore Research)

To review the above titles the potential review ers may contact the Editor

Published by M .D. M uthukumaraswamy for N ational Folklore Support Centre, N o.7, Fifth Cross Street, Rajalakshmi N agar,
Velachery, Chennai - 600 042 (India), and printed by M .S. Raju Seshadrinathan at N agaraj and Company Pvt. Ltd., # 22 (153-A ),
Kalki Krishnamurthy Salai, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600 041, (For free private circulation only). Editor: M .D. M uthukumaraswamy

24

I N D I A N FO L K L I FE V O L U M E 2 SERI A L N O . 13 I SSU E 4 A PRI L - JU N E 2003