Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S
Acharya Vagbhata has mentioned ‘Buddhi Prasadam’ amongst the five major benefits of Shodhana.
Ref – Ashtanga Hridaya Sutra Sthana, Chapter 18, verse 60 (A.Hr.Su.18/60)
Buddhi Prasadam means ‘provides clarity and calmness / pleasantness to the intellect’.
Buddhi is the driving force – behind all our physical, mental and emotional activities and actions done every day, throughout life. It is an entity, which determines how we live and how we plan and execute our life on a day-to-day basis.
Buddhi is the basic intelligence that we have, derived from our intellect. Buddhi needs to be sane and healthy for us to take all decisions pertaining to all our actions. Our evolution as individuals and in sync with the evolution of the world around us is totally dependent on our intellect.
The thought process, our planning, our decisions, execution of our decisions, actions taken on the basis of our decisions, the courage that we need for doing anything – all intellectual functions and their patterns are governed by our buddhi.
Prajnaparadha – All information and knowledge which is input through the indriyas, pass into our system being scanned by our buddhi. A sane and healthy buddhi also prevents us from committing ‘intellectual errors’ – prajnaparadha, which is one of the main causes of the diseases.
Doshas and Buddhi – We often feel our buddhi to be clogged when we suffer from doshic imbalances, be it vata, pitta and kapha or rajas and tamas. So, the entire intellectual system fails here and so do all our actions and responses. Shodhana expels the morbidity clogging our buddhi and helps in its recovery.
Hridaya is considered to be the seat of Buddhi. Hridaya here points towards the shirogata hrdaya – brain. At the same time, the Urogata hrdaya i.e. heart can also be considered.
In the pathogenesis of Unmada – insanity / lunacy, Acharya Charaka says that the aggravated doshas afflict the Hridaya (brain) which is a seat of Buddhi, in a weak-minded person and on occupying and vitiating the manovaha srotas – channels connected to the mind and causes derangement of the mind quickly, causing unmada. Shodhana is an important intervention administered in Unmada. Shodhana helps in cleansing the hrdaya and correcting the derangement of mind and intellect so as to establish their health, normalcy and pleasantness therein.
In the pathogenesis of Apasmara – Similarly, in another disorder called Apasmara – the main pathological event, which also becomes a symptom later, is ‘Dhee Sattva Samplava’ i.e. destruction or deviation of intellect and mind. Even in this disease, shodhana is administered for expelling the morbid doshas. This would help in recovery of buddhi and establish pleasantness in it.
In the pathogenesis of Atattvabhinivesha – In yet another related condition which has been explained in the same chapter of Apasmara, known as ‘Atattvabhinivesha’, the important event in the pathogenesis is the doshas afflicting the channels of buddhi and manas. This disease also receives the same treatment as that of apasmara and unmada and includes shodhana. By cleansing the doshas in this instance, shodhana would clear the channels of buddhi and manas, establishing normalcy and pleasantness therein.
Peeping into Buddhi Prasadanam – The effect of shodhana seems to be encompassing the healing and rejuvenation of the nervous and endocrine system. So, Shodhana is very much beneficial for combating neurological disorders and endocrine disorders and dysfunctions. This also means establishing the peaceful functioning of prana vayu, sadhaka pitta and tarpaka kapha.
Buddhi prasadanam also includes healing of the heart in an extended understanding.
