INTERNATIONAL

AYURVEDIC MEDICAL
JOURNAL

International Ayurvedic Medical Journal, (ISSN: 2320 5091) (March, 2017) 5 (3)

RECAPITULATION OF GARBHA-PRADA YOGAS FROM YOGA RATNAKARA

PVNR Prasad1, K J Lavanya Lakshmi2, PHC Murthy3
1
Ph.D. Scholar, 2Associate Professor, 3Ph.D. Guide
Dr. N.R.S. Govt. Ayurvedic College, M.G. Road, Vijayawada – 520 002, Andhra Pradesh, India
Email: prasadpvnr@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Reproduction is a large aspect of life for many cultures as the production of children is often
highly socially valued and is vital for social security and health networks as well as for family income
generation. Infertility in these societies often leads to social stigmatization, social and familial problems
such as rejection or abandonment as well as personal psychological issues. In humans, infertility may
describe a woman who is unable to conceive as well as being unable to carry a pregnancy to full term. In
the present era of technological and industrial development the incidence of infertility cases is increasing
to a level of appreciable concern. There are many biological and other causes of infertility, including
some that medical intervention can treat. Studies suggest that worldwide between 8 – 10% of all hetero-
sexual couples or women have an unresolved problem of infertility. Up to 20% of infertile couples have
unexplained infertility. The fertility treatment options and programs are not available through public
health sectors but only available through private health sectors and the treatment options offered are ei-
ther not easily accessible or costly. Yoga Ratnakara, as the title itself suggests is a treasure book of gem
like medicinal formulations is one of the most renowned treatises of Ayurveda. Some of the formula-
tions mentioned in Yogaratnakara in the context of Yoni Vyapad Chikitsa are of vital significance in the
field of female infertility. This described formulations not only for the purpose of making woman fertile
but also suggested different measures to be adopted month wise during pregnancy for the maintenance
of pregnancy through to full term and to prevent miscarriages and abortions.

Keywords: Yogaratnakara; Infertility; Yoni–vyapad; Garbhaprada Yoga; Abortion.

INTRODUCTION

Childbearing and rising of children are existence reaches completeness through a child
extremely important events in every human’s and fulfils the individual’s need for reproduc-
life and are strongly associated with the ultimate tion. Infertility refers to an inability to conceive
goals of completeness, happiness and family after having regular unprotected sex. Infertility
integration. It is widely accepted that human can also refer to the biological inability of an
 Pvnr Prasad Et Al: Recapitulation Of Garbha-Prada Yogas From Yoga Ratnakara

individual to contribute to conception, or to a higher percentage of women in the work-

female who cannot carry a pregnancy to full force. This has resulted in a delay in child-
term. bearing, and age is a critical factor in fertili-
Infertility is a disease that is currently ty.
defined as one year of unwanted non-conception  The second reason is that several lifestyle
with unprotected intercourse in the fertile phase factors affect fertility such as smoking, ob-
of the menstrual cycle. There is reluctance to esity, or stress.
accept infertility as “disease” in many countries  The third key reason is that there is a greater
around the world. But The American Society for awareness about fertility clinics, and more
Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has unambi- information about treatment alternatives.
guously defines infertility as a disease. Al-
though a one year threshold is necessary to ful- Though there have also been better out-
fill the definition of infertility and has become comes with new developments in infertility
the “gold standard” for clinical purposes, the treatments, the fertility treatment options and
threshold was even longer in the recent past. programs are only available through private
health sectors and are often not easily accessible
The term “infertility” covers disorders or costly and little or no treatment is available
ranging from sterility to nearly normal fertility. through public health sectors.
Thus, its uniform use is misleading. Often, the
term sub-fertility is employed, but the definition CAUSES OF FEMALE INFERTILITY:
is basically the same. Typically speaking, an As for the etiology of infertility in hu-
infertile couple is one that finds it impossible to mans, we may say that the cause of infertility
conceive, or is unable to have a child. These de- lies in both the male and female partners. The
finitions have been widely employed without male partner is responsible for 30% of cases, the
gradations in between, which is what actually female another 30%, and in another 30% of the
happens in clinical practice. cases, there is a combination of male and female
Infertility is a multidimensional problem reasons for infertility. Since the introduction of
with social, economic and cultural implications assisted reproduction, we have found different
associated with geographical differences, which situations in which the cause of infertility can be
can take threatening proportions in countries explained, reducing the actual incidence of
with strong demographic problems. It is a global couples with infertility of unknown etiology.
health issue affecting approximately 8-10% of  The ovary is responsible for up to 50% of
couples. Up to 20% of infertile couples have the cases of female infertility
unexplained infertility. This tendency is increas-  The second potential cause is Tubo-
ing for 3 main reasons: peritoneal infertility, in which endometriosis
 The first one, and probably the most impor- is probably the main factor, altering the
tant one, is due to social changes that have anatomy of the female reproductive tract and
been happening in our society, such as a causing infertility.

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 There are also some cases involving the ute- of Yoni roga wherein he has dealt in detail about
rus as the main cause of female infertility. different measures and formulations to enable a
 Some cases are the consequence of an al- woman to conceive and continue her pregnancy
tered passage of the sperm through the cer- to full term. It has also mentioned certain treat-
vical channel due to a cervical factor or im- ment modalities to prevent threatened and habi-
munologic infertility. tual abortions apart from measures for easy and
 Age is the most important factor affecting normal delivery. Different measures and mod-
female fertility. alities described in Yogaratnakara are given he-
 Polycystic ovarian syndrome and its conse- reunder:
quences. GARBHA PRADA YOGAS:
 Ovarian cysts may affect the anatomy of the
internal genitalia and cause mechanical in- Single drugs:
fertility.  Aswagandha kshirapaka + Ghrita – given
 Endometriomas are the most frequent find- after Ritusnana
ing.  Lakshmana moola churna + Goghrita ---
 Anovulation of central origin is not as fre- Nasya (for male child)
quent as the other causes.
 Lakshmana moola (Shape like Lanka) ---
According to Ayurveda, infertility occurs used as Garland
when a person’s reproductive tissue or Shukra  Lakshmana moola + milk ---Nasya & Paana
dhatu, remains bereft of nutrition. This can be  Matulunga beeja rubbed with milk - given
caused due to poor digestion and because of cer- after Ritusnana
tain toxins in the body. Some of the other causes  Palasha one leaf boiled with Gokshira
of infertility according to Ayurveda are:  Sweta Brihati moola + milk ---Nasya in left
 Anxiety nostril (for male Child)
 Depression
 Insomnia
Simple recipes:
 Spicy and Salty food  Fine powders of Bala, Atibala, Madhuka,
Ayurveda takes a holistic view about Vatankura, Nagakesara are taken in equal
health and treats the body as a whole instead of parts, mixed with honey & ghee if taken
an individual ailment. The main focus of Ayur- with Go kshira helps the woman to conceive
vedic treatment for infertility is to ensure the a male child.
proper transformation of food into nutrients that  Equal parts of Kuranta mola, Dhataki push-
can move to the ‘Shukra dhatu’. pa, Vatankura, Nilotpala processed in milk
CONTRIBUTION OF YOGA RATNAKARA and given for Ritumati for conception.
FOR FERTILITY:  Parshva Pippali mixed with powders of Ji-
raka and Sharapunkha should be given for
conceiving a male child.
Yoga Ratnakara the renowned text of
Ayurveda has discussed infertility in the context

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 Paste of Sukara shimbi and pulp of Dadhi ta Chandana are pounded to fine paste. This
phala processed in milk if given the woman paste is added with 640 gms of Ghee and sub-
will conceive male child. jected to Ghritapaka by adding Satavari swara-
 Ishwarlingi beeja churna taken along with sa and Go-Kshira (2560 ml.).
milk helps in conceiving male child.
 Equal parts of Eranda beeja and Matulunga  Lakshmana Ghrita:
beeja processed in ghrita helps in concep-  Fine powder of Lakshmana mula (which is
tion. in the shape of Lanka) is duly mixed with
 Equal parts of Tila taila, Go kshira, phanita Go-Ghrita and is used for Nasya to enable a
(Concentrated Ikshu rasa), dadhi, ghrita are woman to conceive.
thoroughly mixed and added with Pippali
Month wise treatment for preventing threat-
churna helps in conceiving male child. ened / habitual abortion:
Compound Formulations: Systematic supervision of a woman dur-
 Phala ghrita: ing pregnancy is called Garbhini paricharya
(10 gms. each of Manjishta, Madhuka, Kushta, (Ante-natal care). Supervision should be of a
Triphala, Sarkara, Bala, Meda, Maha meda, regular and periodic nature and according to the
Kshira Kakoli, Kakoli, Aswagandha mula, Aja- need of an individual. The care should start
moda, Haridra, Daruharidra, Priyangu, Katu- from the beginning of pregnancy and till the
rohini, Utpala, Kumuda, Laksha, Sweta & Rak- birth of child. The following recipes are useful
to prevent abortions in different months:

S. No. Month Drugs recommended for Kshirapaka

1. First Madhuka, Shaka beeja, Kshirakakoli & Suradaru
2. Second Ashmantaka, Krishna tila, Tamravalli & Shatavari
3. Third Vrikshadani, Kshirakakoli, Utpala & Sariva
4. Fourth Ananta, Sariva, Rasna, Padma & Madhuka
5. Fifth Brihati dvaya, Kashmari, shunga- twak of Kshira Vriksha & ghrita
6. Sixth Prithakparni, Bala, Shigru, Svadamstra & Madhuyasthi
7. Seventh Sringataka, Bisa, Draksha, Kaseru, Madhuka & Sita
8. Eighth Kapittha, Bilva, Brihati, Patoli, Ikshu & Nidigdhika
9. Ninth Madhuka, Ananta, Kshirakakoli & Sariva
10. Tenth Sunthi + Kshirakakoli / Sunthi / Yashtimadhu / Devadaru
11. To relieve Kshirakakoli, Nilotpala, Manjishta & Mulaka
complications Vidari, Kakoli, Kshirakakoli & Mrinala
like pain, burn-
ing sensation
etc.

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 For preparing Kshirapaka, the coarsely into consideration and the drugs are taken in
powdered drugs are boiled in eight parts equal quantity.
of milk added with 32 parts of water. The  The dosage of the finished product should
boiling is continued till all the water con- be taken basing on the specific doses men-
tent is evaporated and milk alone is left. tioned for each of the dosage forms as men-
The end product is filtered and is taken tioned in Bhaishajya Kalpana.
internally.
DISCUSSION
Yogas for prevention of Garbhapata:
Infertility is often spoken about in whis-
 Paste prepared with equal parts of Lajjalu, pers. There is still a lot of stigma attached to this
Dhataki pushpa, Utpala, Lodhra & madhu, increasingly common medical issue. According
should be administered orally. While con- to the literature, infertility seems to be a multi-
suming this medicine, woman should sit in dimensional health issue which occurs not only
the cold water tub. due to health problems related to the fallopian
 Mud of the pot maker’s hand should be col- tubes, the ovaries, and the endometrium, but it
lected, mixed with honey and taken orally may also be a result of the choices imposed by
along with Goat’s milk / sweta Aparajita the modern lifestyle, like the higher average age
churna + honey with Goat’s milk of people who get married, stress, non-
 Powders in equal parts of sugar, Bisa and conducive legal framework for assisted repro-
Tila + honey duction, etc.
 Equal parts of Venugranthi, Kulattha and
Haridra should be decocted and given orally Ayurveda focus on identifying the right
 Equal parts of Hribera, Ativisha, Mustha, cause, involved dosha, its imbalance and its cor-
Mocharasa and Indrayava should be de- rection measures. These include different regi-
cocted and given orally mens of diet, life style, Panchakarma, Rasayana
 Paravata mala mixed with fresh juice of Chikitsa and medications to suit different etiol-
Tambula (Nagavalli), taken internally for ogy, constitutions and temperaments.
three consecutive days CONCLUSION
 Wearing of Atibala mula over kati region,
prevents garbhapata Childbearing and family are considered
 While explaining different yogas for making a right of every human being. Infertility is a
a woman to conceive, the author of Yoga- health problem that requires appropriate treat-
ratnakara has not specifically mentioned ei- ment strategy. Modern medical science has de-
ther the quantity of the ingredients to be tak- veloped advanced therapies to assist reproduc-
en for formulation and the specific dose of tion over the last 20 years. In the past, people
the end product to be taken on certain in- had little control over their fertility and couples
stances. In such conditions, the Anukta that could not get a child had no other choice
Dravya Sangraha Pramana of Bhaishajya but to accept the fact. In contrast, although to-
Kalpana Aadharabhuta Siddhanta is taken day infertility is a relatively common problem

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 Pvnr Prasad Et Al: Recapitulation Of Garbha-Prada Yogas From Yoga Ratnakara

that touches deeply the soul of couples involved REFERENCES

in this, medical science has increased the
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infertile couples as it offered a possible solution lia, 1995
to the problem. Infertility is medical problem 2. Shastry Lakshmipathi, Yogaratnakara with
and needs medical intervention. Vidyothini Hindi Commentary, Varanasi,
Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1973
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induction of labour. These recommendations of dyaprabha Hindi Commentary, Varanasi,
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Source of Support: Nil

Conflict Of Interest: None Declared

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