Ajamoda (Ajmod)

Ajamoda (Hindi Ajmod, Ajmoda; the commentary also calls it badi ajwain; botanical name Apium graveolens, celery fruit) is a seed that the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu describes in the Haritakyadi varga right after yavani (ajwain). Two verses give its seven names, its properties and the conditions it is used in (p. 280, verses 78–79). The commentary adds notes on the plant, a warning about pregnancy and epilepsy, and two wild plants also called ajwain.

Names

अजमोदा खराश्वा च मायूरो दीप्यकस्तथा । तथा ब्रह्मकुशा प्रोक्ता कारवी लोचमस्तका ॥ ७८ ॥

The text names it Ajamoda, Kharashva, Mayura, Dipyaka, Brahmakusha, Karavi and Lochamastaka. The edition notes other readings for two of them: Mayura for Mayuro, and cha samastaka in place of lochamastaka (p. 280, verse 78). The name Dipyaka is shared with yavani, whose names also include Ajamodika, so the two seeds are easy to mix up by name.

Properties

अजमोदा कटुस्तीक्ष्णा दीपनी कफवातनुत् । उष्णा विदाहिनी हृद्या वृष्या बलकरी लघुः । नेत्रामयकृमिच्छर्दिहिक्काबस्तिरुजो हरेत् ॥ ७९ ॥

• Rasa (taste): pungent (katu)
• Guna (quality): sharp (tikshna), light (laghu)
• Virya (potency): hot (ushna)
• Actions: kindles digestion (dipana), causes a burning sensation (vidahini), good for the heart (hridya), an aphrodisiac (vrishya), gives strength (balakari)
• Doshas: removes kapha and vata

(p. 280, verse 79)

Conditions it is used in

According to the text, ajamoda is used in eye diseases (netramaya), worms (krimi), vomiting (chhardi), hiccup (hikka) and pain of the bladder (basti-ruja) (p. 280, verse 79). The edition notes a variant reading at this point in the line.

The plant

The Hindi commentary of this edition adds notes on the plant (pp. 280–281):

• Botanical name: Apium graveolens Linn., family Umbelliferae. English: celery fruit (Apii fructus).
• Where it grows: cultivated in Europe, America and India, especially in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh; it also grows in the north-western Himalaya and the hills of Punjab.
• The plant: 2–3 feet tall, with leaves divided into many deeply cut parts and small white flowers in umbrella-like heads.
• Recognising the seed: the fruit is yellowish brown, roundish oval, 1–1.5 mm wide and about 0.5 mm thick, with five deep ridges on each half.
• Parts used: the fruit; the commentary also mentions the oil and the root.
• Constituents: 1.5–3% of a pale yellow volatile oil that carries its smell; also sulphur, a poisonous substance the commentary calls apoil, a glucoside (apiin), albumin, gum and alkalis.
• Actions noted: aromatic, digestive, moves wind downward, stimulating, calms vata, strengthening, increases urine (mutrala), contracts the uterus, and good for the heart.
• Uses noted: as a household remedy in amavata, abdominal pain, wind (adhmana), vomiting, hiccup and poor digestion; also in vatarakta, worms, bladder disorders and absent menstruation (nashtartava). Because it relieves spasm it is used in bronchitis, breathlessness (shvasa) and colic, and also in stones. It helps somewhat in liver and spleen disorders, and it is used as a spice in cooking.
• Oil: relieves spasm, strengthens the nerves, and helps rheumatic swelling of the joints.
• Root: held to be rejuvenating (rasayana) and diuretic, and used in swelling of the whole body and in pain. A coffee made from the root is regarded as a tonic for the brain and nerves.
• Dose given: fruit powder, 1–4 masha.
• Regional names: Hindi Ajmod, Ajmoda, Ajmuda, Ajmot; Bengali Banyamani, Radhuni, Ajmud, Chanu; Gujarati Bodi ajmod, Ajmod, Bodi ajmo; Punjabi Bhutjata; Persian Karafs; Arabic Bizr-ul-karafs.

Caution in pregnancy and epilepsy

The commentary says ajamoda contracts the uterus, and that it is considered harmful in epilepsy (apasmara) and for pregnant women. It also lists a poisonous substance, apoil, among its constituents (pp. 280–281).

Wild ajwain

After ajamoda the commentary describes two more plants called wild ajwain (jangli ajwain). Neither has a verse of its own in the text (pp. 281–282).

• Wild ajwain (1): Seseli indicum W. & A., family Umbelliferae; Marathi Kirmanji ajwan, Bengali Banjowan; the commentary suggests, with a question mark, the Sanskrit name vanya yamani. It grows in the lower Himalaya from Dehradun to Gorakhpur, and in Bundelkhand, Assam, central Bengal and the Coromandel coast. A bushy annual 4–12 inches tall with hairy, cut leaves, pinkish-white flowers in umbrella-like heads and tiny round, pale yellow fruits. The fruits are mostly used as medicine for animals. It is stimulating and digestive, eases colic, is good for the intestines and kills roundworms in particular; it relieves wind in the belly and increases appetite. Dose: 1–3 masha.
• Wild ajwain (2): Thymus serpyllum Linn., wild thyme, family Labiatae; Hindi Van ajwain, Persian Hasha. It grows in the warm parts of the Himalaya from Kashmir to Kumaon, and in Iran. A fragrant, bushy, slightly hairy herb 6–12 inches tall with small stalkless leaves marked with oil spots, tiny purple flowers in clusters and small smooth fruits. The whole plant (panchanga) is used. It holds 0.6% fragrant oil, tannin and gum, with only a very little thymol. The commentary calls it hot, strongly antiseptic, diuretic, stimulating, good for the eyes, helpful in breathlessness and phlegm, binding (grahi), worm-killing, and a cleanser and healer of wounds. Its juice with vinegar and honey is given in old cough, breathlessness, whooping cough, diphtheria (ghatasarpa) and intestinal ulcers; it is given with rock salt in indigestion and poor appetite; its decoction with honey and vinegar in bladder pain and swelling, chyluria and cloudy urine. It is used in ringworm and itching; its juice with ghee is put on burns; ground with castor oil it is applied to swollen joints while its decoction is drunk; a chutney of it is said to help the eyesight; and burning it as incense is said to purify the air. Doses: powder 1/8–1/4 tola; oil 1–3 drops.

Sources

• Bhavamishra, Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, Haritakyadi varga, verses 78–79: p. 280 (scan and text on SarvaKosh)
• Vidyotini Hindi commentary, notes on the plant and cautions: pp. 280–281; on the two wild ajwains: pp. 281–282

This page describes what the granth says. It is not medical advice; consult a qualified vaidya before using any remedy.