Shunthi (Sonth)

Shunthi (Hindi Sonth; dry ginger; botanical name Zingiber officinale) is described in the Haritakyadi varga of the Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, the materia medica section of Bhavamishra's Bhavaprakasha, straight after triphala. Its section has five verses: its nine names, its properties, the conditions it is used in, and a short discussion of how a substance that relieves constipation can also be called binding (grahi) (p. 267, verses 44–48).

Names

शुण्ठी विश्वा च विश्वञ्च नागरं विश्वभेषजम् । ऊषणं कटुभद्रञ्च शृङ्गवेरं महौषधम् ॥ ४४ ॥

The text gives nine Sanskrit names: Shunthi, Vishva (feminine), Vishva (neuter), Nagara, Vishvabheshaja, Ushana, Katubhadra, Shringavera and Mahaushadha. Vishvabheshaja means "the medicine for everyone" and Mahaushadha "the great medicine". Shringavera and Katubhadra are given again in the next section as names of fresh ginger (ardraka) (p. 267, verse 44).

Properties

शुण्ठी रुच्यामवातघ्नी पाचनी कटुका लघुः । स्निग्धोष्णा मधुरा पाके कफवातविबन्धनुत् ॥ ४५ ॥

• Rasa (taste): pungent (katu)
• Guna (quality): light (laghu), unctuous (snigdha)
• Virya (potency): hot (ushna)
• Vipaka (post-digestive effect): sweet (madhura)
• Actions: gives a taste for food (ruchya), aids digestion (pachana), relieves kapha, vata and constipation (vibandha), strengthens virility (vrishya) and is good for the voice (svarya)

(p. 267, verses 45–46)

Conditions it is used in

वृष्या स्वर्य्या वमिश्वासशूलकासहृदामयान् । हन्ति श्लीपदशोथार्शआनाहोदरमारुतान् ॥ ४६ ॥

According to the text, shunthi is used in amavata, vomiting (vami), breathlessness (shvasa), colic (shula), cough (kasa), heart disease, filarial swelling of the legs (shlipada), swelling (shotha), piles (arsha), anaha (a bloated, blocked abdomen) and wind in the abdomen (p. 267, verses 45–46).

Binding, yet it relieves constipation

आग्नेयगुणभूयिष्ठात् तोयांशपरिशोषि यत् । संगृह्णाति मलं तत्तु ग्राहि शुण्ठ्यादयो यथा ॥ ४७ ॥ विबन्धभेदिनी या तु सा कथं ग्राहिणी भवेत् । शक्तिर्विबन्धभेदे स्याद्यतो न मलपातने ॥ ४८ ॥

The text defines a grahi (binding) substance: one in which fiery qualities dominate, so that it dries up the watery part of the stool and holds it together. Shunthi is its example. It then asks how shunthi can be grahi when it breaks up constipation. The answer: its power lies in breaking the blockage, not in pushing the stool out (p. 267, verses 47–48).

In other sections

• Fresh ginger: the next section, on ardraka, says that every property given for shunthi is found in fresh ginger too (p. 268, verse 50).
• With haritaki: in the seasonal rasayana plan for haritaki, haritaki is taken with shunthi in Hemanta, the early winter (p. 261, verse 34).

The plant

The Hindi commentary of this edition adds notes on the plant (pp. 267–268):

• Botanical name: Zingiber officinale Roscoe, family Zingiberaceae. English: dry ginger.
• How it is made: sonth is fresh ginger (adrak) that has been dried. The ginger is cleaned well, boiled in water or milk and then dried, and the way it is dried changes how it looks. Two kinds are common, a reddish-brown one and a white one; treating it with lime makes it white and helps it keep. Pieces with little fibre are counted the best.
• Constituents: 1–3% volatile oil, the pungent substances gingerol and shogaol, resin and starch. Good sonth should have no more than 6% ash, and set minimums for the parts that dissolve in water and in alcohol.
• Uses noted: sonth, black pepper and pippali together make trikatu. The commentary calls sonth a digestive that removes kapha and vata, and mentions it for colic from trapped wind, long-standing joint pain in older people (as a nightly infusion), a paste in hot water for headache, nerve pain and toothache, and an infusion for cough, breathlessness, colds, throat trouble and hoarseness. It mentions it with ghee in the morning for ama, with jaggery in piles, indigestion, diarrhoea, gulma, swelling, prameha and jaundice, and with purgatives to prevent nausea and cramps.
• Dose given: powder, 2–8 ratti.
• Regional names: Hindi Sonth, Saunth, Sunth; Bengali Shunth; Marathi Sunth; Gujarati Sunth; Punjabi Sund; Kannada Shunthi; Telugu Sonthi; Tamil Sukku; Malayalam Chukku; Persian Zanjabil.

Sources

• Bhavamishra, Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, Haritakyadi varga, verses 44–48: p. 267 (scan and text on SarvaKosh)
• Vidyotini Hindi commentary, notes on the plant: pp. 267–268

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