Review Article International Ayurvedic Medical Journal ISSN:2320 5091

A REVIEW ON THE CONCEPT OF DRUTI: A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF RASA- SHASTRA Patil Anuradha Associate Professor, Dept. of Rasashastra & Bhaishajya Kalpana, L.R.P. Ayurvedic Medical College, Islampur, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT Background: All sciences are based on some of their own basic principles & each one of them has its own definitions & terminologies, which have meanings wider than what they seem to be. Druti is one such process in the science of Rasashastra, which forms both the basic principle & definition of the science. The development of Rasashastra has made , minerals and stones pass through various processes like shodhan, marana, jarana, etc. with the help of supporting processes like heating, boiling, grinding, triturating, etc. so as to convert these inorganic crude drugs into a form or compound, which may suit the human body and can be ab- sorbed and assimilated easily into the system without causing any toxic symptoms. In most of the dravyas, we know the basis for the use of a particular form and procedure. We also know the effects of a particular process. Aim: This paper is aimed at discussing some of the concepts of Druti. Materials & methods: An attempt has been made to approach the concept through re- views from various Ayurvedic classical and modern texts, published articles and other sources. Conclusion: It was found that, the concept of Druti is unique and has not been limited only as a procedure for liquefying a / mineral, but has other implications too. Keywords: Druti, , Rasashastra, Liquification, Ayurvedic Pharmaceutics.

INTRODUCTION drugs, preservation and dispensing of pre- In the Ayurvedic Pharmaceutics, Samska- pared drugs. Only a competent physician rana means processing, done in order to who has mastered the knowledge of differ- establish the change in the qualities / prop- ent medicaments can treat all types of dis- erties of the drug. This is achieved, either eases. To save the lives of ailing people he by inducing a new property or improving should also have a thorough grip on the the existing one and finally making the principles of the formulations and their drug safe and more effective. practical application. With the art and skill of formulation, a Druti (Liquification) is one such important poisonous drug can be transformed into a pharmaceutical processes of Rasashastra, safe and effective drug. A simple drug can wherein the metals / minerals / gems are be converted into a most potent one. transformed into a permanent and stable Therefore, , the Science of liquid form. Generally it is seen that when Health and Healing, has given great em- metals / minerals are heated upto a certain phasis to the comprehensive knowledge of temperature, they melt. But as soon as the Patil Anuradha: A Review on the Concept of Druti: A Basic Principle of Rasashastra heating is stopped, temperature drops 4. Abhrak druti, etc. down, and the material solidifies. The liq- Among these Garbhadruti and Bahyadruti uid state of the material is temporary. are the methods used in mercurial Hence, Druti does not mean melting, but processes. maintaining the molten state permanently, Garbhadruti: with the desired characteristic features. Grastasya draavanam garbhe Details of the process and other things garbhadrutirudaahrutaa|| R.R.S.8/ 81 have been mentioned in Rasaratna Sam- When the material given as grass(bolus) is mucchaya (R.R.S.), Rasendra Chudamani liquefied within , it is known as (Ra.Chu.), Rasa Prakash Sudhakara Garbhadruti. The satva(extracts) of metals (Ra.Pr.Su.), Ayurveda Prakash (Ayu.Pr.), / minerals are liquefied within mercury. Rasa Hridaya Tantra (Ra.Hr.T.), This is essential to digest the bolus as it Rasarnava and other classical texts of cannot be done without liquefying. Rasashatra. Bahyadruti: Definition: Bahireva drutam kuryaallohadhaatva Process which maintains hard and dense adikam khalu| Jaaranaaya rasendrasya dravyas in the molten state is known as saa bahyadrutirucyate|| R.R.S.8/ 82 Druti. Melting Abhrakadi satva separately and 1. Aushadhaadhmaana yogena lohadhaa- then mixing with mercury for Jarana is tvaadikam tathaa| Santishthate drav- known as Bahyadruti. The satva of miner- aakaaram saa drutih parikeertitam|| als are liquefied separately and then mixed R.R.S.8/84 with mercury. 2. Tushaadhaanyaadiyogena lohadhaatvaa- Druti lakshana: 5 characteristics of druti dikam tishthate dravaakaaram saa mentioned are: drutih parikeertitam|| Ra.Chu.4/101 Nirlepatvam drutatvam cha tajastvam Lohadi dhatus and other mineral remain in laghutaa tathaa| Asamyogaschasootena the molten state after processing with panchadhaa drutilakshanam|| R.R.S.8/ 83 some specific herbs and intense heat. This Nirlepatvam: Nonsticking; should not molten state is known as the Druti of that stick to the container. particular dhatu or mineral. Different opi- Drutatvam: Liquified state; should be nions regarding the preparation of Druti uniformly molten. are available in the classical texts of Rasa- Tejastvam: Lustrous. shastra. Laghuta: Lighter than the original weight. Types: Samyogaschasootena: Readily mixes with I. Based on their use: mercury. 1. In mercurial processes. Vessel for Druti: Different mushas ac- 2. In treatment of diseases. cording to their indications should be used II. Based on the method of preparation for the purpose. Viz. Vajradravani Musha 1. Garbhadruti for Vajra, Mahamusha for Abhrak, Lohadi 2. Bahyadruti satva, etc III. Based on the material Fuel for Druti: 1. Loha druti (all metals) Draavane satvapaate cha maadhukaah 2. Ratna druti (all precious stones) khadiraah shubhaah| Durdraave 3. Gandhak druti

346 www.iamj.in IAMJ: Volume 2; Issue 3; May - June 2014 Patil Anuradha: A Review on the Concept of Druti: A Basic Principle of Rasashastra vamshajaaste tu swedane baadaraah samasoudhadugdhakam sarvameva shubhaah|| R.R.S. 8/ 38 mruditam shilaatale|| Golamasya cha For the process of melting or extraction of vidhaayanikshipedratnajaatishu varaani a metal or mineral, one should use the coal peshayet|| Bhoorjapatramabhiveshnaa of Madhuka or Khadeera wood. For those golake golakopari niveshtya sootratah|| which are difficult to melt, coal of Vansha, Vastrena samveshtha yatra tatah for swedan Badara coal should be used. prayatnaaddolaakhyayantre athaniveshya Storage: golakam| Sarvaamlayukte tushavaari- Kusumbhatailamadhye tu samsthaapyaa poorite paatre drudhamanmaya- drutayah pruthak| Tishthanti chirakaalam samdnyake hi| Dinatrayam swedanakam tu praapte kaarye niyojayet|| R.R.S.4/ 82 vidheyam aahrutya tasmaadvaragolakam Druti is to be stored in glass containers, samkshaalayecchaamlajalena chaapi particularly Ratnadi Drutis in Kusumbha samjaayate ratnabhavaadrutishcha|| Taila. Ra.Pr.Su. 7/57-61 METHOD: Hingu, five Lavanas, two Ksharas, Chul- Gandhakdruti: lika lavana, Amlavetas, ripe Kumbhiphala, Kalaamshavyosha samyuktam gandhakam Chitraka mula, Rudanti, Jambuki, fresh shlakshna choornitam| Aratnimaatre Dravanti, Arka dugdha, snuhi dugdha are vastre tadveeprakeerya viveshtya tat|| made into fine paste. A ball of this paste is Sootrena veshthayitvaa atha yaamam taile made; powder of the desired ratna is kept nimajjayet|| Dhrutvaa samdamshato in the centre and wrapped in Bhoorja pa- vartimadhyam prajvaalayeccha tam| tra. This is then wrapped with a cloth and Druto nipatito gandho bindushah finally tied with a thread. kaachabhaajane|| R.R.S. 3/ 29, 30 This pottali is further subjected to swe- Shudha Gandhak and Trikatu Choorna dana in Amla Tushodaka with the help of are taken in the proportion 16:1, respec- Dolayantra for three days. The druti is tively, and mixed properly. The mixture is then collected after washing with hot wa- spread over a piece of cotton cloth of one ter. aratni (10½ inches) length and breadth. Characteristics: The cloth is then rolled and tied with a Varnena saa ratnanibhaa chakaantyaa thread to make a wick and immersed in laghveebhaved dehakaree cha samyak| Tila taila for one yama (approx. 3 hours). Lohasyavedham prakaroti samyak sootena The wick is then held in the centre with a samyak milanam prayaati|| Tadaa pair of tongs and ignited at both the ends. bhaveyuh khalu siddhataa yadaa Drops of oil dribble from the burning ends hingvaadivargena milanti samyak| of the wick which is collected in a glass Yaamadvayam kaamsyavimarditaa vai container. chaatiprayatnena tu vaidhavaryaih| Ratnadruti: Kasyaapi nuh siddhyati vai drutishcha Raamatham panchalavanam sadaa yadaa prasannah khalu paarvateeshah|| kshaara yugmamapi chetsupeshitam|| Ra.Pr.Su.7/62-65 Chullikaa-lavanam amlavetasam pakva- Ratna Druti should possess the colour and kumbhiphalam tathaiva cha|| Chitra- luster of that ratna from which it is made. moolaka rudantike shubhaa jambukee It should mix with mercury easily during jalayutaa dravantikaa|| Arkadugdha lohavedha. It should be useful as Deha-

347 www.iamj.in IAMJ: Volume 2; Issue 3; May - June 2014 Patil Anuradha: A Review on the Concept of Druti: A Basic Principle of Rasashastra kara (immunomodulator). It should mix curial processes, especially Lohaveda, and with Hingvadi varga dravyas in kamsya later used in curing diseases as well. patra. REFERENCES: Methods of Vajra dravana, and Vaikrant 1. Pandit Dharmananda Sharma. Rasa- dravana methods have told in the 6th pa- ratna Sammuchchaya, 2nd ed. Vara- tala of Rasarnava. Ratna dravana methods nasi: Motilal Benarasidas; 1999. have told in the 7th patala. 2. Acharya Somadev, Dr. Siddhinandan Abhrak Druti: 16 methods of Abhrak dra- Mishra, translator. Rasendra Chuda- vana have been mentioned in the 6th patala mani , 3rd ed. Varanasi: Choukhamba of Rasarnava along with Loha, Kantaloh, Orientalia: 2004 Suvarna, and Tikshna loha dravana. 3. Acharya Yashodhara, Dr. Siddhinan- DISCUSSION dan Mishra, translator. Rasa Prakash Not only the methods of Druti Sudhakara, 3rd ed. Varanasi: Chouk- preparation have been mentioned, but also hamba Orientalia: 2004 methods of mixing various Drutis for 4. Prof. Savarikar S S, translator. Rasa different purposes in the mercurial Chandanshu, 1st ed. New Delhi: Ken- processing have also been elaborated in driya Ayurved Vignan Anusandhan details by most of the Acharyas. But from Parishad; 2011. the classical texts of the later centuries, 5. Acharya Sri Madhav, Shri Gulraj- Rasaratna Sammucchaya 2/50 and the sharma Mishra. Ayurveda Prakash, 1st Sanskrit commentary of Ayurveda Prakash ed. Varanasi: Choukhamba Vishwab- 1/253, it can be understood that prepara- harati: Reprint 1999 tion of Druti has never been an easy task 6. Shri Acharya Chaturbhujamishra, Rasa and therefore has not been mentioned in Hridaya Tantram. 2nd ed. Kaleda- the texts in detail. One needs the blessings Krishnagopal: Krishna-Gopal Ayur- of Lord Shiva for the success of the proce- veda Bhavan; 2002. dure. 7. Dr. Indradeo Tripathi, Pt. Taradatta Druti bandha is one among the Parad Panta Ayurvedacharya, Editors. Rasar- bandhas, wherein, Parad (mercury) is sta- nava Naam Rasatantram, 4th ed. Vara- bilized by various procedures. This is so nasi: Choukhamba Sanskrit Series Of- called because Parad is stabilized through fice: 2001 Bahyadruti. Such parad is said to be use- 8. Dr. Damodar Joshi. Rasashastra, 1st ed. ful in even most incurable diseases with a Varanasi: Choukhamba Orientalia: Re- dose of just 1/4th rajika (1/2 mg). print 2010. CONCLUSION: It was found that, the CORRESPONDING AUTHOR concept of Druti is unique and has not Dr. Patil Anuradha been limited only as a procedure for lique- Associate Professor Dept. of Rasashastra fying a metal/ mineral, but has other im- & Bhaishajya Kalpana, L.R.P. Ayurvedic plications too. Different procedures and Medical College, Islampur, Maharashtra, drugs were used for the same which gave India rise to many different methods of prepara- Email: [email protected] tion. Druti has been developed for mer-

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