Good Evening,

Good Evening,

There are a lot of other discoveries and findings made by Aryabhatta, but I am taking a break for now. Will come back to Aryabhatta's scientific discoveries sometime later. This post deals with the various beneficial properties of Turmeric, one of the most important herbs of our tradition that has been used in India since time immemorial.

I am sure you would agree that there is no home in India which does not use Turmeric. Called Haldi in India, it is utilised for a variety of purposes in our daily lives.

Turmeric has been part of our cooking since aeons, and is used both as a spice as well as for natural colouring. Ayurveda cuisine refers to the use of turmeric in it's dishes, and that practice has been passed down the generations.

Get ready for a long post loaded with links, because Turmeric (Haldi) has a plethora of medicinalproperties due to the presence of the chemical Curcumin. Some of these are:

1) Prevention or Slowing down Alzheimer's disease. Please refer links below to understand the medical background:

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Chemical-Compound-in-Turmeric-Helps-to-Fight-Alzheimers-23139-1/

http://www.annalsofian.org/text.asp?2008/11/1/13/40220

One important point being mentioned is that because we have turmeric as a staple inclusion in our diet, Indians are found to be less vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease.

2) Turmeric (Curcumin) blocks Brain tumour activity:

http://www.mdlinx.com/hemeonclinx/news-article.cfm/2663688

3) Curcumin is helpful against pancreatic ailments:

http://www.research.ucla.edu/tech/ucla02-427.htm

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7060733.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12488237

4) Curcumin is anti-inflammatory, and thus is helpful in diseases like rheumatoid arthiritis and other autoimmuno diseases:

http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/6-10-30-AsianSpiceTurmeric.htm

http://autoimmunedisease.suite101.com/article.cfm/turmeric

5) Turmeric helps in digestion by inducing bile juice, and is thus good for the liver too. That's why it's subscribed whenever someone in India has jaundice:

http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/liver-detox-benefits-with-turmeric-276694.html

http://patient-research.elsevier.com/patientresearch/displayAbs?key=S0271531700800305

6) A summary of the anti cancer properties of Curcumin, the chemical in Turmeric (Haldi) is given below. It is observed that Curcumin aids the cell-cycle arrest, which, if allowed to continue, would help in the mutation of cells and development of cancer:

http://www.goodhealth.nu/News_Articles/050111-curcumin-anti-cancer-US.htm

Detailed medical analysis of Curcumin is provided in the below link:

http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v35je09.htm

Apart from this, Turmeric (Haldi) has been used since time immemorial in India as a Grandma's cure for skin infections, cuts, wounds and lesions. Recent studies prove that Curcumin inserts itself into cell membranes, making them more stable and thus healing them. Refer the below link:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420123051.htm

Turmeric (Haldi) has also been used in India as a cosmetic. People, especially the women-folk are advised to use it to get a glowing and radiant skin.

It is also a common ritual to apply turmeric paste on the to-be bride and groom before marriage in the traditional Hindu ceremony. Studies show that Turmeric helps fight Melanoma, a deadly form of skin-cancer. Refer below link:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050712232338.htm

I remeber my mother giving me a glass full of "Haldi ka doodh", or Turmeric dissolved in milk, whenever I had a cold/cough/fever, was feeling weak or was having body-pain. Turmeric seems to be a natural pain-killer and is seen to be helpful against all these symptoms. Please refer below links:

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/110924/rheumatology/turmeric_as_arthritis_joint_pain__inflammation_treatment.html

http://www.curing-colds.com/articles/alternative-cold-remedies/turmeric.php

Another nice article summarizing Turmeric's benefits:

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/t_es/t_es_tiwar_turmeric.htm

Phew! When I started this post, I frankly knew only about Turmeric's beneficial properties for Alzheimer's and Body pain. But even after so much of research and new benefits that I have learnt, I am sure there are still many things which have been left out. I think Turmeric (Haldi) does deserve another post in the near future.

So, the bottom-line is that Turmeric (Haldi), an inseparable part of Indian cuisine and Indian tradition, has been proclaimed and accepted as a wonder-herb for it's array of Medicinal properties. No wonder that it has been used in India for ages. Our ancestors had identified it's beneficial properties and made sure that it is both consumed on a daily basis and used for the specific ailment when required...

Till next time,

- Nikhil Mundra

www.gandhistamps.com

25th July 2009

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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Rare Triple Eclipse, Aryabhatta and End of World?

Good Afternoon,

Astronomers are in for a rare treat with a triple eclipse occuring in the span of a month starting from tomorrow. The schedule has a Solar Eclipse on July 22nd sandwiched between two Lunar eclipses on July 7th and August 6th.

The first recorded triple eclipse took place in 3067 BC, hovering around the Kurukshetra war period. Another one in 3031 BC oversaw the collapse of the Golden city of Dwarka. This was a turbulent time and signalled the end of the Dwapar Yuga and the beginning of the KalYuga, which is currently going on.

Interestingly, the Mayan Long calender ends on December 29th, 2012. Lord Krishna had predicted that approximately 5000 years after the onset of KalYuga, there will be a lot of problems on the earth...

Triple eclipses have also been seen to coincide with both the World Wars. So is this a premonition of something dangerous about to happen? We will just have to wait and watch...

Eclipses have mystified the human race from millenia. In ancient China, a dragon was thought to be swallowing the sun whenever an eclipse occured. Records from ancient Greece attribute the eclipses to Zeus, the king of Gods. The eclipses also form an important observation subject of the Mayans and the Incas.

However, the concept of the eclipse has been woven into a story in ancient Hindu texts, and a very famous one at that. It is connected with the churning of the milky ocean (Samudramanthan). I have already mentioned this episode in my series on Lord Vishnu's Dasavathars. The post is on the 2nd Avatar, the Tortoise form of Kurma:

http://scienceofhinduism.blogspot.com/2008/05/kurma-avatar.html

The last item to come out of the great milky ocean was the pot of nectar (Amrit). A fight ensued between the Sevas and Asuras on who should have a go at it first. Then Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Mohini, an enchantress, and volunteered to distribute the potion. Blinded by lust, the Asuras gullibly agreed. Mohini began doling out the potion to the Devas first, and an intelligent Asura named Rahu saw through her plan. Taking the form of a Deva, he sat between Chandra (Moon God) and Surya (Sun God).

Chandra recognized Rahu as one different from them, and tried to inform the same to Lord Vishnu. But the damage had already been done. By the time Lord Vishnu's Sudarshan Chakra took care of Rahu, the Asura had drunk the Amrit. Though the divine Chakra sliced him into two, both his head and his body remained alive. Since he too had become immortal, Lord Vishnu ordered Rahu (the head) and Ketu (the body) to remain in the company of the sun and moon, and thus they complete the Navagraha along with the other planets. The significance of the 7 planets + Rahu and Ketu will be discussed in another post...

It is said that the eclipse occurs whenever Rahu tries to engulf the moon or come between the moon and the sun. It is important to note the reference of Rahu sitting between the Sun and Moon, thus creating a barrier or shadow, which is the principle of the eclipse. This is how the concept of eclipses was passed down from generation to generation in ancient India.

Meanwhile, I came across a Shloka in which Aryabhatta, India's great mathematician and astronomer of the ancient age, has lucidly explained the concept of both the Solar and Lunar eclipses. This Shloka, from his famous work Aryabhatiyam, was stated in 499 AD, and is given below:

Translated into English, it says "The moon covers the sun and the great shadow of the earth covers the moon."

Thus, in a single line, Aryabhatta has described both the eclipses. Truly a blessed and great soul!

I recently read reports that 2 places in Bihar, known to be the birthplace of Aryabhatta, are called "Taregna" and "Khagoul". Clearly, both are in honour of their most famous son, Aryabhatta's astronomical expertise, as both of them are corruptions of Astronomical terms. Taregna relates to "Tare" (Stars), while "Khagol" is Astronomy in Hindi. Isn't it wonderful that Bihar will be under the spotlight and witness to this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle?