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'''Sanjivani''' ({{Langx|sa|संजीवनी|translit=Sanjīvanī}}) or the '''Mrtasanjivani''' ({{Langx|sa|मृतसञ्जीवनी|translit=Mṛtasañjīvanī}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology |url=http://archive.org/details/the-vayu-purana-part-i-ancient-indian-tradition-and-mythology |title=The Vayu Purana Part I Ancient Indian Tradition And Mythology |pages=317}}</ref> is a medicinal herb featured in the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] epic [[Ramayana]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pāṇḍuraṅgārāva |first=Āi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlQpsIgYdMUC&dq=sanjeevani+hanuman&pg=PA67 |title=Valmiki |date=1994 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-7201-680-7 |language=en}}</ref> |
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== Literature == |
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{{Hindu mythology}} |
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In Hinduism, '''Sanjeevani''' is a magical [[herbal medicine|herb]] which has the power to cure serious nervous system disorders. It is believed that medicines prepared from this herb could revive the patient in any situations where death is almost certain. The herb is mentioned in the [[Ramayana]] when [[Ravana]]'s son [[Indrajit]] ([[Meghnad]]) hurls a powerful weapon at [[Lakshmana]]. When Lakshmana fell unconscious, near death, Hanuman approached the Raja Vaidya (Royal Physician) of Lanka [[Sushena]] for advice. |
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The herb is mentioned in the [[Ramayana]] when [[Ravana]]'s son, [[Indrajit]], hurls a powerful weapon at [[Lakshmana]]. Lakshmana is badly wounded, and is killed by this attack. In the [[Ramavataram|Kamba Ramayanam]], [[Sushen Vaidh]] instructs [[Hanuman]] to fetch the sanjeevani herb by flying to the northern side of [[Mount Meru]], where he would find the Nīla-mahāgiri, the great blue mountain, beyond which he would find the Ṛṣabhādri, the ox-shaped mountain, with two peaks. This mountain is described to bear four medicinal herbs, including sanjeevani.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2019-01-28 |title=Story of Mṛtasañjīvanī |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/compilation/puranic-encyclopaedia/d/doc241774.html |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117054547/https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/compilation/puranic-encyclopaedia/d/doc241774.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Unable to identify the herb, and due to time being of the essence, Hanuman lifts the entire mountain and carries it to the dead Lakshmana, who is healed and revived after its application.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bansal |first=Sunita Pant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xhrnkdByWDIC&dq=sanjeevani+hinduism&pg=PA46 |title=Hindu Gods and Goddesses |date=2005 |publisher=Smriti Books |isbn=978-81-87967-72-9 |pages=46 |language=en}}</ref> |
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The mountain that bears the sanjeevani is also called the [[Oshadhiparvata]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vālmīki |url=http://archive.org/details/ramayana0000valm |title=The Ramayana |date=2003 |publisher=New York : North Point Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-86547-660-8}}</ref> |
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Sushena asked Hanuman to rush to Dronagiri Hills and fetch four plants: Mruthasanjeevani (restorer of life), Vishalyakarani (remover of arrows), Sandhanakarani (restorer of the skin) and Savarnyakarani (restorer of skin colour) (''Srimad Valmiki Ramayana, 74th chapter, Yuddakanda, Slokas 29-34'').<ref>{{Cite news|last=Balasubramanian|first=D.|date=2009-09-10|title=In search of the Sanjeevani plant of Ramayana|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/In-search-of-the-Sanjeevani-plant-of-Ramayana/article16880681.ece|access-date=2021-06-08|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Of the 4 plants, Mruthsanjeevani or simply Sanjeevani is the most important since it is believed to bring one from near death back to life. [[Hanuman]] was called upon to fetch this herb from the Mount [[Dunagiri (mountain)|Dronagiri]] (Mahodaya) or Gandhamardhan hills, far to the north of the [[Vindhya Range|Vindhyas]] on the slopes of the [[Himalayas]]. The mountain of herbs is identified as the [[Valley of Flowers National Park|Valley of Flowers]] near Badri in Uttarakhand on the slopes of the Himalayas. It is sometimes called Gandhamardan, and at other times Dronagiri. Upon reaching Dronagiri Parvata, Hanuman could not identify the herb thus lifted the whole mountain and brought it to the battlefield in [[Lanka]].<ref name="search2009">{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/in-search-of-the-sanjeevani-plant-of-ramayana/article17925.ece |title=In search of the Sanjeevani plant of Ramayana |newspaper=The Hindu|date=11 September 2009|author=D. Balasubramaniam |accessdate= 29 July 2016}}</ref> |
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== Identification == |
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| ⚫ | Several plants have been proposed as possible candidates for the |
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The mountain of herbs is identified as the [[Valley of Flowers National Park|Valley of Flowers]] near Badri in Uttarakhand on the slopes of the Himalayas. |
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| ⚫ | Several plants have been proposed as possible candidates for the sanjeevani plant, including: ''[[Selaginella bryopteris]]'', ''[[Dendrobium plicatile]]'' (synonym ''Desmotrichum fimbriatum''), ''[[Cressa cretica]]'', and others. A search of ancient texts at [[CSIR India|CSIR]] laboratories did not reveal any plant that can be definitively confirmed as sanjeevani. In certain texts it is written that sanjeevani glows in the dark.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060519034744/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050929/asp/nation/story_5297959.asp Telegraph India]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_097_04_0484_0489_0.pdf |title=''In search of Sanjeevani'', Current Science, Vol. 97, No. 4, 25 August 2009 |access-date=5 August 2016 |archive-date=7 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807022357/http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Downloads/article_id_097_04_0484_0489_0.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The herb, believed in [[Ayurvedic]] medicine to have medicinal properties, has been searched for unsuccessfully for centuries, up to modern times.<ref name=search2009 /> The Himalayan state of [[Uttarakhand]] in northern India committed an initial |
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| ⚫ | The herb, believed in [[Ayurvedic]] medicine to have medicinal properties, has been searched for unsuccessfully for centuries, up to modern times.<ref name="search2009">{{cite news |author=D. Balasubramaniam |date=11 September 2009 |title=In search of the Sanjeevani plant of Ramayana |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/in-search-of-the-sanjeevani-plant-of-ramayana/article17925.ece |accessdate=29 July 2016}}</ref> The Himalayan state of [[Uttarakhand]] in northern India committed an initial 250m rupees (£2.8m) of state money to search for ''sanjeevani Booti'' starting in August 2016. The search was focused on the Dronagiri range of the [[Himalayas]] near the Chinese border. The [[Ramayana]] mentions a mountain believed to refer to the Dronagiri range, where the magical herb is supposed to grow. Uttarakhand established a Department of [[Ministry of AYUSH|AYUSH]] in November 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/28/indian-state-uttarakhand-hunts-mythical-glow-in-the-dark-plant |title=Indian state steps up hunt for mythical glow-in-the dark plant |newspaper=The Guardian |date=29 July 2016 |author=Agence France-Presse |accessdate= 29 July 2016}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Plants in Hinduism]] |
[[Category:Plants in Hinduism]] |
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[[Category:Mythological plants]] |
[[Category:Mythological plants]] |
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[[Category:Plants used in Ayurveda]] |
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Latest revision as of 10:58, 5 December 2024
Sanjivani (Sanskrit: संजीवनी, romanized: Sanjīvanī) or the Mrtasanjivani (Sanskrit: मृतसञ्जीवनी, romanized: Mṛtasañjīvanī)[1] is a medicinal herb featured in the Hindu epic Ramayana.[2]
Literature
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The herb is mentioned in the Ramayana when Ravana's son, Indrajit, hurls a powerful weapon at Lakshmana. Lakshmana is badly wounded, and is killed by this attack. In the Kamba Ramayanam, Sushen Vaidh instructs Hanuman to fetch the sanjeevani herb by flying to the northern side of Mount Meru, where he would find the Nīla-mahāgiri, the great blue mountain, beyond which he would find the Ṛṣabhādri, the ox-shaped mountain, with two peaks. This mountain is described to bear four medicinal herbs, including sanjeevani.[3] Unable to identify the herb, and due to time being of the essence, Hanuman lifts the entire mountain and carries it to the dead Lakshmana, who is healed and revived after its application.[4]
The mountain that bears the sanjeevani is also called the Oshadhiparvata.[5]
Identification
[edit]The mountain of herbs is identified as the Valley of Flowers near Badri in Uttarakhand on the slopes of the Himalayas.
Several plants have been proposed as possible candidates for the sanjeevani plant, including: Selaginella bryopteris, Dendrobium plicatile (synonym Desmotrichum fimbriatum), Cressa cretica, and others. A search of ancient texts at CSIR laboratories did not reveal any plant that can be definitively confirmed as sanjeevani. In certain texts it is written that sanjeevani glows in the dark.[6][7]
The herb, believed in Ayurvedic medicine to have medicinal properties, has been searched for unsuccessfully for centuries, up to modern times.[8] The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in northern India committed an initial 250m rupees (£2.8m) of state money to search for sanjeevani Booti starting in August 2016. The search was focused on the Dronagiri range of the Himalayas near the Chinese border. The Ramayana mentions a mountain believed to refer to the Dronagiri range, where the magical herb is supposed to grow. Uttarakhand established a Department of AYUSH in November 2014.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology. The Vayu Purana Part I Ancient Indian Tradition And Mythology. p. 317.
- ^ Pāṇḍuraṅgārāva, Āi (1994). Valmiki. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-7201-680-7.
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2019-01-28). "Story of Mṛtasañjīvanī". www.wisdomlib.org. Archived from the original on 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
- ^ Bansal, Sunita Pant (2005). Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Smriti Books. p. 46. ISBN 978-81-87967-72-9.
- ^ Vālmīki (2003). The Ramayana. Internet Archive. New York : North Point Press. ISBN 978-0-86547-660-8.
- ^ Telegraph India
- ^ "In search of Sanjeevani, Current Science, Vol. 97, No. 4, 25 August 2009" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ D. Balasubramaniam (11 September 2009). "In search of the Sanjeevani plant of Ramayana". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ Agence France-Presse (29 July 2016). "Indian state steps up hunt for mythical glow-in-the dark plant". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2016.