Prabhava --

by **Admin** Tue 02 Nov 2010, 9:11 pm

Prabhava – Two meanings:
1. a) Specific action of a substance; b) that action not understandable from an examination of its guna, rasa, veerya, vipaka
2. the specific action of a drug is not toward dosha but toward an organ, tissue, or disorder
3. most drugs affecting srotamsi do so through prabhava
4. technically, the actions of emetics, purgatives, narcotics, poisons, intellect promoting drugs, the cardiotonic effect of arjuna, anthelmintic effect of vi¿anga, and antitoxic effect of tridosha effect of amalakee
5. supersedes all other effects, usually
6. acts on the deposition (sthanasamsraya) and manifestation (vyakti) stages of samprapti by being used primarily for an affinity to a tissue (dhata), organ (avayava), or channel (srotas) collectively called the duÃya affected by dosha
7. acts through chemical nature of the substance
as a category of drug action there is much correspondence with modern notion of isomerism

by **Admin** Sun 07 Nov 2010, 9:55 am

Prabhavh

In addition to the consideration of the virya, there is the prabhavh or the inexplicable action of a substance. Chitrak (plumbago sps.) has katu rasa (pungent taste), ushan virya and katu vipaka and thus it is a valuable kapha suppressing agent. Danti moola similarly has katu rasa, ushan virya and katu vipaka and it is also a katu rasa, ushan virya and katu vipaka and it is also kapha reducing agent, but danti is a purgative whereaschitraka is not. For generally speaking, drugs which have a katu vipaka are not purgative and this danti is an exception. Katu vipaka acts like katu rasa i.e. acts upwards since katu rasa consists of Agni and Vayu mahabhoot in preponderance, which have a tendency to move upwards. Hence danti moola should constipate strictly speaking. But here is the fact of the purgative action of danti moola and this is attributed to its prabhavh i.e. inexplicable phenomenon. The relative strength of rasa virya, vipaka, prabhavh when they are of (bala samya) equal strength is as follows. Vipaka is more powerful than rasa; virya is more powerful than vipaka. Prabhavh is more powerful than virya and hence most powerful than all. All these have their effects in their due time and so they are not inimical towards each other and if the individual effects are similar, the total effect will produce its own properties have also their own valuable use in therapeutics. It may be noted that in the above order, vipaka, though coming after virya, is not stronger than virya. Maharishi Charak has given the order as rasa, virya, vipaka and prabhavh while Vagabhatta has it as rasa, vipaka, virya and prabhavh.

Prabhava --

Prabhava --

Re: Prabhava --