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Selaginella bryopteris - Sanjeevani

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Selaginella bryopteris is a magical herb which has the power to cure any malady. It was believed that medicines prepared from this herb could revive a dead person. The herb is mentioned in the Ramayana when Ravana's son Indrajit (Meghnad) hurls a powerful weapon at Lakshmana. Lakshmana is badly wounded and is nearly killed by Indrajit. Hanuman was called upon to fetch this herb from the mount Dunagiri (Mahodaya) in the Himalayas or Valley of Flowers. Upon reaching Mount Sumeru, Hanuman was unable to identify the herb and decided to lift the entire mountain and bring it to the battlefield.

The herb, believed in Ayurvedic medicine to have medicinal properties, has been searched for unsuccessfully for centuries, up to modern times.[1] 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, even though there is no evidence for its existence.

Uses

Wounds, Cuts, Snakebites, Curing liver disorders, Skin eruptions, Blotches, Pimples, Diarrhea, Sore throats

Parts Used

Dried folaige, Whole herb.

Chemical Composition

Chemical investigation of Selaginella chrysocaulos from Northeast India yielded three new (i.e., 1-3) and two known biflavonoids. From Selaginella bryopteris, collected in the southern part of India, one new (11) and eleven known biflavonoids of the amentoflavone- and hinokiflavone-type were isolated and identified[1]

Common names

Language Common name
Kannada
Hindi
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi NA
Gujarathi NA
Punjabi NA
Kashmiri NA
Sanskrit
English Agrimony


Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Dravya

Rasa

Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent)

Guna

Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry), Tikshna (Sharp)

Veerya

Ushna (Hot)

Vipaka

Katu (Pungent)

Karma

Kapha, Vata

Prabhava

Habit

Herb

Identification

Leaf

Kind Shape Feature
Simple The leaves are divided into 3-6 toothed leaflets, with smaller leaflets in between

[2]

Flower

Type Size Color and composition Stamen More information
Unisexual 2-4cm long Yellow 5-20 Flowers Season is June - August

Fruit

Type Size Mass Appearance Seeds More information
7–10 mm (0.28–0.4 in.) long pome clearly grooved lengthwise, Lowest hooked hairs aligned towards crown With hooked hairs {{{6}}}

Other features

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

Where to get the saplings

Mode of Propagation

spores, Cuttings.

How to plant/cultivate

Easily grown in most soils, preferring a calcareous soil. Thrives in a dry lightly shaded position, though it prefers full sun.Plants usually self-sow quite freely when growing in a suitable position. The seeds are contained in burrs that can easily attach themselves to clothing or animal's fur, thus transporting them to a new area where they can germinate and grow.The cultivar 'Sweet scented' is popular in France for making tea because the whole plant is sweet scented and the flowers have a spicy apricot-like fragrance[3]

Commonly seen growing in areas

Tall grasslands, meadows, Borders of forests and fields.

Photo Gallery

References

External Links