Droni Praveshika Rasayana: Method of Taking, Medicines Used, Therapeutic and Preventive Benefits

Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S

The’ Famous 2’ Rasayanas

Based on the method of administration of Rasayana, it is broadly divided into two types. They are –

1. Kuti Praveshika Rasayana – indoor method of Rasayana consumption wherein the person would stay in a customized kuti – cottage built for the purpose of staying there so as to complete the Rasayana taking procedure. This comes with isolation and many restrictions related to the method of taking Rasayana, rules and regulations, diet and lifestyle restrictions. It is the most effective method and difficult to practice. It needs a wealthy person to undergo this kind of Rasayana Therapy because the entire procedure is very costly.
2. Vatatapika (Vata Atapika) Rasayana – outdoor method of Rasayana consumption wherein the person need not stay in a customized kuti, can take Rasayana while he is exposed to wind and sunlight i.e. while getting indulged in daily chores of life. This does not come with isolation and has minimum or no restrictions related to method of consumption, rules and regulations, diet or lifestyle restrictions. It is not the best method in comparison to Kuti Praveshika method of Rasayana consumption, but it substitutes to all persons who cannot undergo the first method. It is a cost effective way of taking Rasayana and practical one too.

The missing 3rd Elite Rasayana!

There is yet another method of taking Rasayana. It is a strange method and a very difficult one to practice due to the methodology involved itself. The method of administration itself looks scary at the outlook and highly impractical when we go through the literature of the same in Charaka Samhita. This probably is a therapy method that only suits the ‘enlightened ones’ who are strong willed. Else it would have found itself in the elite list of classification of Rasayanas, along with the top two. Acharya Charaka himself has not directly mentioned its name, either in the classification of Rasayanas along with the above mentioned two methods or even separately. But its description lay silently amidst the literature of Rasayana waiting to be practiced but knowing that it cannot rise to attract the customers. Depending on the method of administration and its available explanation, it has been called as ‘Droni Praveshika Rasayana’.

In this article we will discuss this ‘almost not practiced’ type of Rasayana.

Droni Praveshika Rasayana

Meaning of Droni Praveshika Rasayana

–        Droni – tub / boat like structure which fits in a person such that he can comfortably lie down in it

–        Praveshika – entering

Droni Praveshika Rasayana is a method of administering the Rasayana wherein the person after consuming Rasayana is made to enter and lie down in a customized tub or boat like structure prepared for him to undergo Rasayana therapy. He will subsequently lose his consciousness and stay there for about 6 months in an unconscious state and will come back to consciousness once the effect of the Rasayana has warded off. He would have tapped immense health and rejuvenating benefits in the time period of his ‘unconscious lay’ in the droni.

Context and Reference

Droni Praveshika Rasayana has been contextually explained in the fourth pada (quarter) – Ayurveda Samutthaniya Pada of Charaka Samhita Chikitsa Sthana section, Chapter 1 (Cha.Chi. 1.4/7-12).

The Preamble

Let us know what exactly happened before the context of Droni Praveshika Rasayana came into discussion.

The sages who had lost their healthy way of living due to them staying and making a living along with ignorant worldly people in cottages and wandering around in seek of livelihood and in the process suffered from many ailments, returned back to their home, their abode wherein they had healthily lived earlier doing penance, the Himalayas. Therein, Lord Indra welcomes all the divine sages and states that the sages had become diseased, unhappy and had lost their strength, energy, voice and complexion due to their association with people having materialistic way of life and association with materialistic people was the root cause of all sufferings.

So, in order to rejuvenate the sages and restore their health, Lord Indra preached them above the motive of Ayurveda and prescribed them with some Rasayanas. Couple of Rasayanas mentioned in this context is also called Indrokta Rasayanas.

In this context itself, Lord Indra makes mention of many Divya Aushadhis i.e. divine medicinal herbs which have Rasayana properties and advises the sages to consume the same.

Later in the context, Lord Indra advises the sages to take the ‘Divya Aushadhis’ in the ‘Droni Praveshika method’.

Steps included in taking Droni Praveshika Rasayana

Like in all methods of therapies, we shall discuss this Droni Praveshika Rasayana in 3 steps i.e.

–        Purva Karma – Pre-Rasayana procedures, preparations

–        Pradhana Karma – Consumption of Rasayana

–        Paschat Karma – Post-Rasayana procedures

1. Purvakarma
2. Collection of Divya Aushadhas

Divya Aushadhas or divine / celestial herbs are used as Rasayanas in the Droni Praveshika method. Therefore it is important to collect these herbs – whichever is available for administration, beforehand and keep them ready.

Related Reading – ‘Divya Aushadhis enlisted by Acharya Charaka’

Lord Indra advises the sages to consume the Divya Aushadhis grown in Himalayan habitat which are enriched with veerya – potency.

Divya Aushadhis – 1

He mentions Aindri, Brahmi, Payasya, Ksheerapushpi, Shravani Maha Shravani, Shatavari, Vidari, Jivanti, Punarnava, Nagabala, Sthira, Vacha, Chatra, Atichatra, Meda, Mahameda and other Jivaniya herbs to be taken mixed with milk for six months to tap the benefits of Rasayana.

After this, Acharya Charaka gives yet another list of Divya Aushadhis and advises the sages to take them in the Droni Praveshika method of Rasayana consumption. They are –

Divya Aushadhis – 2

1. Brahma Suvarchala – has golden latex, leaves resemble Pushkara
2. Aditya Parni or Surya Kanta – golden colored latex, flowers are round like the Sun
3. Nari / Ashvabala – leaves resemble those of Balvaja
4. Kasthagodha – resembles Iguana
5. Sarpa – resembles snake
6. Soma – considered the king of herbs, has fifteen leaves which decrease and increase like the moon
7. Padma – resembles lotus in shape and smell, red in color
8. Aja – also called Ajashringi
9. Neela – is a creeper with several branches, has blue flowers and blue latex

Any one of these may be collected and kept ready for usage as Rasayana.

1. Preparation of Droni

A Droni of the dimension of (length and breadth) of the person who is undergoing Rasayana therapy should be prepared. For this, green wood of Palasha – Butea monosperma is used.

1. Shodhana

Panchakarma therapies as and when required are administered beforehand to give a proper cleansing to the patient. This is mandatory for the Rasayana to work in the best possible way and bestow its best benefits.

1. Thorough examination of the person

It should be accessed if the person is eligible to undergo Droni Praveshika Rasayana and then permit them for the same. It needs immense physical and mental readiness to undergo this therapy and everyone is not eligible.

Note – I have mentioned shodhana and examination of persons in the list of purvakarma for only knowledge purposes that these things are mandatory for Rasayana purpose. Else, Droni Praveshika Rasayana is an unfamiliar and unpopular way of Rasayana practice which used to be done only in the olden days. Since only sages and enlightened beings underwent this Rasayana procedure, the preparations for the same are needless to mention.

2. Pradhana Karma
3. Administration of Rasayana Medicine

The person who has been cleansed by the administration of Panchakarma therapies should be given with the juice of the above mentioned herbs to his full stomach.

1. Making the person to lie down in the Droni

Now the person who has consumed a stomach full of Rasayana prepared with Divya Aushadhi should be made to sleep in a specifically customized and designed Palasha Droni, whose interior has been smeared with sneha – ghee or oil. He should be completely made to undress before sleeping in the droni.

After sometime the person becomes unconscious.

Once he becomes unconscious, the droni should be closed with the lid with the person lying in it.

After six months from the day of administration of Rasayana, the person comes back to consciousness.

3. Paschat Karma
4. Pathya

The person should be given only goat’s milk. It is not clear if this diet fits into Pradhana Karma or Paschat Karma since it has not been clearly indicated in the texts. But we can include it in both phases of treatment. The person might not be completely unconscious during the six months of therapy. He might keep getting into small spells of consciousness. During that time, goat’s milk should be given.

Once the person comes back to consciousness he should be given goat’s milk for a few days and gradually brought back to the regimen of regular healthy foods.

1. Other procedures

Though there is no detailing of what needs to be done after the Rasayana therapy has been conducted in Droni Praveshika Vidhi, it should be inferred that the general dos and don’ts of Rasayana therapy should be followed herein too. A disciplined approach towards foods, lifestyle practices and behaviors would be highly required to be followed.

Note – Since this Rasayana was mentioned by Lord Indra for the sages, the follow up directions will obviously be the foods and lifestyle they used to take in the Himalayas and avoidance of all foods and lifestyle practices followed by materialistic people – gramya ahara vihara.

Benefits of Droni Praveshika Rasayana

We can assume that the person undergoing Droni Praveshika Rasayana will also beget all the general benefits of Rasayana. Apart from that, there are certain specific benefits mentioned in the text. These benefits will be bestowed within the six months duration during which the person undergoes this form of Rasayana therapy. The benefits would also stay long after the person has completed the Rasayana therapy provided he maintains diet-lifestyle discipline.

The specific benefits of Droni Praveshika Rasayana are –

–        Youthfulness

–        Good and pleasant complexion

–        Good voice, shape, strength and luster like the Gods

–        Mastery over speech and making accurate predictions

–        Divine vision

–        Divine power of hearing

–        Capability to walk for one thousand Yojanas

–        Longevity of ten thousand years free from diseases and all obstacles

Eligibility for Droni Praveshika Rasayana

भवन्ति चात्र-
दिव्यानामोषधीनां यः प्रभावः स भवद्विधैः|
शक्यः सोढुमशक्यस्तु स्यात् सोढुमकृतात्मभिः||८||
ओषधीनां प्रभावेण तिष्ठतां स्वे च कर्मणि|
भवतां निखिलं श्रेयः सर्वमेवोपपत्स्यते||९||
वानप्रस्थैर्गृहस्थैश्च प्रयतैर्नियतात्मभिः|
शक्या ओषधयो ह्येताः सेवितुं विषयाभिजाः||१०||

Lord Indra says that only the sages like the enlightened ones he was addressing would withstand the prabhava – specific action of the Divya Aushadhis described above. Those devoid of self control will never tolerate such powerful Rasayana medicines.

He further says that the sages would be able to perform their duties and rituals properly and be endowed with all the medicinal benefits of the Rasayana by the influence of these medicines mentioned above.

The herbs which are grown in sacred places like Himalayas can also be used by persons who are in Vanaprastha Ashrama and Grahastha Ashrama phases of their life only if he is sincere and are extremely self-controlled.

Note –

–        Vanaprastha is the third stage of life in which the person abandons his place of living i.e. village and town and all comforts and proceeds to live a simplistic life of an ascetic in the forests, performing sacred rituals and meditation

–        Grahastha is the second stage of life wherein the person leads a family life, earns and shelters his family, works for earning money and status and takes care of himself and his family.

Effect of the mentioned medicines

यास्तु क्षेत्रगुणैस्तेषां मध्यमेन च कर्मणा |
मृदुवीर्यतरास्तासां विधिर्ज्ञेयः स एव तु ||११||
पर्येष्टुं ताः प्रयोक्तुं वा येऽसमर्थाः सुखार्थिनः |
रसायन विधिस्तेषामयमन्यः प्रशस्यते ||१२||
The qualities of the above said medicines change depending on the attribute of the land. Other than the Himalayas, the effect of the same herbs grown in the other lands will become moderate and their potency also becomes mild. In spite of that, if they need to be administered as Rasayana, the same method of administration explained above should be followed. But it is not easy for the pleasure-seekers to search and procure these herbs and they will seek for easier methods of Rasayana if they need them.

Droni Praveshika Rasayana in a nutshell

Droni Praveshika Rasayana is a procedure which needs the benefactor to sleep in a customized Palasha Droni after taking Rasayana.

Rasayanas administered here are not plain medicines or formulations. They are Divya Aushadhis – the celestial herbs which not only possess Rasayana properties but will also have divine healing properties.

It is a tough regimen of consuming Rasayana amongst all forms. It is not meant for everyone. This form of Rasayana is designed only for the enlightened sages.

Only the Divya Aushadhis grown in the Himalayas will have immense divine healing properties. The same plants grown elsewhere will have moderate qualities.

The person who takes this Rasayana will be in a spell of unconsciousness for a period of six months. It might be due to the effect of the herbs. If the person does not feel hungry during this period it might also be due to the effect of the mentioned divine herbs. If he awakens in between, only goat milk has to be given as a diet. The person will once again go into a state of unconsciousness quickly.

The person regains consciousness after six months and should be given goat milk for a few days while he follows a disciplined way of life and dietetic regimen.

It was a popular Rasayana therapy in the olden days and we also learn that it was exclusively designed for sages residing in divine and sacred places like the Himalayas. It is not practiced nowadays.

Soma, one of the divya aushadhis mentioned by Acharya Charaka has also been described in detail by Acharya Sushruta.