SHIMBIDHANYA VARGA AND KRITANNA VARGA

SHIMBIDHANYA VARGA (GROUP OF LEGUMES AND PULSES

Mudga (green gram), Masura(lentil), Adhaki (toor dal) and other varieties of legumes belongs to Shimbidhanya ( group of pulses those having pods/legumes). 

They have following properties :

• Vibandhakrut – Causes constipation
• Kashaya, Swadu – Astringent, sweet in taste
• Grahi – Absorbent
• Katu vipaka – Pungent after digestion
• Sheeta – Cold in potency
• Laghu – Easily digestible
• Reduces fat, kapha, asra (blood) and pitta dosha
•  Suitable for external application and bathing the body parts etc. 

Among all these, mudga (green gram) is best, it causes mild increase of vata dosha.

Kalaya (round pea) :

• Causes aggravation of vata 

• Increases dryness in the body 

• Produces more faeces 

• It is hard to digest

Rajamasha (big sized black gram) 

• Increases Vata
•  It is dry in nature
• Heavy to digest 
•  Increases bulk of faeces

KULATHA BENEFITS (HOARSE GRAM)

Kulath is

• Ushna – Hot in potency
• Amlapaka – It has sour after taste(metabolic property)
• Cleanses semen 
• Useful in urinary stones
• Shwasa  – Asthma, wheezing, COPD, breathing difficulty
• Peenasa – Running nose, Allergic rhinitis
• Kasa – Cough and cold
• Kapha – Vata diseases
• But it increases bleeding disorders, so, it is not recommended in conditions like menorrhagia.

NISHPAVA (FLAT BEANS)

Nishpava (flat bean) 

• Aggravates vata, pitta, bleeding disorders,
• it increases breast milk production and 
• promotes urine formation. It is
• Guru (Heavy to digest)
• Sara – promotes bowel movements
• Vidahi – increases burning sensation
• It is not good for eyes and semen quality.
• It decreases Kapha, inflammation and is useful in poisoning. 

BENEFITS OF MASHA ( BLACK GRAM)

Black gram is

• Snigdha – Unctuous
• Balya – Increases strength
• Increases kapha and Pitta doshas
• Malakara – Increases bulk of faeces
• Sara – Laxative
• Guru – Not easily digestible
• Ushna – Hot in potency
• Vatahara – Mitigates Vata
• Madhura – Sweet in taste
• Shukra vruddhikara – Increases semen
• Virekakrut – Enhances ejaculation strength.

Fruits of atmagupta (Mucuna pruriens) and kakandola are similar to black gram in qualities.

SESAME SEEDS BENEFITS

Tila (sesamum) is

• Ushna – hot in potency ,
• Tvachya – good for the skin,
• Sheetasparsha – cold on touch,
• Keshya – good for hairs,
• Balya – strengthening,
• Guru – hard to digest,
• Alpamutra – produces little quantity of urine,
• Katu paka – It has pungent after taste (at the end of digestion)
• Medhakrut – Increases intelligence
• Agnikrut – Increases digestive fire
• Increases kapha and pitta doshas 

SEEDS OF UMA (LINSEED)

Seeds of uma (linseed) is :

• Snigdha unctuous
• Madhura,Tikta rasa – sweet and bitter in taste
• Ushna – Hot in potency
• Increases kapha and pitta
• Hard to digest 
• Not good for vision and semen
• Pungent at the end of digestion.

Kusumbha seeds are similar to Linseeds in qualities.

• Masha (black gram) in the group of shimbi dhanya (legumes) and yavaka (small barley) in the group of shukadhanya (cereals) are inferior in qualities.

FRESH GRAINS (JUST HARVESTED)

Fresh grains are 

• Abhishyandi (causes excess exudation or secretion from tissue pores and blocks them) 
• Grains which are old by one year are easily digestible.
• Grains which grow quickly, which are removed from their husk, those which are properly fried are also easy to digest. 

KRITANNA VARGA (GROUP OF PREPARED FOODS)

Few of prepared foods are :

• Manda
• Peya
• vilepi 
• Odana 

These are prepared from rice or other grains cooked in water.

MANDA 

It is a thin fluid, resembles water. It is drained out immediately after boiling the rice in water.

PEYA

 It is slightly thicker than manda but still it has more liquid less solid grains.

VILEPI

It is more thicker than peya and has more of solid grain and less of fluid quantity.

ODANA

It is the last stage of rice boiling which is solid without fluid portion or zero water content left.

These four, Manda, peya, vilepi and odana are easy to digest in their preceding order mentioned here.

That is, Manda – easiest to digest, Odana is comparatively harder to digest than others.

PROPERTIES AND BENEFITS OF PREPARED FOODS

MANDA

Manda is the best amongst all prepared foods

• It facilitates easy movement of faeces and flatus
• It Relieves thirst and is good in exhaustion
• It reduces residual doshas. Therefore, it is used as diet after Panchakarma procedures, where all the Doshas are eliminated from the body with therapies like Vamana, virechana and basti.
• Manda helps in digestion
• Restores the normalcy of the tissues
• Softens the channels
• Causes perspiration and improves the digestive fire and aids in digestion. 

PEYA

• Relieves hunger and thirst
• Relieves exhaustion
• Helpful in Debility
• Useful in diseases of the abdomen 
• Good in fevers 
•  Responsible for easy elimination of faeces
•  Good for overall health 
• Improves appetite and helps in digestion

VILEPI

• Withholds discharge of fluids from the body
•  Good for the heart
• Relieves thirst
• Improves appetite
• Ideal for everyone to consume
• Specially good for those suffering from ulcers and eye diseases
•  In those who have been given Panchakarma purification therapies (Vamana, virechana, basti etc)
• People who are weak
• People have been consuming fats for drinking as part of panchkarma Snehana therapy (before main  Panchakarma therapy)

ODANA

It is prepared with properly washed grains, in this the entire water content is evaporated and it is devoid of hot fumes.

It has following properties :

• Easy to digest
• Similarly which is prepared with addition of decoction of medicinal plants, which have hot potency or that which is prepared with fried grains are also easy to digest.
• Other than this, those which are prepared with addition of milk, mutton etc. they are hard to digest.

MAMSA RASA (MEAT SOUP)

Mamsa rasa is

• Brihmana – Nourishing
• Preenana – Gives satisfaction
• Vrushya – Aphrodisiac
• Chakshushya – Good for the eye health (vision) 
• Vranaha – Heals ulcers and wounds.

MUDGA SOUP (GREEN GRAM SOUP)

Mudgasupa (soup of green gram) is 

• good for overall health of the individual.
•  Good for people in whom Panchakarma purification therapies have been administered 
• People who are suffering from ulcers, diseases of the throat and eyes. 

KULATTHA SOUP (HORSE GRAM SOUP)

Kulattha Supa is

• Vatanulomi – Facilitates normal downward movement of Vata dosha
• Useful in tuni and pratituni (pains of the groin region) and Gulma (abdominal tumor) 
• Eatables prepared from Tila (sesamum), Pinyaka (residue of sesamum after the oil is taken out), germinated grains, dried leafy vegetables, shandaki vataka (balls of fried rice dried in sun and then fried in oil) are :
• Not good for eyes
• Increases tridoshas
• Causes debility in body 
• These are hard to digest. 

Therefore, Ayurveda never recommends germinated grains.

RASALA

Rasala is prepared by churning the curd and adding pepper powder and sugar in it. 

• It increases the body weight,
• It is a natural aphrodisiac
• Unctuous in nature
•  It improves body strength 
•  Improves taste perception

PANAKA (VEGETABLE OR FRUIT JUICE)

• Relieves exhaustion, 
• hunger, thirst and fatigue, 
• Gives a feeling of satisfaction. 
• It is generally hard to digest, stays long in the stomach
• It is diuretic
• It is good to the heart.
•  Its properties depends on ingredients from which it is prepared. 

LAJA (FRIED PADDY)

Laja is prepared by frying paddy. 

• Relieves thirst,
•  vomiting, 
• diarrhea, 
• diabetes, 
• obesity, 
• mitigates kapha, cough and pitta, 
• increases appetite, 
• easy to digest and 
• cold in potency. 

PRITHUKA (PARBOILED AND FLAKED PADDY)

 Prithuka is prepared by boiling paddy for sometime and then pounding it with pestle or mortar.

 Prithuka is :

• Hard to digest
• Strengthening 
• Increases kapha doshaIt causes constipation.

DHANA (FRIED BARLEY OR OTHER GRAINS)

• Stays long in the stomach causing indigestion, 
• It is dry in nature
• Satisfying in nature
• Is hard to digest. 
• Dhana is made by frying barely which is soaked in water for sometime

SAKTU (CORN FLOUR)

Corn flour is 

• Easy to digest
•  Relieves hunger, thirst, fatigue
• Eye diseases 
• Useful in wounds
• It is very nutritious and if taken as a drink gives immediate strength.
• Corn flour should not be eaten without drinking water in between
• It should not be consumed twice in a day
• It should not be consumed at at night
• It should not be eaten or drank solely, without other food items.
• It should not be consumed after meals
• It should not be hard to chew and  should not be consumed  in excess quantity. 

PINYAKA

Pinyaka is the residue material of sesamum, groundnut and other oil seeds, after the extraction of oil from it.

 It produces giddiness, dryness indigestion and vitiates vision. VESAVARA

Vesavara is meat which is cut into small pieces and spices like pepper, ginger etc are added in it and it is roasted or fried after that.

Vegetable vesavara is prepared with pulses or flour of various types, and added with different spices.

Vesavara is

• Hard to digest
•  Is unctuous in nature
•  Increases the strength and builds the body. 
• Vesavara prepared from green gram and others is hard to digest and possess properties similar to the material from which it is prepared. 
• Food items cooked by steaming, which are baked on hot mud or iron pan, kept over a stove in a vessel, kept inside a hearth and baked by placing directly on a burning coal are easy to digest in the successive order of their enumeration.

Therefore, it means, food items prepared directly over coal is easier to digest than foods which are cooked by steaming.