Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa), a native tree of India, held sacred by the Buddhists, who believe that Gautama Buddha received enlightenment under a Bo tree at Bodh Gaya. The Bo tree attains great size and age; the leaves, which hang from long, flexible petioles, rustle in the slightest breeze. Pipal is also spelled peepul or pipul.
The botanical classification of the tree is:
Botanical Name : Ficus religiosa Linn
Family Name: . Moraceae
vernacular Name: Sans– ashvatthah ,Hind – pippal , Eng – sacred tree , Bengali -Asotha
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Urticales
Habitat: Native to India, Grows in Bangladesh,Burma, Sreelankha and Thiland
Common Names: bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree or ashwattha tree
Description of the Plant:
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Large tree. Flower color red. Flowers in February. Fruits in May / June. Widely found in uplands and plain area.The Sacred Fig Ficus religiosa, also known as Bo (from the Sinhalese Bo), Pipal (Peepul) or Ashwattha tree, is a species of banyan fig native to India, southwest China and Indochina east to Vietnam. It is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 3 m
The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended tip; they are 10-17 cm long and 8-12 cm broad, with a 6-10 cm petiole. The fruit is a small fig 1-1.5 cm diameter, green ripening purple
The peepal is one of the best known trees of India. The peepal is considered very sacred and venerated by the Hindus & the Buddhists. It is mentioned in the Vedas & Epics. The saints (rishis) of yore meditated under it. It was under the peepal tree that Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment & that particular tree came to be called “Bodhi”, the “Tree of wisdom”. In the popular Indian fold core, the peepal is considered as a female to the male Banyan. Peepal tree grows to large proportions. The tree is found wild in the forests on the lower slopes of the Himalayas, Orissa & in central India. It also grows in most parts of India, especially on the banks of rivers & lakes.
Plant Parts Used: All parts of the Pipal tree, including roots, bark, leaf and fruit, are useful
Healing & curative properties: –
The leaves of peepal tree are useful in many common ailments. Its leaves are laxative and a tonic. They relieve feverish feeling of coolness. They are also useful in arresting secretion or bleeding. In such cases, about 50 ml of raw juice of the leaves or 1 teaspoon of powdered dried leaves can be taken with water.
Heart diseases: –
The leaves of the peepal are used in the treatment of heart diseases. The leaves are infused in water at night. Distilled the following morning & then stored in white bottles. About 15 mg of this infusion is administered thrice daily. It is highly effective in relieving palpitation of the heart & cardiac weakness.
Constipation: –
The leaves of peepal should be dried in the shade & powdered. Pills are made by adding the required quantity of a solution of anise & jaggery with water. One pill taken with warm milk at bedtime ensures proper bowl movement, the following morning. In the same way, the fruits can be dried in shade, powdered & mixed with an equal quantity of sugar. This compound in doses of 4 to 6 GMS, taken at bedtime with milk, serves the same function.
Dysentery: –
Equal parts of tender leave, coriander leaves & sugars are chewed slowly to relieve the condition.
Bruises: –
The leaves of peepal ground fine, mixed 25 gms of jaggery and made into 8 pills. One pill taken daily with milk can also relieve pain due to injury.
Mumps: –
Peepal leaves smeared with ghee, warmed over a fire & bandaged over the inflamed part (mumps) to get relieve.
Boils: –
A leaf of peepal smeard with ghee can be banged like worm on the boil. If there is any pus formation, it will burst, if it is in preliminary stages, the growth will subside in initial stage itself.
Other uses: –
In Ayurveda a peepal grown on a cemented wall , with its roots still not reaching the ground, is a specific treatment for serious disease of the neck.A plaster- like paste prepared by rubbing its roots with water can be applied on the affected glands. A popular remedy for excessive urine output amongst jaundice patience is to soak a piece of tender bark of the peepal in water overnight & allow the water to be taken the following morning. According to Hakeem Hashmi, peepal fruits dried in shade & powdered are helpful in sexual disorders such as spermatorrhoea, nocturnal emissions & premature ejaculation.
As per Ayurveda:
Sacred fig is madhura, kasaya and sheetaveerya; subdues deranged function of kapha and pitta; useful in the treatment of dyscrasia and burning sensation of the body. The ripe fruits exert immediate action in the diseases of female genital organs
Parts used: bark, leaves, tender shoots, fruits, seeds, latex
Properties and uses:
The bark is astringent, sweet, cooling and aphrodisiac. and an aqueous extract of it has an antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aurells and Escherichia coli. It is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhoids and gastrohelcosis.
Bark is found efficacious in gonorrhoea; pulverised bark is applied externally on unhealthy ulcer and wounds to promote granulation; efficacious when rubbed with honey and applied to aphthous sores of children. Infusion of the bark is astringent.
The bark has an acrid bad taste; useful in inflammations and glandular swelling of the neck.
A paste of the powdered bark is a good absorbent for inflammatory swellings and good for burns.
Leaves and tender shoots have purgative properties and are also recommended for wounds and skin diseases.
Tender and fresh leaves found beneficial when used along with butter-fat to cover the inflammatory areas of ulcer; oil, medicated with the leaves, cures earache when used as eardrops
The old leaves soaked in water stop vomiting.
Fruits are laxative and digestive; the dried fruit pulverised and taken in water cure, asthma: seeds are refrigerant and laxative.
The fruit is purgative, aphrodisiac; checks vomiting
The latex is good for neuralgia,. inflammations and haemorrhages.
All the parts are bitter, sweetish, acrid, cooling; useful in diseases, of the blood, vagina, uterus; given in leucorrhoea, burning sensation, biliousness, ulcers.-
The ripe fruit is cooling; alexipharmic; good for burning sensation, foul taste, thirst, biliousness, diseases of the blood and heart.-
The root is good for gout; the root bark is useful in stomatitis, to cleanse ulcers, as an astringent in leucorrhoea, to promote granulatlons.-The young bark is useful in bone fracture.-
The root bark is aphrodisiac and good for lumbago.-
The seeds are said to be cooling and alterative. The seeds are useful in urinary discharges
The leaves and young shoots are used as a purgative, and an infusion of the bark is given internally in scabies.
A paste of the powdered bark is used. as an absorbent in inflammatory swellings.
The dried fruit, pulverized and taken in water for a fortnight, removes asthma, and produces fruitfulness in women. Water in which the freshly.burnt bark has been ,steeped is said to cure cases of obstinate hiccup.
In cracked foot the juice is employed.
The powder of the dried bark is used in fistula in ano;
The juice of the bark is used as a mouth wash for toothache and for strengthening the gums.
Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Reources:
www.hashmi.com, en.wikipedia.org
Miracles of Herbs
http://www.ayurvedakalamandiram.com/herbs.htm#pashanabheda
