Iron: Benefits, Uses & Dosage

41 कुकूलकपर ा क व गार वपा चतान ् एकयोनीं लघुि व यादपूपानु तरो तरम ् Eatables cooked by steaming, baked on hot mud or iron pan, in a vessel kept over a stove, inside a hearth and baked by placing on burning coal directly are easy to digest in the successive order of their enumeration.

— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Annaswaroopa Food

Tikta Gana – group of bitters :त तः पदोल ाय ती वालकोशीर च दनम ् भू न ब न ब कटुका तगरा गु व सकम ् न तमाला वरजनी मु त मूवाट पकम पाठापामागकां यायोगुडू चध वयासकम ् प चमल ू ं महा या यौ वशाल अ त वषावचा Patoli, Trayanti – Gentiana kurroa, Valaka, Usira – Vetiveria zizanioides, Chandana – Sandalwood, Bhunimba – The creat (whole plant) – Andrographis paniculata, Nimba – Neem – Azadirachta indica, Katuka – Picrorhiza kurroa, Tagara – Indian Valerian (root) – Valeriana wallichi, Aguru, Vatsaka – Hol

— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Rasabhediyam Tastes, Their

Powder of Vidanga (False black pepper – Embelia ribes), Nagara – (Ginger), KsharaYavakshara and iron filing or powder of Yava (Barley – Hordeum vulgare) and Amla along with honey – should be licked daily.

— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Dvividha Upakramaneeya

5-6 Dhuma yantra- smoking apparatus बि तने सम यं कोशं कारये त ् ऋजु मूला ेअ गु ठकोलाि थ वेशं धुमने कम ् The smoke apparatus should be prepared from the same material as of enema nozzle (from metals like gold, silver, iron etc);

— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Dhumpana Medicated Smoking

लेखने ता ी For Lekhana Anjana, the Shalaka should be made of copper रोपणे काललोहजा अ गुल च For Ropana, it should be made of iron or finger itself can be used.

— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Aschotana Anjana Vidhi

Similarly, on the event of pushya nakshatra, she should drink handful of curd milk or water, without leaving any leftover, duly immersed with red hot miniature male statuettes made of gold, silver or and iron.

— Charaka Samhita, Sharira Sthana — Human Body & Embryology, Chapter 8: Guidelines for Lineage (Jatisutriya Sharira / जातिसूत्रीय शरीर)

Thereafter to make it fragrant, add 20 gm powders each of tejapatra, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, couscous and iron bhasma and store in a pot lined with honey and ghee.

— Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana — Therapeutic Principles, Chapter 12: Edema Treatment (Shvayathu Chikitsa / श्वयथुचिकित्सा)

Make decoction from the coarse powder of 160 gm each of triphala, ajawan, chitraka, pippali, iron bhasma and vidanga.

— Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana — Therapeutic Principles, Chapter 12: Edema Treatment (Shvayathu Chikitsa / श्वयथुचिकित्सा)

Take 40 gm fine powder each of svarajjikā and yava-kshara, four varieties of salt, iron bhasma, trikatu, triphala, pippalimula, pealed seeds of vidanga, mustaka, ajamodā, devadāru, bilva, indrayava, root of chitraka, pāthā, ativishā and liquorice;

— Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana — Therapeutic Principles, Chapter 12: Edema Treatment (Shvayathu Chikitsa / श्वयथुचिकित्सा)

Shamana (palliative) treatment is done in kaphodara by oral intake of gomutra (cow’s urine), arishta (fermented decoctions), drug powder, ayaskriti (medically processed iron) and sesame oil added with kshara (alkali obtained from ash of herbs) [73].

— Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana — Therapeutic Principles, Chapter 13: Abdominal Diseases Treatment (Udara Chikitsa / उदरचिकित्सा)

One whose eyes dissolve (in dreams), whose lamp goes out, who drinks oil or liquor, or who obtains iron or sesame seeds.

— Sharangadhara Samhita, Purva Khanda, Chapter 3: Nadiparichha Adividhi (Pulse Diagnosis etc.)

Mandura Vataka is a classical iron-containing formulation, widely used for anemia and liver disorders.

— Sharangadhara Samhita, Madhyama Khanda, Chapter 4: Gutikakalpana (Tablet/Pill Preparations)

and Mandura (iron rust/oxide), double the quantity of all drugs combined, should be powdered.

— Sharangadhara Samhita, Madhyama Khanda, Chapter 4: Gutikakalpana (Tablet/Pill Preparations)

Hatalauha (processed iron) should be two Karsha and sugar four Karsha.

— Sharangadhara Samhita, Madhyama Khanda, Chapter 4: Gutikakalpana (Tablet/Pill Preparations)

All should be placed in an iron vessel and cooked with one and a half Drona of water.

— Sharangadhara Samhita, Madhyama Khanda, Chapter 4: Gutikakalpana (Tablet/Pill Preparations)

Now, the summary characteristics of each branch: Shalya (Surgery) deals with the extraction of foreign bodies — grass, wood, stone, dust, iron, bone, hair, nails, pus, and abnormal effusions from wounds — as well as diseases caused by morbid growths within the body.

— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 1: Vedotpatti Adhyaya - Origin of Ayurveda

They are mostly made of iron (loha/steel), or of similar materials when iron is unavailable (7).

— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 7: Yantra Vidhi Adhyaya - Blunt Instruments

Magnets (ayaskanta) are listed for extracting iron foreign bodies — an early use of magnetic extraction in surgery.

— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 7: Yantra Vidhi Adhyaya - Blunt Instruments

Instruments should be made of pure iron/steel (shuddha-shaikya), crafted by a skilled blacksmith (karmara) who understands the requirements (19).

— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 8: Shastravacharaniya Adhyaya - Sharp Surgical Instruments

The cauterizing agents include: Pippali (Piper longum), Ajashakrit (goat dung), Shara (arrow-shaped rods), Shalaka (metal probes), Jambavaushthaira (iron instruments), Chaudra-gunda (honey-wax preparations), and Sneha (medicated oils/ghee) (4).

— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 12: Agni-karma Vidhi Adhyaya - Cauterization by Fire