Indian Gooseberry (മ്മടെ നാടന് നെല്ലിക്ക): The tree of Gooseberry is considered sacred by Hindus as the Vishnu is believed to dwell here. The tree is worshipped on Amalaka Ekadashi. In other Hindu myths, Aamla is said to have originated from the drops of Amrit which spilled on earth accidentally, due to the fight of Gods and Demons after ksheera sagar manthan. And hence also this religious belief makes claims that it almost cures every disease and is also good in extending the longevity of life. In the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition half an amalaka fruit was the final gift to the Buddhist sangha by the great Indian emperor Ashoka. This is illustrated in the Ashokavadana in the following verses: A great donor, the lord of men, the eminent Maurya Ashoka, has gone from being lord of Jambudvipa [India] to being lord of half a myrobalan. (Strong, 1983, p. 99) This deed became so famous that a stupa was created to mark the place of the event in modern day Patna and was known as the Amalaka stupa. According to Hindu tradition, Adi Shankara of Kerala composed and recited the Kanakadhara stotram in praise of Mahalakshmi to make a poor Brahmin lady get wealth, in return for a single amla presented to him as bhiksha on an auspicious dwadashi day. Contemporary poet/philosopher Ravi Teja Yelamanchili wrote a book titled Amalaki. The book is based on Advaita Vedanta of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. According to a Tamil legend, Avvaiyar (Tamil: ஔவையார்), a female poet, ethicist and political activist of the Sangam period was gifted with one amla by King Athiyaman to give her long life. In Theravada Buddhism, this plant is said to have used as the tree for achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi by twenty first Lord Buddha called Pussa - ඵුස්ස. Medicinal use: In traditional Indian medicine, dried and fresh fruits of the plant are used. All parts of the plant are used in various Ayurvedic/Unani medicine (Jawarish amla) herbal preparations, including the fruit, seed, leaves, root, bark and flowers. According to Ayurveda, aamla fruit is sour (amla) and astringent (kashaya) in taste (rasa), with sweet (madhura), bitter (tikta) and pungent (katu) secondary tastes (anurasas).Its qualities (gunas) are light (laghu) and dry (ruksha), the postdigestive effect (vipaka) is sweet (madhura), and its energy (virya) is cooling (shita). According to Ayurveda, aamla balances all three doshas. While aamla is unusual in that it contains five out of the six tastes recognized by Ayurveda, it is most important to recognize the effects of the virya, or potency, and vipaka, or post-digestive effect. Considered in this light, amla is particularly helpful in reducing pitta due to its cooling energy. It also balances both Pitta and vata by virtue of its sweet taste. The kapha is balanced primarily due to its drying action. It may be used as a rasayana (rejuvenative) to promote longevity, and traditionally to enhance digestion (dipanapachana), treat constipation (anuloma), reduce fever (jvaraghna), purify the blood (raktaprasadana), reduce cough (kasahara), alleviate asthma (svasahara), strengthen the heart (hrdaya), benefit the eyes (chakshushya), stimulate hair growth (romasanjana), enliven the body (jivaniya), and enhance intellect (medhya). In Ayurvedic polyherbal formulations, Indian gooseberry is a common constituent, and most notably is the primary ingredient in an ancient herbal rasayana called Chyawanprash. This formula, which contains 43 herbal ingredients as well as clarified butter, sesame oil, sugar cane juice, and honey, was first mentioned in the Charaka Samhita as a premier rejuvenative compound. In Chinese traditional therapy, this fruit is called yuganzi (余甘子), which is used to cure throat inflammation. Emblica officinalis tea may ameliorate diabetic neuropathy due to aldose reductase inhibition. Indian gooseberry has undergone preliminary research, demonstrating in vitro antiviral and antimicrobial properties. There is preliminary evidence in vitro that its extracts induce apoptosis and modify gene expression in osteoclasts involved in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. It may prove to have potential activity against some cancers. One recent animal study found treatment with E. officinalis reduced severity of acute pancreatitis (induced by L-arginine in rats). It also promoted the spontaneous repair and regeneration process of the pancreas occurring after an acute attack. Experimental preparations of leaves, bark or fruit have shown potential efficacy against laboratory models of disease, such as for inflammation, cancer, age-related renal disease, and diabetes. A human pilot study demonstrated a reduction of blood cholesterol levels in both normal and hypercholesterolemic men with treatment. Another recent study with alloxan-induced diabetic rats given an aqueous amla fruit extract has shown significant decrease of the blood glucose, as well as triglyceridemic levels and an improvement of the liver function caused by a normalization of the liver-specific enzyme alanine transaminase activity. Names for this plant in various languages include: amalika (अमलिक) in Sanskrit Dhatric (धात्रिक) in Maithili āmlā (आमला) in Hindi āmla (આમળાં) in Gujarati aavnlaa (awla) (or awla) in Urdu āvaḷā (आवळा) (or awla) in Marathi ambare (अमबरे) in Garo language āvāḷo (आवाळो) in Konkani Suaklu in Paite sunhlu in Mizo amalā (अमला) in Nepali amloki (আমলকী) in Bengali amlakhi in Assamese anlaa (ଅଁଳା) in Oriya Aula (ਔਲਾ) in Punjabi nellikka (നെല്ലിക്ക) in Malayalam heikru in Manipuri halïlaj or ihlïlaj (اهليلج هليلج) in Arabic sohmylleng in Khasi rasi usiri ( రాశి ఉసిరి కాయ) (or rasi usirikai ) in Telugu nellikkai (நெல்லிக்காய்/ ನೆಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಯಿ/ ಗುಡ್ದದ ನೆಲ್ಲಿ) nellikkaai or nellikaayi) in Tamil, Kannada and Tulu nelli (නෙල්ලි) in Sinhala mak kham bom in Lao ma kham pom (มะขามป้อม) in Thai anmole (庵摩勒) in Chinese Kantout Prei (កន្ទួតព្រៃ) in Khmer skyu ru ra (སྐྱུ་རུ་ར་) in Tibetan melaka in Malay, A state in Malaysia, Malacca was named after this tree. zee phyu thee in Myanmar
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:24:51 +0000
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