Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Banyan (Ficus benghalensis), of the Moraceae family. Enormous evergreen tree spreading on pillar-like aerial roots; native range: the Indian subcontinent. Globally recognized as nyagrodha / vata in Sanskrit, bargad / bar in Hindi, bargad in Arabic, and Indian banyan, Bengal fig in English. The part used is bark, aerial-root, milky latex and leaf-buds. Thick greyish astringent bark and rope-like aerial roots weeping a sticky white latex; the bark decoction is puckering and near-tasteless but for its astringency.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
BANYAN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Banyan
- Scientific name
- Ficus benghalensis L.
- Family
- Moraceae
Form
- Part used
- bark, aerial-root, milky latex and leaf-buds
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- astringent (qabid)
Temperature
Ayurveda: cooling (shita)
Unani: cold
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses hold it cooling and binding
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · intestines · uterus · kidneys
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- grahi and stambhana (astringent, checks flux), vrana-ropana (wound-healing), kapha-pitta-hara, shukra-stambhana, a reputed anti-diabetic (pramehaghna)
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis (checks discharge), mujaffif (desiccant) and da-e-ziabetus (used in diabetes)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and vata-dryness, hard bilious stools
- Toxicity
- the raw latex irritates the skin and eyes
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