Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
Lentil (Lens culinaris), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family. Slender annual legume bearing flat pods of one or two lens-shaped seeds; native range: The Fertile Crescent and Near East; among the oldest cultivated pulses. Globally recognized as masura in Sanskrit, masur in Hindi, adas in Arabic, and red lentil, masoor dal in English. The part used is seed. Small, dry, lens-shaped seeds, mild and faintly sweet with an astringent, mealy finish when cooked.
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.
LENTIL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Lentil
- Scientific name
- Lens culinaris Medik.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Form
- Part used
- seed
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- sweet · astringent
- Unani
- astringent · bland
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- cooling
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- stomach · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- grahi (absorbent, checks diarrhoea), stambhana (astringent), varnya (improves complexion)
- Unani
- habis (astringent and constipating), muwallid-e-sauda (generates black bile)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation, vata disorders and dryness; weak eyesight in the Unani reckoning
- Toxicity
- wholesome as food; only excess offends, breeding wind, costiveness and, by the older physicians, melancholic disease
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