Ageing & Rasayana According to Ayurveda
CONCEPT OF PREMATURE AGEING:
The word Prakriti here denotes to both the nature of particular specie and nature of the individual within the specie, further within one specie the nature of an individual varies according to Desha, Kala, Prakriti and heredity and accordingly ageing may appear early, timely or late with less, moderate or more symptoms. Sushruta has divided Svabhava Bala Pravritta Vyadhies into two groups viz. Kalaja(natural) and Akalaj(unnatural). in this way jara can be divided in to two types Kalaj Jara and Akalaj Jara .
Natural aging
The jara appearing at or after the proper age defined for it. That means one person getting old age, after sixty or Seventy years is known as Kalaj Jara. This type of jara is Pariraksanakrita, which means that it occurs at the proper age, after following the seasonal and daily routine described in Svasthavritta and use of Sodhana at proper time. This aging may be of less intensity and slow progressing and thus may not be very troublesome.
Unnatural aging
When the signs and symptoms of jara are present before its prescribed time it is called as Akalaj Jara. This type of Jara is said to be due to Aparirakshanakrita, which means that it occurs before the prescribed age due to not taking the proper care of personal hygiene (Svasthavritta) and not getting Shodhana done at proper time. This type of ageing may be of greater intensity and rapidly progressing, if no care is taken to check it through proper treatment.
There is no medicine for Kalaja Jara and considered as Yapya i.e. by the treatment with Rasayana, the ill effect of ageing can be checked for some time and its progress may be slowed down or be halted to some extent. The second type i.e. Akalaj Jara is curable and should be treated according to the Dosha and the complaints of the person.
WHEN TO CALL natural ageing
According to Charaka the age above sixty years may be taken as old age, but Sushruta increases this limit to seventy years. This difference of Charaka and Sushruta may be due to the reason that every phenomenon has got its starting point at which it may not be very obvious but after some time when the phenomenon advances sufficiently its effects are clearly visible. In this way there is always a gap between the starting point and the complete manifestation of every phenomenon, which may be short and long depending upon the various conditions. For instance this gap is very short in acute poisoning and is long in the conditions like chronic poisoning (Gara Visha) etc.
In case of ageing the phenomenon generally progresses slowly and starts at the age of about sixty and its effects are quite visible at the age of seventy years. Charaka being a physician might have appreciated the changes of ageing at their starting point and therefore he has taken 60 years and above as the old age. On the other hand Sushruta might have thought it safer to take the limit of ageing as 70 years when most of the symptoms of ageing are quite visible. Hence, premature ageing is that which occurs before the age sixty years.
IS AGEING REVERSIBLE?
The question arises here that whether the ageing process is reversible or not? In this regard following facts mentioned in Ayurveda may be taken in consideration.
As mentioned earlier Jara (ageing) is a naturally occurring disease. Charaka has considered as by nature they are incurable or having no treatment. Chakrapani says ordinary treatment has got no effect on ageing. Rasayana is the treatment of ageing as it has been clearly mentioned in Charaka that the old Cyavan Rishi became young after the use of Rasayana.
Here Dalahana‘s view is that, out of two types of ageing, the natural ageing is incurable and unnatural ageing can be treated with Rasayana treatment.
Yapya is partial amenability of disease to treatments. Rather a person lives with the disorder without cure but without disturbed by the diseases if proper treatment is taken. It is said that in difficult stage, the disease recurs immediately after the treatment is withdrawn. This explanation goes in hand with the Chakrapani’s commentary as noted above. This means, a timely senescence can be manipulated with measurement by dietics and Rasayana, so that its ill effects are controlled. Rasayana is not the complete treatment for ageing, as it can just check or delay the process of ageing for some time, but it cannot be retarded and as soon as the effect of Rasayana finishes the process of ageing starts again to march to the forward.
Two points are very clear at this stage of discussion that.
(1) The effects of ageing can be checked by using appropriate measures even though in timely aging.
(2) Premature ageing can be cured by direct encounter with underlying pathology.
This can be easily understandable by following example. In Charaka Samhita it is stated that by using “Chyavanaprasha” in proper way and dosage Saint ‘Chyavana’ who was very old turned young. Further it is said that consumption of Chyavanaprasha not only eradicates the signs of old age (Jarakrita Rupa) but also superimpose the youthful appearance.
Whether Aging starts simultaneously in all tissues?
Another question arises here about the changes in to body tissues. Astanga Sangraha has mentioned some view about these Phenomena. Accordingly something is being lost at the end of each decade of life, beginning from birth.
At the end of first decade childhood is gone, after second decade growth is stopped, after third decade luster is lost, in the fourth decade intellect starts declining and at the end of fifth decade skin’s property is lost. Similarly at the end of sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth decades of life reproductive function, Vision, hearing), Mind, Sense organs and motor organs are lost respectively.
Changes in every decade of the life
Decade | Sharangdhara Samhita |
1st | Childhood |
2nd | Growth |
3rd | Complexion |
4th | Memory |
5th | Skin |
6th | Vision |
7th | semen |
8th | Valour |
9th | Intellect |
10th | Motor organs |
11th | Mind |
12th | Life |
Hence, it can be stated that the changes in the body tissues are slow and continuous during whole life. The process of Aging according the Ayurveda begins at the fourth decade of life and the effect of Aging is more visible at the fifth decade of life where the skin changes are visible. And slowly this process affects to the other organs of the body.
