Ficus religiosa - Ashwatha - അരയാല്‍

Botanical Name :

Ficus religiosa Lin. 

Family :

Moraceae

Vernacular Names :

Malayalam : Arayaal - അരയാല്‍  
English : Bo tree, bodhi tree, holy tree, scared fig
Sanskrit : Pippala, Ksheera vriksha, Bodhivriksha, Chala pathra, Bodhi dhruma, 
                 Kesha vaalaya, Plaksha, Ashwatha - अश्वत्थः 
Hindi :  Pipal - पीपल

Bengali : Asbattha - অশ্বত্থ, Peepal - পিপল

Tamil : Kanavam - கணவம், Arasa maram - அரச மரம்

Gujarathi : Piplo - પિપળો

Kannada : Arali - ಅರಳಿ, Ashvattha - ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ, Arali mara - ಅರಳಿ ಮರ 

Telugu : Bodhi drumamu - బోధిద్రుమము, Raavi - రావి

Marathi : Pimpal - पिंपळ  

Punjabi : Pippal  
Manipuri : Sana khongnang - সনা খোঙনাঙ  
Oriya : Aswattha, Jari 
Konkani : Pimpal - पिंपळ
Urdu : Peepal - پیپل 

Plant Description : 

It has a big tree.

The old trees have shattered bark and are of white or brown in color.

Leaves are shiny, thin and bear 5 to 7 veins.

Fruits are small and are about ½ inch in diameter similar to that of eye pupil. It is circular in shape, compressed. When they are raw it is of green color and when it is ripe then it turns black in color.

The tree fruits in summers and gets ripened by rainy season.

Chemical Composition :  

Lanosterol, β-Sitosterol and its glucoside, stigmasterol, lupen-3-one are present in the bark2,3 and campestrol, stigmasterol, 28-isofucosterol, a-amyrin, β-amyrin and lupeol in the leaf.

Bergapten and bergaptol have been isolated from the bark.

The leaves contain significant amounts of tannic acid.

Asparagine and tyrosine have been isolated from the fruit; alanine, threonine, tyrosine and valine from the seed6 and arginine, serine, aspartic acid, glycine, threonine, alanine, proline, tryptophan, tyrosine, methionine, valine, isoleucine, leucine and others from the leaf.

Vitamin Kl has been found in the stem bark.

n-Nonacosane, n-hentriacontanen-hexacosanol, n-octacosanol in the leaf.

Calcium, iron, copper, manganese and zinc are present in the leaf.

Rasaadhi Gunaas :

Rasa : Kashaayam, Madhuram

Guna : Guru, Rooksham

Veeryam : Sheeetham

Vipakam : Katu

Useful Parts :

Bark
Leaves
Tender Shoots
Latex
Seeds
Fruits

Indications :

01. Kapha Pitha hara

02. Blood purifier
03. Reduces Urinary sugar in Diabetes
04. Visha hara
05. Kushta
06. Vrannam
07. Skin diseases
08. Yonee roga

09. Stomatitis
10. Clean ulcers  
11. Leucorrhoea

12. Gout

13. Thirst 

14. Heart disease

15. Gonorrhoea

16. Scabies 

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