Author(s): AK Thorat and DN Mishra

Abstract: Mādhava is one of the Āyurvedic practitioners (ca 9^th Century CE) after the Caraka – Suśruta era, who had made a great compilation called Mādhava Nidāna. In a later stage, another unique treatise was composed by the same author Mādhava, named Mādhava Cikitsā in the line of diseases referred to in Mādhava Nidāna. Mādhava Cikitsā composition is not well known to the world due to the absence of a proper critical edition on the basis of available manuscripts. A study of the medicinal plants used for the treatment of Mūtrakṛcchra disease (painful urination) given in Mādhava Cikitsā was compared to that of the Bṛhattrayī (Caraka Saṁhitā, Suśruta Saṁhitā and Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayam) texts. It is found in the study that a single Sanskrit name of a plant has also been described for other plant species having different botanical identity in the literature. The ambiguity in plant names and botanical identity has been assigned to non-availability of suitable ancient taxonomic or pharmacognostic records for the correct botanical identifications of the Sanskrit as well as the vernacular names of medicinal plants of the same period. An attempt is made here to find the most probable correct botanical identification of each plant described for Mūtrakṛcchra Cikitsā in the texts, through a critical survey of the literature and by analysing and comparing all possible identifications. The study of the texts and matching of the medicinal plant names made the list to contain 38 identified plant species for the treatment of Mūtrakṛcchra as common in these four treatises of Āyurveda. There are 09 different plants identified in the description of Mādhava Cikitsā only which are not mentioned in the Bṛhattrayī. However, a majority of the plant species (43%) belong to herbaceous habit and to family Poaceae, Zingiberacea (4-4 plants each) followed by family Apiaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae (2-2 Plants each) and one-one plants are represented by family Cucurbitaceae, Cyperaceae, Marsileaceae, Musaceae, Saxifragaceae, Zygophyllaceae. The present discussion of the taxonomically most appropriate plant names contributes to the relevant domain of knowledge about these medicinal plants and their variations, which turn contributes to the exploration of their curative and therapeutic value in Mūtrakṛcchra Cikitsā.