Medicines (b): Stems (Gaṇḍa)

Amongst the extant versions of the Chapter on Medicine, only the Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhaiṣajyavastu mentions stem-medicines (Gilgit Manuscripts III. 1.iii; Taishō Tripiṭaka 1448. 1b12-b14). The list of stems in the Sanskrit version is similar but not identical to that in the Chinese version, with the former version having one more item.

The stems in the two versions are:

Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit):—“Stem-medicine is: sandalwood, Java long pepper, wild Himalayan cherry, deodar, gulancha tinospora, Indian barberry; or, furthermore, another [stem which] serves for the need of stem-medicine [but] not for the need of food.”^[1]

Mūlasarvāstivāda (Chinese):—“Stem-medicine is: sandalwood, gebaimu 葛栢木 (brown cypress?),^[2] deodar, gulancha tinospora, xiaobai 小栢 (small variety of cypress?). If there is another [stem-medicine which matches] these [above] examples, it should be used in accordance with the preceding [teaching].”^[3]

The above plants (perhaps with the exceptions of the two uncertain items of cypress) are known in the materia medica of Āyurveda. But they do not exist as a distinct category of stem-medicines. In Āyurveda, bark or heartwood of stem can be employed. For instance, barks of certain trees are mentioned as being medicinally useful (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 1. 116). Heartwoods can be used for making alcoholic preparations or for extracting oils (Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 25. 48-49; translators’ comment to Caraka Saṃhitā Sūtrasthāna 27. 286-289).

As described by van Wyk and Wink (2004, 16), in modern botanical science, bark is “the outer protective layer of a tree trunk, formed by layers of living cells just above the wood itself. High concentrations of active ingredients are found in bark, hence its frequent medicinal use.” With regard to wood, “thick stems [sic] or the wood itself is used.” In brief, barks or woods of many plants have medicinal values in Āyurveda and modern herbal medicine.

The following table summarises the stem-medicines found in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhaiṣajyavastu:

	Original name	English name	Botanical name
Mūlasarvāstivāda (Sanskrit)	candana	sandalwood	Santalum album
	cavikā	Java long pepper	Piper chaba
	padmakā	wild Himalayan cherry	Prunus cerasoides
	devadāru	deodar	Cedrus deodara
	guḍūcī	gulancha tinospora	Tinospora cordifolia
	dāruharidrā	Indian barberry	Berberis aristata
Mūlasarvāstivāda (Chinese)	栴檀香藥	sandalwood	Santalum album
	葛栢木	brown cypress (?)	the family Cupressaceae[4] (?)
	木香	deodar	Cedrus deodara
	不死藤	gulancha tinospora	Tinospora cordifolia
	小栢	small variety of cypress(?)	the family Cupressaceae (?)

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Gilgit Manuscripts III. 1.iii: “gaṇḍabhaiṣajyaṃ| candanṃ cavikā padmakā devadāru guḍūcī dāruharidrā iti| yadvā punaranyadapi gaṇḍabhaiṣajyārthāya spharati nāmiṣārthāya|”

[2]:

There is no plant recognised as 葛栢. 葛 may be a miswriting of 褐 and 褐栢(柏) possibly refers to brown cypress.

[3]:

Taishō Tripiṭaka 1448. 1b12-14: “莖藥者，栴檀香藥、葛栢木、天木香、不死藤、小栢，若餘體例，准前應

用。” 天木 is the literal translation of devadāru (deodar). 不死藤 should be the literal translation of amṛtavallī, which is a synonym of guḍūcī (gulancha tinospora).

[4]:

See van Wyk and Wink 2004, 407.